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Hello,

I'm not the typical candidate thinking about applying to MBA programs and am in need of some advice, which would be greatly appreciated.

I was thinking about applying for the entering class of Fall 2013.

Here is my academic history:

3.91 GPA in Philosophy (BA 2007)from small, unknown liberal arts religiously affiliated school.
4.0 GPA in Philosophy (MA 2009( from California State University, Los Angeles.
3.7 GPA in Philosophy (PhD expected 2013) from the University of California, San Diego.

I haven't taken the GMAT yet, but am confident in my test-taking abilities. Though expired, my GRE (from 2006) is a 1400, 6.0 AWA. (660 V, 94%, 740 Q, 84%).

Here's the main problem from what I've gleaned in my research involving the MBA. I have no full-time work experience in business. I have several years (4+) as a teaching assistant, the last two of which consisted in my teaching my own sections.

I have several extra-curriculars, but mainly from my college days. There has been nothing recently, but I have much free time next year to pursue this and internships.

I have a few questions:

1. What would the best thing I can do at this point to enhance my profile? Since I am located at UCSD, I have access to taking some classes there, even possibly ones offered to the MBA students. I also have access to the undergraduate management and economics classes. I also have researched some possible internships for the next year. There are also plenty of leadership opportunities available.

2. How will my PhD in philosophy be looked at? Will it help? Hurt? Not be of particular advantage or disadvantage?

3. What are my chances of being admitted to UCLA's full-time MBA program if I can get a good (715+) GMAT score, some internships, and some extra leadership on my resume? Is the school too much of a reach? What schools would be appropriate for me?


Thank you,

Tom

Hello, Tom,

A critical pillar of your MBA application is your work experience. Obviously for most applicants, that means business experience. However many successful applicants come to the MBA studies with indirect experience, i.e., technical/engineering expertise - but usually within a business context. Less frequently, people come to MBA programs from other professions such as medicine, law, education. That said, it's even rarer, and harder, to gain admission to MBA programs directly from the education path, without non-academic work experience.

It's not impossible, but it makes your candidacy more of a reach. You will need to (a) demonstrate that you are making an informed decision to pursue a business-related path and (b) present compelling goals (another pillar of your application) and somehow link your experience to date with those goals.

To answer your questions:

1) Internships, as closely related to your goals as possible, would be ideal. Second, anything that demonstrates pursuit of knowledge relevant to your goals, such as informational interviews. Also business classes - e.g., accounting will demonstrate commitment to business learning and also provide a valuable foundation you'll need. Leadership is a must -- and this can be demonstrated in any context.
2) It's positive in that it demonstrates relevant qualities, e.g., persistence, focus, high level analytic and thinking skills, etc. But if you're making a "right turn" career-wise post-PhD, without any connection to your specialty, it can make you seem unfocused, a potential application-killer. You should find a way in your essays and application to present the PhD as relevant (directly or indirectly) to your future path.
3) If you weave everything together in a great application and do well on the GMAT, I'd consider UCLA a reasonable reach. It really depends on how strong a case you make in your application.

For other schools, I think you would find helpful my free subscriber mini-report that walks you through how to select a list of schools, including assessing your competitiveness, your wants/needs, and what the schools offer: Best MBA Programs: A Guide to Selecting the Best Ones.

Best regards,
Cindy Tokumitsu
Senior Editor, www.Accepted.com