BA: Psych, no idea what to do

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BA: Psych, no idea what to do

by swang » Sun Sep 09, 2012 9:11 pm
hey everyone

current undergrad at USC
GPA: 3.2
Major: PSYCH
No experience whatsoever :(
about to graduate

started looking into getting a MBA and now im interested

i feel like im already at a huge loss against my other applicants since im a psych major.
is this true?

secondly, after i graduate i plan to work for a year or two to get some experience..what kind of job experience are schools looking for? certainly working at mcdonalds wouldnt do.

lastly, im worried my GPA isnt strong enough for a MBA. what is the avg MBA GPA for schools like USC, UCLA, UCI etc. im really aiming to stay in southern california.

thanks everyone
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by machichi » Sun Sep 09, 2012 9:20 pm
This will be a good start: https://poetsandquants.com/2012/03/27/gp ... to-get-in/

Your GPA could be better, but it could be worse as well. If you want to begin creating an alternative transcript (meaning taking courses relevant to B-school at a city college or university), you could start that now.

No, being a psych major will not put you at a disadvantage. Maybe at some schools they prefer econ or business majors, but most just want to see that you are a leader with interesting and compelling goals.

Schools are looking for job experiences that match up with your goals. Don't tell them you want to do finance when you worked in a psych lab for 2 years. Have interesting positions, get promoted, and if possible work somewhere somewhat well known.
Last edited by machichi on Sun Sep 09, 2012 11:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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by swang » Sun Sep 09, 2012 9:51 pm
thanks for the quick response!

the site you gave me is really insightful :)

what kind of job positions should i be aiming to get?

im not really familiar with any business jobs or anything related to it
last time i worked was back in high school as a technician.

ultimately i want to be in some sort management position
helping others and trying to apply psychology to a business to make it more efficient.

does that fit any ultimate career goals?
im taking this business path at very small baby steps because ive always strongly strayed away from it. i was heading down the education path but things have changed.

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by Jon@Admissionado » Mon Sep 10, 2012 8:20 am
Actually your GPA can be fine with a good GMAT, and your Psych major can actually be an advantage. The bigger problem is your lack of work experience. Almost all programs require 2 years of work experience at least (or simply don't accept people with less). The MBA programs are specifically designed for people with work experience, and I'm afraid that with no work experience, your chances of getting accepted will be relatively low.

If you really want to work in Business, and aren't able to get a job at this moment, you might want to look into more "Professional Masters" which don't necessarily require work experience, like a Masters in Finance or a Economics, (or anything else you are interested in)
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by swang » Mon Sep 10, 2012 11:37 am
Cool that's great to hear!

If they require job experience what kind of positions should I be looking for?
I'm extremely unfamiliar with business jobs.

Should I be aiming for management positions at retail stores?