MBA right after undergrad?

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Assolute: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 4; Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2012 6:39 pm

by Assolute » Wed May 09, 2012 2:22 pm

Hey,

Just a few quick questions. I have heard mixed reviews about getting your MBA directly after undergrad. My situation is that I decided to go into business in the last year (whereas my undergrad degree is not business related at all - Sociology and Psychology), and I know with my undergrad degree I cannot get any relevant job experience. I have yet to write my GMAT test (am planning to this summer), but I am aiming to get into a mid-bschool.

Should I attempt to get some sort of work experience first? Or should I go for my MBA at a mid-level school and hope for the best there? A lot of people told me I should just go for my MBA as I will be better off. I am expecting a 3.3+ GPA in my final two years with a GMAT of 650+. I have 6 years of part time work experience.

Thanks for your time!

Source: Beat The GMAT — Research MBA Programs | Wed May 09, 2012 2:22 pm

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Jon@Admissionado: Elite Legendary Member; Posts: 3135; Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 8:55 amFollowed by: 332 members; Location: Everywhere; Thanked: 589 times

by Jon@Admissionado » Thu May 10, 2012 11:34 pm

Even at a mid-level school, they will expect you to have some work. MBA programs are more or less designed with the idea of having students with some real hands on professional experience, whether it be in business or otherwise, and the average for many schools at matriculation is 4-5 years experience.

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money9111: Legendary Member; Posts: 2109; Joined: Sun Apr 19, 2009 10:25 pmFollowed by: 79 members; Location: New Jersey; Thanked: 109 times; GMAT Score:640

by money9111 » Fri May 11, 2012 7:08 pm

Jon is right in that if you want to improve your chances, you should get relevant work experience. I will say that in my program and I'm sure many other programs there are a handful of students who, we at Johnson, refer to as straight-throughs. So while not impossible, usually not probable.

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Assolute: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 4; Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2012 6:39 pm

by Assolute » Sat May 12, 2012 6:50 am

Thank you both for the reply and I will definitely take it into consideration

Ashim88: Senior | Next Rank: 100 Posts; Posts: 73; Joined: Sun Jun 13, 2010 10:01 pm; Location: San Jose, CA; Thanked: 8 times

by Ashim88 » Sun May 27, 2012 8:58 am

As a PSY BA myself, I was looking to do the same thing right after graduation- but as others have said, it's very competitive when you don't have any work experience. As in, you better be a top student (3.8GPA/740 GMAT)

I got lucky and got into a money-making industry despite my degree- SEO. If you can teach yourself something valuable in the industry (marketing seems to be the best reach for Psych BAs)- then you CAN get some awesome work experience before getting your degree.

Don't worry about what everyone else tells you, that you can only be a case-worker etc... There ARE options.

Worst case scenario, you can always pick up some programming certificates and still get into SEO.

marissavessels: Newbie | Next Rank: 10 Posts; Posts: 3; Joined: Mon Jul 30, 2012 6:35 pm

by marissavessels » Mon Jul 30, 2012 7:25 pm

money9111 wrote:Jon is right in that if you want to improve your chances, you should get relevant work experience. I will say that in my program and I'm sure many other programs there are a handful of students who, we at Johnson, refer to as straight-throughs. So while not impossible, usually not probable.

If I'm wanting to get an MBA for the goal of nonprofit management and started a nonprofit when I was 16 (which gives me 6 years of running and growing my nonprofit) on top of a multitude of other high caliber, long-term internships, would that change my ability to be a straight-through?

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Jon@Admissionado: Elite Legendary Member; Posts: 3135; Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 8:55 amFollowed by: 332 members; Location: Everywhere; Thanked: 589 times

by Jon@Admissionado » Tue Jul 31, 2012 1:34 am

It very well could. The two questions I (and the Adcom) would ask are: 1. how big? 2. how successful.

I mean if you started a "Greenpeace" at 16, then you will get in everywhere. If it's a small local effort with 2 employees, it still might not be enough. BUT you do have a few programs (HBS 2+2, Yale Silver Scholars, and MiM programs) that ARE designed for folks with no work experience... so you could look into those.

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