-- Value of grad degree on an MBA application --

[mygmat.2009]

Hi,

I was kindly wondering if any of the admission consultants have an idea of how a technical grad degree (e.g. Master of Engineering) is generally valued on an MBA application (top 10 schools):

- Does it compensate for any work experience? E.g. If the requirement is a min of 3 years work experience after undergrad, would a Master's degree + 2 years work experience be viewed equally? Does one have any advantage over the other?

- What role does the GPA of the Master's degree play on the application?


Thanks,
Sam

[Graham]

Dear Sam,

Thanks for your post!

You raise a great question about the value of master's degrees in one's application profile when applying to business school. I've offered a few quick thoughts below:

1) As I'm sure you know, it is not uncommon for applicants to business school to have already completed another master's degree. The most popular degrees we see in the applicant pool are master's in engineering and computer science - and in some cases accounting or finance. As such, having a master's degree when you apply to b-school is not unorthodox.

2) Admissions officers use the master's degree for a few things:

-Another data point in your academic profile. They assess your overall performance (GPA), the strength of the program you attended, your ranking, the rigor of the subject you pursued, etc. In short, the master's is combined with your ugrad degree to get a sense of your ability to perform in the MBA classroom. As it is usually the most recent indication of your classroom potential, it can be fairly influential.

-Evidence of a passion/focus. If your master's degree relates to your ugrad pursuit and subsequent career focus, it can highlight a level of dedication to a field and the expertise that goes with it.

-Another opportunity to assess your propensity to get involved with XCs. The adcom may look to see if you were an active student outside the classroom while pursuing the master's degree - so as to get a sense as to whether the same would be true in their MBA program. [Note: if you were working full-time while pursuing the master's degree, this may be less relevant.]

3. The fact that you have a master's degree will generally not carry over into an assessment of your professional experience - e.g. two years in a master's does not somehow automatically give you two years of professional experience. The schools typically draw a very clear line between assessing one's academic profile (GMAT, degrees, grades, etc) vs. assessing one's professional profile (jobs held, performance, etc).

Having said that, the schools understand that a candidate who pursued a master's might be applying to b-school with a bit less professional experience than their peers who only pursued ugrad. This is taken into account when assessing your candidacy. Also, keep in mind that many applicants with master's degrees have worked/work-studied while pursuing the master's degree (leading a lab, conducting field research for a professor, etc) and that this can certainly factor into your professional profile.

Hope this sheds some light on your questions.

Best of luck,

Graham

[mygmat.2009]

Thank you for the nice post Graham!

If I may follow-up with couple of questions; in terms of work experience:
- What would, in your opinion, be the minimum work experience for a solid application to a top 10 school?
- How is the work experience viewed in terms of number of companies worked for? e.g. One applicant who has 2.5 years experience at the same company with the same title, and same responsibilities vs. another applicant who also has 2.5 years of experience but working for 3 companies (6 months, 1 year, 1 year) progressing from one job to another or maybe moving from a small corporation environment to a multi-national...etc.

Thank you once again.

Regards,
Sam

[Graham]

Dear Sam,

Thanks for your reply. Please see my thoughts below:

Thank you for the nice post Graham!
>>My pleasure!

If I may follow-up with couple of questions; in terms of work experience:
- What would, in your opinion, be the minimum work experience for a solid application to a top 10 school?
>>Technically, there is no minimum due to the fact that some schools (like HBS, Stanford and Wharton) take a handful of candidates directly from college. Of course, even those candidates have to have demonstrated superb leadership experiences via part-time work, campus involvement, etc - so perhaps a better metric to employ is the quality of leadership/team experiences the applicant can present to the adcom - regardless of the duration.

>>My guess is that you are looking for a more concrete response, however, so let me try and provide one. If we ignore technicalities, like Wharton's sub-matriculation program and the fact that HBS and Stanford accept some folks directly, the basic answer to your question is that the vast majority of admitted students have between 2 and 5 years of experience. This means that the "minimum" experience for a typical applicant is usually 1 year at the time of application (2 years upon matriculation). Keep in mind that this is merely a guideline, and that it does vary somewhat from school to school.

- How is the work experience viewed in terms of number of companies worked for? e.g. One applicant who has 2.5 years experience at the same company with the same title, and same responsibilities vs. another applicant who also has 2.5 years of experience but working for 3 companies (6 months, 1 year, 1 year) progressing from one job to another or maybe moving from a small corporation environment to a multi-national...etc.
>>This really would depend on the candidate, employers involved, roles held, etc. Having said that, if I had to offer a point of view based on the limited information here, I'd say that the adcom would prefer the first candidate. The reason for this is that admissions officers typically steer clear of applicants who 'job-surf' and can't seem to stay in any one position for more than a year. The commonly held perception is that it takes a good deal of time to adjust to a role and carve out leadership opportunities or achieve milestones with an employer. If one moves around every 6-12 months, it's hard to really put down roots and demonstrate advancement. It's also hard to have recommendation letters that showcase a deep level of familiarity with the applicant.

Thank you once again.
>>You are quite welcome!

Best of luck,

Graham