Regd: MBA Guidance

[prathimaprasunrao]

Hi Stacy and BeatTheGMAT community,

My name is Prathima. I recently graduated from the University of Memphis. My major is Computer Science. I have the desire to do my MBA from a good "B- School" once I have 2-3 years of work experience. I just wanted to know how my major coupled with MBA program or MBA with specific concentration would be advantagoeus to me regarding job prospects.
Could you please let me know the solutions to the following queries?
1)The requirements I need to fulfill in order to join B-School.By reading the threads, I could understand that a GMAT score of 690+ is required and a work experience of minimum 3 years are required to get into B-school.
2)What would be the duration of the application to be processed?
3) How much TOEFL score is required?
4) What disciplines in combination with Computer Science will fetch me good job in future?
5) How about the chances of getting assisstantships as the fees for each university appears as a big number to me?Are there any criteria to be satisfied for obtaing the assisstantships?
6) Could you please let me know where can I find the information about the different disciplines in MBA(eg Finance, Entrepreneurship, Finance etc)and the future prospects about them?
7) I could find only some schools offering Part-Time MBA. Could you please let me know the difference between the Part-Time and Full Time Program? Will the type of MBA program effect my job prospects?

Waiting for reply!
Regards,
PrathimaPrasunRao
[email protected]

[Stacy Blackman]

Hi Prathima,
Here are my answers:
1) There is no minimum GMAT score, and if there was it would not be 690. 690 is a great score. Many people with lower scores are admitted to EVERY school. Many schools accept applicants with no job experience. I do not know of any that require three years. Four years is average at most top ranked schools.
2)What would be the duration of the application to be processed? I am sorry - I don't know what you mean by this!
3) Minimum TOEFL is around 250, average is closer to 275.
4) You need to figure out what type of job you want. For example, if you want to go into product management, you would need very different skills than if you want to go into investment banking. The MBA will generally focus on general management, but depending on your goals, the electives that you take will differ.
5) Every school has different scholarships. Many are merit based - you do not even apply for them.
6) A good place to start would be the rankings (BusinessWeek, US News, etc...) for a list of schools. From there you could visit different websites to understand what each school offers.
7) Full time means that you leave your job and go to school ful time. Part time means that you are woking while attending school. If you want to completely change careers, full time is probably better because it allows for a summer internship and there is a usually a greater emphaiss on recruiting.