MBA in Healthcare

[IlliniBSer]

Hey guys, I wanted to see what kind of opinion you all have for me.

I want to get into an MBA program with a concentration in healthcare, I graduated a year and a half ago, and am currently working in the healthcare field and have about 15 months of experience. Throughout undergrad I was working on a biomedical start up company that is also related to healthcare which I am no longer a part of and am currently in the works of possibly launching my own healtcare related company. Can i count working for the start up as work experience, and how much do you think it would help me?

Also, If an admission councelor was to view my profile I know the first thing that will stand out is my low GPA and that is understandable, but I feel I have done a lot more in undergrad regarding extra carriculars and leadership/volunteering than most average students that I might not get rejected right away.

What sort of advice/opinions do you guys have regarding what program might be good for me and what my chances are, and also what you guys think I can do to make myself a better candidate.

Sorry about writing such long essay, but of course any sort of feedback would be greatly appreciated!

[bremkofi]

I'm not an expert but I've come through the admit process and there are a few things that shout out about your situation. Your GMAT is good but your GPA is not. Unfortunately there's nothing you can do about that except to diminish it's impact with other important background info. If your EC's and volunteer record are great that will help. But the main problem for you at the moment is your lack of work experience. You know you want to work in Health Care (I'm sure there are some excellent HC programs at many top level schools), and you've started in that direction. Working for a start-up is not detrimental in any way, neither is it advantageous. But you will need much more than 15 months work experience in general before you can think of applying to a top-level school and more specifically business-oriented experience on record in your resume. Being sure you want an MBA is a start and will make it possible for you to direct your energies to that goal. Keep your eye on the ball for the next couple of years and you will succeed.

[IlliniBSer]

Thanks Bremkofi, I really appreciate the advice. the 15 months of work experience is not including the start up work, Do you think I can include the time I spent working on this start up as work experience even though I was not compensated for it in any monetary way? I feel that time spent was really insightful and educative in the form of gaining experience and learning some valuable lessons.

[stevenfuqua]

Hey guys, I wanted to see what kind of opinion you all have for me.

I want to get into an MBA program with a concentration in healthcare, my GMAT is a 710 and GPA is 2.8 from a top 30 school. I graduated a year and a half ago, and am currently working in the healthcare field and have about 15 months of experience. Throughout undergrad I was working on a biomedical start up company that is also related to healthcare which I am no longer a part of and am currently in the works of possibly launching my own healtcare related company. Can i count working for the start up as work experience, and how much do you think it would help me?

Also, If an admission councelor was to view my profile I know the first thing that will stand out is my low GPA and that is understandable, but I feel I have done a lot more in undergrad regarding extra carriculars and leadership/volunteering than most average students that I might not get rejected right away.

What sort of advice/opinions do you guys have regarding what program might be good for me and what my chances are, and also what you guys think I can do to make myself a better candidate.

Sorry about writing such long essay, but of course any sort of feedback would be greatly appreciated!

You cannot count your part time work during college as MBA programs ask for your post-college full time work experience. I also did a startup while I was working full time and counted that as my extracurricular. The fact that you worked in a healthcare startup is still amazing and you should highlight that in your application.

Fuqua has an top notch program with dedicated resources for health care. It is called the Health Sector Management Program. I wrote a blog post about it and other health care focused MBA programs as well here.