Apply out of college?

Expert replies

GMAT/MBA Expert

beatthegmat: Site Admin; Posts: 6778; Joined: Mon Feb 13, 2006 8:30 amFollowed by: 994 members; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 1249 times

by beatthegmat » Sun Jun 04, 2006 8:56 pm

Hi Stacy:

I wanted to get your perspective on when it is appropriate for a person to apply to an MBA program immediately out of college, vs. applying after working for a few years? What factors should be considered?

Thanks!

Beat The GMAT | The MBA Social Network
Community Management Team

Research Top GMAT Prep Courses:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/gmat-prep-courses

Research The World's Top MBA Programs:
https://www.beatthegmat.com/mba/school

Like this post

Source: Beat The GMAT — Ask Stacy Blackman | Sun Jun 04, 2006 8:56 pm

GMAT/MBA Expert

Stacy Blackman: MBA Admissions Consultant; Posts: 1049; Joined: Wed Apr 26, 2006 8:59 pmFollowed by: 113 members; Location: Los Angeles, CA; Thanked: 50 times

by Stacy Blackman » Mon Jun 05, 2006 9:26 am

The first factor to consider is whether your target schools will even consider applicants straight out of college. Most schools do require at least one year of work experience. I recently spoke with the Director of Admissions at Kellogg, who emphatically stated that they will not consider an applicant straight out of college. Two schools that are known for taking applicants out of undergrad are HBS and Stanford. I recently published an article in my blog, where Stanford's Dean Joss addresses the issue of age and experience and Stanford's interest in what they call "early career applicants".

https://blog.stacyblackman.com/2006/05/1 ... applicant/

If you do decide to apply to a program that will accept you straight out of college, there are several factors to consider as you develop your application. You will have to prove that you are on par with your older, more experienced peers in the following ways:
- maturity
- career focus
- confidence in contributing to classroom discussion and extracurricular life of school
- experiences to share with peers and enrich their experience
- evidence of leadership

Only a small percentage of individuals are accepted so early on in their career. This is partially because it is hard to prove all of the above when you have not developed any sort of professional track record. Your essays, recs and interview will have to work very hard for you to get the appropriate messages across. That said, if you truly believe you are ready, you may be successful in conveying that readiness to the admissions commitee.

Interested in a free 30 minute consultation with the Stacy Blackman Team? Sign up here: https://stacyblackman.com/contact
S T A C Y B L A C K M A N Consulting
Admissions Strategy
323.934.3936
www.StacyBlackman.com

Read the SBC blog.

Follow me on Twitter.
Like SBC on Facebook.

Learn more about me

Like this post

Post new topic Post Reply

• Page 1 of 1

GMAT Course Reviews

560 reviews

1168 reviews

431 reviews

359 reviews

147 reviews

5/5

5 Star (560 Reviews)

"Target Test Prep is the closest to the official version of the GMAT exam, about 99% accuracy in terms of the quality and quantity of information. The course has excellently created singular sets of focused lessons and tests for every possible topic that one could come across in the official GMAT exam."

"The TTP course maximizes the efficiency of the time you spend studying. It will take time and effort but I could almost guarantee that if you complete the course exactly as it is laid out you will get an amazing score. They also have a very responsive team willing to help with any questions you might have."

"TTP has two things that I think no other test prep company offers: A teaching approach that reinforces understanding and an attitude that will give you the mental preparedness needed to succeed on the test. TTP gives you a deep understanding of the concept you need to know while teaching you how to think."

Write a Review