The Application Process

Hello Forum,

I'm 23 years old and in the midst of contemplating a future MBA to further my career. It's a tough decision that I never thought I'd be in a position to make.

Recently graduated with a liberal arts major, marketing minor from a top 40 university. I graduated with a poor GPA, around a 2.8. My work experience has been decent for my age, internships at local financial firms and a current marketing gig at a name-brand media company.

This summer, I completed an intelligence evaluation which diagnosed a few kinks in my system. I was diagnosed with Nonverbal learning disorder, which addressed deficiencies in mathematics and quantitative skills. This came as no surprise to me, as I barely passed any of my quantitative courses during my undergraduate. This compounded with my GPA has been the major obstacle that I've tried to overcome during my career and life.

A few positives can be said about me. During my evaluation, I scored in the high 90's percentile in verbal communication and memory. I've always considered myself pretty intelligent, having scored high 1300's on the SAT, attending a competitive private school, and being admitted to a relatively high-scoring university. It is very feasible for me to attend a local state school while I work to gain a second major, which will hopefully bring my GPA to around a 3.0.

My goals for attending a program are pretty broad. I'd like to attend a top 30 program. Part time programs have greatly appealed to me. Programs that I've been browsing are UT-Austin (Mccombs), Georgetown (McDonough) USC (Marshall), and ASU (Carey).

I'm pretty lost on what an MBA can do for me as well as my ability to compete in admissions. I'd like to pursue the MBA in about 6-7 years (age 29 or 30).

Any advice,

Thanks and much love

Of course you're cut out for an MBA, and why wait so long? You want it and you have time to achieve it. The fact that you're thinking about it means you are ambitious and that's what an MBA is all about - people who want to further themselves and achieve goals in the arena of the business world. Concentrate on finding your sphere of interest, keep studying and do your research on programs and qualifications. If you are determined you will succeed.

Sure, if you want to apply in 6-7 years you have a lot of time to work on your profile and strengthen your candidacy.

Lemme ask you this.... why do you think you want and/or will need an MBA? to be thinking about it at this age there has to be something behind that thought. I'm curious to know what that is. btw - that's a good thing!

Thanks for the responses! I was almost positive that this thread was going to come up empty.

@bermanal9 I'm not positive I am cut out for an MBA. I did relatively poorly in my undergraduate studies and I have a learning disorder with quantitative methods. I have not taken the GMAT, and my grades are poor. I would wait a long time in order to strengthen my candidacy through grades, jobs, and GMAT studying.

@money9111. I want an MBA to place me in a job (Marketing or Real Estate related) I could not have gotten without the program, simple as that. I'm not sure if the investment is worth it (2 years of graduate studies cost + cost of getting an additional minor + time it takes to volunteer, study for GMATs, apply) versus buying a business or purchasing a home.

I'm a newbie to what an MBA can do for a candidate and what needs to be done in order to get to a relatively top program.

I guess you're on the right track with your opportunity cost calculation but not quite there yet.

You'd have to do a Net Present Value calculation on the value of an MBA vs. a house vs. a business.

The next step is to fleet doing research (not on the message board) into MBA programs and what value they provide. It's good to seek advice from
This community but definitely do not let us sway you one way or another because its a big decision. We can definitely tell you what to consider though.

Also, if you think you'd be the first one with a learning disorder & poor GPA to go to b-school...you'd be mistaken. DO NOT let your Undergrad performance dictate what you do with your life going forward. If I did that, I would have not been accepted to Johnson at Cornell University. I had a 2.56 Undergrad GPA and a 620 GMAT score.

Nobody is 'cut out' for an MBA. I'm not an expert but as Money 9111 says you would not be the first to overcome a poor GPA and relatively low GMAT when applying to a good school. First of all, you need to know that you want an MBA. It is invaluable, if not necessary, in the job market and would be of great value as well if you choose to buy a business in the future.
You already know you are intelligent and capable of competing at an elevated level. Any additional studying you do can only be to your advantage, personally as well as towards an MBA.
It IS a big decision and the key is finding the right program, one that suits your financial and 'life' situation. Keep up with what's being offered in the coming years, full or part-time, and don't let your past performance discourage you.

I think there are couple of things you need to separate out. Don't let your inhibitions stop you from achieving your dreams. Right now, it seems MBA is a dream for you that has yet to turn into a goal.

Learning disability is an aspect that limits you only if you let it.

Here are some questions that I'd recommend you think over and write down your response as homework.

1) What is your utilimate purpose or mission in life? Just high level...Example - do you want to serve the community? Do you want to lead a corporation? What is it that you really want to do 5-10 yrs from now? Ofcourse, 10 yrs down the lane things will be different, but right now - where do you see yourself? Write that down. Writing things down - helps simplify things and let's you see things in a simpler manner.

1) Why do you need an MBA? What is the ultimate purpose you want this degree? Is it possible to get to your ultimate goal/mission in life without an MBA? If yes - take the other route! If no - then you need to think further on how to cope with learning disability and move forward. Acknowledging is just one aspect. Working through it is another.

2) If you come to conclusion that you need an MBA and there is no other route, then you need to think through what work experience do you need to get there? What other things you need to do in order to get that degree under your belt.

I know so many with learning disablity who have an MBA. I've helped them get over their inhibitions and get to where they are and they are glad they took a leap of faith and jumped. You need to just get to the bottom of it all and face facts.

Let me know if you still have questions or doubts.

money9111 wrote:I guess you're on the right track with your opportunity cost calculation but not quite there yet.

You'd have to do a Net Present Value calculation on the value of an MBA vs. a house vs. a business.

That is impossible to do. There is no telling how much an MBA will be worth for me. There is also no telling how much I can grow and expand a business. The only solids are the value of a house and the price of an education.

bermanal9 wrote:Nobody is 'cut out' for an MBA. I'm not an expert but as Money 9111 says you would not be the first to overcome a poor GPA and relatively low GMAT when applying to a good school. First of all, you need to know that you want an MBA. It is invaluable, if not necessary, in the job market and would be of great value as well if you choose to buy a business in the future.
You already know you are intelligent and capable of competing at an elevated level. Any additional studying you do can only be to your advantage, personally as well as towards an MBA.
It IS a big decision and the key is finding the right program, one that suits your financial and 'life' situation. Keep up with what's being offered in the coming years, full or part-time, and don't let your past performance discourage you.

I have to disagree here. Plenty of folks are not "cut out" for different forms of school. Plenty of people drop out of high school and college because their intelligence level doesn't allow them to succeed. If your verbal IQ is in the 20th percentile, you probably won't score well on the LSAT, make great grades in law school, and eventually realize you are not "cut out" for it. Similar to my low quantitative function: I am not "cut out" for a Masters degree in business statistics and calculus. There is just no way I'd pass.

I also challenge the notion that B-school is invaluable or necessary in business. I read a Forbes article which says that B-school isn't worth it unless you're in a top 5 school. Similar articles are written for law school and college in general. With the number of entrepreneurs without high school/college degrees, one has to question whether time is wasted in the classroom.

For the record, I'm not on this board to preach anti-education. It's my belief that there are many paths to financial success, which leads to my skepticism whether the MBA is worth it for me. I fully understand that an MBA can lead to a great career path, which is why I'm on this site asking for 3rd party advice (I don't want to speak with people who have financial motivation behind an MBA such as an admissions counselor, B-school recruiter.)

I appreciate your consideration of my response.
Most companies require an MBA for all managerial jobs starting at the lowest level. You said you are working in marketing at a media company - perhaps this environment put the idea of an MBA in your head. It often works this way. In considering an MBA for myself I had the same reservations about statistics, as do many people who now have an MBA. An MBA is a comprehensive education in all business practices, no matter which school you attend.
There are many paths to financial success and none of them involves luck. Whether in the corporate world or the start-up world you must come prepared to make important decisions based on financial data and real knowledge of your market. This is what higher education is for. In this time, with tremendous competition at every level, I do not see it as optional and I can only recommend that you continue to pursue steps to allow you to be competitive in whatever career or field of work you choose. You have time, but start now.

Sophia007 wrote:I think there are couple of things you need to separate out. Don't let your inhibitions stop you from achieving your dreams. Right now, it seems MBA is a dream for you that has yet to turn into a goal.

Learning disability is an aspect that limits you only if you let it.

Here are some questions that I'd recommend you think over and write down your response as homework.

1) What is your utilimate purpose or mission in life? Just high level...Example - do you want to serve the community? Do you want to lead a corporation? What is it that you really want to do 5-10 yrs from now? Ofcourse, 10 yrs down the lane things will be different, but right now - where do you see yourself? Write that down. Writing things down - helps simplify things and let's you see things in a simpler manner.

1) Why do you need an MBA? What is the ultimate purpose you want this degree? Is it possible to get to your ultimate goal/mission in life without an MBA? If yes - take the other route! If no - then you need to think further on how to cope with learning disability and move forward. Acknowledging is just one aspect. Working through it is another.

2) If you come to conclusion that you need an MBA and there is no other route, then you need to think through what work experience do you need to get there? What other things you need to do in order to get that degree under your belt.

I know so many with learning disablity who have an MBA. I've helped them get over their inhibitions and get to where they are and they are glad they took a leap of faith and jumped. You need to just get to the bottom of it all and face facts.

Let me know if you still have questions or doubts.

1. I would like a high level position in a corporation which will either offer me a lucrative career or give me experience and funds to start my own venture.

2. I would want an MBA to get me a position with a world class organization (Apple, Google, etc) which I could not get without it.

3. I understand taking the GMAT, improving GPA, and participating in non profits. What work experience do MBA's look for?