BUSINESS SCHOOL
General
Information
The MBA or Masters of Business Administration is a degree aimed
at preparing you to be a senior level manager or leader. There
are more than 700 MBA programs in the world. As graduate management
degrees, the emphasis is put on the understanding of how to utilize
resources, teamwork, finances, and over-all business operations.
There area number of career paths for MBA graduates, including
accounting, finance, human resource management, consulting, information
systems, manufacturing, marketing, operations management, small
business, government, education, health care, and not-for-profit.
So you can see the opportunities are endless.
The reason most individuals pursue an MBA degree is because in order
to be a good manager, you need to know not only the technical side
of your organization, but more importantly you need to be able to
organize the work of others, and make decisions that affect the
major aspects of a business.
Preparation
Academically, almost any undergraduate major prepares you overall
for pursuit of an MBA. Some points that can make you more appealing
to an admissions board include knowing your numbers, this means
having a solid foundation in math and economics. Also, you will
benefit from knowing, on some level, another language. Also, your
undergraduate GPA is important, as well as your GMAT score.
Experientially, an average of 4 years of work experience in a business
setting, gaining some real experience can make your MBA degree more
worthwhile developmentally.
Also, a key note:
those wishing to get into an
MBA program that do not have such an extensive work history
need to have superb academic credentials and an extensive
record of extracurricular activities as well as clearly
defined career goals.
GMAT
The graduate management admission test, or GMAT is the admissions
test associated with gaining admission to an MBA program. It can
help gauge your academic success during your first year of graduate
school. The GMAT consists of 3 sections, two of which are multiple
choice (math and verbal), with the third being an analytical section.
Your scores are important, but remember, each school weighs different
aspects of the application differently.
To
learn more about the GMAT click
HERE.
Application
Process
The application process consists of these different elements.
Your undergraduate record, GMAT (U.S. Citizens) and TOEFL (International
applicants) test scores, Work experience, Essays, Letters of Recommendations,
and Interviews. Putting these different aspects of each applicant
allows for the admissions board to make selective decisions regarding
who is selected into their program.
Frequently
Asked Questions
Answered
by: Marie Mookini, Ph.D.
Assistant
Dean & Director of Admissions
Stanford
Graduate School of Business
Beyond
the academics, what is the value of the MBA experience?
Quite simply, it’s the people. That’s what most MBA graduates will
tell you-that their classmates defined their experience, that some
of their classmates have become their closest friends. Furthermore,
your time in the MBA program will provide you with a network of
contacts that will be able to enrich your professional life.
Do
I have to declare a major in business school?
Some programs require majors or concentrations, and other do not.
There are benefits to both. Not having to fulfill the
requirements of a major allows you to gain breadth or depth through
your elective classes. In essence, it gives you maximum flexibility
to tailor the program to meet your needs. On the other hand, having
a concentration allows you to develop depth in an area, and sends
a strong signal to future employers of your primary interests and
expertise.
If
I apply as a college senior and don’t get in, will that hurt me
if I reapply in the future?
Absolutely not. Some schools will provide feedback on your unsuccessful
application, letting you know if there are aspects of your application
you can strengthen. Sometimes, however, the only piece of feedback
might be that there were no glaring weaknesses in your file. You
may be told, “There’s nothing wrong with your file, but there wasn’t
anything compelling either.” That is not a message means to mislead
or to cover up the truth. Think about the Olympic games. There
are athletes from around the world who are the best in their sport,
but only one can get the gold medal, winning often by a fraction
of a second. Does that mean that the non-winners are poor athletes?
That if they had trained longer, they would have won the medal?
No. What is sometimes difficult to accept about a highly selective
admission process is that there is an element of luck. Remember,
you can influence the process but you cannot control the outcome.
When
should I start the application process?
You should visit the school websites to review and request the application
materials about 12-18 months prior to intended matriculation. Most
schools offer the convenience of electronic applications, do you
need not wait for the mail to arrive. This schedule assumes that
you have already done your research into your school options and
that you have narrowed it down to a set of four or six schools
that are a good fit for you. If you are still in the early stages,
add six to nine months to the recommended schedule.
What
is weighted most heavily in the evaluation process?
This will vary from school to school. Every piece of your application
is important. Does each piece have an equal weight when reviewing
an individual file or when comparing one applicant to another? Not
necessarily. The candidate who is still in college and the candidate
with the stellar grade point average will not always be chosen over
a candidate with a less impressive average. Why? Because other
factors are put into the equation: test scores, motivation, personal
qualities, etc. It is often said that admission is more of an art
than a science. We do not admit students based on a formula, and
admissions is not about admitting candidates with the highest numbers.
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