<p>As we are immigrants to the US, my mom had to go to college to get her degree in accounting. She will be graduating this May from our local state college as an accounting major.
The thing is, she will graduate with a 3.99 GPA. A 3.99! Most of her teachers love her for her drive and ambition, and I bet anything that most of them will be willing to write her lavish recommendations. She has won several scholarships and has more work experience in entrepreneurship and accounting than probably anyone else in the school (she has had roughly 10 years of experience in the field). The only weakness she has is English, but she has improved tremendously. However, she doesn't want to get her MBA, even though she probably could get into most business schools with a decent GMAT score, including UConn and maybe even Yale, the two best b-schools in Connecticut. She says she would like to, but she is too busy taking care of my brother and me and she doesn't have time to prepare for her GMAT. I don't think that will be a problem next year; I will be going to college and my brother, who will be turning ten, has no problem taking care of himself for a while. I do think she is doing herself a disservice by not applying for an MBA.
How can I convince her that she should get her MBA? I know she has the capacity, but she doesn't think she does. Parents, if you can give me any advice, that would be great.</p>
<p>Maybe she just needs a break from school. Let her do it at her own pace. You feel that she should do it now, but she may feel differently. For older learners, going straight from undergraduate to graduate studies is not such a high priority.</p>
<p>Congratulations to your mom for her amazing accomplishment! </p>
<p>Why do you think your mom should go on to MBA school now? Maybe she wants a break from academia. Pat your mom on the back for her job well done!</p>
<p>Let your mom enjoy the fruits of her hard work by enjoying her BA while not going to school for a while.</p>
<p>Your brother is still very young, and your mom may be looking forward to being able to spend more time with him and being able to do other activities that she wasn’t able to do due to her studies.</p>
<p>She doesn’t need to get an MBA to be a success. She may on her own decide to go obtain one or she may decide she doesn’t need one. Right now, though, celebrate her stellar completion of her undergrad work while also raising 2 kids. Let her know you’re proud of her and appreciate and admire her just as she is.</p>
<p>Please don’t be like the many parents who are so intent on their kids’ next step that they forget to express appreciation for what their kids have achieved.</p>
<p>She may also be looking forward to earning some money, saving for her retirement, and helping you with college expenses! Also, as an accountant she’ll likely have opportunities later to take the MBA courses she needs and have her employer pick up the cost. I’d bet she’s planned this very well!</p>
<p>Congratulations to your Mom.</p>
<p>I am also not from the US, also was an accountant for many years (where I am from you used to be able to join an accounting association and work in accounting and do the exams as you went along - no degree required at the time). And I am also in school pursuing a degree in the hopes of being able to get a job other than answering phones in the local call center (not that there is anything wrong with that if you enjoy that). I have no plans currently to go beyond a BA - just working on the AA to start with - though of course I am a bit older and don’t want to be in school till I am 100. My kids are both grown and in college so I don’t have them to look after - it is really admirable of your Mom to have done this while she is raising the two of you. Especially if English is not her first language. Good for her. I wish I had done it before my kids were grown.</p>
<p>I agree with the other posters. Give your Mom a big hug and congratulate her on her great achievement. Then let her decide what she wants to do next. If she is happy with what she has achieved you should be too. She can get a job and be successful without the MBA. And if she changes her mind down the road that door will still be open.</p>
<p>My mother didn’t get her masters until she was in her early 50’s. All of us were gone and she enjoyed being around the students.</p>
<p>Maybe she could get a couple of teachers to go ahead and write recommendations and keep them on file. Then when she decides to go, it will be easy to start the process.</p>
<p>Do you think she feels like she has been missing out on time with you and your brother? With you leaving she may be like she wants to savor her time with him.</p>
<p>“She says she would like to, but she is too busy taking care of my brother and me and she doesn’t have time to prepare for her GMAT. I don’t think that will be a problem next year; I will be going to college and my brother, who will be turning ten, has no problem taking care of himself for a while.”</p>
<p>First off, CONGRATULATIONS to your mother - that is an awesome accomplishment!</p>
<p>To be honest, you don’t think it will be a problem – but you’re not the one running the household. You’re not the one juggling all the other aspects of managing the household like she undoubtedly is – so it’s easy for you to say “it’s no big deal” but it is indeed a whole different thing to be in college as a young adult with no family responsibilities versus being a grown adult with family and HH responsibilities. Do you really know all of what is on her plate? I bet a lot of it is invisible to you.</p>
<p>Say congratulations and that’s that.</p>
<p>I don’t know your mom’s work history, so my input is only cursory.</p>
<p>that said, here are some points to consider:</p>
<p>(1) in general, unlike other professional schools like law and medicine, good MBA programs PREFER their candidates who worked a few years after BA. In fact, programs like Harvard and Wharton rarely (hardly ever) accept students straight out of the undergrad program.</p>
<p>Furthermore, elite employers who hire MBAs from elite schools do not value the MBA degree as much if it’s earned straight out of the undergraduate program. So, you get the idea here.</p>
<p>In your mother’s case, if she worked in a different country and have demonstrable work history, that may be just fine. </p>
<p>(2) let’s be brutally honest: for your mom with less than perfect English, and perhaps at an age bracket that is different from the so-called “elite” track for young MBAs, the most highly sought after positions that require MBA may not be immediately a realistic option. If I were your mom, I would first try to find a position, and assess the need for MBA while I am on the job: either for the long term prospect within the company or a prospect of a different job with the aid of an MBA education. </p>
<p>The only circumstance I would consider immediate MBA in your mom’s position is, if I don’t get any job offers any time soon due to the economy, and I am confident that staying in school for additional two years earning MBA while the economy improves will land me a good position 2-3 years down the road.</p>
<p>Good luck.</p>
<p>This is great 
. We see so many threads on CC about students whose parents ride them about grades, ambitions, high expectations, etc. (often immigrant parents). This is the first time that I recall seeing the roles reversed!</p>
<p>Accounting and MBA are not the same. One can be a happy successful accountant and not get an MBA. People interested in running companies can use accounting as a pre-MBA curriculum. What you mother does for Grad School (if ever) should be determined by her career interests. If she is happy being an accountant, then a Masters in Accountancy would be the next logical degree (assuming she wants it), not an MBA. Aside from Tax Accounting, a Masters in Accountancy does not open up many more doors.</p>
<p>Congrats to your mom on her accomplishment and on raising you to be such a devoted & concerned child!</p>
<p>One thought–she may want to take the GMAT now, while the material is fresh in her mind in case she later decides she might like to pursue more college coursework.</p>
<p>VinnyLi - she should pass her CPA exam first before any thoughts of an MBA. </p>
<p>CPA’s are in demand and it is a tremendous professional license to have. </p>
<p>With her grade point (impressive as heck), she should be able to pass the CPA exam. But note that even for the brightest of the bright it takes quite a bit of preparation. So support her in this endeavor. </p>
<p>I cannot emphasize this advice enough - one can advance without a MBA, but one is never going to be a comptroller or financial officer without the CPA. And even small businesses would find it oh so valuable (and their lenders, too, when looking at management).</p>
<p>Congrates to your mom, she is amazing!</p>
<p>My husband is a CPA. I agree with OperaDad and mam1959 above, you mom doesn’t need a MBA for accounting. You probably want to check out taxguy’s feature thread “Every you need to know about accounting …” under business forum, it will answer many questions.</p>
<p>Once again, congrats to your Mom.</p>
<p>To echo the other posters, I’d suggest that the job market is the next thing for your Mom to tackle. If she is interested in furthering her education, she would be advised to seek employment with large, established companies and organizations. They often have tuition reimbursement programs for employees.</p>
<p>FWIW, I have also seen the benefits of starting out in a large organization in accounting. When looking for a new employer in the future, it is much easier to go from a bigger company into a smaller one than it is to make a move in the other direction.</p>
<p>Good luck to your family.</p>
<p>Lot’s of good advice above. I’m wondering what you think an MBA will help her do? At her age it would indeed be hard to have access to the jobs young MBA’s seek. The CPA sounds like a good plan.</p>
<p>Please don’t be like the many parents who are so intent on their kids’ next step that they forget to express appreciation for what their kids have achieved.</p>
<p>nicely put
congrats to your mom!</p>
<p>It’s nice to see the pride and consideration for your mother in your post. Obviously, you are well meaning. Maybe you could share some of the posted comments – there is a lot of good, practical advice here. Otherwise, be careful not to overstep. Your mother probably has her reasons and might be willing to share them with you if you can listen without too much of your own agenda. She may be an immigrant and used to a different culture, but she has the wisdom of experience.</p>