Am I ready for an MBA?

<p>Hello, my name is Chris and I am new to this forum. I am seeking advice in regards to pursuing an MBA directly out of my undergrad. Many members on this forum seem very knowledgeable and I would appreciate any help!
I will be graduating from a large, state school with a BBA in Marketing in the Summer of 2011. My overall GPA will be a shade over 3.0, with my upper level GPA at a 3.25. Circumstances in my life have forced me to have to work, full-time, since 2002. I have managed to also attend school, full-time, while working. I now have 6 years of salaried restaurant/retail management experience, and I am currently a mid-level manager in a top retail company. I have yet to take the GMAT, though I will be taking it towards the end of this upcoming Spring semester.
My main question is this: Will the amount of full-time management experience that I have (1) allow me a chance to get into a good MBA program directly out of my undergrad, and (2) will my work experience through my undergrad enhance my "less-than-stellar" GPA? If I am unable to get into a good MBA program, what can I do in the future to get in the door? Note: these questions are based on the premise that I do well on the GMAT, once I take it.
Any advice is much appreciated!</p>

<p>Chris</p>

<p>Schools typically only count the post-UG work experience. However, you can use your UG experience to explain away your low GPA. If you want to go to a top program, you should tried to work a few more years and apply.</p>

<p>Don’t get an MBA right now. Your experience will not get you into a top program and there is limited benefit to getting an MBA right now if it isn’t a top program. Maybe do a specialized masters if you are really looking for a graduate education. </p>

<p>My vote is to keep working.</p>

<p>As a professor, who has seen MANY a student working full time while going to school, something does not add up. What kind of undergrad school could you go to where you can work full time AND go to school full time and make a 3.25? It sounds either not very rigorous, or, more likely, you are going to try to convince some future adcom that somehow you worked 40 hrs a week while an undergrad. I can’t see anyone buying that.</p>

<p>@starbright:</p>

<p>I have indeed managed to pull a 3.25 (upper division) GPA while working full time in a management role; however, I will have spent 5 1/2 years on my undergrad by the time I graduate. I had to find some maturity and time management skills early on in my college career. I go to school at the University of North Texas. Starbright, the point you bring up is valid and is also of concern to me. I always told myself that the work experience would pay off, but your point has me worried. Could you give me your opinion on the quality of UNT’s business program? That is, if you are familiar with it? And will a company really not buy my work up to this point??</p>

<p>@MSFHQsite and liu02bhs:</p>

<p>Thank you both for your input. My reasoning for wanting an MBA now is this: (1) I am worried that if I do not start on my MBA now, I may never start on it. (2) After taking most of my professional level marketing classes, I feel more inclined to pursue a management or human resources masters concentration. PLUS, (3) people at my company with MBA’s are getting promoted at a rapid clip. They have about the same work experience as I do. Thoughts? I am really unsure of what do to and any advice is appreciated!</p>

<p>What are my chances?</p>

<p>Tim
Georgia Tech Undergrad
BS Management 3.5gpa
700gmat
2 internships during undergrad (3 months each)
Full-Time position at IT Consulting Firm (7months)
CCNA and CCENT certifications</p>

<p>My top choice is UCLA. I want to make a career change from IT to ibanking. </p>

<p>Any tips? I dont have extracurriculars because I travel 90% for work and cant commit.
I can get good recs. I make $55k and will get promoted to $62k this year. Should I continue to work or apply after a year?</p>

<p>I think you need more work experience. As of now you have 7 months of experience…you need that to be around 2 at the minimum and 3 would be ideal.</p>

<p>@ Starbright - I worked 50-60 hours a week (I have pay stubs to prove it) and commuted an hour each way, while taking 18 credit hours a semester at Syracuse University and graduated with higher than a 3.25. It can be done, you just need to be determined.</p>

<p>It is important to understand how admissions to various MBA programs work. For example, Harvard Business School admitted someone with a GMAT score of 490 in 2009 (my source for this was an interview with someone on the admissions panel at HBS on the website Poets and Quants…but I can’t find the article right now). But we all know that is not the entire story. The truth is, most B-Schools are trying to build a great collection of people for their cohorts. It is not just about the numbers on your GMAT and GPA and not only about the school that you went to. Of course each program is different in regards to the extent to which they take these other factors into consideration. However there are many books and websites out there that have key feedback regarding this from people who sat on admissions panels at the top B-Schools. It is worth it to even go out to Barnes & Noble and spend $20 on a good “insiders book” to MBA admissions.</p>

<p>I do not know the MBA-specific aspirations of the original poster. Depending on your goals, and depending on the program you are looking to get into, I see no issue with going straight from undergrad into an MBA program. After all, that is what I did. In my case, I dropped out of college the first time around. Worked in real estate for 5 years, then returned to earn my BA. Although I received almost all As in my last 45 hours of coursework, my previous GPA was low, and I graduated with a 3.12 GPA. My GMAT also wasn’t stellar, but it was solid enough to make me competitive for the public, state universities that I was shooting for (my GMAT score was 560). My personal goal was that I wanted to study business on an advanced level. Coupled with my liberal arts degree, my professional experience, and my ongoing accomplishments, I am looking to pursue various professional opportunities. I feel that an MBA will add to my credentials greatly. Since this was my goal (an nothing more concrete), I wanted two main things 1) an MBA from an AACSB accredited program, and 2) an MBA that was cheap. I got both (I’m sorry, but whatever the benefits, I was not going to spend $50K on an MBA…and that is ‘cheap’ for many of the top-tier programs!).</p>

<p>I am not going to jump on the bandwagon and try to determine the value of anyone’s MBA. I used to work for a woman who had an MBA from a non-AACSB accredited school who made six-figures; I also know of people who never went to graduate school who also make six-figures. There are no guarantees in life. But I will say that the coursework in my MBA program at least would be very difficult…if not downright impossible if you did not have some type of work (preferably management) experience coming in. If not, then you are just learning theory with no way to translate it over into something that is meaningful to you (the only way that you can really learn).</p>

<p>So my opinion is that if you are going for a non-top tier program and on a part-time basis, I see no reason why you shoudn’t get your MBA now. Will your employeer reimburse you for it? If so, it’s a win-win. Remember, this is if you are looking at non-top-tier programs. If top-tier programs are your goal, then just quit and be gung-ho about it and go for a full-time MBA program. Of course, you may need to found an internet company or something in order to gain admission in the first place!</p>