<p>I was wondering if people could give me insight into my current situation. I am thinking of moving back home to Atlanta to get an MBA (goal of consulting) at Georgia Tech. I have a B.S. in Psychology from Duke with a 3.14 GPA (first two years were terrible, but 3rd was a 3.4 and senior year was 3.6). I took the GRE last summer (600 V 750 Q 5.0 W). As far as work experience, I worked 10 hours/week as a sophomore and junior, full time summer after junior year, 20 hours/week as a senior, and have worked full time since September 2010. All of this work has been doing independent research (designing and programming behavioral experiments and also fMRI experiments, analyzing the data) and I have 3 publications that are in preparation on this work (should all be submitted and accepted hopefully by the end of the year). As far as leadership potential: Eagle Scout, and I also helped start a student-run recording studio (funded entirely by Duke =) ) and label as a freshman and worked in the studio all 4 years and was the President as a senior. I have three great references, all from big name psych professors who have employed me.</p>
<p>Do I have a chance with my current resume, or should I work a year or two in a more business-related job? I believe my profile matches or exceeds the "participant profile" at this school, but I'm having an especially hard time finding out what is considered to be "work experience" since business schools seem to accept applicants with diverse backgrounds. Do my 2 years of full-time work experience actually "count" here? While my current job may not seem relevant to business or consulting, it has given me invaluable research, analytical, and computational skills that will help when I am in business school, and I have read in a few places that schools really value those kinds of skills. Also, it's hard enough to find a business job out of undergrad with an actual business degree, so I am inclined to apply to the MBA program now (deadline is April 15) instead of working for a year or two and then applying.</p>
<p>Wish I could help but I have the same question as you. I hope someone can give us some advice.</p>
<p>I graduated with a sociology major, pscyh minor 3.98 GPA. I want to get an MBA and Im wondering what classes I have to go back and take. Also, like you I cant get a business job without a business degree…so getting the business experience for the mba is real difficult.</p>
<p>Your steady upward trend in GPA is always good. However, getting some solid work experience in business/management will only strengthen your application. Most respectable MBA programs require at least 2 years of work experience anyway. Keep in mind that MBA programs are much more about networking and applying real world experience than they are about learning out of a book. </p>
<p>Psychology degrees are respected in business program admissions, so it does not hurt you. But remember that you are competing with professionals who have worked in business and other fields for a number of years, or who had related internships during undergrad. Your work experience sounds excellent for an advanced degree in research, but might not look so special for consulting. </p>
<p>I have a BA in psychology and have worked as a sales leader, and now I am a human resources manager. I could potentially work my way up to an operations manager (I’ve only been out of college 1 year, and I’ve seen people move up into that position in about 1 - 3 years), so it is possible to break into business and management without a business degree. You might have to start small and work your way up, but if you really want it, it is achievable. </p>
<p>That’s not to say you shouldn’t try now if you’d like. If you can afford the admissions process, it doesn’t hurt to apply. If you get in, great. If not, then you know what you need to do over the next year or two to make your application stronger.</p>
<p>Work experience, GMAT/GRE score, GPA, letters of recommendation, essay, interview, quality of undergraduate institution, weight of paper college diploma is printed on, school colors for your high school, blood type, and number of letters in your fathers mothers middle name (in order) more than what your major was.</p>
<p>Really, b-school is all about your leadership potential. This is demonstrated mostly thought work experience and GMAT score, and a bit through your undergrad performance. Leaders come from all backgrounds, so don’t sweat what your major is. Focus on work experience and how to write your essays (and really your whole application packet) to sell yourself to the school.</p>