D is a freshman at college; Is it too early to start looking into MBA schools?

Parent Cafe
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<p>I was a math/science major undergrad, consulted for three years at a top firm and then went to Kellogg (was also admitted to Stanford). I was among the youngest in my class at business school (started at 24) and did well, but mainly b/c I had such diverse experiences in my consulting job. Here are a couple of thoughts:</p>

<p>The people who came in through direct admit programs (Kellogg had one where Northwestern undergrads were admitted during their senior year and they went and did a one year internship stint and then came back to Kellogg) did not do as well students with experience in classes or in the summer internship/career placement. So, my recommendation is work on getting an interesting job, making advances in that job and finding a mentor that will help her do great projects and get great experiences she can use to apply to school (and also use to make what you learned more relevant when she actually goes to business school).</p>

<p>Business school is not that hard academically, so she shouldn’t double-major to better prepare herself for business school. I had never taken an economics, finance or accounting class in undergrad and aced all of the advanced finance and accounting classes in business school. I learned a ton in business school and it was a great experience, but it wasn’t academically challenging. </p>

<p>Finally, this is sometimes an unpopular notion, but I don’t think attending a business school outside of the Top 10-15 schools is worth it financially unless she ends up attending to make a career change or she attends a highly regarded local school in an area she plans to stay in. You could argue that if she’s sponsored by her employer, it might be worth it to attend a lesser known school…but even then I’m not sure…it would depend on the ultimate career goal.</p>

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<p>Thanks molliebatmit 5 year MEngg does look like an interesting option if she goes for MBA after 3 -4 yrs of work experience as it should provide the depth in her field of interest.</p>

<p>Thanks bulletandpima: I’m sure she can handle the work load but I’m not sure if it is worth the effort. It might be more fruitfull to keep the semester long internship to gain practical work experience than to spend time doing addition theory in finance. It is true that her interpersonal skills might be more useful once she enters the workforce.</p>

<p>Thanks 2plus2, I’ve not talked to D with regard to earlier MBA but wanted to find information so that I can talk to her with some knowledge once she is back after the first semester.</p>

<p>Thanks oldcmcalum: I’m of the same opinion that if you cannot get into a top B school then it might not be worth it.</p>