<p>Undergrad: University of North Texas
Major: Decision Science (Business Analytics & IT)
Honors College Distinguished Achievement Award (1 in 17 all-time to receive the award)
GPA: 4.0
GMAT: 390
Extracurriculars: Eagle PPA, Chess Club, Sports Marketing Association
Work experience: none
Age: 22
Race: caucasian american
Legacy: none</p>
<p>1) If you are looking to get into an MBA program, pretty much all of the top schools require a few years of significant work experience which you lack. 2) Unless they changed the GMAT scoring scale (from what I remember it is a 800 scale), yours are way too low.</p>
<p>@happy1 whoops typo, it didn’t let me edit the post but no my GMAT is 790 out of 800, not 390. My bad</p>
<p>You really need work experience from a fortune 50 corporation. Not just any job.</p>
<p>Well that GMAT is obviously a big difference. But you will still multiple years of very good work experience before the top MBA schools will consider you. I suggest you put the idea of a MBA aside for now and focus you attention on getting a good job.</p>
<p>@Madaboutx @happy1</p>
<p>Thing is I just know I won’t want to go BACK to school after I’m out in the “real world” (job) for more than a few months or so. If I were to work for say, 3-4 years after college, I would be age 25-26, married, and probably making at least 90k by then (analytics)… well on my way to purchasing a nice mini mansion… there’s no way I would be willing to sacrifice all that for the whole juvenile academics scene again… plus, it’s pointless having over $100K in long term accounts payables when my goal is to be successful and rich young… I don’t want to be having kids when I’m still in school, paying off debt, and living in a slummy apartment… tbh… it’s now or never for the MBA…</p>
<p>1) If you can get on such a successful track so quickly you don’t need an MBA 2) You should apply if you want, but know that your chances to get in will be lower because you are lacking the work component that the top schools look for. 3) The scene at the top MBA schools will be very different from your undergrad experience – you will be in school with a group of mature people who gave up serious jobs for the chance to go back to a top college and earn a MBA – in general they will be serious about academics and their career and not into the partying lifestyle you may have experienced as an undergrad. 4) You should try to seek out some programs where work experience is not a critical part of the admission process.</p>
<p>Then don’t go to Harvard or Stanford since they won’t take you without any work experience and attend a state university instead.</p>
<p>And hopefully, your $90k isn’t being earned in DC, NJ, NYC, LA or some other major metro area or your mini-mansion will look a lot like a townhouse.</p>
<p>Edited out an overly political statement for this thread. - FC</p>
<p>I thought the response to the suggestion to get some work experience was a little pollyanna-ish and replied with the opposite in tone. Now I see what a downer it is and I don’t want to squash any optimism someone may have for the future with my dour reply. I’ve been around the block a few times so maybe I forgot for a moment what it’s like to be young, smart and energetic. Sorry about that. </p>
<p>I’ll just say go for it, life throws curves, take them as they come and always swing for the fences.</p>
<p>Even if you were admitted without work experience, graduating with an MBA without work experience won’t necessarily qualify you for a better job than what you’d get right now as an undergrad - you’re still bringing no experience to the table. So if you think you’d be successful working and not going back for an MBA, then why get it at all? </p>
<p>If the salary/marriage/kids/mini mansion thing works out that perfectly for you, there are all kinds of online and part-time MBA programs you can complete while continuing to work and have a family life. The MBA is meant to compliment your experiences and bring a more rich discussion to the classroom. Not much to discuss, nor can you appropriately relate topics to real world business if you’ve never worked there.</p>
<p>I suggest that if the MBA is something you really want to do, then do it right and make it a valuable investment - get some quality work experience first (at least 2 years), and then either go back full-time if you can, or choose a more flexible program to fit around the life you create in those 2 years.</p>
<p>@Madaboutx
@NovaLynnx
@NYCguy2020 </p>
<p>Yeah I definitely know that I won’t want to do academics at all when I’ve been out of school for awhile/engaged/settled or whatever.</p>
<p>And my money is going to be earned in Texas, not some high priced hipster infested area. Screw high taxes.</p>
<p>Some edits made. Political comments not allowed in this section of CC. - FC</p>
<p>@unhurricane2013 This thread is about people giving you advice, comments. If you don’t like what you read you can feel free to ignore it. As I said earlier, if you want you should apply and see what happens. While I certainly understand why you wouldn’t want to go back to school after working, that is the way most of the top MBA programs are set up. The theory being that the academic component will be more valuable to those who have had practical work experience and that different work experiences can be shared as part of the academic process. </p>
<p>If you are from TX perhaps see if UT-Austin might take people with no work experience.</p>
<p>The comment about having to work at a Fortune 50 company is off base, I think. Any significant work experience where you have shown you are the type to rise to the top is very persuasive. But the very top schools do look for star students who have also shown some promise in the workplace for a few years, most of the time. However, there are excellent MBA programs that will carry a lot of weight locally and regionally, such as at UT Austin or SMU. Nationally they are not as prominent, but since it appears you are focused on Texas you don’t need to worry about that. Then after a few years of working and a couple of promotions, where you got your MBA is not nearly so important, only that you have one.</p>
<p>You certainly don’t know what you “definitely won’t” want to do years from now - no one can know that. I wanted nothing more than to pursue my PhD when I graduated college, but I ended up working first to pay down loans and fell into a great career path - one that I had never even considered before. Now my plans have changed. I also expected to at least be in a serious relationship, but I’m glad that I’m single and able to move anywhere and pursue anything without trying to drag someone along with me. </p>
<p>As we grow, mature and learn more about ourselves, the world, and what we want from it, things can change. I would suggest that you look at this with a more open mind. Apply if you want to and see what happens. But if you are rejected, at least consider that it can still be an option later on in life. You will NEED to consider this, otherwise if you are rejected, it will seem like your dreams are shattered - but they’re not. Maybe you’ll decide never to bother going back. You may never need an MBA. But maybe you will decide it’s worth it after a few years’ experience.</p>
<p>Or, do what others suggested and look for schools that will admit without work experience if it really must be “now or never.” </p>
<p>@NovaLynnx </p>
<p>1) Each to his own, but… I’d rather be dead than single past say, 27… that’s just too old to be alone for me and my family line… I’m extremely traditional and my moral compass clashes greatly against this 21st century millennial hipster “independent” excuse for living…</p>
<p>2) I feel MBA is pretty much worthless unless I’m going to a top tier school… those are the ones that shell out $300k/year salaries and up after the program… I can easily get up to the $100k range in a couple years after graduating from undergrad with my major, so why would I want to accrue ~$150k in accounts payable and continue wasting the best/healthiest/non-married years of my life for a middling MBA school when it’s not really going to lift me farther in salary that what I can make without going back to school?</p>
<p>3) I’m not necessarily “focused” on Texas. I’m an opportunist. There are other good business states out there with good wages and relatively low cost of living, such as Nebraska, North Dakota, etc. Of course, if a business with HQ in California offers me a job starting at $200k a year I’m not going to turn it down…</p>
<p>Well, if you’re going to make major life decisions because you’ve hit a deadline, then so be it. But a $300k salary isn’t guaranteed, nor will you get it fresh out of school with zero work experience to bring to the table. You are ambitious but seem to lack an understanding of the corporate world. There is a reason top school graduates earn high salaries - the graduates have the prestigious degree AND impressive work histories, and therefore evidence of success in similar roles. Once you excel in your first job, your college background will mean less and less over time on a resume. They will want to see what you’ve actually accomplished in the field.</p>
<p>You’re right that top business school MBAs carry more weight than lower ranking programs, but lower ranking programs are not worthless if the individual has the right plan. The plan to attend a top ranking program with nothing more than evidence you do well in the classroom won’t necessarily impress adcomms, and your extracurriculars do not show impressive leadership skill. That does not mean you have <em>no</em> chance of getting in, just that you will not be a top pick among applicants with similar stats and impressive work experience. Like I said, you’re bringing nothing but your studies to the discussion.</p>
<p>It sounds like you’ve already made the decision to apply, and if rejected you will simply never go back. That’s your decision, but keep in mind people here are offering advice to increase your chances of success in what you want to do, not to tear you down and say you can never do it. It just might not play out the way you want and you need to be aware of prepared for that.</p>
<p>I still say go for it and wish all your dreams come true on time.</p>
<p>I am going to close this thread because it has no purpose. The OP seems to have very fixed ideas, and so it makes zero difference if people replying think he is “good enough” for Harvard or Wharton or he isn’t. Just apply. You either get in or you don’t.</p>