International student: Dilemma regarding business majors

Student Lounge International Students
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<p>Hello Guys!!. Hope your all good.</p>

<p>I could really use some advice regarding applying. Perhaps a brief background may help out.</p>

<p>I finished my high school 2011 top of my class, top 3% in the school and in top 10% in the country (roughly GPA of 3.85/4.0).
I then went ahead to pursue a professional credential, ACCA (UK based Chartered Accountancy course) which I am completing this year round Dec 13. I also got a degree from Oxford Brookes University, UK. after completing 9 papers of ACCA and a research thesis ( This degree suffices as a 3yr equivalent degree).
I also have work experience of 2 years (till now) in a big4 audit firm in my country. Currently, I am 20 years of age</p>

<p>I want to go ahead and do MBA in USA. but I am not sure whether i satisfy the basic entry requirements since most univ. require 4 yr degrees and require me to start from Undergraduate studies. Whats your say on this?</p>

<p>Also supposing that i am not eligble and i instead choose to apply for a transfer into probably 3rd year undergrad studies BBA (junior year). Is there a website where i can know that college credits i can get from my previous degree?</p>

<p>Please If you can drop in some of your advice, it will be really appreciated.
I am not able to decide whether I should apply as graduate or undergrad. especially after doing ACCA. </p>

<p>Actually if your able to help, please just read the brief background and help out.</p>

<p>Thanks & regards</p>

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<p>Typically the European BA is considered equal to an American BA since the national exams like ALevels are considered like a 13th year or credit-bearing AP type classes (even if it’s 12 years long stricto sensu).
The MBA will also require you to have 2 years work experience, which you have.
So overall you should be good to go for the MBA.
You can of course try to apply to the top schools like Wharton (Penn), Sloan (MIT), Haas (UCB)… At Penn and Sloan you might be able to get financial aid.
For accounting, BYU (Provo in particular) is highly ranked but easier to get into than the previously cited schools. USC and NYU are other two favorites.
You could ask the undergraduate schools directly if you can apply as a transfer or not.</p>

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<p>

There is no such website. Every university will do their own transfer credit evaluation, usually after you are admitted. They will go through every single course on your transcript and decide if / how many transfer credits you will receive for that course.</p>

<p>FYI, if you transfer to an American undergraduate program, you’ll mostly be taking general education classes to finish your degree. Your British degree probably has plenty of business classes already, but you may not have taken the foreign language, math, science, history, etc classes you’d need for an American college degree. </p>

<p>If I were you, I would just focus on those MBA programs that would accept your current degree for admission.</p>

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<p>First of all… Thank u guys for ur replies.!!.. means a lot to me.</p>

<p>From your posts, you all are pointing towards MBA. Thanks. That`s helpful in my decision</p>

<p>@b@r!um. Thanxs for posting. I think m going to head for MBA given that i already studied all those business courses in ACCA and doing undergrad. and general education seems like taking a step back. If you could suggest some unis. ( I have already listed down a few but getting opinion from people is better than computer filtered searches).</p>

<p>@MYOS1634. Thanxs for ur post!! I communicated to some unis. but apparently criteria was tight and 3 yr degrees are not acceptable. Unis. need 4 yrs of undergrad. to qualify for grad. studies.
Also thanxs for listing out the unis. I had checked them out but they have so expensive in terms of fees like NYU (Stern), USC, MIT (Sloan) and scholarships are so competitive so although i manage to get through, i wont be able to get a full merit scholarship to fund my tuition at least. Hey. maybe if u know some good schools with medium cost and offer merit scholarships, that would be grateful.</p>

<p>One last. From all the grad. college websites i was reading, i noted that average age is 25years. This may sound silly, But m 20 years currently and that course structure looked like it was designed for guys already managers or future managers and stuff like that.
so does age have anything to do with that, i dont want to be in “odd man out” situations. haha</p>

<p>Once again. Thanks a lot for taking your time to reply.
Very much appreciated.</p>

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<p>MBA programs (accredited ones) require at least 2 years and more typically 3-5 years of work, typically as a manager. So most people have a BA or BS (=21-22) and work 2-5 years
(24-27 in MBA). All of them are adults, not “students”. I agree there’s a huge difference between being 20 and being 25, so you might feel more comfortable as a transfer to a top undergraduate business program, or even to a major that you’d be good at, in a top liberal arts college.
You don’t need a business degree to get into an MBA, in fact top MBA programs appreciate liberal arts graduates, especially those with strong quantitative skills, and engineering (but you can’t transfer into engineering).
General education is considered very important in the US, studying only one topic is considered too narrow and more “vocational” than “professional”; a college-educated person is supposed to have read some literature, have an understanding about various groups in the US and outside in the world, to speak another language, to know history and science at least enough to understand what’s going on, etc. It’s far from “a step backwards”, especially at top colleges. </p>

<p>So, you’re saying the MBA programs objected to your European BS and wanted an extra year? Or are you saying you contacted undergraduate colleges and they stated you’d transfer as a junior (3rd year, typically the highest you can transfer as)?
Email various schools to ask whether someone with a European BS* would be considered for transfer into the undergraduate business program or as an applicant to the MBA program.

  • you have to indicate “A-Levels + British Bachelor in Accounting”</p>

<p>How much can you pay?
There’s very little money for international transfers, but MBA programs are expensive too.</p>

<p>Another solution for you might be to apply to graduate school for a Master’s degree. If you had a lot of advanced math, you can apply for Economics. If not, look into accounting programs or any other program for which you may be qualified. Many graduate programs are funded (ie you don’t have to pay to attend). You’d have to take the GRE, of course. THEN with that year you may be able to apply for an MBA?</p>

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<p>Thanx again MYOS1634.!!</p>

<p>From your post, I would like to say;</p>

<p>Some univs. that i had checked out earlier donot accept transfer students that already have a bachelor degree like how i do. Maybe if you have a few suggestions in mind ?
I agree with you that General Ed. is important but repeating subjects like history, literature which i dreaded in high school but i eventually passed them highly. This would be a nightmare. haha… But lets see, if undergrad. is the option to go. then i will be left with no choice.</p>

<p>Moving on to grad. school talk. Yes. i communicated to some schools and they need 4 yrs undergrad… no 3 yr degrees ( check out UH-Bauer website. its written clearly). Well, now shifting my concern towards the age criteria. I know i may sound silly, but all those grad. schools have professionals. I am not saying that i am not an adult or mature enough but still, it would be intimidating. </p>

<p>Regarding fees, I would really want full merit scholarships if possible. I may be able to chip into schools that are averagely around $ 20k or less because if i get a lower amount of scholarship then i would still be able to handle the rest of the tuition plus living costs.
based on my past academics. i am trying out for merit based scholarships. Hopefully i get one. fingers crossed.</p>

<p>Second Last, i had choosen a few areas like Boston, California, NY, NJ, Houston, Florida. I think i may have choosen expensive states but as an international student, i would want to be in a good town from start rather than having to move around from a sub-urban town to an urban town later. </p>

<p>Lastly, You have been of great help. Maybe you can help me take a decision step.
If it were you. ( 20 yrs of age, Bachelor degree , ACCA & CPA in pocket, and job as an audit associate at a big4 firm in the hand and wanting to move to USA). What could you do next?

  • I know its alot but just narrow it down. </p>

<p>Thanxs alot.
Regards.</p>

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<p>You are not going to get a scholarship for an MBA. MBAs are expensive on purpose: they are designed to make money for the university. Students either pay for MBAs out of pocket (not unreasonable since MBA programs expect several years of high-level work experience) or take out loans.</p>

<p>Not to be mean, but I don’t think you are a good candidate for MBA programs at this point. There seem to be two kinds of MBA programs: MBA programs that teach basic business courses, meant for career changers with a non-business undergraduate degree; and MBA programs for seasoned business professionals. </p>

<p>Also be aware that the value of an MBA degree derives from two factors: the reputation of the university and the connections you make while you are there. So, be picky when you decide where to apply and don’t settle for the cheaptest program you find.</p>

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<p>The suggestions I gave were to help you find a way around your problem.

  • At this point, it sounds as if you can’t apply to the MA or the MBA before a 4th year, and you can’t apply as an undergrad because you already have an undergraduate degree.
    See if some schools would accept you for a Masters Degree in Accounting or a CPA with your European BA. Look into it school by school.
  • At the schools that interest you but don’t accept your European degree, email the grad school but also (most importantly) the Accounting grad program and indicate you have a European BS but apparently the A-Levels + UK 3-year specialization is not sufficient, so would you be allowed to do an American 4th year to demonstrate you’re ready to start graduate school in Accounting? Indicate you’re already working for a Top4 firm.
  • Ask the people at your firm who studied in the US: what did they do? Where did they go to school? Can they recommend you somewhere (ie as an alumnus)?
  • See if your firm can “transfer” you to a US branch. From there, see if you can be sponsored to take classes in the US.
  • See if you can do a “4th year” in Europe, for example in Scotland, or a “M1” year anywhere on the Continent.
    In any case, there are no scholarships for MBA. There will not be a scholarship for a 4th year (if they even accept that). Only Masters are funded (not all) and it’s not need-based, only merit-based - make sure to prepare the GRE.</p>
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<p>Thank you all for your reply!!.</p>

<p>@b@r!um… Thanx for that… Don`t worry, that stuff u said earlier was not mean. Its quite helpful. MBA programs i read have been tailored specifically for managers and guys up the chain. Doing MBA now would be like taking a leap of faith. Never-the-less, lets see how stuff goes while i try to read articles and get advice from here and there.</p>

<p>@MYOS1634. tHanx for ur help as well… I will try my options. Maybe i may start as a junior at an undergrad. school… Like u said, I am definitely going to do CPA Usa. I was anyways going to do it as a side course while studying in the USA… </p>

<p>Once again… Very much appreciated your posts. Thanks so much.</p>

<p>I will keep you guys updated the minute i get my hands on something.
Thanxs!!</p>

<p>Regards</p>