<p>The schools with top MBA programs, like Harvard, Stanford, Dartmouth, Northwestern, and Chicago, don't even have undergrad b-school.</p>
<p>They always talk about the importance of liberal arts education and breadth of knowledge.</p>
<p>So... is it a disadvantage to attend undergrad b-school when it comes to MBA admission?</p>
<p>Say..</p>
<p>Will NYU Stern or UMich Ross or UCB Haas students have difficut time getting into those MBA schools like Harvard, Stanford, Tuck, and Kellogg?</p>
<p>if you get an undergrad degree in business, you shouldnt need to go back to school to get a masters degree in business. becasue when you get your undergrad in business, you should be working in a business related field, like i banking, consulting, accoutning, real estate, operations, or in the business departmnet of some corporation. </p>
<p>the MBA degree is really for people who want to to make the TRANSITION into the field of business. like engineers who want to get into middle and top management of the compnay they work for. </p>
<p>now lets say you do business for undergrad. in this case you should of have been working in business related field, for atleats 5 years before even considering to apply to business school. at that point you should already be in middle management and on your way up to top management. in which case their is no need to go back to school and do your MBA. and if you graduate from a top program like stern, haas or ross, you should be doing VERY well, and at that point you will realize that going back to school for two years and paying $150 worth of tuition and not working at the same time is a poor business decision. this is why you dont see many u grad business majors go back to get their MBA, but you do see a lot engineering, science, and social science majors go back to school.</p>
<p>so, the question for you to ask yourself if you want a liberal arts undergrad education or a business undergrad education. if you want a liberal arts education, i suggest you start worrying about your MBA degree 5 years after you graduate, not now. your situation will probably totally different than you expect. if you want a business undergrad degree, then i suggest you try very hard to get into a top notch program, so that you want have to go back to school.</p>
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if you get an undergrad degree in business, you shouldnt need to go back to school to get a masters degree in business. becasue when you get your undergrad in business, you should be working in a business related field, like i banking, consulting, accoutning, real estate, operations, or in the business departmnet of some corporation.
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<p>This is a load of crap. What do you do if you are consulting, but don't truly enjoy it, but are interested in I-banking? What happens when you talk to a top real estate development firm and they tell you that they only hire MBAs. What if you are in corporate finance but you hit a wall and are unable to advance without an MBA (which is quite common)?</p>
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the MBA degree is really for people who want to to make the TRANSITION into the field of business. like engineers who want to get into middle and top management of the compnay they work for.
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<p>LMAO @ this. The worst use of an MBA is to use it to go BACK to the company you came from. Aside from that, many of the engineers that go back to business school already have a business role (ie sales, operations, project management).</p>
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now lets say you do business for undergrad. in this case you should of have been working in business related field, for atleats 5 years before even considering to apply to business school.
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<p>If you are a super-star, 3 years of post graduate work experience will suffice. This means you would be applying after 2 years.</p>
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at that point you should already be in middle management and on your way up to top management.
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<p>LMAO @ that. After 5 years? Where? Fortune 500? Nope. I banking? Doubt it. Consulting? Nope. Big 4 accounting? If you are a superstar (normally no need for an MBA at those firms).</p>
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and at that point you will realize that going back to school for two years and paying $150 worth of tuition and not working at the same time is a poor business decision.
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<p>For most people, an MBA from a top school will open opportunities that are otherwise unattainable. Most people that don't go back for their MBA are scared to take the risk (or put in the work)...the subset of former business undergrads that would be better off without the MBA is very small.</p>
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this is why you dont see many u grad business majors go back to get their MBA, but you do see a lot engineering, science, and social science majors go back to school.
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<p>At top schools, undergrad business majors generally account for 20-35% of the class profile.</p>
<p>Not sure how important MBA degree is now. Many IB do not require their analysts to get MBA after 2 years. My daughter will eventually work in a financial institution someday, and most likely IB, just because she's had many role models growing up. I purposely did not encourage her to go to an undergraduate business school, but instead to get a broader liberal arts education (double major in math and economics, supplement it with art history, music and literature). After she's had some real life expereince, then she could decide if MBA would be necessary for advancement. 10-20 years ago, it was a must to have an MBA to advance in IB - 2 yrs analyst program, 2 years MBA, 2 years associate, then VP, Principal, MD. It's not the case any more. Many IBs and hedge funds do not look at MBA as a must. It is useful for people with engineering or other undergraduate degrees to get MBA in order to change into other fields, as mentioned by the above post.</p>
<p>I personally think undergraduate business degree is very limiting. Frankly, business courses are just not that difficult, relative to math or engineering. I imagine the reason those top business schools like liberal arts students is because to be a good business person, you need to be multi-dimensional</p>
<p>^ i agree with what was said above. i just wanted to add that a lot of people go for the business connections as well as for the education, so even if it might not be challenging (i've heard it's very fast paced, but in terms of difficulty as compared to other graduate fields i have no clue)</p>
<p>"Will NYU Stern or UMich Ross or UCB Haas students have difficut time getting into those MBA schools like Harvard, Stanford, Tuck, and Kellogg?"</p>
<p>it all depends on what you want. in terms of getting into a top 10 business school, i wouldn't say a difficult time. they will be somewhat more knowledgeable, but b-schools start from the beginning. you take classes in finance/accounting, management, everything really, so it's not a bid advantage. the vast majority of people change professions several times throughout their lives and often end up doing something not related to their majors in college. so use that as a guideline and do what you like.</p>
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you take classes in finance/accounting, management, everything really, so it's not a bid advantage.
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<p>If you are in a top business school that releases grades to employers, people from an accounting/finance background (ie worked in that, not necessarily majored in it) have a tremendous advantage because post graduate employment is highly dependant on 1st semester grades (ie internships are given based on these grades, and interns generally receive full-time offers).</p>
<p>Considering that only 10-15% of the class will receive an A and everyone is highly competitive, this is very important. Also, consider that some of the most desired jobs (like Private Equity) will only be available to those with a finance background.</p>
<p>business classes may not be as difficult as engineering but they certainly are as hard as many in most liberal arts schools which would include things like history, poli sci, sociology etc none of which are very difficult either. I doubt even 5% of MBA students were math majors--even at top schools.
Also unless you go to a very highly ranked LAC you will have a very hard time getting any good business jobs, especially in IB. Maybe that's why so many end up in PhD programs.</p>
<p>Most history, poli sci or sociology will not go into IB. I have hired/worked with philosophy, engineering, computer science and math majors. It is much harder to do multi variable calculus/linear algebra, then to do PV of future cashflows/pricing of options or derivatives. Engineers and mathematicians are problem solvers and are very analytical (so are philosophers). They are very desirable especially if they could walk and talk at the same time, and they are indeed rare breed. The ones that couldn't do end up in PHD programs, and that's why PhDs do not get paid as well.</p>
<p>I believe many such liberal arts majors at the top target schools get hired into IB. Most dealmaking is just cash flows and such anyway. How much advanced math is really used by 90% of Ibankers? I'd wager not that much.</p>