<pre><code> I was just wondering if it would be better to go to business school then law school right out of undergrad. I am fairly certain that I want to do both paths (because of my prospective career) but I am unsure whether to apply Business or Law first. I have considered mba/jd programs but in most you must be admitted separately in differing years. I thought of doing business school first because it seems less rigorous and more connected to my undergraduate course work (accounting). I have a high GPA (3.84) and high test scores (710 gmat, 170 lsat), and have worked 40+ hrs week bank manager throughout undergrad. with these stats would I be more likely to get in to a top 20 b-school first or law school first or does it not matter? I appreciate any input.
</code></pre>
<p>Most of the people I know who went the JC/MBA route did the first year of law school, then the first year of business school, and a mixture of the two for the final two years.</p>
<p>Most of them applied simultaneously to both schools. </p>
<p>My own view is that if you're not going to practice law, having a J.D. isn't that much more useful to a business career than having just an MBA. Moreover, I haven't been able to discern much of a career advantage for lawyers who also have MBAs.</p>
<p>Very few MBA programs will admit people right out of UG. Most require several years of work experience. </p>
<p>I've never heard of applying "in separate years" for a joint JD/MBA program. I may be just way out of the loop, but while you need to apply to both programs, as far as I know, you do it at the same time. Obviously, if you were to get into a MBA program at Chicago and Chicago Law, and into Columbia's MBA program, but rejected from its law school, you're more likely to go to Chicago. Universities know this, and, as far as I've ever heard, are willing to allow you to apply in the same year to both schools and defer one--usually business.</p>
<p>Few career paths require both a JD and an MBA. Since you're probably not in a position to get into a top MBA program now, you should apply to law school. With your numbers, you'll probably get into a top school. From there, you could spend 3-5 years in BIGLAW in a practice area related to something you'd like to work in later. Once you realize you're not going to make partner (and you've paid down your law school loans), you could apply to b-school, and probably get in somewhere much better than you'd be looking at now.</p>
<p>edit: what would the point of that be, luminaire? The OP is probably trying to end up with the best career possible, and many programs that would admit someone straight out of UG simply will not be placing into financial jobs and consulting. Yes, places like HBS and Stanford GSB are starting to admit a few people out of UG, but those people are usually superstars with multiple prestigious internships.</p>
<p>As far as work experience is concerned, how would 4 years in the Air Force JAG corp, public interest, or government (state's attorney, etc.) be perceived for MBA admission? I have a finance degree UG and am currently in law school, but have no desire to do biglaw. Ultimately I want to start my own business or nonprofit and I feel an MBA would help. However, I've heard you need minimum 2 years full time business experience for admission into good MBA programs.</p>
<p>Many people who desire both MBA and JD degrees indeed pursue a joint JD/MBA program as you save a year of tuition and opportunity costs in doing so (the joint program is typically 4 years, versus 3 years for the JD and an extra 2 years for the MBA, if obtained separately). There are schools, including some of the very best programs in the country, where you can apply for the MBA program while you are in your first year of law school. The work experience requirements will be the same, however, and you must apply to the MBA program on the same basis as every other applicant to that program.</p>
<p>In twenty-plus years of practicing law, I've known exactly one attorney who earned an MBA part-time while practicing law full-time. He was in-house.</p>
<p>My general advice is not to bother attending law school unless you want to be a lawyer.</p>
<p>If you want to be a lawyer, three years of practice is much more valuable to your employer than an MBA.</p>
<p>So, I'd say pick: either be a lawyer or go to business school. </p>
<p>Both businesspeople and lawyers are hard-nosed realists: your JD doesn't mean a thing to a business without some practice behind it, and your MBA doesn't mean anything to a law firm (okay, maybe a little, but probably not worth three years' work).</p>
<p>If it's not clear by now, I consider an MBA a negative when I'm interviewing attorneys.</p>
<p>As a headhunter for lawyers, I have had a few job descriptions over the years in which the MBA is required and a few in which the MBA is preferred. These have either been at "biglaw" firms or for in house positions. I have never found it to be a negative, but my clients are typically large law firms, spin-offs of large law firms or corporations.</p>
<p>I have a JD/MBA, and I have found that it has been beneficial in my career largely because the MBA has bought me a lot of credibility with my business clients (I have always been a practicing lawyer since graduation). That said, a good corporate lawyer who understands finance and accounting, and who can "speak the language" (e.g. understanding the differences between GAAP and non-GAAP financials, IRR, NPV calculations, working capital adjustments, cap leases versus operating leases, etc.) and who can add value when discussing these concepts with their clients, is invaluable regardless of whether that lawyer had received a MBA. </p>
<p>The one difference for me, versus some of my similarly situated peers, in my junior and mid-level associate days, was that I was continually offered jobs by my clients in investment banking, private equity and corporate business development. Of course, I did have peers who also received these offers without the benefit of the MBA degree too. </p>
<p>With respect to the OP's post, you will have a tough time getting into a good MBA program without solid, full time, post-graduation work experience, and law school will most certainly not fulfill any kind of work experience requirement for you. If you are serious about the dual degrees, then I would work for a few years after college and then apply to a joint program. Of course, you will have to take both the LSAT and the GMAT and apply to each program separately, and you will be evaualted for admission to each program on your merits for that program without regard for your merits for the other.</p>
<p>Perhaps my exposure has been limited, because all the joint JD/MBA types I've known have been people who appeared to me to be ambivalent about whether they wanted to practice law. While I certainly appreciate the skills an MBA can bring to the table, I am still turned off but what I've seen as a lack of focus on law by those folks. Your mileage may vary, but the OP should bear in mind that he's giving something up on the law side to go after the MBA.</p>