<p>International student from the Sorbonne, rising sophomore, 3.5ish GPA, double-majoring in Economics and History and planning to get an honors masters in International Affairs and right after that, with probably no relevant work experience, an MBA in Missouri (I spent my senior year in high school there as an exchange student.) A concentration on International Business or Finance would be even better.
Does anyone know of a good MBA in the state? What are my chances of working in the US (preferably on the West Coast) with a second-tier MBA?</p>
<p>Thanks a lot.</p>
<p>A few questions first:</p>
<ol>
<li> Why wouldn't you get some work experience first?</li>
<li> Why limit yourself to Missouri?</li>
<li> Why seek an MBA in Missouri if you want to work on the West coast?</li>
</ol>
<p>As for Business schools in Missouri, the only real top notch program is The University of Washington in St Louis. It's a top 30 program. After that, my guess is that The University of St. Louis is the best (but a distant 2nd). There are a bunch of other MBA programs in Missouri after that but I would not recommend any of them.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I don't have the social connections to get internships in business-related fields (it works a lot like that in France)</p></li>
<li><p>I never said I limited myself to Missouri, I indeed do have a few leads outside the state but let's be realistic, I won't get into Ivies or anything fancy... maybe USC/UCLA if I study my ass off but that's it. WashU is just TOO expensive.</p></li>
<li><p>I asked that question for information purposes: I just want to know what my options are quickly so I could get this out of my head and focus on other stuff :) I was interested in Missouri's MBA for a while (low-Top50) but it doesn't look that good.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>If you can't get a job after your undergrad in France, I don't know why a good business school would feel you are a qualified candidate. BTW, your work experience doesn't have to necessarily be in business.</p>
<p>Getting an MBA in Missouri does little to nothing for you to accomplish your goals. If you are not great at networking, why would you go to a school with a limited network in the West Coast (if that is where you want to live)? Would you have been able to somehow get in-state tuition in Missouri? If not, even the University of Missouri (not a top 50 school by any stretch) would still be quite expensive.</p>
<p>Some good schools (like Texas A&M) will waive the out of state tuition on a merit basis.</p>
<p>Regardless, you need work experience for a top 50 program (or even decent programs not listed in the top 50). Period. Don't settle for a mediocre program. Get a job.</p>
<p>Work experience before MBA, focus on landing a good job after undergrad. Stop worrying about MBA you just finished your first year in college. Worry about improving your GPA because a 3.5ish GPA freshmen year isn't very impressive.</p>
<p>At the Sorbonne, being an Economics major with that GPA coming from a non math-related high school education is quite an accomplishment, and in France classes become easier as you advance in your education, in order to weed people out. So I'm not too worried about my GPA. So basically I need to get a job... the thing is that I really really want to get in right after my masters (I'll be applying to grad schools too but it's a different story.) </p>
<p>According to you all I should just forget about Missouri (except maybe for WashU) and apply to West Coast schools, which does make sense after all. The thing is that I'm worried about being too much of a "literary" kind of guy, and business schools would totally pick "numbers" people, coming from math majors and equivalent over me. Should I be worried? I like writing dissertations and foreign languages, which in my opinion would offer some diversity to my potential MBA class, but will adcoms think this way? I already have a job: I interview prospective exchange students for my student organization, and I do other things too, but nothing business-related. If B-schools are not necessairly looking for business-related workers, it should be fine I guess.</p>
<p>Anyway, thanks for your help. I'm pretty sure of what I want from grad school, but I'm not totally certain about this whole MBA thing: it's just that the job market in France is plugged, especially for liberal arts majors, and an relatively renowned american MBA will definitely get me a job within days. Finally, I also heard about getting an MS in Finance, which actually was my first choice. Any advice?</p>
<p>Well, I can't really say how your chances are coming from France because I don't know how hard it is to get into business school from there. (ie I figure it's harder than being from the US but a lot easier than being from India, but how difficult it is, I'm not an expert on that).</p>
<p>However, I can address your other points. Quant/Math is generally more important than verbal skills but good business schools really want well rounded candidates and IMO this is very easy to address. For instance, I come from a tech background. This is a pretty common background to have and one way to set yourself apart as a "Techie" is to have good verbal and communication skills. </p>
<p>I blew away the Verbal part of the GMAT and only faired decently in the Math section. For me, this was perfect. Coming from IT, people will assume I'm a "nerd" and will question my verbal skills. However, due to my GMAT score I actually had Ivy League schools contact me about student assistant jobs involving writing (which in reality is not my thing).</p>
<p>Foreigners often have to worry about the essay/verbal sections of the GMAT but given your experience in the US and your ability to write essays this will not be an issue. You will want to do very well on the math section of the GMAT. If you can blow out that section, suddenly you are a great well rounded candidate.</p>
<p>As for work experience, they mainly want to see experience where you continue to gain responsibilities and move up. It doesn't have to be in business. Although, it would be great if you could use an MBA and re-enter the same field. It's not necessary, but would be a bonus (ie a biochemist that wants to get an MBA to transition into Pharmaceutical sales or some other business area where his previous experience would be useful).</p>
<p>As for MS, that is an option. It's not as highly regarded as an MBA, but I assume you can get an MS in finance fairly quickly, and that would help you land a better job. Then, down the road you could get an MBA if you needed it (seems like a lot of school..but down the road it would be a welcome break and I know plenty of former lawyers who attend business school which is a lot more school).</p>
<p>Thank your for your very constructive answer. I'm going to Missouri in September so I'll just ask WashU about their MS. I'm not worrying about the GMAT yet but more on other sections of my application (i.e. grades, what subjects to major in, work/study abroad,) but I'm an OK test-taker so I'll just study and try to ace it.</p>
<p>Anyway, thanks again. Even enough the MBA is only my third option after grad school and a MS, I like to know what's ahead of me, especially when it comes to my studies. Thanks.</p>