hi! I am a current senior (first gen college student, second gen immigrant) and was admitted to a lot of really awesome schools that I never even imagined getting into, and now am at a crossroads of which college to pick! btw, I’m a California resident.
I do not plan on going on a pre-med track. As of now, I want to get an MBA after my undergrad and enter the pharmaceutical industry (on the business side?).
I was wondering if anyone could offer some insight on these schools, and what major would be most valuable:
UCLA - biochemistry (would probs switch to microbio/human bio+society)
UCI - pharmaceutical sciences
UC Davis - biotech + 30k regents + honors college
UCSB - pre-biology (hopefully get concentration in pharmacology)
Purdue - pre-pharmacy (can get either a PharmD or BS in pharmaceutical sciences) + 16k trustee scholarship + honors
Northeastern - pharmaceutical sciences + NUin + 8k/yr
USC - pharmacology & drug development
First of all congrats. Do you intend on trying to get into a top 10 MBA program? At least when I got my MBA at UCLA, all the top programs highly prefer students to have 5 years work experience. Because of this the choice of where you went to for undergrad doenst really matter. Your GMAT, letters of rec, and work experience will matter most. Go to the school that offers the major that you want to leverage in the pharma industry as well as where you feel most comfortable. Do you want to work for a Pharma like Pfizer or a biotech or lab equipment or services, etc.
When you say you want to get into the business side of things what do you mean? Sales? Marketing? Finance? Business Development?
BTW, I am in the industry on the lab equipment and supplies side.
thank you so much for your response!
I think I’d like to go into business development and/or marketing for pharmaceutical/biotech companies.
I’m considering obtaining an MBA right after my undergrad (no preference for t-10 schools). To start a career directly in a BD/marketing role, I’d appreciate if you have any suggestions for doing an MBA immediately undergrad vs an MBA after some work experience
Just my opinion…getting an mba right after undergrad will mean that you are trying to get a job in a profession and field where you have no experience. I don’t think you will be maximizing the potential of the MBA. I think you would be better off getting a minor in marketing and finance. Then after you get some experience and you have a better idea what you want to do on the business side of things get your MBA. Also, consider that MBA is one of the degrees where rank matters. There is a direct correlation between starting salary and salary trajectory and school rank. Many people use the MBA as a springboard to change careers (like going from a bench scientist to business development). This change also often times corresponds to big jumps in pay pre vs post MBA. Of course there are many other scenarios to consider but I highly advise you to consider what it is you want to get from an MBA. This will help you then determine the path to take. I am happy to help further if needed.
