<p>One day I'd like to attend at least a top 15 business school or a similar graduate school program with an emphasis on marketing/communications. I studied business at the undergraduate level, and graduated from a pretty well-respected and selective university. However, I didn't perform to hotly in college and graduated with about a B average. </p>
<p>I'm thinking even with a 700+ on the GMAT or a high score on the GRE, it won't be enough to gain admission into a top graduate program. This is why I'm contemplating enrollment in a post-bac program in order to improve my chances at getting into grad school. Also, I didn't really enjoy the courses I took as part of my requirements in B-school and missed out on getting a traditional, liberal arts education. I'm hoping I'll get to do that post-bac.</p>
<p>My question is, have you, or anyone you know attempted to gain admission to a top grad program with a similar background to mine? Most of the info and programs I've found online are geared towards students who want to get into medical school but didn't take the right pre-requisites in college.</p>
<p>So far I've looked into Columbia University and University of Pennsylvania, both of which offer post-bac programs. I've also looked into Northwestern but it sounded like their program was more appropriate for working professionals (offer weekend classes only, no housing). Also, I read here that Penn doesn't typically offer very good counseling for current students for when they do want to apply to grad school after completing their post-bac. </p>
<p>Are these programs difficult to get into? Does anyone know what kind of background admissions counselors look for in a prospective post-baccalaureate student? I'm open to learning about other schools that offer this. </p>
<p>If your goal is to get an MBA, why in the world are you not a working professional? No business school will let you in without good work experience or some incredibly stellar substitute; even if they did admit you, an MBA is useless at best without experience backing it up. You should definitely be focusing on building a good career over trying to shore up your college credentials.</p>
<p>From the GMATClub Forum, I’ve heard that it’s a good idea to take some extra classes that are focused around math/business at your local college to make up for poor grades. </p>
<p>You can look around there for more information.</p>
<p>I am definitely in your same boat. I graduated undergrad with a less than stellar GPA as well- 3.2 to be exact. I moved to NYC a week after graduation and got a job at an advertising agency. I majored in marketing, and that’s what I thought I wanted.</p>
<p>While I do love my job, I want to be in a position where I can be a little more creative, so now I’ve realized rather than work agency-side I want to work client-side. I agree with amarkov that you should work before applying to MBA programs. It will help with your lower GPA- also it will help you narrow down what you want. Now, I KNOW I want to go into brand management, rather than account management.</p>
<p>I’d also like to give you some advice on a few programs. If you would like to get a jump start on your MBA program- without taking GMAT or having a lot of work experience, I would search for “Pre-MBA Programs.” I am currently in Fordham’s and it’s great. You take 3 actual MBA-level courses as a non-matriculated student. It will show admissions that you have certain quant abilities (depending on how well you do). </p>
<p>I believe Rutgers and Ithaca College offer pre-MBA programs as well. I know for a fact Yale offers a Pre-MBA program during the summer for either seniors in undergrad or recent graduates. My friend was accepted (very competitive program for URM), and he found it very invaluable. It’s a 3-week course where you attend classes, meet with professors and work on real case studies. That’s also a great way to see if an MBA program is right for you.</p>
<p>My advice: Figure out what field you want to work in, why you want to work in that field, where you want to work, and how these “Top 15” programs you are targeting are going to help you get there. I graduated last December with my B.S. in Marketing, so trust me. I dont have many years of post-grad experience under my belt- just 1 year. That’s why I decided to wait before applying to MBA programs. Now, I know what I want from an MBA program and how it well help me work in brand management- hopefully at a large CPG (My dream!) </p>
<p>Good luck with everything and keep us posted!</p>
<p>Hey harrisce4! That’s really helpful info–thanks a lot. It’s nice to know that there are people out their with similar backgrounds trying to pursue the same thing. I actually just left a major advertising agency here in NY where I was working on their largest global account and absolutely hated it. I definitely understand your feelings on wanting to transfer your skillset over to the client side.</p>
<p>I’m going to check out that summer program Yale offers. I looked further into Columbia’s post-bac program, apparently in which a lot f B-school hopefuls enroll but I found the tuition to be slightly ridiculous - over $5K a course in a non-degree program. I am definitely keeping my options open.</p>
<p>Yes, I added that in my post: “(very competitive program for URM)”</p>
<p>But, I would like to think that they look for a diverse group of people, regardless of race. It doesn’t hurt to apply! Wow, Columbia’s program sounds like a great foot in the door, but pricey. At Fordham, you pay $1100/credit, so a little over $10K for the pre-MBA program, but what’s great is that you can often transfer credits, and you will be that much more ahead of schedule. It all just depends on if you think it’s worth it and if it will have a huge ROI. </p>
<p>I personally believe b-schools take into consideration any post-grad work you’ve done so I think it can only significantly help you! </p>
<p>And wow! We really ARE going through the same thing haha I work on a pharmaceutical brand now, but very FDA-mandated (obv) and creativity tends to lack when you can only say specific things in advertising which is kind of a bummer. I really would like to work on account with a little more freedom!! Good luck!</p>
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