<p>I'm actually going for engineering for my undergraduate and working up to an MBA for my masters. Currently, I'm planning to go to UIUC (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)</p>
<p>Is this a smart path to take considering I want to go into technological fields? What can I do to prepare for some ivys and/or top notch business schools (U of Chicago and Northwestern in my area) while managing my engineering degree?</p>
<p>Thanks [beams]</p>
<p>Maintain a high GPA (over 3.5 if possible), take a few classes in Accounting and Finance if you have the time and have a few years of meaningful work. Of course, a GMAT score in the 700 range doesn't hurt.</p>
<p>UIUC has a Technology and Management minor I'm interested in which will get some of the basic business classes down for me. </p>
<p>(<a href="http://www.techmgmt.uiuc.edu/prospect.shtml%5B/url%5D">http://www.techmgmt.uiuc.edu/prospect.shtml</a>)</p>
<p>So taking engineering first wasn't a huge mistake neh? ^^; Or should I have majored in some sort of business degree?</p>
<p>Not at all. MBA programs love Engineers. Stick to Engineering, especially an Engineering degree from Illinois...one of the top 5 Engineering programs in the World.</p>
<p>Excellent! So just try to keep that GPA up eh? Is it recommended to start studying for the GMATs when you enter college?</p>
<p>The GMAT is valid for 3 years I think. And since you need to work at least 3-4 years if you want a shot at the best MBA programs, I recommend you study for the GMAT once you decide to apply to MBA programs and not before.</p>
<p>If you're just starting college you probably won't be taking the GMAT until 2010 or 2011 at the earliest. Don't worry about it right now. Just go to college, do well, get some good internships, set yourself up to get a good job, and party like you've never partied before.</p>
<p>Haha thanks! I was just wondering because of parallel it has with the SAT and ACT for us, and how kids who are so young start studying for it immediately.</p>
<p>You reassured me! Thank you Alexandre and Alicante. :)</p>
<p>I took the SAT in 1994 and the GMAT in 2004. I didn't start studying for the GMAT until about 3 or 4 months before I took the test, and I really only studied on the weekends. If you're good at taking standardized tests (like I am), then those abilities should still be around when you take the GMAT in the next 7-8 years. If you're not good at standardized tests, feel good that you don't have to worry about studying for a while.</p>
<p>If you want to start putting together a nice resume for applying to b-school, you should do the following as an undergrad (other than the obvious of getting good grades and a good job):</p>
<ol>
<li>Join clubs, move up to leadership positions later on</li>
<li>Start a club</li>
<li>Do TONS of community service and continue it after you graduate</li>
<li>Join a nationally recognized organization (honor society, fraternity, service club, etc)</li>
<li>Do research as an undergrad and write a thesis, even if it's optional</li>
<li>Present at a conference of some sort</li>
<li>Play intramural sports and become a team captain</li>
</ol>
<p>I'm sure there's more...a lot of this stuff will come back to help you when you're in your mid-20s and interviewing for the people at Stanford or Wharton.</p>
<p>It's pretty difficult in a large university to get noticed but of course I'll have to get used to that :).</p>
<p>I just got an email from UCLA Anderson's MBA program. I'm in! Class of 2007!</p>
<p>Whoo! Congradulations!!! :D :D</p>
<p>Thanks! By the way, I wasn't a biz major either! Now I'm just waiting to hear from Stanford, Michigan, and USC.</p>
<p>Since you got into UCLA, I would not really worry about USC. They are in the same city, but UCLA has the better campus, the better name and the better program. I think you should also have a good shot at Michigan. Michigan is about as selective as UCLA. But Stanford is tough. Good luck the rest of the way...and congratulations on UCLA.</p>
<p>Yeah, I guess at this point USC is hopefully a given. I still have to interview with them, but even if I got rejected everywhere else I'd be more than happy at Anderson. I think my UCLA interview went better than my Michigan interview, but since their selectivity is similar, I figure I am about 50/50 there. I don't think Stanford is going to work out, since I haven't received an interview invite yet, while several others on the business week online forums already completed theirs. But I liked Anderson more than Stanford, so I guess that doesn't matter too much.</p>
<p>alicantekid, I know you dont know me but congradulations. I am a UCLA alum who loves that school to death. I went to USC for my masters though so I guess I dont take that rivalry thing too seriously. As an undergrad, I used to trip out the way the recruiters pampered the Anderson guys. It is almost like they beg you to work for them. Good luck with the rest of the schools though. Where did you go for undergrad?</p>
<p>I did my undergrad degree at Irvine.</p>
<p>That's what I love to hear - recruiters begging people to work for them. I had the chance to attend UCLA as an undergrad but chose Irvine for its slightly smaller size and also because I got a full ride there. But I definitely got the feeling at Anderson that it is a small, intimate program and I would receive a lot of personal attention and really get to know my professors. I'm totally stoked about getting in, though. Now I know how the 12th graders on the other boards must feel!</p>