Professional, Back To School (MBA)

Graduate School Business School - MBA
1

<p>Hello !</p>

<p>This is my first post, and have been trolling for quite a while. I need some help, and the people here seem to have great answers :) ... here goes:</p>

<p>I just turned 30. I'm a full time senior software engineer, married, with 2 kids.
I opted out of college after high-school, and wanted to self-teach myself, which I believe I did a great job of, considering my past 6 years of professional experience.</p>

<p>Now, I want to go to school to per-sue an MBA, with a specialization in technology.
I have no BA, only my GED.</p>

<p>I'd like to get into a FEMBA program, like Anderson, UCLA... or, any of the other FEMBA classes. All of these programs require at least an BA/BS as far as I can tell.</p>

<p>I'm currently studying to take the GMAT, and hope to do very well on it (fingers crossed!).</p>

<p>1) Aside from the GMAT, am assuming that a BA is indeed required ?
2) If I need to get my BA, would an online program be suitable (it would be ideal for my current situation), or, would it be recommended that I obtain one in-person, at an AACSB accredited school ?
3) If I decide to quit my job down the line, score very well on my GMAT, is attending an Ivy League University (or one of that stature) at my age even an option ?</p>

<p>I'm just now jumping into the large world that is the education system, and any advice / suggestions, would be greatly appreciated.</p>

<p>Thank you !</p>

2

<p>startup a company instead</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the advice kmzizzle, never even thought of that one... </p>

<p>But seriously, I don't want to start my own company. I want to run a strong, already established, technology company.
If you have any answers to the questions I asked, that would be appreciated ;)</p>

4

<p>Actually, a natural progression after a GED is to obtain a Bachelors degree. Is there any reason why you aren't interested in pursuing a college degree in business administration or MIS ? An MBA is a masters degree, to be preceded by a bachelors degree. It's really an academic degree, not a trade degree, although some people may beg to differ.</p>

<p>I am sure you may be able to find a few schools which will grant MBA degrees to anyone but your chances of being accepted to a top 20 b schools without a bachelor's degree from an accredited college is slim to none. But then again, I know a few financially successful people without even a GED.</p>

5

<p>Thanks for the reply cbreeze.</p>

<p>I'm interested in progressing toward an MBA, and yes, definitely need to start from the lowest level and work my way up. Have looked at MIS, and may also go that route, but concentrating on general business administration at the moment.</p>

<p>In regard to obtaining a bachelors degree... how would you, personally, approach this, knowing you wanted to get accepted into a top 10 b-school or FEMBA program ?</p>

<p>I do not live near a community college, and am hesitant to enroll in an online college in pursuit of a BA. Is this concern vaild ? Would obtaining a BA in an online college (non-AACSB accreditation) be a bad idea... or does it matter, as long as I get an excellent GMAT score ?</p>

<p>Am willing to move into town which has a community college geared toward a good business bachelors... but, would much rather do this online if the accreditation of the bachelors wasn't too much of a talking point.</p>

<p>Again, thanks for the info thus far !</p>

6

<p>A number of successful MBA candidates have gotten into top MBA programs without a bachelor's degree. Here's a hot tip for you - next time you're near a bookstore like a Barnes & Noble, head over to the Admissions / Test Prep section, and find Richard Montauk's "How to get into the Top MBA Programs" book. In Part 4, he has 30 or so examples of students he had coached, who had various backgrounds, and gives half a dozen essays from each of them. Some of the cases may sound familiar to you:</p>

<ul>
<li>Jon, who's Danish, is a Shipping executive with Maersk / AP Moller, and has advanced through the ranks of his company quickly despite not having much formal training.</li>
<li>Dave, a manufacturing manager, went through a blue-collar career at a Boeing factory before even finishing high school</li>
</ul>

<p>and so forth. Other books may have other examples that show you how to position yourself in an application when you don't have a BA. It can be done, it's just harder and you need to address that shortcoming in a compelling fashion.</p>

7

<p>Denzera, thank you very much. It's funny you mention that book, as I ordered it from Amazon last week, and it should be at my doorstep any day now :)</p>

<p>Before I ask any more questions, I imagine I should wait for this book to come. I'm eager to write admissions on some of my prospective universities, but... I must be patient! I've been studying hard for the GMAT, and if my score is high enough, a BA'less admission would be absolutely fantastic.</p>

<p>Again, thank you very much for the advice, and, any more hot tips are obviously welcome :)</p>

8

<p>Denzera, did Montauk name the "top MBA" programs that his students were admitted without a BA?
Top 10? Top 20? Top 50?</p>

9

<p>A career coach might not be a bad idea, and not just a book by one.</p>

10

<p>cbreeze, Jon was admitted to London Business School (top 20), and Dave was admitted to UMichigan-Ross (top 10).</p>

<p>The essay-example section of the book, taking up some 200 pages of essay content + commentary, includes numerous examples from accomplished career professionals who had a bachelor's degree but had to explain away poor grades, a poor institution, or a non-applicable choice of major that cast doubt on their analytical abilities or commitment to business.</p>

<p>Cynthia was admitted to MIT-Sloan despite an undergrad degree in music and a brief career as a concert musician (which was then followed by a career as a software sales associate, then IT consulting).</p>

<p>Paul, an accountant who started a consulting firm, had "dismal college grades", but was admitted to Michigan and Yale SOM.</p>

<p>Terry, an American commercial photographer, had mediocre college grades and of course an unusual background, but in his essays he made a compelling case for his true level of analytical abilities and was admitted to Rotterdam.</p>

<p>And then there are those who are internationals and had a path that would be very nontraditional for an American...</p>

<p>Iehab was admitted to Harvard, after a brief career in business development for an Egyptian beverage company.</p>

<p>Joseph, born and raised in Colombia, was admitted to Tuck after his career as a manufacturing and operations manager. His essays show particularly compelling character and self-introspection on his part.</p>

<p>Anne, who is French, was an airport manager, and got into INSEAD.</p>

<p>And so on. You can judge the quality of these schools by yourself, but there is no lack of examples. The key elements they all had were (1) demonstrated business aptitude and ability, (2) a passion for what their work entailed, which revealed itself in their words and in their success stories, and (3) an ability to sell themselves through their writing and personal branding.</p>

<p>Another book i've been using as a resource that I can recommend strongly is "The Best Business Schools' Admissions Secrets", but former HBS admissions board member Chioma Isiadinso.</p>

11

<p>So in Montauk's example, both John and Dave did not have a college degree but were able to get into Ross and London Business School?</p>

12

<p>Thanks for the examples, and it does indeed give a non-degree holder some hope. I do have time at the moment to obtain a BA... which I'm sure wouldn't hurt to have any how.</p>

<p>I'm not the one to cross-post often, but, making sure the BA is actually relevant is a concern of mine... ie: <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/577746-regional-accreditation.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-admissions/577746-regional-accreditation.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Would hate to have blown the time on an unaccredited degree, when all it would have taken were the (1), (2), (3), key elements you outlined above (which I believe I can do).</p>

13

<p>I know a few dentist and a vetrinarian who do not have an undergraduate degree, if that means anything.</p>

14

<p>how is that possible???</p>

15

<p>
[quote]
A number of successful MBA candidates have gotten into top MBA programs without a bachelor's degree. Here's a hot tip for you - next time you're near a bookstore like a Barnes & Noble, head over to the Admissions / Test Prep section, and find Richard Montauk's "How to get into the Top MBA Programs" book. In Part 4, he has 30 or so examples of students he had coached, who had various backgrounds, and gives half a dozen essays from each of them. Some of the cases may sound familiar to you:</p>

<ul>
<li>Jon, who's Danish, is a Shipping executive with Maersk / AP Moller, and has advanced through the ranks of his company quickly despite not having much formal training.</li>
<li>Dave, a manufacturing manager, went through a blue-collar career at a Boeing factory before even finishing high school</li>
</ul>

<p>and so forth. Other books may have other examples that show you how to position yourself in an application when you don't have a BA. It can be done, it's just harder and you need to address that shortcoming in a compelling fashion.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>You can also apparently make PBJ sandwiches and carry breath mints for George Bush and still get into HBS without needing a college degree.</p>

<p>The</a> Harvard Crimson :: News :: Bush?s Personal Aide To Enroll at Business School</p>