QUESTIONS ABOUT UCI's 3/2 MBA business program for undergrads

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of California - Irvine
1

<p>i was accepted to UCI as undeclared, i want to go into business but UCI has no undergrad business program, however i found out on the UCI website that there is a 3/2 MBA program in which you get your bachelors in business in your 4th year and get your masters after your 5th year.</p>

<p>THESE ARE MY QUESTIONS:
how do you apply for this MBA 3/2 prgm? (it wasnt on the UC application when i applied in fall)</p>

<p>how reputable is getting an MBA from UCI? (i got into berkeley as spring but i need to apply to Haas school of business in 2nd year and i heard its intense competition, so im still debating which school to attend)</p>

<p>can you change your major after enrolling in this MBA program?</p>

<p>how are the jobs and salaries?</p>

<p>any other information would be great :) thank you</p>

2

<p>You can't apply for the 3/2 program as a freshman. I think you apply at the end of your 2nd year, and you have to have a minimum 3.5 to be eligible for consideration. You have to finish all of your major requirements by the end of your 3rd year, and during your 4th year you start the MBA classes and finish up any breadth requirements that you still might have left over from undergrad. Then during your 5th year you finish the MBA classes. I guess you can change your major, but you'd still have to finish your major requirements in 3 years.</p>

<p>The MBA program at UCI has actually been doing pretty well. Of all the top 50 schools in U.S. News, it had the highest jump this year, going from 49th to 38th. So it's definitely a reputable school. </p>

<p>You can find job and salary information at <a href="http://www.merage.uci.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.merage.uci.edu&lt;/a&gt;.&lt;/p>

<p>Here's my $0.02.</p>

<p>Don't enroll in a 3/2 program. Although as a high school student the prospect of getting a B.A. and and an MBA in 5 years might sound attractive, it can definitely put you at a disadvantage when it comes to finding a job after you graduate. Why? Because almost everyone who does an MBA has 3-5 years of FULL TIME work experience (jobs after graduating from college), and you'll have nothing. So who do you think companies would rather hire?</p>

<p>And by having an MBA, you might price yourself out of a lot of jobs that you might have the relevant experience for, since you've got an MBA and would command more money. </p>

<p>My advice is to go the normal college route, major in something you're interested in, get a job after college, and then apply for an MBA when you're in your mid-20s if that's still what you want to do.</p>

<p>I was a UCI undergrad and when I was a college senior I had no idea that I wanted to do an MBA. I started out as pre-med and changed my mind during my second year. Now I am at a top 10 b-school. You might change your mind too. So just explore things and find out what interests you when you go to college.</p>

<p>And my thoughts on Haas - It is very competitive to get in, but if you go to Berkeley don't feel like you need to go to Haas to get a job in business or to get into business school. There are a lot of Berkeley grads in my MBA program (probably about 25 or so), and I think only one of them went through the Haas undergrad program. The rest had various majors like econ, engineering, poli sci, English, and they all got good jobs and they all made it into b-school.</p>

3

<p>I have posted this before, but here it goes again. Most MBA programs prefer that you not do your undergrad in business. Being a business major will actually be a disadvantage for you, and not having an MBA makes business almost an impossible area to find lucrative work in. The above poster is absolutely correct. Get your undergrad degree in economics, math or some other related area that interests you, and then work for a few years. This will make you a desirable MBA candidate, and then you will be marketable as a graduate. This road will take longer than the 3/2 but in the end it will be worth it.</p>

4

<p>Does anyone know anybody who used a non-related major (like music, art, drama) as the "3" in the 3/2 program? Could be a way to ward off the "starving artist" syndrome, possibly?? Or would the conflicting course demands be unreasonable? </p>

<p>I can look through the course catalog myself, sorry to be lazy! But I thought I'd ask first whether anyone has actually tried to combine these degrees.</p>

5

<p>I disagree with collegemom...I don't think that b-schools "prefer" that you don't major in business. But statistics show that only about a third of most classes had a major in business. But I don't think it will hurt you if you majored in business. If that's what you're truly interested in, then go ahead and do it.</p>

<p>As I said before, I don't recommend the 3/2 program. And I don't know anyone who did a non-related major like the ones you mentioned.</p>

<p>Another reason I don't recommend the 3/2...you'll be way younger than your classmates and probably wouldn't have any life experience to add to the class.</p>