I am a rising senior in high school hoping to study Business, specifically marketing, in college and getting a masters in 5 years. After doing some research, I was disappointed to find out that that many top schools do not have undergraduate business programs; let alone 5 year Masters in Business programs. Suggestions of colleges to look into which meet my needs will be greatly appreciated! Also, I’m a straight A student and would like to study at a top notch school. UPenn and Cornell are options but I need more!
Why do you want a 5 year MBA program? An MBA degree is most useful when you have something to bring to the class - ie work experience. Most top MBA programs do not even take direct undergrads. Also realize that an undergraduate business degree isn’t the only way to work in a business setting. Half of all ivy grads go into business but only 2 of the schools offer an actual undergrad business education. Don’t discount non ivy business schools. There are many better than Cornell.
The top MBA programs require at least 2 and preferable 4-5 years of work experience. There are few, if any, 5 year MBA programs at top schools. When I went to Wharton years ago, they did have a 5 year MBA program but in reality only 1-2 pretty brilliant people were accepted into it each year – not sure if they even have it anymore.
No matter what your GPA is you need to expand your list past Wharton and Dyson. Go through this list below and see what appeals to you. Be sure you apply to a good range of reaches, matches and safety schools.
Indiana (Kelley) has a 3/2 BBA/MBA program that you might want to look at. I have no idea how hard it is to get into and what the application date/process is. Kelley is a very well respected business school. What I don’t know is if there is any “discount” on the Kelley MBA being earned immediately after your BBA.
Notre Dame (Mendoza) has a great undergraduate program and its MS in Accounting is considered one of the top accounting programs in the country. Its not an MBA, but the ND program, unlike many other MAcc/MSA programs, is very flexible. My son is a recent MSA graduate and he was able to take half of his credits in finance. He was able to get two IB offers and is now an IB analyst in Chicago.
As noted above, most of the top programs want several years of quality work experience. The only problem I see with the Indiana style 5 year programs is, any recruiter will know that you went immediately into grad school. Part of the reason big name MBA’s earn so much is that on top of the degree, they also have @ 5 years work experience.