Validity

College Search & Selection Online Degrees
1

Possibly silly question but heck, it’s the internet.

Are degrees obtained through distance learning/correspondence valid to meet the requirements if one wants to pursue higher education opportunities in high ranked schools such as LBS, Wharton etc.?

I’m going to pursue a 5 year course from the best business uni in my country (one of the hardest in the world to get into) which is ranked highly in it’s field in the world rankings as well. The only issue is that they only award diplomas and not degrees.
Traditionally the course that people take in these colleges is after they’ve obtained a bachelors and it is equivalent to an MBA. The course I’m going to study is new and has been introduced this year. The course is actually a combination of 3 years of regular BBA/BSc and the last 2 years being focused as an MBA. The administrators say that the course material has been designed such that one wouldn’t really ‘need’ to study any further but I don’t want to take any chances. The college says that they will provide as much assistance possible to help a student obtain a degree through distance learning so as not to ‘close’ any future educational options. If I am to go for a distance learning degree then I’m going to apply to places like University of London, etc.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that I know competition is fierce as it is, will a degree obtained through distance learning be enough to meet the requirements of all those bigshot schools and how much will it ‘damage’ my application?

2

This is highly dependent on where you go for your online degree. Look at the other posts for school recommendations, and stay away from schools like Univ. of Phoenix, Kaplan, Ashford, Walden, and Capella. If you’ve never heard of the school, basically, you probably shouldn’t go there. Look at schools that are AACSB accredited, many of them these days offer online degrees that will give you just as much pedigree as the guy with a traditional degree. The online degree, if taken from the right school, will not hinder your application for other schools. My advice to you is this…during your online degree get as much management experience (whether paid or not) as you can, as they will value this more than where you got your degree. Secondly, study hard for the GMAT if the school requires it. Look into Penn State, Arizona State, and Indiana University for degrees. These are top notch business schools, and I know ASU and PSU have the degrees, but can’t remember if IU does not. I got mine from Northeastern University which has a top 20 undergrad business program. Best of luck…

3

Thank you for your help. Much appreciated :slight_smile:

4

Poifge,

The best approach with this type of question is to call a couple of the programs you hope to attend eventually and talk to their international admissions people. You’ll find out quickly if they know of the school you hope to attend, what they think of the credentials from there, and how you can augment those credentials if necessary.

5

Didn’t even think about doing that. Thanks :slight_smile: