<p>You want a full scholarship to an MBA program without any work experience? Without work experience, you already put yourself at the bottom of the pack; scholarships are awarded to people with exceptional credentials. And in the professional master’s world, grades and test scores are not the only credentials that matter.</p>
<p>Yes, it’s true that an MBA would be of little value to you without job experience. It’s a management degree, and nobody wants to hire a manager with no experience.</p>
<p>Yes, there are different criteria for ranking an MBA. Every ranking has their own criteria, and every ranking system has their methodology posted somewhere on the webpage. When you look at a ranking look it up. The ones that are most widely looked at for MBA programs are U.S. News & World Report, Forbes, The Economist and BusinessWeek.</p>
<p>Some business schools are doing deferred enrollment programs now for college seniors who know they want an MBA but want experience before they start. Harvard has the formal 2+2 program - you are accepted, you go work for 2 years (or more, they’re pretty flexible with deferments) and then you return later after you have some work experience. Stanford also has deferred enrollment, and they seem pretty encouraging of college seniors to apply, although almost always under deferred enrollment. Do understand, though, that some top business schools never admit students without work experience. I remember looking at the class profile of at least one, and perhaps two, business schools where no class members had 0 years of experience.</p>
<p>Getting into a top MBA program after undergrad (which is very rare, mind you) is predicated on near-perfect grades and top-notch leadership experiences. It’s going to be the latter that really sets you apart. I would try to do at least two internships in the summers before you apply (second summer and third summer). Extra-curriculars that allow you to exercise your leadership experience are a good idea - but nothing small potatoes, as you will be competing with people who directed million-dollar projects outside school. So student government, homecoming committee chair, the coordinator of THON, Panhellenic president. Two or more of these things increases your profile as a student leader on campus. I think SGA is probably the one that pops up the most.</p>
<p>Basically, you need to make yourself an exceptional, phenomenal student, the kind that people raise an eyebrow at and wonder how this 22-year-old was able to do all this stuff, still maintain a 3.6+ GPA and score a 700+ on the GMAT, and sleep. That’s because even working adults with 4-5 years of experience STILL need to be exceptional to get into top 10 business schools - which often have acceptance rates in the single digits - so you’re really trying to do the improbable.</p>
<p>Also, make sure you have a Plan B for the very real chance that you 1) don’t get in anywhere or 2) you get into a school but only on the condition that you work somewhere else for a few years.</p>
<p>Also, forget about the idea of getting a full merit scholarship. That just does not happen. Some business schools may give partial scholarships, but expect to finance the majority of your MBA through loans. An exception is if you are African American, Latino, or Native American - then you can apply through The Consortium and they offer full merit scholarships to the majority of their scholars.</p>