Business schools have long sold the promise that, like an F1 driver zipping into the pits for fresh tyres, it just takes a short hiatus on an MBA programme and you will come roaring back into the career race primed to win. After all, it signals to companies that you were good enough to be accepted by a decent business school (so must be good enough for them); it plugs you into a network of fellow MBAs; and, to a much lesser extent, there’s the actual classroom education. Why not just pay the bill, sign here and reap the rewards?

The problem is that these days it doesn’t work like that. Rather, more and more students are finding the promise of business schools to be hollow. The return on investment on an MBA has gone the way of Greek public debt. If you have a decent job in your mid- to late- 20s, unless you have the backing of a corporate sponsor, leaving it to get an MBA is a higher risk than ever. If you are getting good business experience already, the best strategy is to keep on getting it, thereby making yourself ever more useful rather than groping for the evanescent brass rings of business school.

Business schools argue that a recession is the best time to invest in oneself. What they won’t say is that they also need your money. There are business academics right now panting for your cheque. They need it to pad their sinecures and fund their threadbare research. There is surely no more oxymoronic profession than the tenured business-school professor, and yet these job-squatting apostles of the free market are rife and desperate.
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Essays are an incredibly important part of the application process, says Stacy Blackman, an MBA admissions consultant. Seemingly straightforward questions require a great deal of introspection. Make sure you budget time to draft and redraft, try new approaches and carefully edit so that each line packs the maximum punch
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The programme fee alone at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania—one of the world’s highest-profile business schools—is currently $107,922 over two years. And there is more than just the fee to consider. If you decide on a full-time programme in Europe you will typically be out of the workplace for at least a year. Opt for a school in North America and this could stretch to two years. Students at Wharton forgo an average basic salary of $76,193 a year while attending lectures. Making the correct choice of school and programme is thus on a par with selecting the right house, perhaps even spouse.

Schools in The Economist’s ranking of MBA programmes insist that they can help boost students’ career opportunities and open new areas of expertise and mobility. Indeed, surely the degree is worth pursuing only if it brings with it a sufficient level of professional advancement and personal development. But can an MBA still be considered a gateway to the top table? Do programmes really produce confident, self-aware graduates who can build exciting careers? What is more, if, as is often claimed, what is taught varies little between schools—if an MBA has become nothing more than a commodity—does it matter where you end up?

The answer is yes: it still matters. The market is tougher, the degree is under scrutiny, but for many professions, getting an MBA from the right school is a way of landing a better job and of accelerating a career.  Getting a degree from the wrong school, however, is not. Finding the right school is not just about looking at rankings, or choosing one considered as “prestigious�. The key to making the right choice is understanding why you want to take an MBA, and what you expect it to do for you. So let’s look at some of the key reasons for going to business school and what direction each might point you in:
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MBA admissions committees seem difficult to read. Applicants agonize over their essays and dread their interviews, all the while wondering what the committee wants to hear. At Veritas Prep headquarters, we regularly receive calls and emails with questions such as:

“I’m a sophomore in college; what classes should I take in my junior year to impress MBA admissions committees?�

“I’m planning to apply in round one, but would it be better to delay to round two so that I can use the next three months to add some community service to my resume?�

“I’m an older-than-average applicant because I spent four years doing ______________; what should I tell the adcomm about why I’m applying so late?�

With the possible exception of Hollywood singles bars, twentysomething young professionals worry about concocting impressive backstories more in the realm of MBA admissions than anywhere on earth. But at least the actors in Hollywood have an excuse; they play make-believe for a living. As an MBA applicant, it’s much easier than it appears to tell the MBA admissions committee what it wants to hear.

What do MBA admissions committees want to hear?

What may seem like incredible cliche ends up more than often being pure truth – the end result of the MBA admissions process should be that you have a much stronger sense of what you want to do with an MBA. And while this provides incredible value to an admissions committee in filling out a class of students who will thrive in that program, add value to one another’s experiences, and fully value the process, it may well provide even more practical utility to you. While your primary goal is “to get in�, think about this – business school is quite likely a six-figure and two-year investment for you, yet many prospective applicants spend more time shopping for a laptop or for new jeans than they do selecting their target schools. By forcing you to honestly assess what type of classroom environment you seek, what kind of curriculum you’d like to pursue, and how an MBA education will help you to transition your current skills, abilities, and interests to a fulfilling career, schools are doing you a favor. If you’re struggling to justify why you’d like to attend that school or how that program will help you to pursue your goals, it may not be the wisest investment of your time and money to do so. And as you are forced to question yourself – your goals, your background, and what you want out of the MBA experience – you’re much more likely to fully take advantage of the opportunities that await you once you are admitted; the MBA admissions process provides you with an itinerary of what you want to do once you do finally reach campus.

All told, this process suggests what your parents have told you all along: honesty is the best policy. As any CEO, politician, or admissions consultant can tell you, there are certainly ways to best position the truth for public consumption, but more importantly business school admissions committees want to know the truth. Business schools make decisions based not only on achievement but also on potential. After all, most applicants have fewer than 10 years of work experience, and those who have already ascended into the stratosphere have little incentive to spend two years learning how to get there. One (unintentionally) well-kept secret of MBA admissions is that “being qualified� is only part of the process, and is often overvalued by applicants. Having a compelling career vision and a thorough understanding of how an MBA – and that particular MBA program – will help you achieve it is a crucial and often-overlooked part of the process.

What do MBA admissions officers want to hear? They want to know that you’ve taken time to assess your strengths and weaknesses, the opportunities that await you, and the role that their MBA program would take in your career should you attend. To give the admissions officers what they want, you first need to be honest with yourself about what you want. The truth shall set you free.

Researching business schools is akin to trying to find oneself. Reflecting on what one wants to get out of a degree and the type of business school experience desired is key. Admissions directors say it’s not too different from gazing into a crystal ball.

“Think about how the degree will advance your career, the job you’d like to have, and your lifestyle. Then consider your preferences of location, personality of the school, the kind of alumni it produces.”

After some introspection, an applicant can start talking to others. Informational interviews with those who have the jobs you’re seeking is a great way to confirm choices and find out about schools that specialize in those areas, says Edwards.

“Really explore your career goals,” she says. “It will help you in the application process, but also down the road in the job search.”

Job Placement Info

One mistake many applicants make is failing to look at the list of recruiters and job placement statistics of particular schools before applying. Then, when they enroll in the business school, they are disappointed by the job opportunities presented to them, says Scott Shrum, director of MBA admissions research at Veritas Prep, a Malibu (Calif.)-based provider of GMAT test prep and admissions consulting services. This is particularly hard on international applicants, who attend U.S. business schools in the hopes that the MBA program will help them land a job stateside and are disappointed when they wind up back home.

To get a handle on recruiting and job placement, applicants can consult the detailed information on many schools available at sites like MBA.com or the schools’ profiles on Businessweek.com, where a comparator tool allows applicants to compare placement stats, and even top recruiters, at various schools.Many schools also post placement data online, including Harvard Business School, but not everyone is as forthcoming.

Questions for Alumni

Another great source of information about prospective MBA programs is the program’s alumni. Most schools will connect applicants with alumni in their chosen fields, but there are other sources, including LinkedIn and similar social networks, that allow for sophisticated searches by industry, company, even job title.

When talking with MBA alumni, applicants should ask them about the recruiters they met on campus and how the school helped with the job search. These initial encounters with respected professionals will help applicants develop a network and could lead them to potential recommenders, says Sara E. Neher, assistant dean for MBA admissions at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.

Once applicants have spoken with alumni and have a clearer sense of what they’d like their post-MBA life to look like, they should head to the Internet. Distinguishing between legitimate sources and garbage is more difficult than it seems, if for no other reason than the sheer amount of content.

Brand names are usually a safe bet. For example, organizations such as the National Society of Hispanic MBAs, the Graduate Management Admission Council, which administers the GMAT, internationally recognized publications, and the business schools themselves have built up their expertise and reputation.

Opinions on the Web

“Admissions officers are a great source of information for the admissions process, but not necessarily for the experience of the school,” says Shrum. “They’ll give you O.K. answers, but students and recent alumni are better for those questions.”

Still, students and alumni are sometimes trained by the school on what to say or write, says Neher. That is why, she says, it is best to ask sources if the business school is limiting what they share with prospective students in any way. It doesn’t hurt to ask pointed questions designed to elicit a negative answer—such as “What’s the biggest problem with the career services department?”—and to pursue alumni contacts who may be off the school’s radar and willing to offer another perspective, such as an unemployed graduate.

B-School Rankings

One of the biggest and most influential sources of business school information are the various business school rankings, such as those published by the Financial Times, The Economist, and Bloomberg Businessweek’s Best Business Schools. Although most admissions experts agree that the rankings are a good starting point, they want applicants to keep these lists in perspective.

Wise applicants, says DelMonico, use the rankings as one tool to get them started in making a broad list of attractive business schools and to determine what their chances are at each. As they continue their research, they should use the funnel approach to whittle down their list until they have the four to six programs to which they will apply. What applicants never want to do is limit their options or be close-minded to all the possibilities. Considering a wider set of schools, at least to start, is the best way to find the right business school.

Firsthand Experiences

Face-to-face meetings and school-sponsored events can help applicants better understand the nuances of each program. Most business schools host events in various regions and provide online videos and photos. These are suitable ways to bolster your business school research to make informed decisions about admissions, says Neher.

A campus visit allows for more opportunities to talk with students and administrators, to get a firsthand look at what everyday life would be, and to sit in on a class.Even though no school requires a visit, Shrum says admissions committees are impressed when applicants make the extra effort and incorporate in their application essays and interview answers specifics about the school’s culture or offerings that they gleaned from a visit.

Planning an MBA study abroad? 5 crucial factors beyond business school rankings that you must consider:

1. Connect your aspirations to the country’s offerings

   • Immigration rules of the country abroad

   An MBA degree from a Business school abroad will ensure you good job prospects and help you settle abroad. But a word of caution in this case – Immigration rules for foreign nationals vary from place to place. Only the United States, the UK, Canada, New Zealand and Australia make it possible for foreign nationals to gradually settle down permanently.
   Economic and Political conditions of the country abroad
   A booming economy would always have jobs in abundance. Stable political conditions give a sense of security.

   • Occupation prospects in the country abroad

   Since every country abroad doesn’t have the same economic growth levels, the opportunities vary. The occupation you are interested in, necessarily wouldn’t be flourishing in the chosen country abroad. For example, construction engineers are for more in demand in Canada than in the US.

   • Environment of the country abroad

   Choosing to do an MBA abroad gives you the chance to spend one to two years in a new country. Further, you can only settle, if you are able to adjust to the new atmosphere abroad. Geographic locations, Climatic conditions, ease of communication and social-cultural environment (a broad minded culture with a focus on diversity) influence the comfort while staying abroad

What do rankings of the Business schools abroad mean to you? A means of short listing a Business school abroad, right? Rankings primarily aid in selecting the top Business school. After the MBA programme abroad, you it is very likely that you might settle down in a particular country abroad and not in the Business school abroad. Therefore, it is a prudent act to choose a particular country abroad to settle down in and then use the rankings to choose the right Business school abroad. An MBA in a top Business school abroad should finally be the means to an end – a successful, rewarding career and stable settlement in the country where you have built your network! After the completion of your MBA abroad, the country should continue to appeal to you. Here is a quick checklist on evaluating the abroad country’s offerings

2. Type of M.B.A offered abroad

   Classes in MBA abroad tend to have a more diverse population in terms of nationalities, backgrounds (educational and professional), genders, etc, which enhances the quality of the environment and the learning. MBA courses in Business schools abroad tend to have a more global coverage of topics in their syllabus. Top MBA schools abroad also offer variety within their programs, giving experienced students the opportunity to enroll in an Executive MBA program, a fast-track MBA program, or special concentrations within a traditional MBA program. In a top MBA Business school abroad, the chance to specialize in a certain business area — like accounting, international business, or marketing — can help you find a specific job. General MBA programs in Business schools abroad may not be that helpful.

3. Financials to be invested in the Business School abroad

   You may start with the assumption that a scholarship might not be immediately possible. Then, look at the resources at your disposal. Procedures, availability, and types of funding for foreign students at Business schools abroad vary tremendously. Consider whether or not you would financially be able to support yourself abroad in that chosen country. While studying for an MBA in a foreign country; you also need to factor in insurance, transportation expenses and restricted employment options. The exchange rates play a crucial role in determining your financial conditions while pursuing your MBA in a business school abroad and your earnings after settling down.

4. Long term Perspective of the Business School abroad

   Many a times Business schools abroad have local or country-specific fame only. Hence, choose a Business school abroad with a possibility of settling out there.
   An experience abroad in a top Business school is one that will stay with you for life. Then why invest in a wrong place abroad? While an MBA abroad will open you to a new canvass of opportunities, make sure that these opportunities give you a new lease of professional and personal life too.

   Read more: http://www.articlesbase.com/college-and-university-articles/planning-an-mba-study-abroad-5-crucial-factors-beyond-business-school-rankings-that-you-must-consider-1550218.html#ixzz18Ce2AHBH
   Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

MBA Programs and Executive MBA Programs sometimes have a similar curriculum, but the class format and admission requirements vary.

Different for different prospects: The EMBA course is aimed at experienced executives who prefer not to take a career break to take a full-time MBA and typically require significant business experience to gain admission. The regular MBA course is generally taken by candidates with relatively lesser work experience. On the other hand the EMBA course is generally taken up by experienced people who want to augment other skills/knowledge areas. Read the rest of this entry »

There are a variety of MBA course available in India and abroad and the students opting for MBA admission have a varied background. While some go for normal two-year MBA course, those who have little time or are engaged with businesses or jobs opt for Executive MBA course and part-time MBA course. An MBA education broadens and enhances knowledge and should be viewed in a sense of building up skills. It is utilized to find solutions to business issues.

An MBA course imbibe in the students the capability and skills to maximize individual and organizational productivity. An MBA course prepares the students to meet the demands of the marketplace. Dr. P Chandra, Director, IIM Bangalore, says, “Enrolling for an MBA course is the best way for the candidate to learn how to build and mould innovative organizations. An MBA degree teaches the learners how to go about analyzing management techniques and paves the way for building managerial perspectives. It also elucidates how the economy works within a society.

Also the case methodology that is practiced by almost all MBA colleges is a thing that leaves the students with a great understanding of practical management knowledge and solutions. The Case-Method creates a classroom in which students succeed not by simply absorbing facts and theories, but also by exercising the skills of leadership and teamwork in the face of real problems.

An MBA courses equip the candidates with adequate skills to face the challenges of a corporate career. IIM Ahmedabad graduate Santosh Desai, who’s now CEO, Future Brands, says, “The wonderful thing about the MBA course is that one will not just be the manager, but also a creator. I think the most important future challenge would be how you are going to transcend the act of managers. In MBA colleges, you are given the freedom to think and to face the challenges. It will be new because all the things are in you but nothing compels you to think independently as does the good MBA course.”

So, the MBA is not just a degree, much more in fact. It helps you find yourself and the capability within. Read the rest of this entry »

Having an MBA gives you the great opportunity to advance your career and increase your income. If you are in a mid-career level who are waiting for a good career opportunity to move your career to next higher level, taking an MBA is a good decision because an MBA will certifies you as a master in business administration. With the MBA qualification, you are putting yourself to a competitive edge to grab any good opportunity which may open to you along your career path. With the available of online education, you have more options to choose whether your want to pursue your MBA traditionally or earn it through online MBA program.

The worry about whether degree earned through online education can be widely accepted in the job market is not valid anymore since many job market survey reports have proved it’s accepted by most employers. The only question is whether you can fully benefits from online education if you choose to pursue your MBA online.

If you are already in the workforce full-time, and the constraint of your commitments and obligations might keep you from earning your MBA in traditional way. Online MBA may be the best way to allow you to continue your job and earn the degree at the same time. Moreover, selecting an online option to pursue your MBA, you do not need to worry if you need to travel for job assignment, or can’t finish your job on time for classes, because you can logon to online classes from anywhere and at any time, you plan for it.

Basically, you can benefit from the advantages of online MBA as most of online MBA programs do take into consideration factors that best fit the working adults. But, one downside of taking your MBA online is you will lose the interaction with professors and other students face-to-face. It’s becomes more difficult to build a network with your colleagues which will be very helpful contacts throughout your career. However, if you can create relationship with your online instructors and online classmates in cyber-environment, you can make up for some of the loss interaction.

Choosing an online MBA school is an important step when selecting your MBA program. You should not simply choose one because if you accidental select an MBA program offered by diploma mill, you will not only lose your money, but the worthless degree issued by diploma mill won’t help you in grabbing your career opportunities later. Do your homework about each online business school that you’re considering. Information such as accreditation by which the accrediting agency and what other people talk about these schools on internet can be a good reference in your decision to choose one of the MBA programs that best suit your interest.

Since, many online MBA students failed to complete their MBA program with all sort of reasons, don’t let you be part of them. In order to be a success online MBA student who will complete the MBA program and earn the valuable degree that will help in your career, you must be prepared to adapt yourself with the online learning style and have a self-motivation to push yourself through the online study process.

Part-time MBA programs are a good option for people who don’t want to quit working to go back to school. Once thought of as a way to advance an existing career, part-time MBA programs have become a suitable option for career changers as well. If you’re interested in part-time MBA programs, here are the best of them by region, according to the 2009 BusinessWeekpart-time MBA rankings.

Note: On the slides that follow, average GMAT scores and completion rates are self-reported by schools. Grads reporting salary increase and average salary increase are based on respondents to the BusinessWeek survey; data may not be representative of the entire class. Ratings, based on survey results, are provided for “career advancers,” who are looking for a promotion with their current employer; “job changers,” who are looking to advance their careers with a new employer; and “career switchers,” who want to change industries, functional areas, or both.

The job market for 2010 MBA graduates made a slow but steady recovery this year, beginning to rebound from one of the worst MBA hiring seasons in recent history. All but three of Bloomberg Businessweek’s 30 top-ranked full-time MBA programs saw improvements in the percentage of students landing jobs within three months of graduation, according to the latest data reported to Bloomberg Businessweek.

The news was not all good, though, with the schools’ results showing an MBA job landscape that has significantly altered in the past two years. A surge in hiring later in the school year boosted many schools’ placement numbers, but few are back to their 2007 placement levels of 2007, a headier time before the financial crisis, when the vast majority of students landed multiple job offers and fat signing bonuses. This year’s results were still welcome news to career placement officers, such as Read McNamara, executive director of the career management center at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management (Owen Full-Time MBA Profile), which had 87 percent of students placed by the three-month mark, up six percentage points from the year before.

FEWER SIGNING BONUSES

This year, on average, about 12 percent of graduates at the top 30 schools, or one in eight, still hadn’t received even one job offer by the three-month mark. That’s an improvement from last year, when one in five students were jobless three months after graduation. Salaries are flat or down at 23 of the 30 schools, with starting pay averaging $97,049, inching up only $549 from 2009. Meanwhile, the much-coveted signing bonus has also seen a fall from favor, with 23 of the schools reporting that the percentage of students with jobs receiving signing bonuses is down, some by 20 percentage points or more from the year before.

DISAPPOINTING SALARY OFFERS

Even in a tight job market, some recent graduates are not willing to compromise when it comes to compensation. The turnaround in the employment picture means that students like Hussain can be a bit more selective when it comes to the type of jobs they are angling for. Many of the top-ranked schools hit hard by the financial crisis last year have started to bounce back, including Harvard Business School, University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business.

FRUITLESS INTERNSHIPS

The hiring outlook did not look bright for the 2010 class last fall, when many students returned from summer internships without a job offer in hand. Recruiters were still showing up on campus but were hiring fewer students, leaving career services officers such as Wendy Tsung, associate dean and executive director of the MBA Career Services Office at Emory University’s Goizueta Busness School (Goizueta Full-Time MBA Profile), nervous about students’ prospects. “We went into the year very unsure about how it was going to play out,” she says.

She encouraged students to be more proactive about their job search, and her staff worked to develop recruiting relationships with companies the school had not worked with before. By the time the spring rolled around, a “second wave of recruiting” lifted the school’s placement numbers by 11 percentage points, to 93 percent.

SLUGGISH PLACEMENT RATES

Even with the start of a turnaround in the market, some schools have made little to no progress in improving their placement figures. At the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, the placement rate stayed flat at 22 percent, while the University of Maryland Smith School of Business and SMU’s Cox School actually lost ground. Smith’s three-month placement rate fell from 87 percent in 2009 to 81 percent in 2010, while a third of Cox graduates ended the summer unemployed, up from 27 percent in 2009, a deterioration in the placement rate the school blames on turnover in the career services office.

At the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business, only 82 percent of the graduating class reported a job offer at the three-month mark, an improvement of just one percentage point over 2009.

Some people view an MBA degree the same way that Charlie thought about his Golden Ticket in “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory”: They believe a piece of paper can magically transport you to a place you only imagined. But can this addition to your résumé really be your dream ticket? Yes. No. Maybe.

MBA could get you hired in a tough economy

Let’s face it: If you had your pick between two candidates — one with a BBA and one with an MBA — who were both qualified for a job, wouldn’t you take the one with the higher degree? Read the rest of this entry »

You’re in the midst of applying to business school, and it’s time to write your MBA application essays. But first, before you start ruminating about that first MBA essay, take a deep breath. Let’s assess your status: You have your GPA. You studied for and took the GMAT. You’ve worked for a few years after graduating college. Hopefully you have even carved out time for community service and your own recreational interests. Now you are about to begin the last stage – writing your essays and completing your b-school applications – the only one over which you still have any influence. You can’t change your competition, and you can’t change what you’ve done to date, but you can make sure that what you submit in the future is your best.

• General MBA Application Essay Tips
  A few rules to keep in mind while writing your essays.
• How to Write an “Accomplishment Essay”
  The goal in answering this kind of question is to analyze, rather than summarize, an achievement. This advice is particularly true if you’re discussing an accomplishment that is listed elsewhere on the application. Your readers want to gain insight into your character, not read a factual summary of what occurred.
• How to Write Career Goal Essay
  Almost all top MBA programs ask applicants to write an essay about there short term and long term goal and how this MBA program will help the applicant reach the goal.
• A Few Things to Consider When Writing Aaccomplishments Essay
  Typically, you will be asked to list one or several of your greatest accomplishments. A few things to consider when writing this essay…
• Sample MBA Achivements Essay and Comments
  A sampel MBA achivement essay along with comments by profesionals.

This is a repost from Free Essay Writing Topics, Templates, Tips and Examples.

Like every other aspect of lending, student loans have been dramatically affected by the credit crisis. But don’t believe rumors that you can’t get loans for education anymore. They’re still available — and you still need to be careful about how much debt you take on.

Federal student loans are an even better deal than before. Rates are fixed now, rather than variable, and students with the most need will see rates as low as 3.4% in the future. Limits on how much you can borrow have been raised a bit, and parents who take out parental student loans now can defer payments while their kids are still in school. Although some lenders have exited the federal student loan market, the U.S. government has stepped in to make sure the remaining lenders had access to cash to make loans. Read the rest of this entry »

To identify the top undergraduate business programs, Bloomberg BusinessWeek uses a methodology that includes nine measures of student satisfaction, postgraduation outcomes, and academic quality.

This year we started with 139 programs that were eligible for ranking, including virtually all of the schools from our 2009 ranking plus six new schools that met our eligibility requirements. In November, with the help of Cambria Consulting in Boston, we asked nearly 88,000 graduating seniors at those schools to complete a 50-question survey on everything from the quality of teaching to recreational facilities. Overall, 27,317 students responded to the survey, a response rate of 31%. Read the rest of this entry »

Getting an MBA is a good move for work-at-home moms who want to earn the necessary credentials in management as a preparation for further career advancement. Earning an MBA degree will make you more likely to be considered for a higher position and higher pay. In the past, the only way to get an MBA is through a traditional MBA program offered by a campus-based university. But the advent of the Internet has revolutionized access to education. MBA programs are now being offered online by many colleges and universities.

If you are planning to get an MBA degree and deciding whether to enroll in a traditional, campus-based or an online MBA program, it is important to know the similarities and differences, and more importantly, the advantages and disadvantages of both. Read the rest of this entry »

Funny MBA Interview video from Youtube. A lot of tips were included.

As we do every two years, BusinessWeek this year surveyed executive MBA graduates and program directors to uncover the best EMBA programs in the world. This year’s ranking has a few surprises: IE Business School, which catapulted to No. 2 in BusinessWeek’s 2008 ranking of top international full-time MBA programs, emerges as a Top 10 EMBA program as well. Wharton slips to No. 3, relinquishing the No. 2 spot to Chicago’s Booth School of Business. And one new school entered the ranking at No. 22: the University of Texas at Dallas. Read the rest of this entry »

Many an MBA applicant has fretted over their GMAT score. Some worry so much about it, that they retake the test time and time again. Before dedicating too much energy to this sort of stress, you need to ask—how important are GMAT scores in relation to business school admissions?
To get the answer for you, I asked several admissions representatives from top business schools. Here’s what they had to say: Read the rest of this entry »

For many MBA students, earning power is one reason, perhaps the main reason, for enrolling in B-school. So which programs really deliver the goods? Over the course of a career, what’s your MBA worth? The numbers will surprise you.

The slides that follow list the median cash compensation—base salary and bonus—for MBA graduates of each school who have less than two years’ experience, 10 years’ experience, and 20 years’ experience, as well as an estimate of total earnings over a career spanning two decades.

The upshot? According to data compiled for Bloomberg BusinessWeek by PayScale, a Wharton MBA has 90 percent of the value of a Harvard MBA. University of Chicago, 76 percent. University of Iowa? Forty-eight percent. Read the rest of this entry »

As part of Businessweek’s annual ranking of the top undergraduate business programs, senior business students from the 139 participating schools were asked to assign letter grades—from A to F—to their business programs in 12 specialty areas: quantitative methods, operations management, ethics, sustainability, calculus, microeconomics, macroeconomics, accounting, financial management, marketing management, business law, and corporate strategy. Based on those grades, scores were calculated for each of the ranked schools in each area.

Not surprisingly, the top-ranked schools in the overall ranking, published in March, have the most top-10 specialty rankings, as well. Notre Dame leads the way, appearing on eight top-10 lists, followed by Cornell University and Babson College —Nos.5 and 15 in the overall ranking, respectively—with six top-10 specialty ranks apiece.Emory University’s Goizueta School of Business (Goizueta Undergraduate Business Profile), the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School (Wharton Undergraduate Business Profile), and the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill each ranked near the top of five specialty lists. Read the rest of this entry »

Essay prompt: Describe a personal achievement that has had a significant impact on your life. In addition to recounting this achievement, please analyze how the event has changed your understanding of yourself and how you perceive the world around you. (3 pages, 1000 words) Read the rest of this entry »

Natalie Grinblatt, director of the office of admissions and financial aid at Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management, offers some tips for prospective applicants. She was interviewed by BusinessWeek Online reporter Mica Schneider. Following are edited excerpts from their discussion:

Q: Who’s the best candidate for Cornell’s B-school?
A: Someone who’s a leader. We look for a candidate who isn’t only going to succeed in our program academically, but who is going to lead. There’s a distinct leadership quality we look for: being able to assess a situation and seize opportunities or create new ones that have positive results for an organization. This requires independent thinking and collaboration. Both qualities are valued at the Johnson School. There are many people who can reach a goal, but we look for that extra something — the ability to make a difference.
Read the rest of this entry »

Chris Storer, director of admissions at the Boston University School of Management (Boston University Full-Time MBA Profile), has a decade of admissions experience to his credit, including a stint at the Harvard School of Public Health and four years at BU. In a conversation with BusinessWeek’s Rachel Z. Arndt, Storer talks about the great GMAT myth and why BU’s international diversity makes the School of Management stand out. An edited version of the conversation follows. Read the rest of this entry »

The Indian government is considering liberalization of higher education in the country, a move that would allow foreign universities to establish campuses in India. Check out this story from Monday’s Financial Times for more on the proposed changes. One angle that story misses: How the proposed reforms could help local schools. Consider one problem faced by the Indian School of Business, the B-school based in Hyderabad that is partners with Wharton and Kellogg and has just announced an alliance with Sloan. (For more on ISB, look at my story about the school in the current issue of Bloomberg Businessweek here.) Since ISB isn’t affiliated with a university, it can’t give MBAs to its graduates. Indian students don’t mind: Most of the other top B-schools in India can’t give MBAs either, and everybody knows that the piece of paper you get from ISB is an MBA in everything but name. Read the rest of this entry »

The admissions interview is one of the most important parts of the business school application process, because it’s the only time that the admissions office get a chance to meet the real, live you. Business schools rarely employ the “stress interview” technique, trying to make you squirm and seeing how you perform under pressure. The process is stressful enough, and they’re more interested in getting answers to their questions and getting to know the real you, than in seeing how well you can stand up to stress.
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There are 62 MBA programs in California, according to Find MBA.com. Top MBA programs in California include

• University of Southern California (USC) – Marshall School of Business,
• University of San Diego (USD) School of Business Administration ,
• UCLA University of California, Los Angeles – Anderson School of Management,
• University of California, Berkeley – Haas School of Business and
• Stanford Graduate School of Business (Stanford GSB)

For the full list of the 62 MBA programs in California, please visit All MBA Programs in California.

Which Schools Offer Online MBA Degree Programs and Require No GMAT for Admission?

Many colleges and universities require students to take the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) before accepting them into a Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. There are some schools, however, that do not require the GMAT for admission. In some cases, MBA programs that do not require the GMAT, administer entrance exams of their own. Below are 5 schools that offer online programs. Read the rest of this entry »

Over the past three years, the number of graduates of part-time MBA programs has shot up 14.5% — to 22,210 in the 1999-2000 academic year. And half of Business Week’s top 30 full-time MBA programs now offer part-time degrees. That’s because a large segment of the pre-MBA universe — an older and increasingly diverse segment — wants the advantages an MBA confers in terms of prestige and money without having to go back to school and sacrifice two years of income — plus, possibly, their existing careers.

HARDER RECRUITMENT. Now, the leaders in part-time MBA education are trying to take their programs to the next level. They’re putting more emphasis on relevance and innovation in their course offerings, and they’re adding such enhancements as Web-enabled courses and more electives. Others are working to improve the image and success of part-timers. At New York University’s Stern School of Business, a new career-resources adviser works with part-timers to develop job opportunities. And the career-services office at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management now sends representatives to advise part-timers at their downtown Chicago campus during evening classes.

Still, for all of the growth of such programs, many B-schools are struggling to keep the good times rolling. When unemployment is low and the economy sizzles, most business schools find it harder to recruit students away from good careers. Kim Corfman, academic director of the part-time program at New York University’s Stern School, has noticed a drop in applications this year (the school accepted 60% of its applicants in 1999).

KEEPING ‘EM HAPPY. Another goal for the schools is to simply hold on to what they have, as jobs become more demanding — and mobile. Halfway through a part-time program, an employer can transfer a student across country and out of reach, for example. These dropouts take their toll. At Wayne State University in Detroit, for instance, 150 to 200 students drop out each year. That costs the school “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” and hampers it from adding new courses, says the school’s Dean, Harvey Kahalas.

This realization has schools such as Stern lavishing resources on their part-timers. Stern’s program now has its own administrative offices and a community-building orientation program for new students. “We wondered if they wanted a sense a sense of community, and they’re loving it,” says Corfman. The school is also incorporating distance learning.

Such schools are also reacting to complaints from part-time students. Indeed, a recent survey of 5,000 part-time MBAs by the AACSB and New Jersey-based Educational Benchmarking found that the students rated their overall satisfaction with the career services offices at their schools 3.79 on a scale of 7.0.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST. In fact, recruiters are generally enthusiastic about part-time MBAs. Portia Smith, manager for the staff associates program for Sprint, says her company is starting to eyeball part-timers. “The biggest hurdle is getting past the schools, since the students’ employers are often paying the tuition and fees for the students,” she says. For now, she’s noticing more part-time MBA students at her on-campus briefings. “They say that they’re interested and ask how they can be interviewed.” Smith particularly likes the fact that part-timers tend to have more work experience, she says.

Best of all for recruiters, the conflict of interest that B-schools face when finding new jobs for part-timers whose education is financed by their current employer is that fewer and fewer of them are funded by their companies. “Companies see it as a cost savings, and employees are less loyal to companies now,” says Arthur Centonze, dean of the Lubin School af Pace University.

That news may prompt schools such as Michigan State to reconsider their policies on part-time MBA recruiting. Currently, Dean James Henry says, “after the [weekend MBA students] finish the program, if they’re leaving their company, we’ll support them. But in the weekend MBA program, it’s made clear from the beginning that [placement] service won’t be provided for them.”

FASTER TRACK. Schools have also gotten the message that part-time students don’t relish going to night school forever and that they want a wider variety of course work. Thus, Michigan State recently revamped its part-time program to shorten the curriculum to 18 months — vs. two years for the school’s full-time program. Baruch College, which is part of New York’s state university system, has also added an accelerated part-time MBA program that takes just 24 months, vs. the normal four years.

The ultimate draw for students may be that it’s much easier to land a spot as a part-time MBA-er than as a full-timer. Lyons says Kellogg selects 35% of applicants for admission to its part-time program, while the school’s full-time program sorts through more than 5,000 applications to choose a lucky 18%. The University of Michigan reports that 63% of its part-time students are accepted — vs. 21% for its full-time program.

Once they’re admitted, however, students say the workload is equal.

MORE BETTER WIDGETS. Part-timers do pay a price. At many schools, especially those with vibrant day programs, special guests such as CEOs, entrepreneurs, and dignitaries make their lecture rounds before part-time students come to class. “We’re on the mailing lists that announce when good speakers arrive on campus,” says Venugopala of Bentley, “but we can’t go. [Those events] are the biggest things that part-time students miss out on.” Lyons agrees: “Evening students don’t get the networking or extracurricular [activities] that the full-timers do.”

Ultimately, many employers see an MBA as an MBA, no matter how it’s earned. It shouldn’t take business schools long to do the calculation: If the product — the student with a part-time MBA — is both popular and highly profitable, then you want to turn out plenty of good ones.

Part-Time Students Are Getting Full-Time Attention: Enrollment is at record highs. And since part-timers are so profitable, schools are going out of their way to attract and keep them –Written by Mica Schneider from BusinessWeek.

In her first week as an MBA student at the Spanish B-school ESADE, Elizabeth Caswell and her classmates were each asked to prepare a presentation on a company they felt would be a good place to work. Caswell selected KB Home, the $9.4 billion Los Angeles homebuilder. When it was her turn, the Massachusetts native got up and shared her findings, complete with company financials and stock prices. When she finished, her classmates politely applauded her efforts.

What Caswell found at ESADE is what many potential MBAs are looking for, a program that offers a strong dose of management theory–and a global perspective. Because few U.S. MBA programs can match the diversity and international flavor of a school like ESADE, where 74% of students are from outside of Spain, more and more students are heading to schools in Europe and Canada. According to the Graduate Management Admissions Council, the number of American students attending MBA programs in countries like Spain, France, and England has risen from about 2,100 in 2000 to 3,550 in 2005.

This is good news for the top 10 schools in BusinessWeek’s 2006 ranking of the best non-U.S. MBA programs. While the programs differ, each manages–through program design and classroom diversity–to expose students to a world of cultural differences. On average, 64% of the students hail from abroad, compared with 35% at the top 10 U.S. schools. With such breadth, students learn as much from their classmates as from their professors, not just about marketing and finance, but also about how management styles differ in various parts of the world. And this becomes more important as business becomes an increasingly global affair. “Students are beginning to understand that they have to learn to deal with specific problems they will face if they operate in Russia, or China, or Brazil,” says Jordi Canals, dean of the Barcelona-based IESE Business School.

For this year’s ranking of non-U.S. MBA programs, BusinessWeek surveyed more than 2,000 students from 25 of the world’s most competitive programs, as well as the recruiters who hire them, using the same methodology as the U.S. ranking. For the first time since the launch of the international ranking in 2000, three Canadian schools top the list, led again by Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont. In a year marked by a battle for differentiation among top international schools, Queen’s took top honors with an unusual approach that treats students less like students and more like employees.

“TREAT IT LIKE A JOB”

How does Queen’s do it? For starters, it divides students into groups of five or six “participants,” with each group consisting of several different personality types and nationalities so that conflict is almost guaranteed. Unlike most B-schools, where new teams form for each class, Queen’s students belong to a single team for the whole program, much as they would on the job. Each team is assigned to a 15-by-20-foot “office” where each student has a cubicle and is expected to keep office-like hours. It’s here that students spend a majority of their non-class time, discussing projects and working on assignments. And it’s here where much of the magic happens. Students learn how to work as part of a team–resolving differences and solving problems–in a way that can’t be taught in the classroom. “Students are treated like professionals, and they’re expected to treat it like a job,” says Alan Ridgeway, a 2006 Queen’s grad.

This experiment in reality learning has students and recruiters singing the school’s praises. But administrators aren’t easing up. In late September, Dean David Saunders announced plans for a curriculum redesign that will allow students to customize their course loads based on their experience and career goals. For Saunders, the decision to make the change was simply a question of listening to the market. “We talked to employers and alumni and built off of their feedback,” Saunders says.

Indeed, if there’s one lesson that international B-school administrators have learned this year, it’s that the needs of recruiters matter just as much as those of prospective students. To deliver the kinds of grads who can hit the ground running, the University of Western Ontario’s Richard Ivey School of Business last year cut the length of what had been a two-year program in half and revamped the curriculum. The school now requires students to examine case studies from numerous viewpoints, in essence grouping together various disciplines–finance, marketing, operations, and so on–that would ordinarily be chopped up into individual courses. “We’re thinking about it as learning from an issues perspective as opposed to a functions perspective,” says Ivey Dean Carol Stephenson. The changes seem to be working: Western Ontario rocketed up four spots, to No. 2, and was the top choice of recruiters, who say Ivey grads are quickly able to adapt to the workplace with little additional training.

SOLUTIONS TO THE HIRING PUZZLE

As impressive as that sounds, Ivey’s improvement in the ranking was modest compared with that of the University of Toronto’s Joseph L. Rotman School of Management, which leapt six spots, to No. 3, the biggest jump in the ranking. In 2004, Rotman grads said it was hard to find jobs even at the Canadian companies making an annual pilgrimage to campus. In response, the school designed new courses on everything from presentation skills to networking and brought corporate leaders and alumni into the classroom. Sean Bartman, a senior manager of recruiting at Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, is one of a handful of recruiters who visit Rotman to hold mock interviews and training sessions. According to Bartman, who helped implement the sessions, these are important pieces of the hiring puzzle. “You can’t just go into an interview cold and expect to do well,” he says. Judging from the hiring numbers at Rotman, the work is paying off. For the class of 2006, 94% had a job offer within three months of graduating, the school’s best job placement performance in years. The only real complaint from students at Rotman is that they would like to see a few more companies from outside of Canada visiting campus.

With Canadian schools dominating the upper end of the list, several highly ranked European schools found themselves slipping to the middle of the pack this year. The International Institution for Management Development (IMD) fell to No. 4, from No. 2, despite receiving the highest possible ranking in the student survey. The Lausanne (Switzerland) B-school, where students average seven years of work experience–far more than any of the other schools in our ranking–is the destination of choice for those in search of highly experienced classmates, and who might otherwise choose an executive MBA program. That was the choice that confronted Laurent Collier before he chose IMD. “I was already a manager with a good salary,” Collier says. “I wanted to be working with people that had the same [level of] experience as me.” What Collier found in the 11-month IMDMBA was an intense, boot-camp-like experience that provided the career bump he was looking for. “Getting only five hours of sleep a night was worth it,” he says. But the experience comes at a price. Some recruiters skip IMD because its grads are looking for positions at a higher level than companies can offer.

For many European schools, the most troubling problem this year was a perennial one: attracting international recruiters. With so many foreign students looking to return home to work after earning their MBA, schools that fail to attract recruiters from those countries are at a big disadvantage. This is, no doubt, one reason why No. 6-ranked INSEAD hired J. Frank Brown, a retired executive at PricewaterhouseCoopers, as its new dean–to attract more international companies to the school’s Fontainebleau (France) and Singapore campuses.

It doesn’t help that many smaller, regional recruiters aren’t able to pay the high salaries that are a top priority for most students. Patricia Ferrando, a recruiter at Barcelona-based EuroPraxis Consulting, which hires at INSEAD, ESADE, and IESE, says it’s becoming more difficult to get MBAs from those schools in the door. “It’s hard to compete for top talent,” she says.

European and other international schools sometimes complain that poor name recognition puts them at a disadvantage when competing against Harvard, Wharton, and other top U.S. schools. But if they continue to succeed in producing graduates who can thrive in the global marketplace, that may change.

The Best Global MBA Programs：International B-Schools add an automatic credit in worldliness to the curriculum from BusinessWeek

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A number of organizations rank colleges, universities and business-schools in order to help students and applications make good education decisions. Do you know how to find the best rankings? More importantly, do you know how to interpret the MBA program rankings you do find? Every list puts someone different in the top ten, so it can be confusing to know what to believe. Here’s how to find the best lists and understand why certain rank higher than others.

Start by doing searches for top-ranked lists. Remember, not every list is created equally. Is the source reliable? A nationally acclaimed source or a large organization can give you a more reliable look than a smaller website with no real authority. Do your research, and find out if the organization really has the authority to rank MBA programs and business-schools.

Even among organizations qualified to rank educational programs, you’ll find differences between lists. Why? Everyone has a different system used to rank these programs. Once may not be more valid than another, but it is important for you to know the differences. Here are some of the main characteristics used for ranking:

* Average test scores of students
* Percentage of students working within six months of graduation
* Class size
* Study abroad opportunities
* Scheduling flexibility
* Academic standards
* Student resources
* Cost
* Percentage of students admitted
* Scholarships given out
* Alumni opportunities
* Green initiatives and sustainability

All of these characteristics used to rank a college may also be weighted differently. For example, List A and List B might both look at cost and student resources, but List A regards cost as more important, while List B is more interested in student resources. So, make sure you understand the weight given to these lists. However, this is not by far an extensive list. When you read any ranking list, make sure you understand all the characteristics used to complete the ranking. Keep in mind that organizations doing the ranking might change their qualifications from year to year.

How can you tell? Most college ranking lists don’t come complete with a breakdown of how they went about ranking each school. Start by reading what they do provide, however. In many cases, the list will come up with a paragraph about the top schools and why they were chosen.

You can always contact the organization that created the list as well. If you’re wondering why certain colleges rank higher than others, just talk to those who created it. Not everyone will reply, but those who do will likely be more than willing to help you. Remember, at the end of the day, you need to choose a school that is right for you. Just because one school is ranked higher than another on a list doesn’t mean that it is the better school for you.

Most Valuable MBA Programs Ranking
MBA Programs Ranking By Three-Year Salaries
MBA Programs Ranking By Starting Salaries

US MIS Graduate Program Ranking 2009
List the top 20 MIS (Management Information System) graduate programs in 2009 ranked by USNews.

Tuition and Future Income Ranking Of US MBA Programs
Is a business school degree worth the considerable investment? Our ranking will help you make that determination by comparing the cost of attaining an M.B.A.–foregone income and tuition–to the prospect of a bigger salary. In short, our study shows which schools offer the best return on your investment.

A Complete List Of US Financial Engineering Programs
A complete list of graduate Financial Engineering/mathematical finance Programs in United States.

No GMAT MBA Programs?
Harvard Business School, Standord and MIT Sloan has announced that they no longer require MBA applicants to submit GMAT scores. Is this a no-GMAT trend?

List of US and Canadian MBA Programs that Accept GRE Scores
According to ETS, the following business schools in United States and Canada accept GRE General Test scores for admission to their MBA programs…

GMAT expert Brian Galvin from Veritas Prep explores what to do with a low GMAT Quant score. Find out what scores are considered “too” low, what areas of the application can help supplement a low GMAT math score, and learn some GMAT tips on improving your score. Also, hear how two admissions directors views low GMAT scores, whether the GRE is an option for you, and run through a sample GMAT Problem Solving Question.

Source: MBA Podcaster

We often get the question ‘does an MBA make sense for engineers?’ To answer the question and more, I spoke to an admissions consultant, several students, and a couple of deans about engineers and b-schools.

• What should applicants with engineering backgrounds emphasize on their applications?
• How can the engineers round out their skills before they apply?
• Which are the graduate degree options for engineers?
• What’s the career track if you get an MBA versus just stay in engineering?

“For the record, we love to see the engineers apply.� That’s Beth Flye, the Assistant Dean and Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at Kellogg School of Management.

Betsy Massar is the founder and CEO of Master Admissions, an MBA Admissions Consultancy.I asked her which schools like engineers.

“Everybody loves engineers.Who wouldn’t? Every school is going to want an engineer as long as they’re engineer that is going to be able to add to the class.If you look at the top schools, you’ll see that about 33 to35% have entering students with engineering or science or technical disciplines in their degrees. Harvard’s class of 2011 has 33% entering students with engineering degrees or science-related degrees.The Stanford Graduate School of Business has 36%.�

Beth Flye of Kellogg says that most schools look for the same things in engineers as they look for in their other applicants.

“We’re most interested in the quality of a person’s work experience. Quality meaning such things as how has that person had impact at their organization. It could be P&L, it could be from a management standpoint, do they have evidence of progression, what skills have they developed. How does their particular professional experience tie to their post-MBA goals, at least their goals that they have articulated.�

Engineers can get a regular MBA or because of their technical background they can apply to a dual MBA-Masters in Engineering program. Not surprising, one of the best of those dual programs can be found at M.I.T. and the Sloan School of Management.

Don Rosenfield, the director of the dual-degree M.I.T. Leaders for Global Operations or LGO program, says that M.I.T. wants high academic performance and achievement and demonstrated leadership skills for both their regular MBA programs and the specialized LGO program.

Rosenfield says leadership can be demonstrated in various ways.

“Ability to work in teams, ability to work with ambiguous data – you look for things like can they deal with difficult situations. Do they have independence of thoughts and action? There’s a whole series of behavioral characteristics that the school looks for.â€�

He also says they look at what the applicant has done since he or she graduated from undergrad.

“Well for commitment to operations, we look at what kinds of jobs, what kinds of issues they’ve worked on. They don’t necessarily have to be working directly in operations or manufacturing, but they have to show in their interviews and their essays that they are very interested in that area.

OK. On paper you look great. You’ve got great test scores, good grades, and several years of work experience with increasing responsibilities, but Flye says that you need to differentiate yourself from others in the applicant pool.

“The way to do that is to present your authentic self. Who you are, not just the what information, I say, but if you pick up someone’s resume’ that you don’t know, you see some data points, you see some facts. What you do not see is their story. And that is what we are really, really interested in is that person’s story. And that’s where the essays come into play and that’s where the interview comes into play.

Betsy Massar advises that engineers should NOT write their essays all about engineering and their work.

“But to talk about some of the other things that they’re interested in such as reading or movies or sports or anything that indicates that they do more than sit in front of their computer. And I say that because I’ve met so many interesting engineers that have so much else to talk about but for some reason they think that’s the strongest part why they’re applying to business school.�

Kellogg’s Flye concurs. She says if you’re an engineer with great quant skills – this is evident in other parts of your application.

“What is most important in your approach as an applicant is to be holistic about yourself.We want to know all about you. Not just the fact that you have great grades and perhaps a strong GMAT score and strong quantitative skills…But we want to know about your professional experiences. We want to know what your endeavors are. We want to experience through your essays and your interviews who you are. That is very, very core to how we evaluate applicants.â€�

Massar suggests some specific ways for engineers to demonstrate their well-roundedness.

“Get a hobby.Or look back on their own history and don’t be afraid to explore some of the things they used to like to do other than play computer games.�

The essay is a great way for an engineer to showcase verbal skills – just in case verbal test scores are not quite as high as quantitative scores.Shortcomings in verbal scores don’t necessarily relegate engineers to an engineering career. Flye says Kellogg doesn’t have a minimum score requirements.

“We don’t make a decision isolated solely on one area of criteria.So is it possible, in the case of a person with an engineering background, if that person has a lower verbal score, however one wants to define that, is that a deal breaker? Not necessarily at all.�

Rosenfield says that M.I.T. also is concerned with the entire application.

“We look at all the data, test scores, undergraduate achievement. We recognize that test scores can sometimes not give an accurate picture.Certainly a low test score will be an indicator, but there’s no point that we say we won’t consider ‘x’ and we won’t consider ‘y.’ We’ll certainly look at the scores, but we try to keep it in context.It largely depends on what the rest of the pattern says.�

But if you’re really worried about your verbal and writing skills, Flye has an idea.

“Be proactive. Take a class in that area.�

Massar says if you’re an engineer, don’t jump to the same false conclusion many people do when it comes to engineers and the alphabet.

“They get a bad wrap for being bad writers. I talked to an engineer when he was first entering business school this year. I told him that I was a professional writer. He said I really could use some of your help because I’m an engineer.I went to M.I.T. I couldn’t write to save myself. And I’ve seen his writing. His writing is wonderful. I think engineers think they can’t write, when they can write very clearly. I think some English majors seem to write business writing as it’s the great American novel or they’re trying to channel Barack Obama’s speech writer. And that doesn’t necessarily make for good business communication.�

Massar adds that engineers tend to write to the point and in business writing, it’s about telling the audience what they need to hear in order to make a decision.

So let’s say you’ve got the work experience, you’ve written a killer essay and you were accepted into business school. What might be some good things to know?

Margo Villadelgado is studying for an MBA and Masters in Engineering Management at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. She has an undergraduate degree in systems engineering and economics from the University of Virginia. When she graduated she consulted, mostly in IT. She has some really good advice.

“Really think what it is that you want to do after business school, both immediately and in the future. And really look at what skills you have and what areas you need to fill in and what the business school can do for you – doing some self assessment to make the most of your two years at any business school.â€�

That seems like a lot of time, but it’s not when there are dozens of courses to choose from.

“It’s a matter of prioritizing which classes and which opportunities I want to pursue in such a short period of time because there’s a lot of great courses and opportunities.

For example, one of the classes that I took that kind of combines both healthcare and marketing was biotech marketing, so looking how healthcare companies approach the marketing discipline and how it differs from a consumer product that is being marketed.�

She’s also taking an experiential learning course.

“One of the ones I’m working on right now is called Newvention. It’s an integration with the business, law, engineering and medical schools. We’ve teamed up to look at the medical device industry, see if there are unmet needs in different areas, and go from the entire process of conceptualizing an idea, prototyping it and looking how you would introduce it to the market.�

Karla Krause worked for Dell for four years in various roles including production scheduling, capacity planning and outsourcing before she enrolled in the MIT Leaders for Global Operations program. Her MBA will give her a more complete picture of the supply chain.

“I’m planning to go back to Dell in a supply chain related function.I’ve been in some parts of the supply chain, but I haven’t done much with the outbound or logistics, the back end portion.What I’m looking to get an expertise in is once the product leaves either the manufacturing facility or the distribution center, how does it get to the end customer. What’s the optimal networks and which vendors do you need to involve there, what are all the implications and where can you become more efficient or save money once the product is made to getting it to the end customer.�

Iker Marcaide is Krause’s colleague at Sloan. He has an undergraduate degree in Industrial Engineering and Masters in Industrial Management from the Polytechnic University of Valencia in Spain. He was a consultant at The Boston Consulting Group where he specialized in strategic plans, operational turnarounds, and marketing strategies. He chose the dual masters at MIT because he wanted a more intense experience than a traditional MBA. He was looking to deepen his knowledge of operational excellence. Which is…

“To put it simply, it’s how you design not only processes to minimize wastes, but also how can you effectively reach the outputs you desire in an organization by making it highly efficient and effective.�

Villadelgado, Marcaide, Krause and their engineering colleagues don’t go to school just to fill holes in their skill sets. The end goal is to advance in their careers.Here’s Krause.

“If you would like to move up and become an engineering manager, or a general manager of engineering or even a VP of the technology sector, you really have to have the business skills. I mean, ultimately, businesses are there to make money and you have to be able to see how the projects are either viable from a financial standpoint or how the projects fit into the overall goals of the company or how they align with the financial health of the business. I think it’s critical and just an absolute perfect pairing to be able to have the engineering technical knowledge and get the business knowledge to know how to apply it. Because ultimately if you move up you’re not going to be doing a lot of the engineering work, but you still need to be able to understand and articulate the engineering projects.�

M.I.T.’s Rosenfield says that engineers with business degrees don’t only move up but often rise to positions of leadership.

“We can offer students the possibility to go into a technology company, work in both the technical and management arenas and rise up significantly.Many of our students go into these companies and experience a formal rotation or if not experience a different variety of jobs and that prepares them for leadership. Students who have been out of the program for a number of years, they are reaching major positions of leadership in these companies.�

Marcaide names examples of positions for which his colleagues in the Leadership for Global Operations program have been hired.

“A sample of positions that the previous class than myself reached was operations manager, transformational leaders, supply chain managers.I think there is also a big trend now into energy.So I think we’ll see people from my class taking leadership positions within energy in manufacturing companies as well.�

But he’s decided to take another route and will become an entrepreneur.

“I found a very interesting optimization problem that we can apply to financial services. So I’m actually going to take the start-up or entrepreneurial route of applying operations management to a non-traditional problem in financial services.�

In other words, engineers who receive an MBA have all the choices a regular MBA has and then some. And they’re in demand says Massar.

“A business school student that has an undergraduate degree in a quantitative hard heavy duty engineering discipline plus a business school strategic framework plus the training they will get in leadership and interpersonal skills especially in the schools that have a focus on leadership development, those students will be well positioned to enter into any company, strategic planning group or in a management consulting firm or even in the financial industry.It’s the way someone thinks about the problem is what the recruiter will probably be looking for.�

Recruiters love you, and just to hammer the point home, so do the b-schools.

“Engineers have been and will continue to be an attractive group from which business schools are recruiting.�

So engineers – get your pencils sharpened, your essays written and your applications mailed.

Source: MBAPodcaster, by Heidi Pickman.

If you’re the type to take advice from country and western songs, then you no doubt already know that it’s a big mistake to let your kids grow up to be cowboys. Now I’m beginning to wonder whether the same injunction holds true for business majors.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers, which surveys college and university career services offices nationwide, the highest-paid disciplines are not in business. In fact the top 10 are all in engineering, computer science, and information systems. Not a business discipline in sight.

How bad is it? Well, when Bloomberg BusinessWeek compiled its ranking of the top undergraduate business programs, we asked all 111 schools for the average graduate’s salary. It turned out to be $48,311, topping out at MIT Sloan (Sloan Undergraduate Business Profile), where the median starting salary was $62,000.

In the NACE survey, that was more or less the average for all bachelor’s degrees ($48,351)—suggesting that business undergrads, which for years enjoyed a significant pay premium over many other disciplines, no longer do.

And when it comes to the engineering disciplines, business is a clear also-ran. Here are the NACE numbers:

Petroleum Engineering: $86,220
Chemical Engineering: $65,142
Mining & Mineral Engineering: $64,552
Computer Science: $61,205
Computer Engineering: $60,879
Electrical/Electronics & Communications Engineering: $59,074
Mechanical Engineering: $58,392
Industrial/Manufacturing Engineering: $57,734
Aerospace/Aeronautical/Astronautical Engineering: $57,231
Information Sciences & Systems: $54,038

Hmmm. Mamas don’t let your babies grow up to be business majors….doesn’t have quite the same ring. Now excuse me while I go study up on petroleum.

Source: BusinessWeek,by Louis Lavelle.

Source: Financial Times
Note: This is calculated using the salary earned by alumni today, course length, fees and other costs, including the opportunity cost of not working for the duration of the course.

Source: Financial Times

** Note: The average alumni salary today with adjustment for salary variations between industry sectors. This figure includes data for the current year and the one or two preceding years
where available.

The MBA application process is starting to change, with the GRE gaining ground on the GMAT, earlier deadlines, and some schools experimenting with audio and video.

Change is a dominant feature of business schools. Curricula change, new courses are added or dropped every year, professors come and go, and entire programs are born, evolve, or die. But until recently one thing that hasn’t changed much in many years is the application process: A paper application, set deadlines, interviews, and recommendations are still its component parts. Today, though, that process is beginning to undergo a transformation.

Some applications have become more inclusive by accepting GRE and IELTS scores, in addition to the more traditional GMAT and TOEFL scores. Some schools have made their first-round deadlines earlier, so they could provide decisions to applicants in mid-December and keep up with a quicker-paced world. The most compelling change, however, is the inclusion of video or audio components as a way to see the real applicant and his or her creativity.

This evolution is a solution to two problems facing admissions committees: an antiquated admissions process that is out of touch with the lives of applicants and overly packaged applications that lack substance, the result of coaching and consulting run amok, say business school admissions committee directors.

At the Anderson School, the most recent applicants had the option of answering one essay question in audio form, and more than 70% did. The school is now giving students the choice of responding to one of the essay questions with an audio or video clip in the hope that such responses will be more revealing than written answers.

The possibilities of what the future MBA application will look like are endless. Perhaps there will come a day when admissions committee members and applicants see each other via satellite and talk through the essay questions, says Shores. Martinelli says she hopes for an application process that is closer to what the real world of business is like. She would like to see, for example, applicants working on a case as part of a team. Thinking about what it will be like to receive applications on an iPad or e-reader is interesting, Granada says.

Whatever the future holds for MBA applications, technology will play a part. “We think this is where the market is headed,” says Leila Pirnia, founder of MBA Podcaster in Los Angeles. “[These other media] make an applicant three-dimensional and could allow admissions committees to see if the applicant is a true leader.” If executed well, a video can give an applicant the edge. “A video brings the applicant to life,” she adds. “You don’t feel like you’re telling the full story when you write something on paper.”

Source: Business Week, by Francesca Di Meglio.

Good tips from Accepted to Colleges: Almost all business schools require 3 or more letters of recommendation in your application packet. These can be the scariest aspect of your application because you have little control over what your recommenders are going to say. Further, narrowing down the entirety of your personal interactions to two or three individuals who could recommend you to college seems a daunting process. Fortunately, there are six simple rules you should follow in order to maximize the positive impact of your letters.

Intelligently selecting a person who will recommend you is the first step in receiving a quality letter of recommendation. Those who are aware of recent work or accomplishments in and out of the classroom tend to be the best letter writers. While it may be tempting to ask a high-ranking or well-respected community member — such as a councilperson, judge, or other political figure — to write a letter, resist this temptation unless the person you are asking knows you personally very well.  Consider the following in selecting your recommender:

1. Find a leader who knows you and who has worked with you

A teacher, coach, counselor, advisor, or other school leader who has worked closely with you always makes a good recommender. You want to ask someone with insight into not only your recent accomplishments, but also your future potential. Even though it seems like a recognizable name signed at the bottom of a letter will help your chances, remember that the admissions committee is less interested in who writes your letter than what that person actually has to say. A close relationship with your recommender ensures that your letter will be unique, personalized, and impactful.

2. Ask in advance

You don’t have to wait until you start applying for college before requesting a letter of recommendation. If you are still a freshman or sophomore, you can ask a recommender to write you a letter now before he or she begins to forget all of the individual skills and abilities you possess. You can always hang on to a letter for a while before ultimately sending it in. Also remember that if your due date is creeping up and you have yet to ask recommenders for letters, do it immediately. The longer a recommender has to write his or her letter, the higher quality and more polished it will be. Your school work suffers when you try to write an entire essay in one sitting, and the same is true for recommenders. Ask them well in advance so that they have plenty of time to get the work done.

3. Work with your recommender to tell your story

It is not enough to simply ask your letter-writer to recommend you; you must also give them some direction. Talk with them about your goals, dreams, and plans for MBA study. Remember that your application packet is going to be viewed in its entirety. Letters of recommendation that tell a coherent story along with the rest of your materials are always stronger than those that seem random or disjointed. To enhance this consistency, talk with your recommender about what specifically you would like him or her to write about. A letter from someone who you mentioned in your personal statement and who talks about the same experiences you discussed, for instance, is a great way to tell a unified story.

4. Give your recommenders an outline

Your letter-writer already knows who you are, but they may not have the benefit of knowing you all around. You will want some recommenders to write about specific experiences that you have had with them, but you may also want some who comment on your experiences as a whole. For these letter-writers, provide them with an outline of your experiences and accomplishments. The resume you use for your application packet is a great resource for these writers who can focus their topics on your personal achievements. Remember: a letter that comments on you using specifics is always better than a generic one.

5. Come prepared

When you ask your recommender for a letter, always come prepared with the documents he or she needs to fill out. Sometimes colleges will provide a checklist for the recommender to know what he or she should address. These forms frequently include a box meant for you to indicate if you waive rights to access the contents of the letter. Ensure that you check this box. Your letter writer will be able to write a more honest, informative letter if he or she is not worried that you will be proofreading the comments. Remember that no letter-writer will intentionally write bad things about you, so there is no reason for you to check their letter after they write it.

Make sure to provide the deadline for your letter . Finally, a pre-addressed, pre-stamped envelope is always a nice touch and ensures that your recommender will not accidentally send the letter to the wrong place. Doing all of this research in advance will allow your recommender to focus on saying good things about you rather than trying to figure out the administrative requirements themselves.

6. Use your letters to show the big picture

Depending on how many letters your college accepts, ensure that you tell your entire story with them. For instance, if your college requests three letters, do not simply ask three teachers. Instead, ask your science teacher with whom you helped to develop a Freshman syllabus, your baseball coach of three years, and your club advisor who has watched you plan many community service activities. A diverse pool of letter writers tells a much broader story. Remember that the point of letters of recommendation are to get a deeper insight into who you are. Make sure you have a good answer to the question, “what can this person say about me that other letter writers and I have not already said?”

Following these six simple techniques will ensure that you get the best letters of recommendation possible. This part of your application is vitally important and is easy to neglect as you work hard on crafting the parts that you are personally responsible for. But never forget the impact that a well-written letter might have in convincing an admissions officer that you are the right student to fill a seat in their school.

By USNews, the best 20 MIS (Management Information System) graduate programs in 2009 are (from best to least) :

Work experience gives students a reference point to use as they study business. When experienced students share what they have observed while working, it adds depth to the educational experience of the entire MBA class. In addition, work experience provides a means of demonstrating personal performance..

All of these factors make work history an important consideration in admission decisions. Schools vary considerably as to the weight given to work experience, and admission officers recognise that the abilities developed through employment can also be obtained in other ways.

I suggest thinking about the work experience requirement from the schools end. Most MBA programs involve a lot of case work and case discussions in class. Given 2 students with identical GMATS, GPAs, and quality shcools for undergrad whom is more likely to bring relevant experiences and more well-thought out positions to these classroom discussiions … a student who just graduated with the BS/BA and has a had a couple quality summer jobs or someone who has worked 3-5 years in industry and can bring that experience to the classroom?

What’s more, it’s not just about the quality of class discussions. It also has to do with the quality of the NETWORKING, which I think is probably the most valuable aspect of a top B-school. B-schools want people who have had successful careers not only because they can add to the discussions, but also because they bring a valuable Rolodex of industr contacts that other students can access through them. It’s not just about who you know, but who those other people know. For example, if you want to get a job at Microsoft, and your B-school friend used to work at Microsoft, then that’s your “in”. If you want to meet some powerful industry figure, and your B-school friend actually used to work with that guy, then that’s your “in”.

So basically, when B-schools admit you, they are not admitting just you, they are admitting your entire network of industry contacts. If you don’t have any industry contacts because you’ve never actually worked, then you’re obviously a less valuable asset to the class.

Presentation of MBA Application Preparation for international students. MBA Application prep includes why MBA, is MBA woth it, MBA scholarships loans; GMAT prep; MBA application essays; scholarships for international students.

MBA Application Prep

From Business Week (JAN 04, 2010): Six universities have joined a new program of “no co-signer” loans for international students at U.S. B-schools, and more are on the way.

By January 2009, Booth School of Business became the first school to sign onto the Affiliated Loan Program for Students (ALPS), a pilot program financed by Deutsche Bank (DB) which makes it easier for international students to come study in the U.S.

Nearly a year later, the loan program is starting to gain traction at schools across the country. A number of top schools signed on to ALPS in 2009, including Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management, the University of Rochester’s Simon Graduate School of Business, and UCLA’s Anderson Graduate School of Management, among others. Six universities and 15 graduate programs are now using the lending program, most of them business schools. The program holds appeal for international students because it doesn’t require them to have a U.S. co-signer to take out a loan, a crucial requirement for many students, schools say.

Over the past year, ALPS has so far issued about 3,500 loans to foreign and domestic students, and loan volume is upwards of $100 million, organizers say. Business schools are not the only ones taking an interest in the loan program; graduate law and medical programs are also taking note, and more schools are expected to join in 2010, says Kevin Moehn, president of Moehn & Associates, the loan program’s administrator, who’s in the midst of signing agreements with at least four other universities.

“As a result of the global financial crisis, we saw some of the country’s most prestigious schools struggling to replace student loan funding that had been restricted or discontinued by previous lenders,” says Brettschneider in a statement. “By utilizing our resources to create and invest in ALPS, Deutsche Bank is able to help students around the world further their education despite the challenges of the current lending environment.” says Fred Brettschneider, head of global markets for the Americas at Deutsche Bank.

The ALPS program is by far the largest of the business school international student loan programs currently available, and it replicates some of the popular features of the old loan programs, such as not requiring students to have a co-signer or established credit. Interest rates for the student loans are less than 10%, though rates vary depending on the school, and organizers hope rates will be even lower in 2010.

Some features of the program also make it especially appealing to graduate schools. For example, the program leverages a participating school’s credit rating, not its cash, to meet the level of student financing that the school determines. Schools also don’t incur any up-front expenses and don’t need to commit to any minimum or maximum level of loan volume, though they are required to act as co-signers on the notes for the loans, which students obtain from Liberty Bank, an Ohio-based lender. Deutsche Bank purchases the student loans from participating universities and bundles the loans into securities, which are then sold on the capital markets.

From ArticleBase: Graduate school scholarshipsare fast becoming more valuable with the costs of education expected to rise in the coming years. Therefore, students who plan to advance into graduate school are looking at these scholarships as a valid option to produce enough funding. When it comes to your search for graduate school scholarships, there are only a few places to go.

Financial Aid Programs

If you want to apply for graduate school scholarships, the first place you must go to is the university or college’s financial aid office. Most of them have a list of possible scholarships and grants that you can apply for. You can also express your desire to acquire financial assistance for your graduate school studies to any one of your acquaintances so they can inform you of potential graduate school scholarships you can attend.

Government Programs

The government provides funds to send individuals to school, especially those who are in deep financial need. Therefore, make it a point to file your application at FAFSA to qualify for any form of student assistance provided by the federal government. If you can find grants and other forms of graduate school scholarships, it is best to opt for them over student loans as the latter needs to be repaid.

Individual Scholarship Groups

If you know of any scholarship group, visit their office and ask around for any open graduate school scholarship that you can apply for. Associations like the National Scholarship Providers Association (NSPA) were intended specifically to provide funding for students.

It takes more deliberate planning to join in and finish an MBA program than most graduate courses. Oftentimes, the high cost of MBA programs from good schools can put much strain on the student’s finances.

The first place to look for an MBA scholarship is in the different business schools, colleges, and universities. The MBA scholarships offered by these institutions are normally available to students that have excellent GMAT scores. An inability to afford the expenses that comes with completing an MBA must be proven together with merit. Nonetheless, other specific eligibility criteria vary with each institution. It is best to consult each business school’s details regarding their scholarship either through phone or through their website.

Apply to as many business schools as you can to increase your chances of getting a scholarship. Consult the school’scounselors or their designated staff regarding their scholarship to give you professional information on their requirements and criteria.

Some banks also provide scholarships and loans to MBA aspirants.

Applying for a scholarship typically requires you to submit a completed application form together with other necessary documents. Keep track of the dates and deadlines set by the institutions you’ve applied to.

According to Business Week, The average cost for a 2-year MBA (excluding room and board) at a Top 10 b-school has nearly doubled since 1998, jumping from an average of $52,000 in 1998 to almost $95,000 in 2008. Meanwhile, the differential between pre- and post-MBA salaries has narrowed. Ten years ago, the average jump in median salary after earning an MBA from a Top 10 school was about $51,000. Now that number is just under $39,000. Based on these numbers, it would now take almost 2.5 years at the increased salary to cover b-school costs vs. 1 year ten years ago. Taking into account opportunity cost (i.e., lost salary during business school), the total cost today grows to ~$242 thousand vs. $149 thousand a decade ago. Again, based on the incremental salary gains, a current MBA would need 6.3 years to pay back the total cost of a Top 10 MBA vs. a 2.9 year payback a decade ago.

So does this mean that an MBA is not worth it?

Many people mistakenly think that an MBA is the golden ticket to whatever they want afterwards — especially those who are going to a top school.  They think, “If I can get X University on my resume, I’m set for life!�  As with everything we pursue, from careers to relationships, there is no such thing as “set.�  Your success and fulfillment in the business world are dependent on what you do with the degree.  To the person who complains that after the MBA he/she is still in a dead-end job, I would say that is not your business school’s fault.  It’s your job to take your credentials, your network, and the knowledge you gained during your MBA program and go out and make the most of it.  I cannot believe that knowledge, networks and alumni resources hurt someone’s situation.

In fact, in these difficult times, a lot of schools are going the extra mile to help their alums.   If you’re looking for a new job, or a better job, this is absolutely the time to leverage your MBA network.  Contact classmates and alumni networks, set up informational interviews, and get moving.  The degree does not open up doors – the person does.  But an MBA can increase your muscle.

To sum up,  I think an MBA is useful for future success, but I don’t think it’s a requirement. I guess you’d have to look at your own case and figure out where you want to go with your career and whether the time and money spent would add value to that process. That said, though, there are plenty of good executive MBA programs around that address exactly this issue and do a good job of allowing folks to continue to focus on career and work, while simultaneously building new skills.

A discussion from GMAT Club: Many students have presented questions regarding an MS Finance degree as a substitute or stepping stone to an MBA. Now seems as good a time as any to address this important topic.

First, some broad generalities

1. Master of Finance degrees take less time than US-style MBA programs (Roughly 1 year for the MS Finance vs. 2 academic years for the MBA)
2. The Master of Finance degree will have much lower work experience requirements than a high cluster MBA program (many MS Finance programs have no work requirement at all)
3. The Master of Finance will place far less emphasis on leadership or leadership potential than the typical “high cluster” MBA
4. The Master of Finance will tend to be far more specialized than even MBA programs that allow students to develop a “track” or “specialization”
5. Quantiative skillls are even more highly prized in Masters of Finance programs than in the typical MBA program
6. It is generally more difficult to find comprehensive employment data for MS Finance graduates

Second, note that MSF programs come in many different “flavors.”

Here are some broad types of MS Finance programs

1. Mathematical Finance
   “The program creates an integrated curriculum spanning four disciplines: economics, mathematics, econometrics/statistics and computational/numerical analysis.”
2. Financial Engineering
   “Financial Engineering is a multidisciplinary field that request familiarity with financial theory, the methods of engineering, the tools of mathematics and the practice of programming.”
3. Comprehensive Finance
   “Unlike mathematical or computational finance Master programs, we teach all of finance. This means for instance that we teach accounting, corporate finance, behavioral finance, etc., in addition to stochastic calculus, derivatives pricing, financial engineering, etc. We believe that our broad multidisciplinary approach to finance is an important advantage of our program, and that our placement record reflects it.”

Third, universities have different administrative structures for running MS Fin programs

. Here are some examples:

1. Finance programs sponsored by the Mathematics or Engineering department (e.g. University of Chicago and Columbia University)
2. The Hybrid programs that are shared between Mathematics/Engineerng and the Business School or Economics Department (e.g. University of Southern California)
3. The Finance program provided through the Business School or Department of Economics (e.g. University of California Berkeley)

Token: ZNG4CY5GA3V2

This is a discussion from Linkedin.com.  Ean asked “Can someone tell me the difference between a Masters of Business Administration(MBA) and a M.S. in Management? The course descriptions look similar, but I am not sure what kind of weight a M.S.M holds.”

The primary difference is the “core” requirements for the MBA generally 10 courses. The Masters program is good, but the MBA seems to be the Gold Standard.

I would agree that the MBA is much more recognized, but I would also posit that the relative value of each program depends on what you plan to do with the degree. For someone who wants to specialize in change management and leadership development, I would offer the MS or MA in Management as much more focused to support that goal – on the other hand, if a management position within an organization is what you want, then the MBA is probably better.

I know folks who are successfully managing departments and corporations, being consultants and who are unemployed. In each case, some have MBAs, some have Management degrees, and some have some other type of degree. Not sure that, outside the Ivy League schools, it is as critical as the MBA recruiters would have us believe.

The traditional MBA curriculum alays focused on exposing an individual to all the key areas of management within the business operations domain, and to a certain extent ensuring a solid financial literacy base for advanced ffinancial analysis and decision-making competencies revolving around identifying ket risk or opportunities with beneficial returns. The masters in management route though often similar would in some cases emphasise other key competency areas which that sgrow as specifc business school emphasised as being critical operating paradigms or perspectives to consider and in some cases grow as a body of knowledge.

The truth is the both the MBA and the MSBA are very similar, they require about the same number of total courses and require a grounding in general business disciplines, quantitative and communication skills.

The difference (at our school) is in the upper division electives. MBA students have a fairly tightly scripted program, there are only 4 electives which can be used for a concentration. The MBA is considered to be a “generalist” degree, covering the scope of management issues.

The point is, unless you have a clear reason to take a degree other then the MBA, the MBA is what you want.

An MBA is the master’s of business administration degree and the MS is a master’s of science degree. Either of these degrees are completed after a student receives the bachelor’s degree, and they are often used as means to advanced careers.

The truth is the both the MBA and the MSBA are very similar, they require about the same number of total courses and require a grounding in general business disciplines, quantitative and communication skills.

The difference (at our school) is in the upper division electives. MBA students have a fairly tightly scripted program, there are only 4 electives which can be used for a concentration. The MBA is considered to be a “generalist” degree, covering the scope of management issues.

MS students have no script and have 8 electives for their advanced courses. This means that you get two kinds of students going for the MSBA – Those that have a specific focus they want to prepare for (you see the MSBA valued in some technically oriented industries) – and those that are looking for the easiest schedule they can find.

That is why, as a rule, the MBA is the preferred degree – there is a stronger level of consistency in the brand. And it is the union card you need to be taken seriously in corporate America. Businesses that hire MSBA’s are usually looking for specific competencies that they don’t get with a generalist program.

There are also master degrees other than the MBA and MSBA that prepare you for general management, for example a masters in Public Administration may be useful if you are looking to go into government.

The point is, unless you have a clear reason to take a degree other then the MBA, the MBA is what you want. If you are not sure I recommend two approaches：

1. First, talk to people who are successful in the area you want to grwo and find out what kind of degrees they have on their resume’s.
2. Second, Talk to an advisor at the school you are thinking of and discuss options. You may have to talk to more than one advisor – and it may be smart to have these conversations at a general university rather than a specialist school (even if that is not where you are planning on going). Each advisor is likely to steer you toward programs he or she is comfortable with. You may also want to network with some of your old college faculty to see what they have to say. They would probably love to hear from you and certainly be proud of what you have accomplished.

Most students getting their MBA in popular fields such as finance, marketing, and management, but these are not the only the specialization of MBA programs offered by colleges or universities. There are far more specializations in MBA offered for individuals in various industries; any fields that you can think off, there will be an MBA specialization for it.

Focuses on a wide variety of topics within the domain of finance including entrepreneurship for high tech companies, investment analysis, mergers and acquisitions, and value creation. Enhance your ability to perform risk analysis, capital budgeting, foreign direct investment, multinational capital budgeting, and manage foreign currency risk while also exploring quantitative methods of valuation. Read the rest of this entry »

Kurt Badenhausen and Lesley Kump from Forbes:  Is a business school degree worth the considerable investment? Our ranking will help you make that determination by comparing the cost of attaining an M.B.A.–foregone income and tuition–to the prospect of a bigger salary. In short, our study shows which schools offer the best return on your investment.
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