Looking for Career/MBA Advice
[#permalink]
15 Nov 2012, 22:33
Hey everyone, this is my first post here. I was scouring the internet looking for a place to get some advice, and this looks like a great start. I'll just give some background information and see where it goes.
Right now, I am finishing up my BA in International Languages. I have been primarily studying Arabic for the last few years and I'll have my degree by next month. Business school was something that was sitting in the back of my mind, but I didn't really start thinking about it until my management professor told me that my academic background would make me a good candidate. She also said that the longer you wait to attend, the harder the experience will be.
My GPA isn't completely terrible, ~3.4, but my college education hasn't gone without some errors on my part. I am wondering if I stand any shot at actually getting in to an MBA program, and whether or not I should attend at this point, even if I could. Most of the information I've read suggests that applicants have around 2 years of relevant work experience. I have very little work experience in general, and I've not been active in my community since I started college. A few years ago, I received a scholarship to study abroad, so I spent a semester in Morocco studying Arabic. Last year, I stopped attending school to join the Army in pursuit of 1) language training 2) related work experience outside of Oklahoma. After a bad incident during basic training and a long 8 months, I was honorably discharged this year with disability and the entirety of my GI Bill benefits. Since I don't have much of my undergrad left, I'll have a lot of months left on my GI Bill.
So right now, I'm trying to decide if I should focus my efforts on business school preparations, or focus on getting a solid job and getting some experience. A main concern for me is that without a degree in a similar field, I won't be able to get a position that has relevant work experience fitting an MBA, so I could just be wasting time. Right now, if admitted, the University of Oklahoma's MBA program wouldn't cost me a dime because of my GI Bill, though I would much rather move east (UVA, Cornell, UPenn, Dartmouth). Looking at the chart at MilitaryMBA, it looks like I could get a fantastic MBA without it destroying me financially.
What should I do? If you want any more information, just ask. Any feedback is appreciated!