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Top MBA programs w/ little or no working experience? [#permalink]
 13 Jun 2010, 09:49
Has any1 here gotten into a top MBA program with little or no working experience? I am a recent college graduate and interested in going to B-school next year, and thus I wont have any work experience.
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Re: Top MBA programs w/ little or no working experience? [#permalink]
13 Jun 2010, 11:17
Also curious as to this
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Re: Top MBA programs w/ little or no working experience? [#permalink]
13 Jun 2010, 13:22
Another post about it here: is-experience-needed-95475.htmlAs I posted there, it would be a significant handicap for you if you apply with zero working experience. In fact, some schools like Tuck prohibit those with less than 2 years of working experience from applying. Even top business schools that are known to be more lenient towards younger applicants have average WE of 4 or more years. If you really want to apply early, then I suggest you find a job (that somehow relates to business) and stick with it for at least 2 years. If you have the time and money to waste, came from a top undergrad, perfect GPA (3.8 at the very least), perfect GMAT plus endless awards and connections then maybe you can try applying now. (I believe it also helps if you were successful in making your own start up company) Again, this is for the top business programs. There are probably programs out there that don't rely heavily on WE but that's not the case for the top tier schools.
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Re: Top MBA programs w/ little or no working experience? [#permalink]
14 Jun 2010, 10:22
There's the Harvard 2+2 program, and Stanford admits college seniors as well.
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Re: Top MBA programs w/ little or no working experience? [#permalink]
15 Jun 2010, 20:41
I disagree.
I know some will just write you off with little work experience, but if you have too much they might not want you. You're there to learn, not share your expertise with the teachers.
When I applied, I only had 2.5 years total, and I don't think it hindered my application anywhere.
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Re: Top MBA programs w/ little or no working experience? [#permalink]
15 Jun 2010, 21:42
peppermuncher wrote: There's the Harvard 2+2 program, and Stanford admits college seniors as well. Harvard's 2+2 is for juniors and they will still need to log 2 years of work. Stanford is known to accept younger applicants but I still don't think the number is even noticeable. (I've read that the top schools accept literally handfuls, 1-10 each school, of straight from undergrad students) They say they'll look at applicants -- that does not mean the applicants are going to be accepted. If the chance of going to a top school is 10%, what would the chance be for those with no experience? Much less I'd imagine -- would it even be worth the time, effort and money? Does anyone have any anecdotal evidence of the contrary? I've heard of those who quit undergrad, got jobs/joined the army, went back to undergrad and then straight to b-school but never heard of anyone going to b-school straight from undergrad alone.
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Re: Top MBA programs w/ little or no working experience? [#permalink]
15 Jun 2010, 22:08
krussell wrote: I disagree.
I know some will just write you off with little work experience, but if you have too much they might not want you. You're there to learn, not share your expertise with the teachers.
When I applied, I only had 2.5 years total, and I don't think it hindered my application anywhere. I agree with you're second statement. 2 years seems to be the minimum for applicants (for those who want to stand a good chance of getting accepted). But, the question is zero/little work experience. (Little as in less than 2 years) Especially in the OP's case of no experience at all. The MBA is supposed to train your managerial skills (How can you lead when you've never had a job before?). Yes, too much experience might be a bad thing because the MBA won't help much but I think the opposite is true too: Too little experience means you bring nothing to the table. A lot of schools use the case method and have students learn in groups where they can share their experiences in their respective fields. What's more important is that schools will definitely scrutinize the rest of your application more than they would if you were an experienced applicant. Work experience also gives you time and reasons to access your career and life goals. You would have more to say in your interviews and apps. Maybe you might change your mind about getting an MBA... I'd also imagine it could adversely affect your recruitment process. MBAs with no job experience don't look too attractive compared to those with experience.
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Re: Top MBA programs w/ little or no working experience? [#permalink]
16 Jun 2010, 21:59
it's going to be tough anywhere with 0 full time work experience. if you look at the admission statistics for most of the top schools, inevitably they will list the age range and work experience range, and you'll usually find at least 1 student with 0 work experience. this doesn't mean that they are necessarily receptive to them, however.
i think the most notable top school that accepts younger applicants is HBS. when i visited their campus last fall, you could see in the classes and around the campus that the ratio of younger (aged 24-25) to older students was much higher than at other schools. there have also been a few articles and threads about this phenomenon as well. however, applying out of undergrad is generally not recommended for top schools; smaller regional schools may accept you straight out of undergrad, but the types of job opportunities between those schools and a top national school will be markedly different
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Status: schools I listed were for the evening programs, not FT
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Re: Top MBA programs w/ little or no working experience? [#permalink]
17 Oct 2011, 08:30
I just don't see how someone with no full time work experience of any kind can be a great help in the business school classroom. I think someone who worked full time or close to it while in college and then went straight to b school can be a big plus however.
Either way, I am certainly in the camp that it's in someone's best interest to work a number of years before going to professional graduate school.
If there is a professional graduate school for people (without hard science degrees) with no full time experience, it's law school. At most of the Top 50 law schools, at least 2/3 (if not even more) of the student body is either right out of college or at most a couple years out of school.
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Re: Top MBA programs w/ little or no working experience?
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17 Oct 2011, 08:30
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