2 MBAs a good/bad idea?

yea you would need to drop out. Don't know how favorably that would look in the eyes of the AdCom however

Right now, I have to complete 7 courses (21 credits) to graduate with a concentration. I have a choice, that I change my degree from MBA (business intelligence) to MS.Information Systems, which also requires me to take 24 credits and will waive all pre-reqs because what I have already completed in MBA were part of pre-req to MS I.S program.

This is nerve wracking.

Option 1 is mentioned above as an MS I.S path,

Option 2 could be dropping out of school and going for MBA in FALL 2009

But at this point I feel i do not have enough work experience which will help me after MBA from a good school.
I only have roughly 2 years experience.

At the very least, I would not drop out until you have your high GMAT score done and in the bank. There are many horror stories about people sure they would get their 700 only to score 520 3 times in a row.

Tarmac's advice is right on. Take GMAT. If you score high, and you are set on a top 30 school. Switch to the MS degree.

I am 25 yo right now have almost 2 years work experience.. do you think if I get a better score on GMAT will it be a good idea to forgo all my credits earned during 1 year and a half at my present school and go for MBA in Fall 2009?

I don't think anyone can answer that question but you. It depends what you want to do after an MBA, if you're realistically competitive in the top programs now, and your priorities.

To me this seems a bit irrational. Why would you want to drop out half way through? After all, there are plenty of people from third-tier schools who do exceptionally well in life, and there are just as many top-school MBA's who fail. While the brand of a school is a good value added to your skills, it is not the defining factor of success. I guess, since most people who surround me at Wharton have a very clear direction in life and the MBA is usually seen as a catalyst of their overall development, it is difficult to see the MBA degree as a commodity or a consumer good that you can discard or upgrade because of the brand.

On the other hand, I think getting into a top tier school after having almost finished this MBA would be totally unrealistic even with a perfect GMAT score. The GMAT is generally used as a predictor of one's ability to crunch numbers ("sustain the quantitative rigor") efficiently during the first year; since you've already been there done that, the fact itself renders GMAT scores useless for any school. It will also be very difficult to explain why you dropped out; in addition, dropping out of school would also hurt your academic record. B-schools are quite big on the idea that where you have been is a good predictor of where you would go (past is a predictor of future), so strictly speaking they would probably not accept a person who dropped out of an MBA program once.

If I were you, I would finish your MBA and do the best I can with it.

Is your current MBA free? If I have to face this situation, I'd be asking myself whether I want to spend $100k+ on an MBA after I've already worked through 75% of the courses in an MBA program. Also, if I were in your situation, I'd be spending time trying to find whatever connections I can get from school's career services, other students, and alumni to get the job I want after graduation, rather than spending time re-doing math & verbal.

But if you're very young, independently wealthy, and determined on applying for top 30, take the GMAT and Option 1. At least you'll get some kind of degree and your money wouldn't go to waste. If you apply in a couple of years, you can sort of spin the MS I.S. degree as being too narrowly focused and you need an MBA to bridge your skill set.

I think Chicago is one of the few top tier schools that allow you to apply for an MBA if you already have one, not sure what those acceptance rates look like though.

Is your current MBA free? If I have to face this situation, I'd be asking myself whether I want to spend $100k+ on an MBA after I've already worked through 75% of the courses in an MBA program. Also, if I were in your situation, I'd be spending time trying to find whatever connections I can get from school's career services, other students, and alumni to get the job I want after graduation, rather than spending time re-doing math & verbal.

But if you're very young, independently wealthy, and determined on applying for top 30, take the GMAT and Option 1. At least you'll get some kind of degree and your money wouldn't go to waste. If you apply in a couple of years, you can sort of spin the MS I.S. degree as being too narrowly focused and you need an MBA to bridge your skill set.[/quote]

Thank you for your suggestions. Half of my current MBA is being paid by my company and half out of my own pocket.