JesseGMAT wrote:
I just finished my freshman year and completed 61 credits. Will finishing my undergraduate degree in three years put me in any disadvantage for business school? Or should I just take the minimum number of credits to finish in four years? Thanks!
Sounds like you are pretty smart. That being the case I would suggest that you take four years to complete your degree.
My reasoning is thus:
- GPA is something business schools look very hard at. If you take the full four years then you should be able to make sure you maintain a really high GPA and that will serve you better in the long run than finishing in three years.
- Another thing that business schools like to see is lots of extra curricular activities. Take four years and give yourself time to get involved with sports, student government, and ideally some sort of charity work. Again these things will give you a lot to talk about on your applications and will give you an advantage.
- You'll also have more time to network really hard and get a killer job. Work experience at a great company or in a really interesting field is very important for your applications.
One more piece of advice, Plan on taking the GMAT about 1 year out of school and start studying now. Not much, couple of questions a night would be fine. If you can do what I've said above and then complete the picture with a great GMAT score then you'll be a really competitive candidate.
Hope this helps.