How do you know you are ready for B-School?

Question

Hey guys,

I'm wondering how you know you are ready for b-school?

Here's my story:
-Recently graduated from at a top 20 national university, BA in Economics and Psychology, 3.5 GPA.
-Took the GMAT once, scored a 750 (47Q,47V). 
-Strong undergrad extra-curriculars, including chief officer of a local volunteer ambulance corps, among others. 
-Working full time with a company I interned at junior year. The company was a start up then, with a few guys, but is now successful with 50+ employees. Because I was there from the beginning and became close with the leaders of the company as it grew, I have been able to join in a very active role, and now lead a team of four analysts. I hope to continue to and gain good work experience, to place me in the running for a top-level MBA program.

Here's my question for all of you:  When should I start thinking about business school? How do I know I am ready? And what I'm really curious about - what was the trigger for you, that made you decide to jump in and start the application process?

Currently, I'm ~90% sure I will want to pursue an MBA in the next few years. But when do I know it is time? From what I see on this site, 2 years in the bare minimum before I should even return to this thread. Is that true?

Thanks for your stories and your help.

Kahalani

bakfed · Answer

Funny thing is, and not to sound cliche, once you start working, you'll probably realize the answers to your question as you progress in your career.

Most of us choose the path of MBA because it's a great career-changer option. Or for some specific fields, you simply need an MBA to continue your career (such as IB and MC). Most folks work for a good 4 or 5 years to gain that full time work experience, so they'll have ample experience to discuss in application essays, interviews, classes, peer to peer, etc. When you're ready is really your own judgment.

I think an even more important question to pose after reading what you wrote is: How are you 90% sure that you want an MBA in a few years? What makes you so positive that you'll most likely get an MBA?

staind · Answer

IMHO, there are only 2 primary reasons to do an MBA.

1. Change careers
2. Progress up the ladder in your existing career.

When you come to a point where you don't see yourself going in the direction you want to and feel an MBA will be able to help you move in that direction AND you're willing to fork out 100-150k, then you're ready for an MBA.

kahalani · Answer

Thanks for your reply.

bakfed - I figure I'm 90% sure because, while my path is not set in stone by any means, I believe I know pretty well my general direction. I know that I'm an entrepreneur at heart, and unless I am seriously mistaken (which I'll admit isn't out of the question) I'll likely be starting new ventures or at least be involved in start-ups and early-stage businesses for much of my career.

staind- My current goals for an MBA are to:
a) Develop of strong network of intelligent and ambitious people in a range of industries.
b) Improve my managerial skills, but more importantly to improve my general competency in a wide range of focuses. In a start-up you need to wear many hats (something that's been really clear already, even in my short experience), and getting an MBA will provide me an opportunity to learn financial analysis and marketing techniques that will increase my analytical ability and flexibility as a team member and leader. 
c) Expose myself to people who come from different backgrounds and industries, to find new business opportunities.

These goals seem like they would be useful in almost any career or industry, even if I decide to take path other than what I said earlier. I'm not expecting to go down a particularly traditional career path, but as I see it, that makes an MBA all the more valuable, since I won't necessarily be able to otherwise develop a strong network, without working for a few years in finance or consulting for one of the big firms.

How do you know you are ready for B-School?

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