MBA Admissions

Location: On the Internet.

Prerequisites: The motivation to learn.

Required Text: None.

Objectives: Learn all about the MBA degree and the admissions process.

There are many reasons to pursue a professional degree, but if you work in business and want to expand your career opportunities, earning a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) is a great decision to make. An MBA is the best way to facilitate career changes and can help you gain highly sought jobs in fields including consulting, investment banking, and venture capital.

During your MBA program (the most popular ones are of two years' duration), you will expand your knowledge and become an expert in finance, management, marketing and strategy as well as learn new ways to analyze business issues. You will also learn techniques to best market yourself in a highly competitive field.

A strong economy is not always a guarantee, so spending two years (if you choose a traditional full-time program) earning a degree that will make you more competitive can be a very worthwhile investment by sharpening your job skills, beefing up your resume and expanding your knowledge base and your network of contacts.

If adding to your career flexibility and enabling you to switch careers is not enough to persuade you to earn an MBA, this might help. An MBA from a top degree program increases your earning potential by more than 150%. Staying in the same line of work for two years is not likely to do that.

For many future senior managers, the short-term benefits to earning an MBA from a top program include gaining valuable work experience with a consulting firm, investment bank, or a venture capital group. It will also provide you with opportunities to work for a Fortune 500 company in business planning, investor relations, or corporate development.

The long-term benefits are that these experiences can then position you for senior-level management openings. Many people do not know the many non-conventional ways that a business school education can enhance their career potentials. The education will sharpen your analytical skills, and give you the skills to excel in government and non-profit sectors, although a degree in public policy can often also prepare you for the latter.

For those who have decided to pursue an MBA there are a few options available: Full-time, part-time or executive. Each has its own pros and cons.

A full-time time program will allow you to concentrate more completely on your class work and make a summer internship crucial (especially for those wanting to switch careers).

Part-time options can be less intensive depending on your current employment. Earning an income while going to school part-time can also make the financial burden less stressful and many employers will help with tuition costs.

An executive program is best for applicants who will be placed into senior level jobs as the classes in these programs are taught from the "50,000 foot view" instead of the "10,000 foot view" in other programs. These are also less-than-ideal programs for students looking for career switches. With the EMBA's high sticker price, it is often funded by an employer who is fully expecting its sponsored student to stick around for a while after finishing the degree. Hence, summer internship opportunities are not usually available.