Accept or Reject Stanford GSB admission?

Looking for Views/opinions?
I am 30 year old female
No assets, salary of ~100K
Have a PhD and work in healthcare as a product developer for last 3 yrs in fortune 100 company
Got admission in Stanford for fall 2014
Debating if I should accept it?

Concerns: a) Is it financially a worth it decision. I will not be earning for next two years.
b) career after MBA: Will I have to start from scratch after MBA or will I be able to capitalize on my combined MBA + PhD

 

I would postpone MBA and get married. Or maybe go to the business school just to look for a husband.

"I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature."
 

Met a lady at Starbucks the other day. Got busy in her 30s so didn't marry. Who would marry a 40 year old?

Now f*cked.

"I do not think that there is any other quality so essential to success of any kind as the quality of perseverance. It overcomes almost everything, even nature."
 

Why did you apply in the first place? What do you want to do post-MBA, and do you need an MBA to get there? How big of an impediment is the ~$400k+ opportunity cost (i.e. if you graduate and don't have a job immediately is that a problem)?

Just some things to think about.

 

Well, first off congrats - getting Stanford admit is ridiculously tough.

Second... what exactly do you want to do after your MBA? I mean, if you applied you must have gone through the thought process of 'after my MBA I wish to get into XYZ field or accomplish _____'. I mean I know people make up stuff sometimes for their essays, but I would imagine you gave this some consideration.

If you tell us what you're thinking or hoping to accomplish, then this would be a more helpful discussion.

 

Damn, despite my clearly somewhat sexist username (which i created when I was dumb kid in school or whatever), I have to say this forum is pretty fucked up. Yes, lifestyle considerations are key, but many on here went directly to the fact that we're talking about a female and assumed getting married rather than supporting herself is her key priority. It may well be, but the tone of this is a bit... yeah. Anyways.

My understanding is that you may have to start from scratch-ish, but only if you decide to switch industries. If you go into health banking or PE for example, which would seem logical and give you WAY higher earnings, then you'd have to start as associate. That said, associates in IBD make over $200k, and more every year after the first year, so it would not take very long to earn back the dough. It really depends what your career goals are, etc... if you want to move into investments than stanford can easily get you there.

 

If you're interested in healthcare VC, I think you'd have a pretty good shot with your background + Stanford mba (assuming your PhD is some sort of STEM degree). If you landed that type of role, it would be worth the investment, in my opinion.

 

How can you be a PhD and a GSB admit and post so few details about yourself and your decision? Do you really expect anyone to be able to give a (serious) opinion on what you should do without telling us what you want to do?

Tons of people give up six-figure jobs to go to GSB (the majority?). Most would tell you that it's worth the investment, but most don't have PhDs, so your situation is obviously unique. If you're story is real, would love to hear what your goals are and why you thought b-school was a thing worth applying to in the first place.

 
ship:
I am 30 year old female
No assets

Now now, don't be so hard on yourself...I'm sure you have at least 3 assets :)

All kidding aside I think you can certainly leverage an PhD with an MBA (especially if you concentrate on something healthcare related) to work on the management side of a healthcare organization like a biotech/pharma firm or maybe even a hospital...I think it all depends on what you want to do.

 
<span class=keyword_link><a href=/resources/skills/finance/going-concern>Going Concern</a></span>:
ship:

I am 30 year old female
No assets

Now now, don't be so hard on yourself...I'm sure you have at least 3 assets :)

As soon as I read the words, 'no assets', I knew someone would have beaten me to this comment.

(PS -- It's sort of obvious that OP is a troll (or Stanford is now admitting Special Olymipans))

 

I must say that some people on this blog are ridiculous...(#3334, bschoolhopeful) just because I wrote that I am a female, the comments started with wedding. Had it been from a guy, probably, no one would have taken the discussion on the wedding side or towards finding a girl.

fyi: I am married.

I was looking for input on career opportunities to leverage PhD + MBA

 
Best Response

As someone who works with students wanting admissions to Stanford GSB all the time, and someone who works as a resume coach for the Stanford GSB career management center, I can see why people would be a bit skeptical of someone asking for advice from this crowd.

My guess is that the deep thought required for the REALLY essay probably brought up some ideas for what you want to do with your training. The thing about Stanford, or any great business school, is it is going to give you the tools and experience to learn how to approach a problem from strategic angles, and that includes a whole bunch of training in leadership, communication, and problem solving. That will open up different kinds of opportunities for you that might not be available, considering where you are now.

My suggestion would be to go to the admits weekend, see what current students and other admits have to say about their futures, and enjoy the process. You don't know what you don't know. Read. Look at books like "How Will You Measure Your Life" by Clayton Christensen, author of "The Innovator's Dilemma"

http://www.claytonchristensen.com/books/how-will-you-measure-your-life/

Look at the GSB training courses on leadership and strategy https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/cldr

and look for the boost that this kind of program is going to give you.

If you spent the time and energy on the application and were admitted, something tells me that you want more than you are getting right now, and the two years at a place like the GSB will certainly catalyze your career path toward personal and professional rewards.

Make sense?

Betsy Massar Come see me at my Q&A thread http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/b-school-qa-w-betsy-massar-of-master-admissions Ask away!
 
ship:

Looking for Views/opinions?
I am 30 year old female
No assets, salary of ~100K
Have a PhD and work in healthcare as a product developer for last 3 yrs in fortune 100 company
Got admission in Stanford for fall 2014
Debating if I should accept it?

Concerns: a) Is it financially a worth it decision. I will not be earning for next two years.
b) career after MBA: Will I have to start from scratch after MBA or will I be able to capitalize on my combined MBA + PhD

Are you American? Your writing reads like that of a non-native speaker, no offense.

I think having a PhD and MBA would be a nice combo for management roles at certain healthcare companies.

 

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