MBA after working 3 years?

Want to shoot for an MBA at a top 15 school and planning to start prepping for GMAT. Has been 1 year on job now and plan to work 2 more years before going to b school. Any suggestions on the best time to take it or what to do to further fine tune the application process? Currently a commercial banking analyst at Citi.

 

Agree with Beny23

Why do want to get an MBA? Do you plan on career track that requires an MBA attain?

Why go for an MBA to get a position you can get without an MBA (based your assessments)?

Personally, if you really do not need an MBA to attain your career goal, then I would advice that you wait 2 more years to venture into your alternative career routes you mentioned; then if you still think you need an MBA then go for it (higher chances too to get into MBA business schools">M7 schools)

(btw I'm an undergrad - my reason for these questions is because i feel you've a good track record and can get to the next level of your career w/o an MBA or spending >$200,000)

  • just my two cents.
"Striving for excellence motivates you; striving for perfection demoralizes you"
 

No offense to undergrads/interns, I appreciate your opinions but this is mainly directed to get some opinions from some more experienced members here.

But to answer your questions, I feel like I need an MBA for the network. It's something that I have had to develop on my own through networking and I haven't been lucky enough to have a built-in network from school. Most of the kids from my undergrad who ended up in IB/PE/consulting/HF/strategy/etc. were in the undergrad b school program. As these people get further and further out from school, you end up knowing a ton of different people doing different things. I never really had a big network from my undergrad. Also, for people who do consulting/IB right out of school, you start with a ton of peers around your age, so in a way you get a network of people there too.

A MBA is one way for me to have a network of mine own through school. Also, it's an opportunity to meet all sorts of accomplished individuals and learn from each other. Looking further down in the road on my own career I can see that eventually that network will be extremely useful to have to tap into, regardless of what career route I take. My current jobs to date haven't allowed for the opportunity for me to really develop a good, strong network of different types of individuals working on different things.

 

I do think you should be competitive at MBA business schools">M7 programs, especially provided you are able to do a few things: -Score a 740+ on the GMAT to help offset the lower GPA -Take 1-2 part-time quantitative business courses over the summer in areas such as Economics and Finance and get A's in those courses to convey your dedication to strong academic performance -Secure a strong recommendation from a boss at both your prior and current employer to demonstrate excellent career performance

Also, a couple areas are important that you haven't mentioned: -Extracurricular activities in college. Important to demonstrate leadership (especially as a younger applicant) -Interests and activities outside of work and school. These are important to round out your application and build interest in your candidacy

Good luck!

_________________ Heidi Granner Senior Admissions Counselor Clear Admit, LLC www.clearadmit.com http://blog.clearadmit.com www.twitter.com/clearadmit www.facebook.com/clearadmit
 

I think you have a pretty good shot based on your story and stats.

xoxo

[quote=Dirk Dirkenson]Shut up already. Your mindless, reflexive responses to any critical thought on this are tedious. You're also probably a woman, given the name and "xoxo" signoff, so maybe the lack of judgment is to be expected.[/quote]
 

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