Undergrad -> MBA
I'm an incoming sophomore at a semi-target university (think Rice/Vanderbilt) and on the university's football team. I used my athletic "redshirt" last season (which allows me to retain a year of athletic eligibility with the NCAA). I'm on track to graduate from my undergrad program a year early, and because I have my redshirt year remaining, I will have 2 additional athletic years of eligibility post-undergrad. With my remaining years of athletic eligibility, I can either transfer to another university's MBA program or get accepted into my current university's MBA program directly out of undergrad. From other discussions on WSO and with business professionals/academic advisors, it seems that it would be more beneficial to obtain an MBA after gaining relevant work experience first. However, would it not be fair to say that having an MBA at roughly 24/25 years old might provide me with additional benefits, such as that I won't have to go back to school, and I can get my MBA paid for by an athletic scholarship? Any insight would be greatly appreciated!
Nothing wrong with going right after undergrad, especially if an athletic scholarship is covering it. This would likely be something you’ll be glad you did in a few years when you don’t have to pay for grad school then, and can save your earnings for other stuff. A lot of MBA programs have internship requirements for the summer in between terms which could help if you didn’t have an internship earlier on/or one you didn’t like. So you’d still be gaining relevant experience, if not more, which would help you stand out amongst entry level competition once you’ve completed your MBA.
I think you should try your hardest in recruiting before you get your MBA. If you can get into banking or whatever you want without it then do that. It saves you time and your MBA option.
The MBA is a good tool for redirecting your career. Say you go into banking for 2 years and hate it, then you can go get your MBA and transition careers. If you use it now you can’t really do that. Also, MBAs at lower semi targets like Vanderbilt won’t really make a massive difference. Your going to want to target M7 MBA programs if you really want a chance out of MBA. Not that it’s impossible but it just gives you a better MBA experience.
Then the last point is if you like banking then you don’t have to MBA at all. Like I said earlier MBAs are for career switches or people getting into banking late. So if you get in and like it then don’t go back.
Hmmmmm this is tough. But I agreeYea I agree with CallmeTony. I don't think any entry level employer wouldn't care about you having the MBA vs just the undergrad if you have no work experience- An MBA right after college won't provide any marginal benefit. The reason is that an MBA is supposed to be training to be a manager, but that's useless if you haven't even worked as an analyst. Hence the typical Undergrad --> 3-5 years of work --> MBA --> Management path.
Most people I've seen who've don't the 5-year MBA either need the credits for CPA or couldn't find a job after undergrad.
Why don't you do a masters in finance instead? Or a masters in statistics/data science? Something a bit more technical. Use this opportunity to puck up some technical skills that can help you stand out. Then save the MBA for later when you really know what you want to do with your life.
Ok, gotcha. Would it be worth it to get 2 master's degrees? I feel like the MBA is an obvious choice to pursue, whereas any other master's program would be supplementary/secondary to the MBA.
The main struggle with trying to engage in recruiting or interning through my undergrad years is that I'm restricted to my football schedule. Although I am available to work from May - July, my summers are filled with workouts/meetings/practice, so I can't leave the city that I'm in, nor can I work the typical "9-5" hours due to my workout/practice/meeting schedule. I was fortunate enough this summer to land a gig at a large CRE firm where I shadowed one of their brokers a couple of times this summer, but any actual internship opportunities I received all mandated that I work M-F; 9-5, and when asked about a more "flexible schedule" (i.e., working from 10 - 6 or on weekends) many of the companies were not willing to accommodate my schedule. Because of my lack of ability to participate in an internship, I was hoping that my MBA might "boost" my resume to account for my lack of experience. The student-athletes at my current school who ended up in IB/PE/etc. all received their MBA directly after undergrad, completed their MBA, and then landed analyst roles at the BB/MM banks within the city.
So I wouldn't typically expect an MBA to give someone a boost, but it seems like you have a completely different situation. I'd suggest that you speak with alumni from your football program and get their advice. That would be better than any speculation on wso. If they took that path and it worked, all power to them!
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