Undergrad student planning for MBA....Need Advice.
Hey Guys,
I feel like I have been attempting to tackle the same issue for over a year- I just can't seem to find any answers. Hopefully you guys can help out, or at least have enough knowledge to steer me in the right direction. Also, I apologize if this is in the wrong part of the forum. If so, please notify me, and I will relocate accordingly.
So I am in a bit of a peculiar situation (I'd prefer not to get into too much detail regarding my financial situation), but let me just say that I don't qualify to receive any sort of financial aid, and my parents cannot afford to send me to a top private school. To my knowledge, my only option would be to take out a student loan, an option which I have neglected to consider since I plan on moving on to an MBA program in a few years (I plan on taking out a loan to pay for B- School, and I don't want have to pay back undergrad and B-school). I am currently attending a smaller state university here in Florida. The business school has national accreditation- if that matters. The only issue is that the school is relatively unheard of, with the exception of its glorified basketball program, which mysteriously made national headlines last year. The small school I am at offered me a 100% academic scholarship through the Honors Program.
So what I am wondering is how much of a role the name of my undergraduate institution plays throughout my career. If I decide to apply to MBA programs at Harvard/Wharton (which are the schools I am aiming for) will my application be deferred or not considered because my institution isn't well recognized? A close family friend, who is a pretty successful Hedge Fund Manager, told me that it is in my best interest to stay at my current school, and that utilizing my scholarship is a wise choice. Of course it is hard for him to relate, having three degrees all from Ivy League schools, one of those being an MBA from Wharton. I am well educated on the requisite scores needed on GMAT, and I know the GPA they expect, so no need to touch base on these particular issues.
I just want to know if it is worth giving up my scholarship and the honors program to transfer to another university next year. Having been accepted to Boston College out of High School, I feel that my university isn't going to do me any good. I would love to land a job as an analyst for a top firm, maybe not out of college, but certainly after B-school. I just really want to maximize my chances of getting into Wharton, Harvard, Stanford, or something of similar stature.
I would love to hear some insight from you guys, as well as your opinions on what you think I should do.
A big thank you goes out in advance.
-Jeff
I know it's rather lengthy, but if anyone could please take the time to read, it would be most sincerely appreciated.My situation is rather unusual!
FGCU? Is the campus as beautiful as people say?
In terms of your situation, I don't think which school you come from matters as much as you think it does. A 4.0 at FGCU isn't necessarily worse than a 3.8 anywhere else. If you have a good story (why you want to pursue your MBA) and have a good overall profile (GPA, GMAT, extracurriculars, recommendations, interview) then you're fine. The school name is one fairly small piece of the puzzle.
Thank you so much! This is more helpful than you realize. Yeah, it is FGCU. To be entirely honest, the school is really, really nice. I hear a lot of people saying that it's the nicest campus in Florida, but I wouldn't go that far. I guess that sort of thing is rather subjective, but to me, the nicest campus is University of Florida. The size of the school is very nice, as well; I believe its around 15k now, so the classes are pretty small- another bonus point goes out to the school in that regard. Everything is so new, and the teachers are pretty well off in their respective fields. One of the nicest things about the school is also its largest draw-back... its new.
You can definitely break into a BB straight from even less knows undergrads...Just going to take some networking, good grades and persistence.
Your school is only important so far as what job you get out of it. The first job out of college you get often determines career trajectory, which is probably why most people from "top" schools get into more selective programs. That said, everyone's situation is different. If I were you, I would keep your scholarship so you don't start off your life with debt.
It's a marathon, not a sprint. Keep the grades high, bust your ass networking, and you'll get something good. You have to treat networking like it's a full-time job, but you can get something decent at least. From there, impress people and do some extracurriculars that way you can get into a top school, where they will undoubtedly be recruiting for banking. If you work hard enough in undergrad, you can get possibly get to banking right after that.
Don't sell yourself short! Only you can place a limit on yourself so don't. Not everyone has to go to Harvard undergrad to be successful. Make the best of your situation, and if you do people will definitely notice. Also, you can PM me if you need anything else.
Good luck!
Thank you for your input! It's definitely nice to know that going to a smaller, less known Undergraduate school won't hinder my chances of landing a good job in the long run, or getting into prestigious MBA programs. If I have any more questions ill definitely contact you; and thank you for leaving your "door" open to me.
You show relatively high maturity for someone that's a freshmen (?) in college, a characteristic that is probably more important than just about anything else at this point. Obviously, what school you go to matters. You recognize that, but also recognize the challenges that taking on debt presents. Now that you've recognized your situation, I think there's multiple things to consider/keep in mind:
If you choose to stay at FGCU, then you absolutely have to have above a ~3.7 GPA to meet your goals, and to sound credible. You are likely going to tell people when networking that you went to school there for financial reasons, among others, but that you took advantage of the opportunity by getting a 3.85 GPA, including all A's in business classes (for example). You are likely smarter (or at least more academically advanced) than most of the students there given your BC acceptance, so this should take just a bit of drive, but don't let down on it.
Recognizing that the free tuition is important, have you done any research into how feasible it is to get scholarship money transferring in to UF or FSU? Should you get a 4.0 as a freshmen and sophomore, you'd likely get into the other schools, but what about scholarship money? Would actually specifically reach out to admissions people at those schools to ask, because if you can pull off little/zero tuition at those schools, it's probably even better.
You want to go to b-school, and a good one at that. The most important thing you can do is get the above good grades, and then get the best job possible. Whichever school you go to, networking will be huge. You mention that you know a hedge fund guy - find a way to intern for him (even if for free). Try to parlay that into bigger finance experience, assuming that's what you're interested in. Work relentlessly to secure good internships and the best possible job upon graduation.
Other than not taking out debt, I wouldn't think much about b-school right now. Do the best you can in school to maximize your job prospects, get the best job possible, and then do well on the job. Do all those things and you'll be find for a good business school.
BGP- Thanks for taking the time to post your input. I wanted to touch base on certain issues you've brought attention to. First, I have spend a considerable amount of time considering the option of transferring to UF (I was accepted to both UF and FSU during high school). I am currently a Sophomore in college; I will be receiving my AA degree this summer. Unfortunately, UF and FSU did not offer me any additional scholarships, but I was awarded 100% scholarship through bright futures (Not sure if you have heard of it, buts it's a scholarship the state awards students who have a certain GPA and SAT/ACT score). However, Rick Scott has cut funding for bright futures, so 100% is really around 75%, which was why I opted for the FGCU route; I am getting 100% tuition and books (haven't paid a dime for college, yet). After receiving my AA, I have the option to reapply to UF.
Should I choose to transfer to UF, both my scholarship and Honors Program will be forgone. I have also built a decent resume at FGCU: I am the treasurer for the Financial Manager's Association, founder of the student investment competition, and a member of both the Accounting Society and Entrepreneurship club. Last summer I completed an internship at a local wealth management fund (essentially I worked as an analyst, but because the firm was so small I gained experience in real estate, as well). I have tentatively arranged an internship with Fidelity for this upcoming summer. UF is known to be significantly harder than many of the other Florida universities. Going there will definitely render greater academic challenges, something that I am both optimistic and supportive of.
Do you think it will be worth transferring to UF, taking on a small portion of debt, and giving up the honors program here at FGCU? Also, I have a current GPA of 3.93, if I transfer to UF and my GPA dropped to, say, a 3.7 or 3.6, would this be worse than maintaining a 3.8 or 3.9 at FGCU?
I don't mean to bombard you with questions; I'm just trying to plan as best I can for the future. I really appreciate your help and advice! -Jeff
You sound way too young to be thinking about business school. Average MBA matriculant age is like 27-28. Are you even 20 yet? Focus on school and your first job thereafter, at which point business school will still be a distant four years away.
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