Hi senorita,

To do an MBA at a school like Cass, you'd usually be expected to have a couple of years' solid work experience. Basically, then, you have three choices:

1) Get an MBA from a less well recognised, possibly unaccredited school which doesn't have the accreditation necessary for your degree to be genuine use in the job market.

2) Hold back a couple of years, get some experience, then apply for an MBA.

3) Consider doing a related degree like the London Business School's new MSc in management, which is specifically designed for those who don't yet have enough work experience to qualify for an MBA programme.

Of the three choices, I'd say you should rule out No. 1 straight away. Whether you choose 2 or 3 depends on your personal preferences, finances, what you want to get out of the degree, whether you want to wait a couple of years, and whether you can find a programme you like the look of.

As for being a tennis champion - congratulations! I'm sure admissions officers will be interested to hear it. However, I wouldn't count on it making an enormous amount of difference to your application. Qualifications, good references (which it sounds like you already have), experience, and GMAT results still out-rank extra-curricular activities, I'm afraid.

Don't want to rant here, but why do an MBA without work experience?
i think it is really a wast of you're money! a man has to be at a certain experience level to fully benefit from a MBA degree, otherwise it all seems very theoretical(a man understands better subjects which he already came across himself during his professional life) .
if you are interested in economy science in general, i would second lukeh in suggesting you do an MSc. otherwise wait a few years and then go for it!

Andy

On a related note, I'd be interested to what people - prospective students, MBAers, and, particularly, employers - think about new qualifications like LBS's Masters in Management. They certainly talk up its usefulness on the website, but I wonder whether it will actually make that much difference to people's early careers. Is is really going to be better than simply having a year's real experience? Will people who've taken this Masters ultimately find themselves losing out to people with MBAs? Will having a Masters in Management mean one can immediately move up to an MBA without experience? Or will MBA schools still regard first hand experience as more important?

What with the course, and others like it, being so new, we probably won't know the answers to any of these questions for a while yet. I should think it will take a while for it to bed-down. Added to which, we probably won't be able to guage employers' reactions until a least a few years'-worth of graduates have entered the market. But still...thoughts/predictions, anyone?

Is worth doing Msc in management when you aim to have MBA in a few years later? What kind of Msc would you suggest as an alternative?

Hi All,
I have 6+ years of experience in the field of banking and finace domain as a software quality consultant, I'm an enginerring graduate and posseses post graduate diplomas in business management. I'm very much interested in doing specializations in the field of investment banking (MBA equivalent), please suggest how i could proceed, I dont have GMAT or any other score and having only work experience.

Look at this article that was posted here recentlz by madhu -

http://www.find-mba.com/board/7921/last/#last

It seems it isn't such a good idea going for a finance mba right now(according to the WSJ), the job market in the finance sector is getting tight, and there is a drop in pay!

Also, its says that the banks now want people with lots of experience(you seem to have that thought).

maybe its time to reconsider?

David

Hi,
Its good thought been shared by David, thanks a lot..
Moreover financial meltdown situation, has to overcome.. down the line after 1-2 years the situation would be improved one.
I would rather prefer not to divert myself from IT field, but would be a real value addition, if i'm being a specialist in investment banking domain.

although i agree with you about the market recuperating, there is one more thing in the article you have to consider:

In times of crisis, more people tend to "invest in themselves"(i.e going to study). this means of course, that there will be a fierce competition going on, which in turn means that the chances of getting into a good program without GMAT or TOEFL are getting worse(even if you have work experience)

since you seem to already posses a substantial amount of experience, i would suggest you wait a few more years, and then apply to a good EMBA program

D.

Hi,
I realy agree with your thought David, even i'm thinking on the same line.. it would be better to stay for another few more months/year, and then try again.
I would request you for one more help, are there any schools or colleges who accepts only work experience and does not give more weightage to GMAT or other exams?
Many thanks in advance.
--- avin

Senorita, if you are determined to to an MBA in a couple of years, once you have acquired enough work experience to make it worthwhile, I would not do an Msc now - unless you really need and want the know-how you'll get out of an MSc AND have no whatsoever money shortage ;-)
I'd say better focus on your career now!

Avin, you can find some schools, even decent ones not requiring GMAT, but then you'll have to pass an entry exam of similar level. If not, you definitely should avoid the program because it is not serious.
Somehow the schools have to make sure to chose the most performing and competent applicants, no? Except those struggling to attract students...

Thanks a lot for your valuable suggestions.
Could you please let me know names of those institutes... if you dont mind..
those accept work experience, and have their own tests to make entry..
--- avin

I suspect you'll have to find that out for yourself, avin, having identified the country/countries in which you'd most like to live and study. It's just a question of looking at the whole field and narrowing it down to those which provide you with the best opportunities. You'll find a fair bit of stuff on this on the discussion board, but the 'which business school' section of this site is a good place to start when in comes to drawing up your long-list.

Hi Lukeh,
Thx for your views.

---- avin

no probs, good luck!