Hey guys, I'm currently thinking of taking an MBA in California and before I do, I'd just like to know what it's like, how the daily life is, what subjects to take, what jobs it will help me land, where it will lead me, what fields I can enter, and if I can do this while working full time - you know, the works - everything about MBA. I'm thinking if this is the right graduate degree for me since my real line is Psychology.

Also, if anyone could recommend good schools in the Bay Area, that would also help. Thanks!

Doing an MBA part time is ok as long as you dont have a family and your schedule is not that toxic. The stuff you study is not hard... it's really more time consuming than difficult.

You can go into almost any field after doing an MBA if you do it full time... doing it part time, I believe, will only enhance you in your current field.

The rest of your questions... well... ask yourself what you wanna do and why you wanna study an MBA and maybe we can provide you with a better answer...

The usual suspects in the bay area would be Stanford and Berkley. Expensive, high standards and hard to enter though Berkley may be easier because of the extreme size of their B school compared to Stanford. I think Santa Clara has a better program than USF. USF, ang daming pinoy!

If you are a California resident, tuition in gov't schools like UC-B, UCLA and UC-I come out to be cheaper than private schools like Stanford. As for jobs, there are many online resources you can check out for info. on what kind of careers are available nowadays for MBA grads. You might want to consider pursuing a job in the Far East, particularly in China where there is a huge demand for managerial talent. To do this; however, you would have to become proficient in Mandarin.

How does the cost of living in Cali compare, say to other states? Do they also subsidize expenses based on scholarship tiers? Thanks!

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Cost of living in CA is high compared to other states. This could be crucial if you see yourself as a grad student buying groceries and going out with friends. It's cheaper in other states like Michigan or Arizona, among others.

I might have a hard time getting into either schools (Stanford & Berkeley). I heard it's really hard to get in especially since it's they're both Top 10 schools in the US according to US News & World Report. I'm your typical athlete so that says something about my academic abilities.

For my sake, I might be better off trying for the #20- #50 in the rankings. I looking at schools in the Illinois/Indiana area so that would be either University of Notre Dame (IN), Purdue University (IN), Indiana University - Bloomington (IN), University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign (IL), De Paul University (IL) and Loyola University (IL) - also a fellow Jesuit institution. Northwestern and University of Chicago are definitely out of my intellectual range; I'm surely not applying there.

Opinions please?

If you're not after the "prestige" factor, try Hult in Boston. The MBA program there is conducted by consultants from Arthur D. Little, so students there get good training in business problem-solving from a management consultant's perspective. Class sizes are smaller, which makes individualized instruction easier. The Boston area is also a good place to study.

Another low-key school with a good MBA program is the University of Detroit (a Jesuit school), specifically their MBA with specialization in Business Turnaround Management. With the US economy becoming more and more cyclical, a growing number of companies are going into distress or bankrupt. This creates opportunities for professionals with turnaround management / business restructuring skills. I don't expect admission into U-Detroit to be as competitive as, say, HBS. Check out the program here:

http://business.udmercy.edu/programs/btm/programs/index.htm

If you are a US citizen or a green card holder, why not consider going to a top schools that has a parttime MBA program. You will still be required to meet the same acceptance requirements of the school but you can spread taking your MBA classes up to 5 years and your employer may even pick up some of the cost. Berkeley and UCLA's Anderson School of Business in California, University of Chicago and Northwestern in Chicago, NYU in NY are but a few who offer a parttime MBA program. I am not sure if Columbia has a parttime program but Rabbaddal can shed more light about his alma mater.

In the midwest, the next top school after Chicago and Northwestern is probably Michigan in Ann Arbor, the alma mater of Kuya Danny of Pex but theirs is a full time basis. Illinois in Champaign-Urbana has a strong accounting program while Purdue is suppose to be good in Marketing. Since you are a bit of a sports addict, consider attending a ACC school like UNC, Virginia and Duke who are top ranked.

I don't know but for sure, my employer WILL NOT pay even a part of my tuition. I really want to go full-time because I will finish faster (2 years) and I miss being in school (i.e. getting the holidays, etc. - which you don't get at work).

Another option for me, though, is to continue working and go part-time at University of San Francisco. I work in the city anyway so that shouldn't be too hard. But if I can get into a full-time program, I definitely will. As of now, Notre Dame is my first choice. Beautiful campus, impressive alumni network, great student body.

Blue Horse, you didn't even endorse your alma mater U-Detroit! Ako pa yung nag bring-up.

Columbia does not offer part time MBA. In New York City, it's NYU and New School that offer part time masters in business fields, while Brooklyn Law School offers part time law.

But I meant it when I say that you should give both U-Detroit and Hult a serious look. U-Detroit's MBA-Business Turnaround Management could teach you tangible value-added skills as a manager that you could offer to the job market. Hult, on the other hand, is a good school to learn and practice strategy under individualized instruction (you'll be supervised by experienced strategy consultants). Plus Boston is a great place to be a student.

Rabbaddal,

Bwahahahaha! I attended UofD for my undergrad and received my MBA from Loyola. When I attended Detroit, they were not offering the Business Turnaround program but it makes sense though. Since Detroit and Michigan is tied to the auto industry, the city and state has suffered tremendously. A lot of businesses in Detroit have been affected by "turnaround". The MBA classes in Detroit is mostly in the evenings and on weekends.

A few of my high school batchmates completed their MBA in Fordham. One is now a retired investment banker in Manila and the other chuck NYC and literally his family for his love of ADMU. He is now back in Katipunan after parlaying his success in reviving the ADMU Tri-county alumni association as head of alumni association. Nawala lang si Jun and Rab from NY, no more stories about the alumni group.

Notre Dame requires a nice SAT score from their students and almost at par for the requirements of Virginia, UNC and Duke. Maybe, "Victory" can advise Jon what is the ball park figure for acceptable SAT scores for certain specific schools. Di ba, an ADMU jock by the name of Tanchi graduated from Wharton after Biboy and his family swept all of the honors in Philadelphia!
No harm trying except the cost of the application fee.

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That's actually one of the biggest incentives with the Detroit's MBA-BTM program. There are lots of real-life case studies to work on in the Detroit area. You name it - Dana, Delphi, GM, Ford, etc. The skills honed as a turnaround manager will prove to be very useful as one progresses in his/her career as an executive. If you think about it, all businesses need turning around in one way or another. Even successful companies need to be shaken up in order to get to the next level and stay ahead of competition.

In Socal you have Stanford and Haas-Berkeley, both are solid top 8 business schools in the US. But you said you might not have the stats to get into either of these top MBA schools. Then go to Socal where they have UCLA-Anderson (solid top 15 MBA school) and USC-Marshall (solid top 25 b-school).
Marshall is an amazing b-school and and USC is a top 25 university in the whole US. It also has a very solid alumni base in Socal area and it's a relatively easier school to get into compared to UCLA-Anderson. http://www.marshall.usc.edu/


Average GMAT:
Stanford - 715
Berkeley-Haas - 710
UCLA-Anderson - 700
USC-Marshall - 690

I've met someone who got in Notre Dame with a 630 GMAT score. If I can get 650, I think I have a fair shot at most good business schools. Of course 700 is ideal but very impossible to reach given that I was your typical "student-athlete" in college.

Wow. I think this is beyond my reach.

I don't think you understood what I posted very clearly. Those figures were the average GMAT scores for each school, not the minimum cut-off scores. Meaning to say, you can still apply and yuo can still be accepted even if your GMAT score is below any of those figures.

From the link I provided, you would at least know that about 25 of the 250 MBA students of USC-Marshall have GMAT scores below 630. (I know a guy who got into UCLA-Anderson with a 590 GMAT score. ) GMAT is just one of the many components/criteria for admitting students. and in most cases, your work experience would weigh more than your GMAT would. Most top-tier B-Schools do also take into account the ff: reccomendations, GPA(QPI), quality and prestige of former school attended and essays.

I encourage you to apply to USC and Berkeley-Haas. They're both tough schools to get into but they're worth a try. You also wouldn't really know of your chances until you apply.

Good luck!

Oh, no, I understand clearly that these are averages. They're even stated on the school websites. I knew beforehand that these are not cutoff scores. But then again, the level of competition there is different and I'm not sure if I will thrive in that environment.

I already missed the UC Berkeley-Haas final deadline already. I have yet to take my GMAT (will be taking it next month) as I am still reviewing for it. Will most likely apply at USC. I'll probably send out around 8 applications and see where I'll end up from there.

Hello!

Buhayin ko lang tong thread...nakapag decide na po ba kayo on where to go for your MBA? I'm in Illinois right now, and I'm looking for programs too. So far closest school is Eastern Illinois University (although I don't have an info about their program). University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign is an option too (kaso sabi nila very competitive ang screening process...I think #37 sha sa rankings).

Sa St.Louis area they mentioned Washinton University (very competitive din daw) and St. Louis University (one year MBA program...I don't have an info regarding their program too).

Chicago area there is Loyola University and DePaul (not in the rankings but very good schools din daw)...Of course Northwestern and University of Chicago (well I don't think kaya ko pumasok there...pangarap na lang haha =p )

I was trying to PM you Mr.Baseball pero ayaw hehe

Precisely, where in Illinois do you live?

You are correct about Washington University. It is a very good school, more known for their school of Economics. Expensive. St. Louis University is a Jesuit institution. Better check closely about the 1 year program. That is mostly geared towards students who majored in Business and attended a US school. Otherwise, you will have to take as little as 16 courses to earn your degree.

There are a number of schools in the Chicago area that offer an MBA program. Chicago and Northwestern are the top schools in no particular order. Then comes DePaul, Loyola, University of Illinois at Chicago, Roosevelt, Chicago State, and others. All of the schools I mentioned offer a part time MBA program for the working stiffs.

Champaign has a good program specially their accounting department. Most of the students at Champaign attend on a full time basis.

I'm in Effingham right now. (Hrmm about 3 hours south of Chicago and about 1 1/2 hours away from St. Louis and Champaign)

I actually majored in Business at Ateneo (Comtech represent! =p ) Hehe. Anyways, so what's the drawback on 1 year programs? Not enough training perhaps?

My first option right now is to go to Champaign (if makapasok) The thing that I liked about the school is its strong placement office. According to their website, 97% percent of its graduates (2006 ata) got a job after 3 months.

I plan to go full-time para less distractions. May info ba kayo about Eastern Illinois University? It's in Charleston and so far yun pinaka malapit for me (40 mins drive)

If you're open to going a bit out of state, check Indiana schools like Kelley and Notre Dame.

As much as possible I want to minimize the cost...Kelly is about 2 hrs away from our place right now so medjo mahihirapan ata...

I've decided to go to University of San Francisco. In the end, I feel this is the most cost-effective choice for me because I won't have to relocate.