So I’ve decided to apply to graduate school to get an MBA. Its something I’ve been thinking about for maybe 4 years, just decided this was the right time to go about doing it. I also made this decision slightly late in the application process, and am doing everything at the very last possible minute. This however is when I shine, during crunch-time!
I’m going to be outlining on here what schools I’m applying to, why I’m looking to get an MBA, and probably sharing my application essays on here as well.
So the big question is “Why are you getting an MBA Brian?”
Well I’ve thought long and hard about this, and even though for years I was seemingly anti-MBA, I really wasn’t anti-MBA. I was anti-any-MBA. I wholeheartedly believe the value of certain MBAs far outweighs that of the average MBA. So for me, a handful of schools make a lot of sense to me, and most schools would be a waste of my time and money. This however doesn’t answer the question of why.
The decision to get an MBA is based on the following thought process. On my own I can run my own company, build something from the ground up with no meaningful amounts of funding, and live a comfortable life. I however am looking at this from a long-term perspective. I want to be able to make a large impact on the world, so whatever I do next has to be of a much larger scale. To accomplish that on my own is going to be incredibly challenging, however to accomplish this with the assistance of the MBA from these top-tier schools, would make it much more attainable.
I was asked at an HBS event recently what I wanted to do with my MBA, and I told them that my next job doesn’t exist yet.
Nice man. My next job doesn’t exist yet either. I am going to try some of the free courses for MBA this year and about to read the personal MBA book. Also try and get google certified and improve my analytic skills. I know it wont get the same MBA credentials but I am looking to educate myself on the cheap this year.
Alex, you gotta look at it more as a networking value than a learning value.
“This however is when I shine, during crunch-time”You are clearly no LeBron
ziiiing. did dwade pay you to write that? 😉
Noble motives Brian, good luck.
I evaluated doing an MBA 2 years ago. I applied to both Northwestern and University of Chicago. Heard of them? Hahaha
At Northwestern I was getting sold a $100k program. Cheap uh? The recruiter was saying there were no Hispanic in the current program and was looking for diversity, yet he still wanted me to pay full tuition. The turnoff was that he said 80% are corporate paid tuition and 20% would need to get a loan that will end up paying after 10 years.
I still thought it was possible. Another turnoff was that 80% work or end up working in finance. One of my least favorite subjects. He slightly mentioned that in order to pay the loan in less than 4 years I had to move to finance or to a large corporation.
I took some time off to think about that and looked at other schools, including Stanford and MIT. Since those are focused towards what I am doing now. Entrepreneurship and innovation.
MIT has a 1 year fast program in Entrepreneurship with still a heavy price tag. Stanford requires you to pass the Gmat with the highest score or have an inside “friend”.
Then I turned into networking rush. Going to all meetups I could find in Chicago. Most of the people I met doing startups or successful web apps did not go to any of the top 2 schools in Chicago or even an Ivy league school. Many did not have an MBA.
Then I became convinced that you don’t need an MBA from a known school to be successful at a startup. And that you can also find the network you are looking outside of the MBA without paying that heavy price tag.
To Brian, I would like to ask what his goals are of doing the MBA. In my opinion, if it is for the network I don’t think is worth it.
If I were to take an MBA I would search for one that focuses on entrepreneurship, innovation and their collaboration with the startup/business community.