An MBA is a postgraduate degree that graduate students earn when they are desiring to advance their current position in business administration, or when they are interested in building their real world business skills so that they can raise their earning potential. If you want to become a part of senior management or an executive in virtually any sector or industry, chances are you will need to hold an MBA to compete against other candidates inside or outside of an organization. By understanding that this is the educational path that you must take, you may be wondering whether or not the undergraduate degree you currently hold or are in the process of earning will get you into a reputable MBA program.
Many college grads and prospective students assume that an undergraduate degree in a business-related field is required to get accepted into an MBA program, but this misconception is what could be holding you back from earning your graduate’s degree. Read this straightforward guide, and learn what you need to know to improve your chances of being accepted during the admissions phase of the MBA application process.
What Are the Common Prerequisites You Must Satisfy for an MBA Program?
The type of undergraduate degree that you hold when applying to an MBA program typically plays no role in whether or not you will be accepted. In fact, in many cases, having a degree in a field other than business is beneficial because you will have a broader educational background. Rather than putting a focus on your undergraduate degree to make an admissions decision, the admissions department will focus on your work experience, your academic history as an undergraduate and the score you earn on a Graduate Management Admission Test.
How Much Work Experience Will Earn You an Approval?
Only about 10 percent of college graduates will apply for admissions into an MBA program immediately after earning their Bachelor’s degree. One way to earn your way into an MBA program is to gain at least 2 years of work experience in the workforce. By showing you have on-the-job experience, you can show that you will be able to use the skills you earn outside of school. Not all programs will require that you have work experience, but the GPA requirements of these programs will be much more strict.
Academic History as an Undergraduate Student
If you barely graduated, you might have difficulty finding a school that will give you an opportunity to earn an MBA. Business schools will look at your GPA and your enrollment history to gauge how motivated you are. Many schools have a student body full of students who completed their undergraduate degree program with between a 3.4 and 4.0 GPA.
If you have a degree in any concentration from engineering to social sciences, you can enroll in an MBA program to diversify your future job opportunities. Become an HR executive, an entrepreneur, an executive in accounting, or even an IT manager with your MBA.
Further Reading: How Much Will I Earn with an MBA?