What stats are needed for mba at harvard?

[metalhead1023]

Out of a completely average state university, what stats would get someone into Harvard's MBA program?

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[ILikeDrugs]

Uhhhh wtf. This is a pre-med forum.

 

[schrizto]

Usually, at top tier MBA programs, many people who end up getting in have some real world experience instead of attending straight out of college.

That said that's about as much as I know about MBA programs.

 

[mmmcdowe]

I think there is a MBA related forum somewhere out there on the internetz, otherwise you could always hit of College Confidential. I personally don't know anything about MBAs.

 

[Narmerguy]

Wtf?

From what I know, few students go straight into an MBA. Many corporations will send a promising employee to an MBA program and pay for the program (they can be EXTREMELY expensive otherwise).

Now, for Harvard? Well, damn near perfection I imagine...and that alone won't get it done.

 

[circulus vitios]

I'd imagine 5-10 years work experience, 3.85+ GPA, and a 700+ GMAT.

 

[TDX]

You might want to ask here instead.

 

[NickNaylor]

Corporate experience definitely required before getting a MBA.

 

[Law2Doc]

Out of a completely average state university, what stats would get someone into Harvard's MBA program?

Moving to a board that is at least tangentially related to business school.

FWIW, to get into a top business school, you need to have (1) good undergrad grades, (2) good GMAT score, and (3) a track record of 1+ years working in business. In general, you don't get into a top MBA program without having already worked in the business sector. An MBA, unlike an MD or JD, doesn't qualify you to work in business as those degrees qualify one to work in medicine or law. Instead, it's more of an "enhancement" to go on top of already existing business skills you learn on the job. Meaning you have a job first, and then get the degree to take the next step in your career, rather than start the career in the first place. At many places, the MBA is something you get in order to get a promotion at an existing career, not to open the door to a career in the first place. As such, many MBA students have their degree paid for by their employer, rather than themselves, and simply come back afterwards to the same company. Which again is why certain joint degrees, like MD/MBA or JD/MBA don't make a great deal of sense. You should only get the MBA once you are already in the industry. Most of the top programs make this a requirement, the others probably are doing you a disservice by not making work experience a prereq.

 

[arrhythmia7]

I had a 720 GMAT and was AOA from a top 10 med school, and didn't even get an interview at Harvard. Granted, I go to Kellogg now, but numbers are never a good indicator of where you can go. I've got a friend who is much younger than me that did equally well on the GMAT and got into both Harvard and Stanford. She had 2 years of analyst experience at Lehman Bros. (before the collapse), so yes, business experience does matter. It's harder to translate clinical skills into non-clinical work opportunities than most people think.

 

[arrhythmia7]

Also, part of the problem with MDs getting into top programs is that we don't fit the MBA "mold" in terms of age (usually we're older), work experience, or corporate connections. My other classmates at Kellogg are much more streamlined in their age range and experience than you would find in most medical schools.

 

[arrhythmia7]

I've been getting a lot of messages from college and medical students regarding a combined MD/MBA. I've posted my thoughts on this in other forums, but to recap, I'm actually not a proponent of the combined 5 year programs for a couple reasons. I think they are a well-disguised ploy to generate tuition $ by the institutions that offer them. Here's why:

1. You need to do clinical training (i.e. residency) regardless of when you get your MBA. You can do a 3 year IM or EM program, which goes by faster than you think. If you aren't licensed and board-certified, no one is going to respect you as you interact with physicians/healthcare professionals as a consultant/financier/administrator/etc. Since you are already "branding" yourself as an MD, you need to finish your training in order to lend credibility to your "brand". If you don't do residency, you may as well just get an MBA and save yourself $200k as well as the huge time value of savings lost.

2. That being said, the most important years from an MBA standpoint are immediately following your graduation when you use connections, network, and gain access to top employers that recruit specifically at your program. If you do combined and then residency, you will be a minimum of 4 years out at the time you want to transition, which will be disadvantageous.

3. Make sure you go to a highly-ranked MBA program, otherwise you are literally wasting your money. You can get a job in business without an MBA, so make sure it is one that augments your resume rather than detracts from it. Unlike med school, there is a huge spectrum of quality and reputation amongst MBAs, and it needs to be viewed much more in terms of ROI.

4. THAT being said, I'm a fan of the part-time programs at Wharton, Chicago, and Kellogg. They allow you to work during the day, which as a physician, is going to mean a difference of several hundred thousand dollars in income over a two year period as opposed to leaving clinical practice altogether and getting rusty while accumulating more educational debt.

Hope that helps.

 

[Taurus]

I agree that get an MBA only if someone else pays for it and do it part-time unless you get into a ~top 3 school which you could maybe justify going full-time and taking out loans for. An MBA for the most part is useless because it doesn't grant you more privileges over someone who doesn't have it unlike an MD, DDS, JD, PharmD, etc would. Your career in business is more determined by your softer skills (schmoozing, networking, communication, butt-kissing) than any degree and from the institution it is from.

I worked for 6 years before med school and I didn't get an MBA because none my employers offered grad tuition reimbursement. I would like to get one because I have a strong interest in business and finance but I won't get it unless someone else pays for it and I would do part-time only. Paying $100k out of your own pocket and 2 years full-time of your life for a degree that is highly over-rated is not a wise investment of your money or time.

 

[markglt]

I will be graduating from medical school in may, and i am hoping to match this year. If i don't match i wanted to get an mba online from flordia tech university or southern columbia university, all online.
Do you think that is a waste of time and money?
I know nothing about the business world, and very much want to learn, the degree would be an mba with a focus in healthcare managment.
Thoughts...

 

[bronx43]

I had a 720 GMAT and was AOA from a top 10 med school, and didn't even get an interview at Harvard. Granted, I go to Kellogg now, but numbers are never a good indicator of where you can go. I've got a friend who is much younger than me that did equally well on the GMAT and got into both Harvard and Stanford. She had 2 years of analyst experience at Lehman Bros. (before the collapse), so yes, business experience does matter. It's harder to translate clinical skills into non-clinical work opportunities than most people think.

Kellogg's an outstanding institution. Basically, any M7 school, you're good at a shot at a solid job in finance, consulting, etc.

What made you want to pursue an MBA? And what do you want to do post-MBA, if you don't mind my asking?

 

[bronx43]

Out of a completely average state university, what stats would get someone into Harvard's MBA program?

Aside from what others have already said, it's the story that you can weave about the reason for your pursuing a MBA degree. If you can show that you're at the forefront of whatever it is that you want to pursue, HBS (as well as other M7 schools) would take that into consideration. If you look at the student profile over at the HBS website, you'll see that they have their fair share of non-traditional applicants - ones that didn't have 5-7 years of finance experience, etc.

 

[michaelrack]

so yes, business experience does matter. It's harder to translate clinical skills into non-clinical work opportunities than most people think.

What counts as "business experience"??

If a doc has extensive experience as a medical director (in my case, medical director of several sleep labs, and in the past of several hospital wards and of a psychiatry consult service) would that be considered relevant for a regular (non health managment focused) MBA?? In other words, is supervisory experience without significant experience in the financial aspects of things considered relevant?

This is a mostly hypothetical question; I have recently completed some on-line undergrad level business courses but at this point don't have the time to devote to an MBA (even part time). Maybe some time in the future.

 

[bronx43]

What counts as "business experience"??

If a doc has extensive experience as a medical director (in my case, medical director of several sleep labs, and in the past of several hospital wards and of a psychiatry consult service) would that be considered relevant for a regular (non health managment focused) MBA?? In other words, is supervisory experience without significant experience in the financial aspects of things considered relevant?

This is a mostly hypothetical question; I have recently completed some on-line undergrad level business courses but at this point don't have the time to devote to an MBA (even part time). Maybe some time in the future.

That depends on what you want to do with your MBA.