Seven Worries That Get in the Way of B-School

Reality: Any investment made in furthering your education is a down payment on your future.

Think about your potential post-degree pay increase. For example, Class of 2011 b-school graduates with job offers before graduation expected their annual base salaries to rise considerably from their pre-degree earnings, anywhere from 49% for graduates of part-time MBA programs to 73% for full-time two-year MBA grads, according to GMAC’s annual survey of graduating students. As further proof of the value of a graduate management degree, a follow-up study of employed alumni from the Class of 2011 found, for example, that  grads of two-year full-time MBA programs reported a median salary of US$85,000 on their first job after graduation. For 82% of the class, starting salaries met or exceeded their expectations. 

Think about how long it may take you to recoup the costs of your education. The recently published 2012 GMAC alumni survey shows that the class of 2011 grads across all program types recouped approximately one-third of their investment in their degrees immediately upon graduation. After four years post-graduation, Class of 2007 alumni have typically recouped their full investment in graduate business school.

Think about how essential the degree may be for your career advancement. Business school is not a direct ticket to the job of your dreams, but it will likely serve as a buffer in a down economy. Nearly nine in 10 (86%) 2011 grads who participated in the alumni survey had a job. Moreover, three-quarters of the 2011 class indicated their graduate business degree was essential for obtaining their first post-graduation job and 93% of those employed at the time of the survey reported they had found the job they were looking for.

Reality: Most business schools consider each applicant’s entire application, not just the GMAT score. If you’re not satisfied with your score, do some additional studying and sit for the exam again. Many schools will view this effort as your commitment to earning a business degree.

Uber-Reality: According to the GMAC Profile of GMAT Candidates 2010–2011, for the test year ending in 2011 women younger than 20 had the highest mean total GMAT score—607points—of any age group of either gender, and for the second year in a row were the only group to break a mean score of 600 of any age group or gender. Between 2006 and 2011, women test takers younger than 20 have raised their mean total score by 40 points compared to only 19 points for men; women 20 to 21 years of age have raised their total mean score by 38 points over the past five years compared to 18 points for men.

Reality: Most schools gauge your academic skills by looking at your GMAT score and your previous academic record, including grade point average (GPA). If one is weak, the other needs to be exceptional enough to compensate. Be prepared to explain if you think your undergraduate record does not accurately reflect your academic ability.

Reality: There is no doubt about it. Business school will definitely cut into your personal time. That’s why it’s critical to study at the right pace for your lifestyle. An intense, one-year program will affect your personal life differently than a part-time, weekend, or evening program will. The good news is that over the long term, alumnae are happy they went to business school.  As reported in the GMAC 2012 Alumni Perspectives Survey report, 9 in 10 women from the classes of 2000 to 2011 feel their degree is an outstanding, excellent, or good value.

Reality: In many ways, it doesn’t matter. Business school is a springboard to a wide variety of careers, and the skills you’ll acquire are highly sought after by companies of all types and sizes, and applicable to almost any work you will do. In today’s knowledge-intense economy, employability will rest on a combination of your general management skills and specific technical skills and the more you can do to develop these skills the more career options you will have.

Reality: It’s true that many successful executives in large corporations are MBA graduates. But an MBA can help you to be successful in almost any organization—in a nonprofit, arts management, higher education, health care, or the military. Some people get MBAs so they can start their own businesses or manage a small family business. In fact, nearly 42% of Class of 2011 management graduates surveyed just prior to graduation said they planned to work in organizations with fewer than 1,000 employees.

Reality: There are big differences among schools, and some are better than others at attracting and supporting women on campus. All businesses are not the same, and neither are all business schools. Many offer a wide variety of program options to attract as broad and diverse a pool of candidates as possible. In its 2011 report on application trends, GMAC found that worldwide, 70% of full-time MBA programs, 45% of executive MBA, and 35% of part-time MBA programs engaged in special outreach efforts to recruit more women. Talk to school representatives, current students, and alumnae to see if the school that interests you offers the culture and kind of experiences you want.

The number of women taking the GMAT is growing. In Test Year 2010–2011, the number of tests taken by women reached its highest level in 10 years—106,800— representing more than 41% of the total prospective student pipeline. In 2011, the average annual growth rate for tests taken by women was 2.1% compared to 0.5% for men.