I am studying really hard for the GMAT (about 6 months) and plan/ hope to get at least a 700 (scored a 640 last month on a Kaplan CAT) and want to know how one might rank the top 10 mba programs in Southern California. I know UCLA, USC, and Berkley will be amongst the first, but if i dont get into those schools i wouls still like to apply to a few more as fall back schools, as long as they have a strong and well known MBA program. A school with a lot of connections is a must and as a California resident, price isn’t a big issue so long as the mba program pays for itself with a good job.
My application would include:
BS in Business Admin. from Uc Riverside
3.1 GPA (1 D letter grade)
2 letters of rec from professors with phd and a letter of rec from a lawyer
1 of the letters of rec from a phd was a co recipent of a the noble peace prize. The rofessor also recieved his phd from berkley.
I plan on getting at least a 700 before i apply (this will be my first recorded gmat attemp)
i have 5 yrs work experience running / managing a family owned business
in addition i have 1 year of exp after graduating last year of working for a marketing company
i would like the list top be made with those in mind so i have a realistic understanding of which school i can get accepted to. But i still want another list of schools that are the best in california and would like to know if there is anything i can do or strive for to better my chances at getting into a school luke UCLA.
Thx in advance.
Berkeley, UCLA, and USC are the only nationally top-ranked MBA programs in southern California, in that order, and therefore the ones that will have the best connections to top employers. With any other school, you’re going to have to do your own research and figure out which companies send recruiters and where alumni have gone, so that you can determine whether it’s right for your goals. You’ll also want to check the requirements carefully; a lot of MBA programs will only accept recommendations from people you’ve worked with on a professional basis, not your professors. (Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t tap your Berkeley professor for tips, though. )
MM gave you a good answer. For other California schools, see the Official MBA Guide which provides a lot of information about the MBA degree and MBA schools and programs. It’s a comprehensive free public service with more than 2,000 MBA programs listed worldwide. It allows you to search for programs by location (US, Europe, Far East, etc. ), by concentration (finance, marketing, aviation management, health management, accounting, etc. ), by type of program (full-time, distance learning, part-time, executive, and accelerated), and by listing your own criteria and preferences to get a list of universities that satisfy your needs. Schools report their accreditation status, tuition cost, number of students, class sizes, program length, and a lot of other data. Schools provide data on entrance requirements, program costs, program characteristics, joint degrees, and much more. You can use the Guide to contact schools of your choice, examine their data, visit their web site, and send them pre applications. You can see lists of top 40 schools ranked by starting salaries of graduates, GMAT scores, and other criteria. It’s the best service available at http://officialmbaguide. org.