How much experience is absolutely needed to get into a top MBA program (Business school)?



I would like to go to a top Business school/MBA program but I only have a 1-2 years of professional work experience. I have read that work experience is a very important admissions factor for MBA programs and the average student has around 4-5 years experience. I also read that most people who apply straight from undergraduate school have a harder time getting in. I haven’t however; read how difficult it is to get in with 1-2 years of experience. I know it depends on the school but in general is 1-2 years of work experience a huge disadvantage when applying to Business school? Thanks

Business Education, Business News, Business, Financial

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3 Responses to “How much experience is absolutely needed to get into a top MBA program (Business school)?”

  • I think for a top business school they like to see experience, but I do not think it is set in stone. You could call the school and talk to someone.

    I did not go to a “top” business school meaning it is not in the rankings in the Wall Street Journal, I only had 1.5 years of experience and I did it while working, at night. It seems like you are referring to Harvard or Penn so it might be different for them because it is so competitive.

  • Dovi says:

    I got into 4 business schools, all were FEMBAs or executive MBAs and all are in the top 15ish (Berkeley/Columbia, Wharton, UCLA, USC).

    I have 12 years work and 9 years management experience, got a 740 GMAT, my undergrad GPA was 3.4 and my Master’s GPA was 3.8 (both top 5 engineering schools).

    Don’t know about full-time MBA. Probably won’t be so heavily centered around work experience but you should have at least a 750+ GMAT and 3.8 gpa or higher if you have less than 4-5 years mgmt experience, I would imagine.

    (No offense, you better check the grammar on your essays better than you did your question. They’re unforgiving about that…)

  • Tip and Trik says:

    Please try: … They have lots of good information on various business degrees both Bachelors and Masters

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