MBA Studies

[LostInSpace]

Since this is my first post, I?d like to say HELLO! to everyone here, especillay to the person/administrator who will answer my questions (hopefully ). I attended one of your gradute group advising sessions thath gave me an insight into admission process of US universities. Also, I did a little bit of research over the net on my own.

Now, my first question is about years of work experience. Looking over admission process for each school and their class profiles, I found out that the average years of work experience is 4.3 (Tepper School of Business, for example). Although, there are students being accepted right after their under-grad studies, what are the chances of getting into MBA program without any years of work experince (or maybe just one ) ?

2. I?ve read all posts, on this forum, about submitting financial statements with your application material, but I?m interested is there any way to avoid these documents? For example, Tepper also request a ?Affidavit of Financial Support? , document showing the availability of funds for 2-years study. What should I do if a don?t have funds (read $140,000 ) to support my studies (maybe just couple of thousands ) ?

3. I found out that there is no test center for GMAT here in Belgrade, according to GMAT List of TestCenter 2006. The nearest are in Zagreb (Croatia) and Budapest (Hungary). Did anything changed since then?

Best regards,

Vuk

[aleks]

Since this is my first post, I?d like to say HELLO! to everyone here, especillay to the person/administrator who will answer my questions (hopefully ). I attended one of your gradute group advising sessions thath gave me an insight into admission process of US universities. Also, I did a little bit of research over the net on my own.

Now, my first question is about years of work experience. Looking over admission process for each school and their class profiles, I found out that the average years of work experience is 4.3 (Tepper School of Business, for example). Although, there are students being accepted right after their under-grad studies, what are the chances of getting into MBA program without any years of work experince (or maybe just one ) ?

2. I?ve read all posts, on this forum, about submitting financial statements with your application material, but I?m interested is there any way to avoid these documents? For example, Tepper also request a ?Affidavit of Financial Support? , document showing the availability of funds for 2-years study. What should I do if a don?t have funds (read $140,000 ) to support my studies (maybe just couple of thousands ) ?

3. I found out that there is no test center for GMAT here in Belgrade, according to GMAT List of TestCenter 2006. The nearest are in Zagreb (Croatia) and Budapest (Hungary). Did anything changed since then?

Best regards,

Vuk

Hey there lost in space! Don't be, we'll try to help you.

1. Don't worry about the work experience. Not everyone has it and if you have good grades you can get in and you can get assistanships. Just do A LOT of research before you start applying to schools--find out how much they give in financial aid.

2. Financial statement--you can not avoid that. In order for a school to issue an I-20 for you so you can apply for a student visa, you have to show that you have money to pay for your studies. Now, you can apply for scholarships (private or through school) and they will count toward your total financial aid, but again, this is rare and usually you HAVE to show them financial statement, otherwise you can't even get a visa. I know, totally sucks, but that's higher ed in america.....you should talk to whoever is in international students and scholars office at the school you are applying to and find out from them (email them usually they are good about responding to prospective students).

3. not sure about GMAT center in belgrade, i haven't been there in a while. you should ask others.

check out university of florida mba program http://www.floridamba.ufl.edu/FutureStudents/internet.asp and if you want to get in touch with someone from there let me know, i work at UF international center. e-mail me aleksn81@yahoo.com GOOD LUCK!

[administrator]

Just a quick note from our side:

You can check the available centers and dates for GMAT at www.mba.com . Last time we checked the site Zagreb was not listed, but it may have changed in the last ten day period.

Belgrade may soon be on the list, but we'll inform you more about this issue in the future.

[elz]

Dear Lost in Space,

Yes, indeed you are getting good information. Now a bit about the work experience that has not been mentioned yet. In our center we have a few pretty good books about MBA programs. I recommend that you visit us and look these over. One of the books even helps you find a list of schools that are not so interested in work experience.

Also the financial statements, that is just a part of the process, as Aleksandra pointed out. However, one reason for this really fast and upfront request concerns the visa factor. Ultimately, until the school sees the report, new regulations - is it a DHS thing Aleksandra or do you know? I have seen some serious scrambling in International Student Offices lately on some new DHS issues - mean that the school cannot sign off on the papers that you will need to obtain your student visa at the embassy until you can prove support. (I-20 usually) just as Aleksandra pointed out.

However, should you get some financial assistance from the school, that will be added into the equation. I mean when they see your bank statement, if it looks anything like mine, they will immediately realize that you are anticipating either finanicial assistance or a lotto win. Also, there is a new trend for some MBA programs to be a bit more generous with their funding. It seems that many programs have wised up to realize that to get broad diversity into their programs, they are going to have to assist some international students. I had this discussion with a gentleman from the Fisher School of Business (check the rankings on that school and btw, he and I also discussed that fact that the rankings were "over ranked") and we both agreed that the transitional economies in Eastern Europe, in fact the whole economic experience in this part of the world is a source of fascination for any MBA group and that without substantial funding, many outstanding students from these countries are not able to participate in MBA programs and share this experience with colleagues who have deeper pockets. For example, Jaroslav on our alumni forum is in an MBA program - he could speak with you about his financial aid package. I believe that with careful research and some serious digging around that you can find a program that will be a good fit and offer some assistance if you can showcase yourself as a student with a great deal to contribute.

Well the test center list for 2006 is 2006....Let's see what happens in 2007! The old fox has been at work on this situation!

Best,

Elz