Admission at the master’s level is normally into the Master of Business Administration program (MBA) and some universities offer the study of management as Master of Arts and Master of Sciences too. Nevertheless, MBA is the most popular degree amongst those offered, in US universities. Because of the quality and focus of the programs, admissions are quite competitive and the process, quite lengthy. For good B schools, the process could take between 8-12 months for the application process.
The cost of MBA education could range between $ 20,000 and $ 80,000, depending upon the program and where and when it’s offered. In addition to a full-time two year MBA program, many universities offer part-time programs of 3-5 years duration and Executive education programs of 2-3 years duration. Admission requirements vary from one university to another and from one type of program to another.
Unlike a simple ‘Statement of Purpose’ as required for M.S admission, most B schools ask for a set of ‘Essays’ to be prepared and submitted for application consideration. The essay topics could be multiple – from three to eight – and could be on different predictable and sometimes typical issues. For example, one B school could ask an applicant to respond if he (the applicant) were marooned on an island all alone how he would react and what would he do? There could be several other difficult topics. The whole idea is to see the type of response and the quality of presentation, style, approach, flow and precision from applicants.
There are several other important aspects for admission, like strong recommendation letters from employers, sponsorship etc., which keeps differing from one B school to another.
