Best prep for MBA

[jb111]

Hi all.  I have my BALS from TESU and am interested in getting an MBA.  Study.com was good for me before.  Do you think going through several of their business courses would give me enough background to knock out an MBA at WGU?  Guessing I'd start in 6-7 months.  Are any of the competitors (e.g. Saylor) significantly better?  There is always the, "Free", route but I'm not sure how to structure that.  It needs to be self-paced and not too long per class.  Thanks for any guidance you can provide.

[Imbanewbie]

Hi all.  I have my BALS from TESU and am interested in getting an MBA.  Study.com was good for me before.  Do you think going through several of their business courses would give me enough background to knock out an MBA at WGU?  Guessing I'd start in 6-7 months.  Are any of the competitors (e.g. Saylor) significantly better?  There is always the, "Free", route but I'm not sure how to structure that.  It needs to be self-paced and not too long per class.  Thanks for any guidance you can provide.

Hi 

Did you check the MBA school waiver the gmat? If the school does not waive ; you may need to prepare to take the GMAT first.

[jsh1138]

if it were me I would do a BA in business first. i know that goes against conventional wisdom but trying to make a big step up in the complexity of material under a 6 month time crunch just doesn't seem enjoyable to me.

[natshar]

If already have years of business experience you might not need to prepare too much. I always thought MBAs were for people who already had business experience or knowledge.

[jb111]

Thank you. I will do a little more digging.

[Merlin]

Hi all.  I have my BALS from TESU and am interested in getting an MBA.  Study.com was good for me before.  Do you think going through several of their business courses would give me enough background to knock out an MBA at WGU?  Guessing I'd start in 6-7 months.  Are any of the competitors (e.g. Saylor) significantly better?  There is always the, "Free", route but I'm not sure how to structure that.  It needs to be self-paced and not too long per class.  Thanks for any guidance you can provide.

The Study.com courses aren't going to replace hands-on business experience, but they will introduce you to the material and give you a leg up if you really pay attention to what they teach you. If you're going to WGU, they don't have any specific course prerequisites, but other schools may require you to take specific courses if you're not coming in with a prior business degree. For those prerequisite courses, they usually won't allow ACE courses.

WGU does require a bachelor's degree and a resume showing at least 3 years of experience in business. Other schools require much more.

That said, having experience with the core MBA subjects (HR, Business Ethics, Marketing, Business Communications, Operations & Logistics, Financial & Managerial Accounting, International Finance, Global Economics, and Statistics, plus whatever your specialization is in) will make the courses go a bit faster since you'll already understand the concepts. At the masters level, the material is basically the same, but it is more about understanding when and how to use those concepts.

As was mentioned above, an MBA is really designed for people who already have significant business experience or at least a strong background in business from an undergrad business degree. That said, there are plenty of people who get MBA's who come from non-business backgrounds (healthcare and education are big at WGU for example). The less business background you have going in, the harder the courses are going to be. For example, at WGU there are a number of people in the program that I know who are flying through the courses (myself included), and I know there are also people who are struggling to meet their minimum requirement of 3 courses per term because it is taking them 2-3 months to get through a single course because they either don't have the background and experience, or don't have the writing skills and stamina needed to push through quickly.

I'm starting my MBA capstone this week and will be done within a single term, but I have a BSBA and 30-years of business operations experience. The only thing slowing me down is my non-school obligations (which keep piling up on me, unfortunately).

Many non-executive MBAs are 2-year programs designed for people who are coming in without business experience. Executive MBAs are usually a year or so, but they are designed for people with significant business experience. If you don't have a business background or business degree and have your heart set on an MBA, then I'd say go for it as long as you can meet the entrance requirements and don't mind taking a while to get to the end.

[jb111]

Thank you all.

[dfrecore]

You could do the free stuff first if you wanted to try to get some of those out of the way: Modern States, OnlineDegree, ACDC Econ, Khan Academy, Saylor, etc.

I would also say that when you're ready for Study.com, you don't have to do the accelerator membership, since you don't actually need the credit, but the knowledge.

Look at the courses you're going to take, and then go to the BSBA and see what the courses are that would get you ready for the MBA - econ, accounting, finance, etc.

[allvia]

edX has a MicroMaster called 'MBA Core Curriculum' - https://www.edx.org/micromasters/USMx-UM...Curriculum
You can take the program for Free (you won't earn the MicroMaster, but you'll gain the knowledge); this could be a good way to get exposed to the topics (it does align with general MBA subjects - regardless of school affiliation. Financial Accounting = Financial Accounting, no matter where you learn it)

[bjcheung77]

edX has a MicroMaster called 'MBA Core Curriculum' - https://www.edx.org/micromasters/USMx-UM...Curriculum
You can take the program for Free (you won't earn the MicroMaster, but you'll gain the knowledge); this could be a good way to get exposed to the topics (it does align with general MBA subjects - regardless of school affiliation. Financial Accounting = Financial Accounting, no matter where you learn it)

This is exactly what I recommend, either though edX or other free MOOC providers, you may not get the college credit at the graduate level unless you go for the MicroMasters, but that's not what you're looking for. You should go through all the "crash courses" you can through MOOC, Youtube, other self study methods, maybe even sign up for the FREE Smart.Ly MBA program courses, etc... to get the Basics pat down.