Can you answer Conor Y’s question about MBA?:

By this I mean for undergraduate courses in business. The reason I’m asking is so that I can get an idea on how hard I’m going to have to try in school.

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How can Wall Street get itself out of the current financial crisis? They can start by putting more women at the helm. According to the latest research, companies with female board members traditionally outperform those without, and 80 percent of purchasing decisions in the U.S. are made by women.

If this is true, why aren’t more qualified women attaining business leadership positions? To date, only 15.7 percent of Fortune 500 corporate officers are women.

This may be partly due to the dismal enrollment among women in Executive MBA (EMBA) programs. So business schools are actively courting women, by addressing some of the stumbling blocks that have traditionally kept women from pursuing the degree.

The Work/Life Balance

The Wall Street Journal reports that the nation’s EMBA programs are only comprised of 20 percent females. EMBA courses generally run full days on weekends, to accommodate those anxious to complete degrees while managing full-time work schedules. For many women who see weekends as family time, the EMBA is fairly unappealing.

It’s a work/life balance that women are increasingly seeking and, perhaps mistakenly, believing that EMBA programs and the corporate fast track won’t offer. However, the EMBA may offer more of such a balance than traditional programs, because it can prepare women for career advancement more quickly, without causing them to lose ground at work.

Other reasons many women cite for shunning EMBA programs include: difficulty finding money to cover the cost of the program, the perception that the glass ceiling may keep real advancement at bay, a lack of female role models, a lack of encouragement from peers, family or employers, as well as a lack of confidence in their own math skills.

What Women Have, B-Schools Want

Universally, businesses and business schools alike agree that a diverse population of men and women is extremely valuable. This diversity can enhance fellow students’ experiences by increasing the pool of skills and ideas available, enabling greater networking opportunities, leveling the playing field in the workplace, and producing qualified candidates who may be more likely to identify with businesses’ intended consumers.

Traditionally, the “feminine” traits of emotional engagement, altruism, and cooperation have been perceived as weak and therefore less valuable in the profit-and-loss corporate world. Yet it’s these traits that, in a struggling economy, are vital to finding and building relationships with customers.

Because it pays to draw women to EMBA programs, many business schools are making themselves more attractive. They’re recruiting more female faculty, featuring more women in advertising materials, offering flexibility through online courses, and trying to make more EMBA scholarships available.

A Return on Your EMBA Investment

There are numerous reasons why it can pay to earn an EMBA, not the least of which is that it can enhance your ability to identify with and court clients. The MBA credential offers a boost to your confidence and credibility with colleagues, which can ensure others that you have the expertise needed to take on more responsibility.

Not to mention the salary boost. The Executive MBA Council says that in 2007, students surveyed reported a 21 percent salary increase after completing their EMBA, and 43 percent of students received promotions while still enrolled in their EMBA programs.

An EMBA can provide you with numerous valuable tools, including the know-how to assess risk, harvest innovative ideas, forecast market behavior, and effectively market products. Plus, those female entrepreneurs looking for investment capital or angel funding may likely find that investors are far more receptive to those backed by an MBA education.

So while the sacrifice of time and money may at first seem overwhelming, EMBA programs are becoming more and more accessible and attractive than they’ve ever been, and with the return on investment this degree provides, now might be just the right time to look into it.



Thanks to Kelli Smith for contributing this article to our MBA blog:

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What is GMAT?

The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) is an annually conducted examination. It is an analysis of the general skills and abilities that one has aggregated over time.

The GMAT test is a consistent form of evaluation that aids business schools or ‘B-Schools’ in estimating the skills and qualifications of the candidate; which are essential for advanced study in business and management. It helps to calibrate the basic verbal, mathematical and analytical writing skills of the applicant.

Examination format

The examination is composed of three main sections. There is an essay section called as Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA). There are also two multiple-choice sections, namely, Quantitative and Verbal.

• Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) Section

The GMAT test commences with the Analytical Writing Assessment Section. The AWA division offers and tests two unique writing skills,

1. Analysis of an issue

2. Analysis of an argument

There are 30 minutes allotted for each type of analysis. The applicants are provided with a computer on which they can type and save their essays using a common and manageable word-processing program. After the completion of the AWA section, the Verbal and Quantitative sections follow. However, these multiple-choice questions can appear in random order.

• Quantitative Section

On the completion of the AWA section there is an optional ten-minute break; after which the Quantitative section starts. This division of the GMAT examination consists of 37 multiple-choice questions. The questions are broadly divided into two categories,

1. Data Sufficiency

2. Problem Solving

There are approximately 24 questions on Problem Solving and 13 questions on Data Sufficiency. The candidate is allotted 75 minutes to complete the entire section.

• Verbal Section

After the completion of the Quantitative Section, there is another optional ten-minute break; and it is time for the final Verbal Section of the GMAT test. This section consists of 41 multiple-choice questions. These questions are categorized into three types,

1. Reading Comprehension

2. Critical Reasoning

3. Sentence Correction

There are approximately 41 questions on Reading Comprehension, 14 questions on Critical Reading and 13 questions on Sentence Correction. There are maximum 75 minutes available to complete the entire Verbal Section.

B Schools and GMAT scores

Since 1954, applicants have undertaken the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT) to exhibit their skills and potential to Business Schools or ‘B-Schools’ admission committees. The GMAT examination chiefly tests the following skills,

• Endurance and concentration power

• Command over English grammar, mathematics skills, logic and reasoning

• Guesswork and decision making

• Ability to solve problems

An applicant of the GMAT test receives four scores as the result of the examination; every score denoting the result of the corresponding type of section of GMAT. The significance of the different scores is mentioned below,

• Quantitative scaled sub score

This score ranges from 0 to 60. Effectively the maximum score is 51.

• Verbal scaled sub score

This score ranges from 0 to 60. Effectively the maximum score is 48.

• Overall scaled score

This score ranges from 200 to 800. It is the amalgamation of Math and Verbal scores. Hence, it is an overall score. B-schools stress importance chiefly for the overall score.

• Analytical Writing Assessment score

This score ranges from 0 to 6. It has a lower priority compared to the 200 to 800 cumulative score.

The GMAT examination is graded curve that is set beforehand. As a result, the scaled score will correspond to a certain percentile. For example, an overall score of 720 corresponds approximately to 99th percentile. This indicates that 99 percent of the applicants scored at or below this grade.

The demand for MBA is increasing at a breath-taking pace. Hence, now it has become pivotal to acquire high score in GMAT as B-Schools are brimming with applicants. MBA graduates are pulling fat salaries in today’s cut-throat competitive market. This fact has boosted the importance of high GMAT scores.



Thanks to Reena Vidyarthi for contributing this article to our MBA blog:

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Can you answer tashaluvshanson’s question about MBA?:

I would really love to go to a school to study music production or music business and have only found really expensive schools. I would prefer to not have a 4 year school, but right now I’m just looking for options.

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Can you answer Sam’s question about MBA?:

I’m trying to decide on a university. I’d like to go somewhere in in California, but really anywhere outside of the midwest, I’m open to alot at this point. I’m planning on getting a degree somewhere in business, then on to law. And I’d really like to give a study abroad program a try too. Any ideas on good schools that I could take a look at? BTW, I’m at about a B- to B GPA and scored 27 on ACT (for what it’s worth). Thanks.

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