I am looking at applying to grad schools, but I have a number of questions and I was hoping some people one here who have been through grad school can help me out.

1: I have a Bachelors of Music in Music Education but I am looking at going into and Urban/Regional/Global Geography Program. Has anyone on here gotten a Masters in a field that wasn't at all related to their undergrad, and if so what extra work did it require. Also, did you have any issues getting accepted into the program.

2: How soon should I actually start looking? As it stands now, I don't believe I will be going for about 3 years, but I want to start contacting professors and programs. Is this too far in advance?

3: Do I need to deal with a department as a whole, or do I need to scout out a professor. If I should be contacting professors individually, what do I need to be asking them?

Thanks in advance.

Re 2: If you have good relationships with current profs in your music program, you may consider contacting them for letters of recommendation, or at least narrowing down a list to keep up with to bolster your application when the time comes.

Re 3: Probably the former, though I'll defer to others with more expertise.

Re 1...

My undergraduate degree was in Transportation/Logistics - after twelve years of working in the transportation industry, I changed careers and went to work with a health insurance company. After a couple more years, I realized I needed more college (specifically in stats and math) to move into the areas that interested me.

I would have preferred to get an MBA - but I would have had to take so many courses before actually starting the degree that I decided just to get the second undergraduate degree in Actuarial Science. I only had to take twelve courses (plus two "refresher audits - it had been a loooong time since Calc 132 at tOSU) - at undergraduate tuition rates, too. It cost less than a third of what the MBA would have run - enough to allow me to cover tuition with the company reimbursement plan and our own savings (meaning no loans). The financial reward was such that I made the entire cost of tuition back in less that two years.

It helped tremendously that I was already working for a company in my field - I think getting hired "cold" with just the two UG degrees might have been difficult without spending five to ten years re-working my way up the entry-level ranks as a underwriter or something of that ilk.

Cat, thanks for pointing this out. I have been wondering if it would be easier for me to just go this route, although I would like a graduate degree.

As one who's also starting to look at grad schools, how heavily do GRE/GMAT scores weigh into admissions decisions? I'm going to have to take the GMAT here soon and from what people tell me its pretty difficult

darbypitcher22;481733 wrote:As one who's also starting to look at grad schools, how heavily do GRE/GMAT scores weigh into admissions decisions? I'm going to have to take the GMAT here soon and from what people tell me its pretty difficult

It depends on what you are going for. I got an MS of Accountancy and the GMAT played a large role in being admitted or not, you at least have to get above the minimum. I don't think it was that hard, I only did the pre-tests they give you when you sign up for it. However, I am good at tests, so if you have trouble then it could be tough. The math gets hard because it asks things that you haven't taken in forever, like geometry and trig.

All I know about that is anything above 550 Verbal and 700 Quantitative is considered acceptable, but I think each school weighs them differently.

iclfan2;481740 wrote:It depends on what you are going for. I got an MS of Accountancy and the GMAT played a large role in being admitted or not, you at least have to get above the minimum. I don't think it was that hard, I only did the pre-tests they give you when you sign up for it. However, I am good at tests, so if you have trouble then it could be tough. The math gets hard because it asks things that you haven't taken in forever, like geometry and trig.

I'm looking for an MBA in Business Admin. or something in Sports Adminstration/Management

I'd imagine that if you contacted the person in charge of admissions or the head of the department you are looking for admission, they could tell you how heavily the test is weighted. Usually, they take a look at the whole package and not just one part, but it could be different for every program.

redfalcon;481697 wrote:Cat, thanks for pointing this out. I have been wondering if it would be easier for me to just go this route, although I would like a graduate degree.

Your personal situation might make for a different outcome. I was married with two grade-school-aged-kids to support - time was probably my most valued resource back then. I needed the technical skills more than a degree.

Depending on what you want to do professionally afterward, a Master's might be more important - it will be a lot easier to get it before you have a family if that's a goal for you later on.

Cat Food Flambe';481975 wrote:Your personal situation might make for a different outcome. I was married with two grade-school-aged-kids to support - time was probably my most valued resource back then. I needed the technical skills more than a degree.

Depending on what you want to do professionally afterward, a Master's might be more important - it will be a lot easier to get it before you have a family if that's a goal for you later on.

I am a single bachelor, so family is not an issue.

As for the Masters, I'd like to either work for a transportation company (private or the government) or teach at college, So I think the Masters is the way to go, but a second bachelors may be the first step towards this.

and, of course, a masters degree in COMMUNICATION!!!! (read the "who knows this guy" thread if you don't get this).

that BA in Music should open alot of doors for you...

1. I personally did not get my master's in a program that I didn't get my UG in but I know a lot of people in my MBA classes had engineering degrees or computer science/IT degrees. Like Cat said, the only thing different is the amount of "foundation" courses that you would need to take. At Akron, there were 8 foundation courses, 4-6 Core Classes (sad I forgot already), 3 electives in your concentration, 1 outside your concentration, and then a course that is the capstone.

If you had a UG in business you would be able to avoid taking most foundation courses and work on the core and up. If you had a degree in something else then you would need to take all of these. I am just assuming that most programs are built similarly.

To your second point, I would have a list of potential grad schools you were interested in ready by the fall of the year BEFORE you would start classes. The schools usually have information sessions for prospective students to come in and see the facilities and meet some of the professors. At this meeting you may be able to get a better feel for the school and meet a professor who could help answer any follow up questions that your third point brought up.

Darby, I know that schools like to have a range for their GMAT scores and don't really deviate from that. However each range they advertise is from the previous year and the school is always looking to improve so don't shoot for the bare minimum. If you are looking to go full time I would contact potential schools and learn what GMAT score is required for a graduate assistantship. Having a school help pay is so much easier, especially if you are like me and have a decent chunk of loans from your private college.

http://www.princetonreview.com/ this is a great site to refer to about the GMAT score range, its free to sign up. It also tells you what the admissions department considers the most important part of your application package (GMAT, References, Work Exp, UG GPA, etc...)

Anyone familiar with the OU PMBA program? I'm not real high on online MBA programs, but OU seems to be somewhat respectable and they recently started a professional MBA program that is mostly online and meets one Saturday per month. They do not require the GMAT to get in.

Anyone know anything about their program?

Personally I wouldn't get an MBA online in hindsight. Learning what is in the book is an important part of the curriculum but I really think the class discussion with other students and professors is priceless. Just hearing about other's experiences was very rewarding IMO.

Also, if you want to do this type of program I would look at Penn State or even Duke. They are online like OU, but Penn State requires 2 different "Residency Weeks" where one week you go and do something, then some other time throughout the program you go back and do another week there. If I were to do it online I would get an MBA from one of the higher rated schools. Your degree will just say MBA, not online MBA so it is as if you went to one of these top ranked schools.

http://www.worldcampus.psu.edu/iMBA.shtml

http://www.mbaonline-info.com/mbatop10.html

An MBA would be a waste of time, unless you are going to a top 10 school.

sleeper;482337 wrote:An MBA would be a waste of time, unless you are going to a top 10 school.

I would agree in some situations. If you are experienced and stable at your company then I disagree with your statement. An MBA may be able to move you to a management position with the extra business knowledge. For example, engineers/IT folks who were in the MBA program at the University of Akron. They were already working, most at First Energy or Goodyear but used the MBA as a way to advance in their company. However if you are looking at an MBA to launch a career with little experience then I agree with you. Hindsight I probably should have not gone back full time to a non top tier school but at the same time the opportunity to get an MBA in one year with tuition completely paid for may not have rolled around again. Live and learn I suppose.

I hated that Miller Analogy test for entry. Bottom line though, if you have the money....you in! Good luck.