Best Way To JD/MBA

OHKID · September 16, 2009, 7:10pm

Okay, I really want a JD/MBA from a prestitigous school, like the University of Chicago (top choice), Northwestern, Washington U in St. Louis, Cornell, or the University of Michigan. However, I have many options to choose from now as a HS Senior if all works out. Which path would be best assuming all are attainable?

<ol>
<li>Obtaining a business degree from a prestitigous undergrad school, like the University of Michigan or Washington U in St. Louis, and try to maintain a high-ish GPA (hopefully 3.5, assume between 3.0 and 3.2). I would accumulate probably about $100k in debt at the least, but my starting salary may be significantly higher.</li>
<li>Go to my local prestigious-ish state uni ( Miami of Ohio), which has a decent business program (#18 in B-week), or the University of Dayton, a school that has a stellar entrepreneurship program (#4 in country) and B-School in general, along with a better location and atmosphere, but is not well-known. I would also do a Mech. Engineering major. If I’m really lucky, I could make the Honors program at Miami (UD is guaranteed), and assume that maybe I could leave with a 3.1-3.3 GPA (if I am at optimal performance during the whole 4 years). Probably $60-80k in debt for either school since I would qualify for some serious cash at U Dayton.</li>
<li>Go to a top LAC (Kenyon or U Chicago undergrad) and get an Econ degree. For Chicago I would probably go Environmental studies or they had some geophysical thing that looked really cool. I know Chicago is brutal on the GPA, and maybe Kenyon is, as well, but still assume a 3.7-3.8 GPA. Probably $100-$150k in debt at minimum.</li>
<li>Go to Ohio University (#115-ish on USNWR national Uni’s, #40 B-school by B-Week). I would go for the Honors College, and would qualify for free tuition if I can raise my ACT by 1 point (which hopefully I can do). I would also do a dual major and go for Mech. Engineering, and I imagine I could graduate debt-free. Assume a 3.2-3.4 GPA, and I could probably benefit from my lack of interest in partying (this school is known for ridiculpus parties and most are on “party schedule”)</li>
<li>Go to Indiana University (Kelley), the best undergrad B-school that would cost the least (besides OSU, a fate I cannot imagine as a U of M fan). I would be a direct admit, qualify for some aid (would qualify for more if my school had weighted grades…), and could probably maintain a really good GPA (think 3.7-3.8). Probably about $80-100k in debt.</li>
</ol>

So, what do y’all think?

btw, I really want to become a management consultant as a career goal.

hmom5 · September 16, 2009, 7:35pm

$60-$100K in debt is just nuts. Where do you think you’ll be making $100K upon graduation?

OHKID · September 16, 2009, 8:08pm

I don’t know, I read on USNWR Grad School rankings that Ross and Kelley grads make $120k on average once they leve the door holding their MBA. I assumed that those with bachelor’s degrees from similar schools made roughly half of that. Also, I don’t believe I stated salary expectations above, just the fact that I may potentially make more once I leave school with a bachelor’s degree from a more prestigious school. However, it would be nice to know what I can expect for a salary once I leave these schools.

Also, extreme debt via a combo of federal loans, regular loans, and whatever else I can do will be my only option, because my family will not qualify for financial aid nor will they fill out FAFSA or PROFILE. That’s a lot of the rrason I want a high starting salary from my JD/MBA is because I will have ridiculous debt unless I go with Ohio U or shoot even lower (not that OU is terribly low…)

Anyways, hope that cleared some questions up. If there’s more, please ask, and I would love some more advice :)

openedskittles · September 16, 2009, 9:08pm

^That’s an MBA. Yes it would be closer to half of that for undergrad only, but you do NOT want undergrad only, you want a JD/MBA. Therefore, you will only have your undergrad job for a couple of years before you go back to school. Let’s say you work for 3 years before going to grad school. The difference between making 50k and 55k a year will be 15k, which doesn’t even bring a 120k debt out of the six figure range.

I see a lot of problems here.

First of all, you won’t have any help, so don’t go somewhere you can’t afford without taking six figured of debt, especially if you plan on making that degree irrelevant within a few years.

Second, why do you want a JD/MBA? Do you know what kind of job you want? Do you know if that’s necessary? I’m a JD/MBA aspirer myself, but I know exactly what jobs I’d like to someday work and that I will be benefitted by a JD/MBA to have them. I’m doing accounting undergrad, because it is a good background for law and provides very good business work experience.

Speaking of that, you mentioned engineering, which seems very unrelated to a JD/MBA at first glance. It will be hard to put all of those degrees to use at one job.

Next, your lists of schools have some that I would consider significantly better than others. For example, Ross is great, but Washington U, while still better than the others, does not provide quite the same opportunities.

My advice overall is to go ahead and go for a business program that u think you can get a job that’s worth it’s cost with. Btw, you will need to get higher than a 3.2 to get a good job. This is basic economics: cost-benefit analysis. I’m not sure how well you understand the situation, or if it’s enough to effectively make a decision, but all I can say is to do more research and see what school is most worth the cost of attending.

OHKID · September 16, 2009, 9:19pm

^Yeah, I realize my degree sequence is, well, different. Here’s why:

<ol>
<li>Once I leave undergrad school, I will hopefully be able to work for the family robotics shop. I will be a project manager, and a business+engineering degree will give me the training that is required. This will also be my income for the 3-4 year lag between schools (IF this is necessary, I have read it is, but I would prefer not to), unless I work for a competitor and attempt to steal their customers and be a snitch, my preferred strategy :)</li>
<li>However, my dream job is wither one of three things: </li>
</ol>

Run my own law firm OR development realty firm (or I might just straight-up go for being a tax attorney and start my own firm that way)

Run the family business (I would take over as resident lawyer, a position my dad holds now)

OR become a management consultant (I would at least like to attempt to take this path).

I figured a JD/MBA would be the best way to meet my goals, and I have been told it only adds an additional year to the MBA path, which I realize is a lot, but it will give me flexibility.

ALSO - for the GPA figures; yeah, I’m trying to low-ball them based on an exaggeration of what I have estimated my abilities to be. Hopefully I could shoot higher, and I will definitely try my best, but we’ll see what happens by spring 2014. I just posted that simply as a guideline to use for advice-giving.

openedskittles · September 16, 2009, 9:47pm

That makes more sense, though if it’s a family job, wouldn’t it not matter where you went to school, because they would hire you regardless? Just go somewhere easy to afford if this is the case.

OHKID · September 16, 2009, 10:26pm

^I want to make sure that I have the necessary connections to take the business to the “next level”. Also, I can’t guarantee that it will be there in the future, especially with this volatile economy.

Solomonm · September 17, 2009, 12:47am

With anything below a 3.6 you’re going to have A LOT of difficulty getting into any JD program. Most JD/MBA programs you have to apply to both schools separately and get into both. Any decent law school is going to be super competitive as far as GPA and LSAT. I’m pretty sure the GPA average for the T14 law schools hovers around 3.7-3.8

ifailedcalculus · September 17, 2009, 2:55am

I would stick with Ohio University. Most of the undergrad schools (aside from Michigan, Chicago and WashU) you mentioned have a marginal difference. However, the debt you would incur from out of state and private schools would not make up for the massive debt you would get upon graduation. I would take the free ride at OU. Get amazing grades, NETWORK, and upon graduation you should get a 45~55k salary. You start making profit from year one out of college…now start saving for that VERY expensive tuition for a JD/MBA degree. BTW, Columbia and NYU has a top JD/MBA program as well.

OHKID · September 17, 2009, 7:20pm

^Hmmm…

3.6 as a necessary college GPA benchmark? Thanks for telling me, I will keep that in mind.

Also, yeah, Ohio U is looking better and better, but I don’t know if it is an atmosphere I would do well in.

(Not much of a “partyer”, I’m more of the standoff-ish, snobbish brat, only child type that really does not care about others and would not attempt to save you from a house fire and would feel much better about myself if I saved your cat or dog instead…)

Anyways, should I still consider Mech. Engineering? This WILL kill my GPA guaranteed, while straight-up business I should be able to maintain a 3.75+ GPA at most places due to my extreme interest in the subject and all that pertains for it (yes, I’ve been living and breathing business since kindergarten, and I really hate physics and all sciences).

Again, thanks for the imput, y’all!!!

This has been a huge help. Please keep it coming :)

Solomonm · September 17, 2009, 9:25pm

3.6 should be your bare minimum goal. A 3.8-4.0 is where you should be setting your sights to get into the programs you want to get into.

ifailedcalculus · September 17, 2009, 11:01pm

If you hate Physics and all sciences, I don’t understand why you would ever consider getting a mechanical engineering degree. It is not beneficial for your JD/MBA and it is obviously not going to be beneficial for you GPA. Your GPA will be very important. Take only business.

LAKERSFAN21 · May 31, 2011, 10:59pm

I am considering a JD/MBA and i am still in high school. I want to know if a bs in econ is a good degree to get into a jd/mba program. I would like to end up in i-banking or at a hedge fund.

kgoscohockey027 · June 1, 2011, 12:47am

if you would like toe end up in i-banking or at a hedge fund, why the hell would you want a JD…

trizz75 · June 1, 2011, 1:42am

Lakersfan, go to college for a semester and then come ask us your questions. Your academic track / career goals will likely change and you will have a firmer idea as to how to achieve them.

Dawgie · June 1, 2011, 7:35am

“btw, I really want to become a management consultant as a career goal.”

Don’t need a JD.

FutureVpFinance · June 1, 2011, 10:20pm

seems like both of these guys want a JD just for the sake of saying you have a JD.

trizz75 · June 2, 2011, 11:50am

It’s not all that abnormal for a pre-college student to be overly idealistic about his/her academic future. The rule of thumb is to wait after your first semester or two and then make a more informed decision as to what you want your future academic/career path to be.

Best Way To JD/MBA

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