Can anyone give advice:
What the prospects of getting into UCLA, Berkeley, or an Ivy League with a B.A. in Applied Studies from Azusa Pacific University received with a G.P.A. of around 3.8? Will top schools accept me even though Azusa Pacific University is not ranked as high as them?
Applied Studies? What is that?
^ That is a good question. I don’t see that major on APU’s web site, either. http://www.apu.edu/admissions/undergraduate/majors/
LostStudent, usually, what matters for admission to selective grad schools is not so much the name of the undergraduate school, but rather the GRE scores, undergrad research/publications and other outstanding accomplishments. The real question is, will Azusa Pacific give me the opportunity to stand out and distinguish myself in a way that’s meaningful to departments used to looking at stellar applications.
A master’s in what? Different graduate programs ask for different things. In my experience prestige didn’t matter as much as GPA and scores *(GMAT in my case).
As far as what Applied Studies is, I was able to dig around and find it on that school’s page [url=<a href=“http://www.azusapacificuniversitycollege.com/ba-applied-studies.aspx?gclid=CjwKEAiA_s2lBRCe1YPXxtSe-DcSJACCIh3L6MYMki2tbqmawTcNVw7lrdlVhhBbu52VRXvHUD5w3xoCKBvw_wcB%5Dhere%5B/url”>http://www.azusapacificuniversitycollege.com/ba-applied-studies.aspx?gclid=CjwKEAiA_s2lBRCe1YPXxtSe-DcSJACCIh3L6MYMki2tbqmawTcNVw7lrdlVhhBbu52VRXvHUD5w3xoCKBvw_wcB]here[/url].
It sounds like a specialized build-your-own-major kind of thing.
Thanks for your advice @katliamom
@DmitriR I think the GMAT is for the MBA if I am not wrong. Does it matter if your work experience was just in internships/co-ops an not full time?
Are you looking to get a MBA? If so, it is highly unlikely that your (or anybody else regardless of where the undergraduate degree is from) would be able to gain admission to any top program without at least two years (or more) of meaningful full time work experience. .
I am actually a little indecisive of what my Master’s should be in. Can someone please advise based on industry revenue and the nature of my major i.e. I can’t apply for medical school if I haven’t taken pre-med classes.
A graduate degree isn’t a time for exploration, really. You apply to a grad degree because it’s going to either help your known career trajectory (if you’re going for a professional degree) or you are passionate and committed to a subject (academic degree).
If you’re not sure, take a few years off to work until you know what it is that you want to do.
Please tell us what your major is? It sounds like a self created major…and none of us know exactly what that is…for you. So how would we be able to help you?
Do you have an academic advisor? Go and talk to him or her. And go to the career center at your school also.
You’re not wrong. However, many Accounting graduate school programs use the GMAT for admissions purposes and I took it for that purpose. An internship is generally fine for that situation however for an MBA I definitely recommend following happy1’s advice though. In my opinion, an MBA is something that you should get because it’s a meaningful part of your career goals. Full-time work experience is highly recommended (not just an internship as I did).
I definitely don’t think that you should get an MBA just because; graduate level courses can be expensive and you might feel silly if you spent the time and money to get a master’s degree and wound up in a field where having one doesn’t make sense. Thumper1 is right; you should really try and figure out what you want to do before enrolling in grad school; nothing is set in stone, but an MBA program isn’t something that you want to just drift into for lack of something else to do with your time. I don’t know anything about Berkeley, but I’d be surprised if any top-tier MBA programs would take someone without any full-time work experience.
(Oh, and the work experience that we mentioned earlier may actually help you in more ways than one; for example, some employers that expect you have an MBA will actually pay to send you there. Going to college on someone else’s dime is definitely the way to go in my opinion.)
From the Azusa Pacific web page about Applied Studies, which is apparently a degree for someone who has a lot of credits from another school, but doesn’t have a degree:
So, LostStudent, did you choose an emphasis? What was it? What was/will be your capstone?
If I were choosing students for a master’s program, I would not be inclined to choose someone with this degree. I would want someone who had a degree in something specific, which would demonstrate that they had done more than superficial study in some field.
I agree that one should be knowledgeable about and committed to a particular field before considering going for a masters degree. Otherwise it could end up as a huge waste of time and money.
I coordinate a small Masters program at my university, and do occasionally field inquiries from students who are still unsure of their path . I tell them the same thing as the posts here. Grad school is too expensive for just exploration. OP is better off looking for a job first.
Be aware that a lot of lower tier MA programs do try to recruit students like OP to an MA program in something with limited prerequisites . Don’t do it. Those degrees are not meaningful.
The top tier programs are very competitive and will require evidence of focus in some area.
“Be aware that a lot of lower tier MA programs do try to recruit students like OP to an MA program in something with limited prerequisites . Don’t do it. Those degrees are not meaningful.”
Amen to that. For many schools, master’s programs of questionable value are simply cash cows.
I am seeing an online MBA program at Columbia College. Is Columbia College the same level as a Columbia University?
After some consideration, I think I am pretty sure I want to get an MBA.
You need to get a job out there in the real world to decide if you want an MBA. And do NOT do an online MBA… unless you are 35 years old with 10 years of work experience, an online MBA will not be worth it. They are great degrees for someone working for a big company who has been told “if you want to be promoted to VP you need an MBA”. They are not worth it for someone early in their career who needs to be in classes, meeting corporate big-wigs who come for presentations and lectures, networking with classmates, etc.
Most MBA programs require 2 or more years work experience, and prefer 3-4 yrs. Their applications require long essays on your business accomplishments and knowledge of your field of business. Right now, you would be unqualified to answer those. Do search for work, and gain traction in an area that interests you, then consider an MBA application.
Please, for the love of all that is good, do some research.
There are several Columbia Colleges in this country so I’m not sure which one you’re referring to. None of them are on the same level as the Ivy Columbia.