New here.. and my story

Discussion in 'Introductions' started by Albani, Aug 31, 2009.

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  1. Albani

    Albani New Member

    Hi to all, feels very good to come to such an experienced forum in online learning with helpful members. I wish best to all the forum members.

    My story:

    As coming near to 30ties with 10 years of experience and no degree except high school diploma, I have started getting worried. During my career with hard work i have progressed in management positions but now since i have changed my country of residence and landed a good job it seems little of that counts to get promoted and with this help me to increase my family earnings. At the same time i wish to refresh my self-learning and I am hoping I can get into an respective MBA that will accept me without a bachelor degree. I do have several professional certifications such: PMP, ITIL, MCSD.NET, Expert etc. which have helped me for my new job in product management in telecom.

    My MBA would possibly be paid from my current employer but the question is there a reputed school with no bachelor degree requirements that I can join?

    Thank you for reading my story,

    best wishes.
     
  2. edowave

    edowave Active Member

    If a degree from the UK is not a problem for you, you should look at the Edinburgh Business School at Heriot-Watt University. I'm almost certain your PMP would even qualify for an exemption from taking Project Management (one of the required courses).

    Check out http://www.ebsglobal.net/
     
  3. Albani

    Albani New Member

    thank you for your advice, i have just checked their website and it seems they accept students if you pass three exams even if you don't have a degree. I do have one question, is the EBS a reputed school in this field?

    I would kindly ask if there is any other school with reputation in MBA or masters in management that i can enroll by first passing three exams, such as the EBS?

    Thank you for your guidance and look forward to your advices.

    best.
     
  4. Fortunato

    Fortunato Member

    EBS is very well known in distance learning circles, because they are one of a very small number of schools that will accept students to graduate programs without a completed undergrad degree. Outside of the DL community, they are respected, but are not considered a top-tier MBA program. Given that you would like to earn an MBA without first earning a bachelors, they are probably the only game in town for you. This is not a bad thing - the program is rigorous and thorough, and if you can complete it, you will have an accomplishment to be proud of. Best of luck!
     
  5. Albani

    Albani New Member

    Now I got more convinced from your good advices edowave and fortunato that possibly the EBS is my best shot.

    Just to get your opinion here on what is crossing my mind at the moment, is it possible that I first start with EBS and get the diploma and then exit to a top-tier school? Will the diploma be considered as a bachelor degree? Is it worth it, will there be any credit transfers and is it doable?

    Would that be possibly to do for continuing in e.g. Fuqua, Kelley or Thunderbird?

    Thank you for your kind advices and the provided guidance since I admit I really have very little knowledge on these issues.

    Thank you very much for your help.

    Best wishes.
     
  6. Albani

    Albani New Member

    question for Fortunato

    For Fortunato:
    thank you for the previous advices.

    The main dilemma i have now is should I go for an MBA directly and since i am eager to do it i thought better to have it from a top-tier, such as duke fuqua cross-continent and they have a campus in dubai, where i am. I did contact them and they are saying:

    -When are you considering starting an MBA program? Have you already taken your GMAT? (I have not done it and I am new to GMAT concept)

    How much work experience do you have since earning your undergraduate degree (preferably, could you please send me your resume)? ( I have 10 years work experience from what 5y in management positions, but I do not have an undergraduate degree).

    Is there any option I can be accepted in duke fuqua without this 2 requirements? or is there any fast track to fulfill these requirements and be eligible to register?

    I am also trying to understand the forum how it works and I see some great information and advices here. Possibly I need little more time to digest.

    Thank you and I look forward also myself to become a useful member in this magnificent forum.
     
  7. edowave

    edowave Active Member

    FYI, Heriot-Watt has a campus in Dubai also. http://www.hw.ac.uk/dubai/

    I think getting into Duke without GMAT or bachelors is zero. A high GMAT and no bachelors would be more probable, but still slim.

    As for a "fast track" option on a bachelors degree, one place you might want to check out is http://www.bain4weeks.com/ .
     
  8. Fortunato

    Fortunato Member

    Unless you qualify for the Global Executive MBA (and very, very few do - this is basically a degree program for VP-level and higher execs in Fortune 500 companies), you have to take the GMAT to be admitted to Fuqua.

    They might consider you without a bachelor's degree, but in case you're thinking that you seriously have a chance without one, let me give you my story. I first inquired about entering the Cross-Continent MBA program for their class of 2006, but found out that the beginning of the program would overlap my last semester at the University of Wyoming by about a week. I asked if they would consider admitting me anyway if I could arrange to move my exams up so that I would be "done" with UW before coming to Durham to the first residency. I had a letter of sponsorship in hand, a 750 GMAT, and a 3.9+ undergrad GPA so far at the time. To their credit, the admissions committee agreed to consider it, but they ended up telling me they would be more comfortable if I waited a year. A year later, I applied and was accepted in under 48 hours. They really, really, really don't like waiving the bachelor's requirement.

    Small postscript to that story: I ended up adding on another semester at UW to do an independent study project that I personally found very rewarding and that also gave me enough credit hours in residence at UW to be eligible to graduate with honors. At the time I was disappointed that I couldn't do the CCMBA program at the same time as my wife, but in the end, I think it worked out for the best. We each had our "own" MBA experience, and I think that actually made us both better students.
     
  9. Fortunato

    Fortunato Member

    Most likely not - see my reply to edowave above.

    edowave's advice about earning a degree from one of the Big 3 is valid. Duke certainly doesn't have a bias against admitting nontraditional students into their MBA programs - I personally know three people besides myself who had completed their undergrad degrees through nontraditional means (although none who had graduated from one of the Big 3) within a year before their admission to Fuqua, including one who had finished his undergrad in May for an MBA program starting in July.

    Admission to Fuqua's Executive MBA programs is competitive, but it's not impossibly difficult either. Because these programs require employer sponsorship, there is a lot of pre-screening done for Fuqua. It's a rare company that would agree to sponsor a student they don't believe can do the work involved in graduate-level business study. To give you an idea of how effective sponsorship is as a pre-screening device, I think my class had about 200 applicants for 120 seats. By comparison, the Daytime MBA had over 3100 applicants for a class of 450. If your employer agrees to sponsor you, you don't embarrass yourself on the GMAT, and you have an RA undergrad degree, you have a very good shot at getting into the CCMBA program. Good luck!
     
  10. Albani

    Albani New Member

    Wow

    WOW I have read the www.bain4weeks.com and I am really astonished that there is an option to get a RA bachelor degree in such a short time if I study hard, and I do.

    But I need some help, how to get started and prepared?

    and do my credentials like PMP, ITIL, MCSD.NET, MCAD, MCP, Xpert passport, would count for some credit or use them somehow?

    I would be interested in Bachelor of Business admin. and get it fastest as possible, is really 4 weeks achievable? I do study hard though.

    Guys you are wonderful, you gave me hope to start my academic learning which I really love to do but due to circumstances I was in I had to choose faculty or work, and I chose work for my family.

    I am thinking here loud now, If I can have a speedy entrance with a bachelor I would then target a top-school for my master and continue to PHD or even do an MBA from EBS together with the BS at the same time (for my promotion), and afterwards go for a top-school for another master and finish with a PHD; is my thinking sound? or you can advice me a proper way gained from your experience?

    I look forward to your advices and thank you both fortunato and edowave for your time and encouraging advices.

    My best wishes to both of you.

    Thank you very much.
     
  11. Fortunato

    Fortunato Member

    You are starting down a path that is well-traveled by the regulars on this board. The easiest way to get started is to decide which of the "Big 3" you want to attend, and gather together the requirements you will need to fulfill. A few searches on this board should help you get started.

    Some will, depending on the school you choose. Each of the "Big 3" has documentation as to the credit they will award for IT certifications and other professional education programs. Again, using the forum's search function will be instructive here.

    4 weeks is probably a bit of a stretch unless you already have a good store of knowledge that you are simply validating with exams. Once you have identified which school you want to attend and the exams you will need, you should use the testing forum to gather resources and prepare for your first exam. Once you've gone through a few exams, you'll have a better handle on how long it will take you. For most people, going from zero credits to a bachelor's degree will take between a year and eighteen months or so. Some people can go much, much faster. Someone around here's sig line used to read "A journey of a thousand credits starts with a single CLEP." Those are words to live by. :)

    I would advise against trying to do multiple distance programs simultaneously. There are people who can do it and be successful, but for most people, juggling their work and life commitments with the demands of a single degree programming is challenging enough. This is just my opinion, others may tell you differently, but IMHO, taking on two degree programs at once is an excellent way to end up with no degree whatsoever.

    You're obviously very excited, and I applaud your initiative, but at this point, you really only have one decision to make: Do I start with the bachelor's degree or do I start with the MBA? The second masters and the PhD are way, way, way in the future at this point.

    You're welcome. Best of luck to you in your educational journey!
     
  12. Albani

    Albani New Member

    Decided for EBS MBA

    After doing continuous research after fortunato's and edowave's advices I have decided to go directly for the EBS MBA, for few reasons:
    - it is a master degree;
    - it speeds up my journey to the promotions;
    - and by studying hard I may get it inside 1 year (since I can use some waivers as edowave suggested for my PMP);
    - and it has some good courses I am interested in.

    I am just left with one question now: will my decision to go to a MBA directly effect my prospects in medium-term for a top-tier master degree, such as let say the DUKE Fuqua Master degree in strategic planning? so, what i am really asking is 2 questions: does the MBA from EBS substitute the Bachelor degree requirement for further Master and will i be able to use the EBS MBA to continue with PHD education?

    I thank you very much fortunato and edowave for your advices and giving me confidence in my academic journey.

    My best wishes to the great people of this forum.
     
  13. Albani

    Albani New Member

    sorry I meant Kelley MS in strategic planning instead of DUKE Fuqua Master degree in strategic planning, since DUKE does not have an online MS in strategic planning.
     
  14. edowave

    edowave Active Member

    Many people with the EBS MBA have moved on to PhD programs at great schools (myself included.) However, I don't know if anyone was able to do so with just the MBA alone and not the bachelors. Only the program you are trying to get into would be able to answer that question accurately. You might want to contact them directly and ask. I do know of some EBS MBA students who have completed a bachelors after the fact for that very reason.

    You might want to check out the unofficial EBS MBA site run by students at http://forums.delphiforums.com/hwmba/start . Good luck with the program!
     

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