I'm looking to do a good master sprogram... I'm not delluding myself or anything, I have a GPA of 3.2 and have a couple of years of work experience in Red Bull... My undergraduate degree is in business administration, with a concentration in marketing and management... Is there anything you guys can recommend? Nothing too expensive, but I'm looking for somewhere that will be another cultural experience (I live in Dubai)... Plus, English should be enough to get by... Can anyone help me out?
What degree are you going for? I am presuming you want to get an MBA? EDIT: 2.3? Did you get your BBA from Harvard or MIT or something? Ehsan, hate to be the bearer of bad news, but unless you can get some LOR from the royals or some other higher ups (i.e. a 'wasta') or you're willing to settle for one of those semi-useless online schools here in the States (U of Phoenix or others), it will be very difficult to get into a good program. From what I understand, most programs require at least a B average (2.7 or above) to even be considered. Now, if you're going to be working overseas anyways (especially the Gulf), then any degree from an accredited U.S. school would be a 'positive' in terms of furthering your career objectives.
Masters??? With a 2.3 GPA? You'll probably have to retake some of the classes and get that up if you want to get into a Masters Program... ...at least I think.
Just go back and get another Bachelor's degree; public University grad programs tend to look at just the last 60 hours of undergrad work. You probably also want to pretty well on the GMAT (600-700 range) and be willing to settle for a program at a smaller, public university (anything with the word "state" in it); preferrably in a big city, so you can capitalize on the professional opportunities there. Here's a link to search for MBA programs, by Academics and or Location. You've got some pretty decent intangibles coming from overseas; a smaller, Southern or Midwestern college may view that as a plus for their student body.
I don't think you should be considering grad school as an option if you had a 2.3. I can only imagine someone taking a Pre-Med track might have similar grades to you even if they tried. Of the business concentrations you took- those are probably two of the easiest business specialties there are out there.
Are we talking a J-Lo ass or a Calista Flockhart ass? And, how much, exactly, is an assload (ie. annual costs for a masters at Rice)?
Never mind: It's a J-Lo assload. $72,000 - $84,000. Ouch. Next question: is it worth it? Anybody here done the masters program at Rice? Does it enhance your career/education enough to really make a ton of dough? Does it really open doors for you?
Unless you're going to a top-20 to 25 program, it's hard to justify the cost of a MBA The cost is pretty substantial, especially for out-of-state/international students. My classmates at McCombs are dropping $39k annually ($20k in state) which is a pretty sizeable investment. Of course, a good MBA program can lead to a lifetime worth of contacts, and can groom you into a much more polished, well-rounded individual. That's why you see a lot of engineers like myself, making the move into Finance or Consulting. Of course, with a 2.3 GPA, you'd need to score in the 700's to even be considered for a top program most likely.
