Early Career MBA & JD-MBA Applicants

Hey everyone, I recently received an email from someone who is looking into JD-MBA programs. She’s currently beginning her senior year in college, and she asked me to assess her profile and to provide her with some general advice for applying to JD-MBA programs. I wanted to take a few moments to share some of my answer here (though not all of it in this case) and also discuss the idea of early career MBA applicants, which definitely has been getting a lot of buzz the last few years.

Business schools have traditionally preferred applicants with 4 to 5 years of experience over those with less experience. The idea is that someone who has more professional experiences can better contribute to class and section discussions, as well as can better understand much of the practical business coursework. Statistically, this is especially true of Kellogg, where the average years of work experience is close to 5 years, and where traditionally very few applicants have ever been taken straight from undergrad. In fact, reportedly a few years back, Kellogg didn’t accept a single student straight from undergrad.

Although I’m 4 years out now, I actually considered applying for an MBA a few years ago, both one and two years out of school. Unfortunately, my idea was pretty short-lived because the start-up firm I worked for suddenly decided to go out of business. Although I was definitely set on going back to school early, in retrospect, it clear that I am more well-prepared to do well in school now because of my additional work and community experience.

Although this is true for most applicants, MBA programs have been trending down in terms of preferred years of experience. Today, schools definitely consider applicants with 0 to 2 years from undergrad as much as they consider older applicants. Of the highest ranked schools, Stanford, Harvard, and Sloan are taking younger kids in hordes, and they're doing it even moreso today than they did a few years ago when I thought of applying.

If I had to give advice to younger applicants when applying, first I’d say stats are relatively more important for you. Since you have less work experience and professional expertise to offer (as I also did when I considered applying), schools will want to see evidence of your intelligence through high grades and stellar GMAT scores. Additionally, just because you have less professional experience doesn’t mean you’re off the hook for leadership potential. Schools still want to see evidence of your leadership and decision-making in extra-curricular activities and in internships. After that you’ll be assessed like every other candidate on your b-school “story” where you should discuss why you need an MBA and should answer the question, Why now? For you, the difference is that you’re story must answer the question, why now right after school, as opposed to why 4 or 5 years out of school.

In comparison to business school, JD-MBA programs have always required less experience from their applicants. This is because these programs balance the respective profiles of the university business school and law school, which are entirely different. While business schools usually prefer a couple of years of experience, law schools have traditionally taken tons of students with little or no work experience. As such, admits to some JD-MBA programs have a pretty low average age, which typically works out well sense dual degree students begin at the law school.

I'll note that the actual numbers to JD-MBA programs depends on the school. The Northwestern JD-MBA for instance has a typical average of 4.5 to 5.0 years of experience, which is pretty closely aligned with general b-school population. Word on the street is that the first class of Pennsylvania will be pretty similar. However, I know of 4 or 5 schools off hand that encourage applicants straight from undergrad.

To me, all of these differences emphasize the fit factor when applying. Although you probably hear the word “fit” every time you talk about applications, it is important to ensure you apply to and enroll at a school that is the right fit for your professional and personal aspirations. Once you find that school (or those schools) that is a fit, then my personal opinion is that you should work on getting your story and putting together a quality application. Once you can do all of that, then you're probably ready to give it a shot. Best of luck if you decide to do so this year!