I am helping someone find a good one year mba program that is not hard to get into. She has a background in journalism but now runs a business. She could use help in learning more about business but can't get a high GMAT score and has only ok English.

Go to http://business-schools.findthebest.com/ and sort the table by 'acceptance rate'.

thanks, but we are also trying to find a school where she will really learn. She doesn't need the degree to get a job as she already owns a business. She will be going to learn not get a fancy degree.

These are almost all AACSB degrees, so I am sure she'll learn something. But if your friend won't put in the effort to get a stroner GMAT score, then she won't get into a great school.

ok thanks...it is not lack of effort or dedication. But running a business full time, helping take care of a grandparent, mistakes in relationships, and studying both English and accounting at the same time is a pretty full plate for anyone.

Tell us a bit more: where is your friend looking to go to school? Is she planning on taking a part-time program and maintaining her business? A distance learning program is an option, in that case - but it will most likely take longer to complete than one year. I'll caution that any MBA program that is "easy to get into"
probably won't be worth the expense.

I am helping someone find a good one year mba program that is not hard to get into. She has a background in journalism but now runs a business. She could use help in learning more about business but can't get a high GMAT score and has only ok English.

She hopes to take a year off and study in the US. It would allow her to focus on rethinking how to do things and build up basics. She will maintain her business. It is to figure out how to make that business better and to let her learn how to run a business better that is her reason for going. The degree, in fact, is unimportant.

And I have the same worries you have. She is young and ambitious. If she goes to a mediocre school with mediocre students there isn't much of a point in going.

Trying to find a program where the focus is on learning with older and experienced students. Ie not just young students with a BS in Business who couldn't get into a good school.

And thanks so much for your help.

Well, one year MBA programs are pretty rare in the States, as opposed to Europe, where they are more the norm.

Maybe check out Florida/Warrington? They offer a one year option for their full time MBA program. However, the average GMAT for admitted students is 618.

Unfortunately, the other good one year programs are even more competitive in terms of GMAT scores: There are programs like Babson, Cornell, and Emory Goizueta - all of which are pretty competitive.

Thanks for your advice. What opinion do you have of online schools? She could pick a two year program that is partly online. My own research is in German and Greek philosophy, Chinese calligraphy, Ancient Chinese history and Buddhism. So MBA studies are pretty far away from my work but I still don't like the idea of online studies for anything but technical things such as accounting, science or such.

Online schools can be worth it - even for more quantitative studies. The problem is that these kinds of programs often vary dramatically in terms of quality. If your friend is looking for online programs, there are a couple of things to pay attention to:

Make sure the school is accredited by an international accreditation body (AACSB is typically a good indicator of quality.)

The best programs combine online learning with on-campus sessions. This is often referred to as "blended" learning, and provides a deeper experience over a vanilla distance learning program.

Some programs are using online video conferencing to have live virtual classes - but besides being a huge step forward, I'm not sure that this actually provides a better learning experience than engaging videos and participating in online discussion forums. Maybe a current distance learning student could weigh in on this point.

Check out the following schools for good online programs (there are a lot more, so do some research):

UNC
ASU - Carey
Florida/Warrington
Indiana/Kelley

Thanks so much for your help. Both of you. Good solid advice.

Great advice from everyone. I would fully support the pursuit of an online MBA program. Over the past five years the industry has seen a dramatic shift in the quality of MBA degrees offered online. While several years ago they were mainly for-profit, non-accredited programs offering what were for all intent and purposes, poor quality undergrad degrees.

However, the University of Indiana really broke down the barrier when they began offering their Kelly Direct MBA program and became a legit, strong MBA program. From there we have started to see more schools of quality launch MBA programs like Arizona State, Penn State, and the University of Florida.

And now with the University of North Carolina's on-line program, you have a top 20 school providing an online MBA which is impressive and a huge opportunity to earn an incredibly strong MBA online. I would imagine the majority of on campus programs across the world wouldn't be able to match the quality of the UNC online program.

Good luck with the process. Hope this helps.

Yeah, the general consensus is that quality is going up. Point taken. But are online programs REALLY respected by employers? I'm still not convinced.

Thanks to both of you for the posts. We are leaning more towards going to having her get a BA from a decent school and then do the MBA later. An online school might be a very good option as it would cut down the time spent in the states. And the purpose of the study is to improve a business that she already is a partner in so reception by employers is not a key problem. Nonetheless, posts are for all to read so good to make such a point.

Yeah, the general consensus is that quality is going up. Point taken. But are online programs REALLY respected by employers? I'm still not convinced.

Agree, but why not compare them straight-up with all part-time programs - online or otherwise? If online programs want to shed that stigma, then parity with brick-and-mortar part-time programs would help.

DL MBAs are typically at a 2/3rds the price of the offline programme. It's a different product, and the metrics of salary prgression don't work for DL since the people tend to be less mobile.

DL MBAs are typically at a 2/3rds the price of the offline programme.

It's a different product, and the metrics of salary prgression don't work for DL since the people tend to be less mobile.

If online programs want to shed that stigma, then parity with brick-and-mortar part-time programs would help.

Business schools don't say it's the same experience, nor do they claim the some outcomes. The salary uplift, in percentage terms, is highest for full time and lowest for DL. That's the nature of the experience, and only a school which selected DL students who were in any case on a faster track than the average MBA could buck that trend.