Hie guys, i am an MBA aspirant and hoping to get into a good university in USA or UK by 2009, i completed my graduation with distinction in 2007, and after that i had taken a break for giving the entrance exams for institutes here but then i met with an accident and missed out on the exam and now i am goin to miss out on one more year, and also i dun have any work experience, how important is the work experience factor going to be? should i not just rely on getting a good score in GMAT? Please advice.

Hi Anand,

First of all, don't worry about having missed a year or two - I really don't think that matters. And if anyone asks, just explain your circumstances. No problem.

I've just had a bit of a look around at various schools' websites re. previous work experience. None of them really say too much on this issue. A good GMAT score is obviously going to be an advantage, but it's not the be all and end all. Fashion schools and fashion-related programmes tend to be a little more catholic (with a small 'c'), in their admissions. They are more likely to be interested in what you might be able to do than what you've already done.

That being said, some knowledge of fashion and the industry is essential. I would approach the issue in the following ways:

1) Read, read, read. Get your hands on all the important international fashion magazines as often as you can, and familiarise yourself with what's going on, who's important, who's being talked about. Supplement these with more local interest and underground magazines. A good NYC example would be Cheap Date magazine (www.cheapdatemagazine.com/). Others might include Marmalade (www.marmalademag.com/), Useless magazine (www.uselessmagazine.com/), Fantastic Man (www.fantasticmanmagazine.com/), Pop (www.myspace.com/popsuperglossy), Wallpaper (www.wallpaper.com), Dazed and Confused (www.dazeddigital.com), and Vice (http://vice.typepad.com/vice_magazine/).

2) If you know where you want to study, get to know the local fashion scene. What are people talking about? What are people wearing? Who are the upcoming young designers? Where are people shopping?

3) Try to get some sort of work experience, however small. This could be an internship at a fashion house, a design company, a magazine. Pitch some writing to a magazine, or just start your own blog. Bear in mind, though, that you should be able to accumulate more work experience either during or after your course.

Lastly, since you say you might consider the UK as well as the US, here's a couple of links which might be handy. In particular, have a look at the section of new courses for 2008 on the London College of Fashion site.

http://www.fashion.arts.ac.uk/

http://www.fitnyc.edu/html/dynamic.html

I think work experience is just needed for the EMBA program.

I didn't say it was absolutely necessary, William. What I did suggest was don't think one can ever say work experience isn't going to be an advantage, and gave some examples of what that might include.

yeah, but i mean, there are difference between mba and executive mba, you can have some work experience to be selected for an mba, but it's just a plus,
weston international business school wants 5years exeperience to be selected in their EMBA.
so work experience is just a mean to be distinguish for an MBA,
don't you think?

I'm not really sure I know what you mean.
Firstly, I think the issue here is that for a fashion MBA specifically, it is quite a good idea to have a little work experience, in a way that would not necessarily be as crucial for other MBAs.
Secondly, if you are applying for the top schools this is highly competitive, and the whole point is that a successful candidate would already go above and beyond any stated requirements, and easily demonstrate that they are an impressive, well-rounded individual, not just an average applicant. This is true in terms of their academic scores, references, and work experience. The best and most highly ranked business schools will expect you to prove your leadership skills, often found in the form of managerial work experience, extracurricular activities, or initiatives taken in other forms. Excellent communication skills are also key in a successful application, and once more it is often easier to demonstrate these in concrete examples when you can draw on different real life work experience situations and scenarios.
Equally, its hard to prove that you have strong business analytical skills, if you haven't had any experience in business. For example, Wharton School - ranked as the #1 school in finance and accounting - definitely rates candidates with well-rounded work experience. The average age of applicants is higher than other schools, showing that maturity - and the work experience it brings - is definitely favoured by the admissions committee.
However, naturally, the less competitive the MBA applied for, the less important excelling in all of those aspects beyond the minimum stated requirements.