Search results for forte:

The Big Picture: The 5 Most Important MBA Numbers of 2018

Each year there’s a ton of new information that comes out about MBA programs. From new rankings to the latest GMAC news, there are a thousand little tidbits that can overwhelm applicants, students, and alumni. We’ve collected the most important MBA numbers of 2018.

To pare down the news into the information you need to know, we’ve taken a look at the big picture of the MBA for 2018 and outlined the five most important pieces of data you need to know. We’re talking about everything from the decline and U.S. MBA applications to the increase in female enrollment, the higher salaries and GMAT scores, as well as the increase in interest in technology. Continue reading…

3 Online MBA Scholarships Worth Remembering

Navigating the maze of scholarships available to MBA students (really, students in general) can become a bit overwhelming. And for students hoping to earn a degree online, the search can seem never-ending.  To help, we’ve broken down a handful of the most intriguing Online MBA scholarships.

Continue reading…

Full-Time MBA

Fisher College of Business Full-Time MBA Program Structure

The Ohio State full-time MBA program is an in-person, two-year program that includes 25.5 credit hours of integrated core coursework, 7.5 credit hours of experiential learning (Business Lab Project, Social Impact Challenge, Optional Global Applied Project), and 27 credit hours of elective coursework. The program requires a minimum of 60 credit hours to graduate.

Curriculum at The Ohio State Full-Time MBA

In addition to a theoretical base in business administration, Fisher prides itself in its action-based learning opportunities, such as field-based courses and business plan competitions, among other offerings. The full-time MBA program begins with a required three-week Take-Off, during which new students are introduced to the college and MBA core and participate in coaching and career development, among other forms of development. Core courses and experiential learning make up the entire first year to establish a foundation for electives and major courses in the second year. Each academic year is broken down into two semesters, and there are two seven-week sessions per semester. Some courses will span the entire semester, while others will be either the first or last seven-week session of the semester. The summer between the first and second years may be spent in an internship or on a Global Applied Project (GAP), a three-credit consulting project for an institution outside of the United States.

Full-time MBA students need 60 credits to graduate; 25.5 of these credits come from core courses, while 7.5 hours come from experiential learning and 27 are dedicated to electives, which allow students to focus their MBA. Instead of majors, Fisher MBA students may pursue optional pathways, such as asset management, brand management, entrepreneurship, and others, to support their career interests.

The Ohio State Full-Time MBA Rankings

• U.S. News & World Report: 37
• Bloomberg: 41
• Financial Times: 72
• Forbes: 41
• The Economist: 50

Class Profile

Fifty-nine new MBA students joined Fisher in the Fall of 2020. Forty-one percent of them pursued undergraduate degrees in business. Another 26% had studied social sciences and 25% the arts and sciences. Eight percent had majored in engineering. The average GPA was 3.45.

Upon matriculation at Ohio State Fisher, students averaged roughly four years of full-time work experience. The average GMAT score of incoming students clocked in at 666 while the average GRE composite score was 312. In total, 12% of students in the Class of 2022 are international, 36% are women and 15% identify as a member of a domestic minority group.

Career Statistics

Within three months of graduation, 90% of the Class of 2020 had job offers. Their average starting salary landed at $137,851. Financial services topped the list of industry choices at 32%. Tech followed at 17% and consulting at 16%. Nine percent chose the healthcare industry and 7% entered manufacturing. Another 4% joined consumer products and 3% went into retail.

Most of the Class of 2020 settled in the Midwest (65%). The next most popular destination was the Western U.S., which took in just 10% of graduates. The South, Southwest, and Northeast each saw 6% of MBA graduates, and the Mid-Atlantic region had 7%.

Tuition, Scholarships, and Financial Aid

Tuition and fees for the Ohio State Full-Time MBA for the 2021-22 school year is $31,139 per year for Ohio residents, with an estimated total cost of $53,605 with other expenses. Non-residents and international students can expect to pay $55,855 in tuition and fees, with a total cost of $78,321 per year.

Some examples of Fisher scholarship offerings include:

• Up to five scholarships for our MBA Specialization in Technology Entrepreneurship
• Diversity scholarships (ROMBA, Prospanica, NBMBAA, Forté Fellow)
• National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) Scholarships
• International scholarships (Africa, South America, Europe, etc.)
• Active military and veteran scholarships
• Dean’s scholarships for Fisher/Ohio State alumnus

Admissions

Applicants must include the following:

• Academic Transcripts (official not required at time of application)
• Test Scores: GMAT or GRE (waiver available for military candidates that meet the qualifications)
• Resume
• Written Essays
• Optional: Letters of recommendation
• Video Interview
• Live Interview (invite only)
• $60 fee ($70 for international applicants)

The Ohio State Full-Time MBA Deadlines

Learn More About the OSU Deadlines here

Just How Did USC Marshall’s MBA Program Attain Long-Elusive Gender Parity?

This fall, USC Marshall became the first top-tier MBA program to reach gender parity. The incoming full-time MBA Class of 2020 has as many women as men—actually a few more—52 percent. This notable achievement is a massive 20-point percentage leap from last year when women made up just 32 percent of the incoming class.

“We are proud to achieve this distinction,” Dean James G. Ellis said in a press release. “Our ongoing focus on diversity and inclusion is playing out in real numbers now. This is only the start.”

Gender Parity in Business School

While many other top schools have been working to reach gender parity over the last few years, they’ve thus far fallen short of the 50-50 mark. According to a 2017 report by the Forté Foundation and the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), the average enrollment of women in full-time MBA programs at 36 business schools is 37.8 percent. That’s an improvement of less than one percent from 2016, when it was 37.1 percent, and only a few percentage points up from 2013, when it was 34 percent.

Several other leading schools have hovered in the low 40s in recent years—including Michigan Ross (43 percent), Yale School of Management (43 percent), Dartmouth Tuck (44 percent), and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School (44 percent). And Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management recently announced that its incoming Class of 2020 is 46 percent women, a record for the school. These figures all make USC Marshall’s achievement even more impressive, though it’s also a statement on women in business.

In general, women earn 60 percent of graduate degrees and fill up more than 50 percent of graduate classes, even those in male-dominated professions such as law and medicine. MBA programs, though, have lagged stubbornly behind, which many believe to be the result of a combination of factors. Some of these include the timing of business school, which is later than law or medical school because of the required prior work experience; the return on investment, and the fact that men with an MBA out-earn their female counterparts throughout their careers.

Still, there have been strides forward. Just five years ago, only three of the top 25 schools enrolled more than 40 percent women in their MBA programs. Last year, nearly half had reached that mark. Some schools have yet to release class profile information for the current incoming class, so it remains to be seen how this year compares to last. Regardless, USC Marshall reaching the 50-percent mark is a standout achievement, particularly since it hadn’t even broken 40 percent before this year.

“I’m super thankful and proud to be here at this particular point in time,” Gabriela Omenn (2020) said. “One of my key interests beyond business school is to elevate women and get them into positions of power, so it’s directly aligned with where I want to go in my career. It feels really amazing to be among such a high class of students, and I believe it’s going to be something that pays off in dividends after school is done.”

USC Marshall MBA Class of 2020, More Than Half Women

To get an idea about how USC Marshall became the first top business school to break through the gender parity barrier, we talked to Evan Bouffides, assistant dean and director of MBA admissions.

• Recruiting Efforts Were Strong

According to Bouffides, this past year was a solid one for recruiting at USC Marshall across the board, with improved outreach to all prospective applicants, women included. But Marshall did place a concerted effort on reaching women applicants specifically, he said. These targeted outreach efforts included participation in Forté Foundation events (Marshall is a Forté member school), programming for women as part of on-campus visits, and online marketing campaigns.

Evan Bouffides, USC Marshall Assistant Dean and Director of MBA Admissions / Photo via USC Marshall

“We’ve been a bit more deliberate and certainly more comprehensive in the way we send messaging out about our program, about the admissions process, and about the university,” explained Bouffides. “ In general, I feel that we touched a lot more people via electronic communication than we have in the past.” In particular, the school increased its follow-up communication with candidates who attended various events.

Bouffides also thought January’s Women’s Week recruiting event was the best one yet. More than 100 women visited campus for this one-day event to learn about the school, meet other applicants, and get a taste of what it’s like to be a USC Marshall MBA student.

“Not only did we have a larger group than in the past, but we also, hopefully, presented a better case for ourselves than we had in the past,” said Bouffides. “Our students also did a great job contributing to the decision-making process in a tangible way.”

Current students play a big role in recruiting efforts for prospective applicants at USC Marshall. Both Marshall’s ambassador students, who work directly with admissions, and student members of its Graduate Women in Business club, reached out personally to candidates and admits as part of the admissions process to share their unique student perspectives. Many of these students also helped organize some of the recruiting events for prospective applicants.

“We also have a follow-up program, where once a person is admitted, we put them in touch with a lot of different groups, students being the preeminent group,” Bouffides explained. “The students did a great job answering questions and convincing people to join us.”

• Improved Rankings and Reputation

Out of the many factors that may have contributed to USC Marshall reaching gender parity this year, the school’s improved rankings and reputation had a distinctly positive effect. Marshall jumped four places to 20th in the latest U.S. News ranking of leading MBA programs. And the Financial Times ranked Marshall as one of the best business schools for women to pursue an MBA (20th in the world and 12th in the United States).

“Our rise in rankings and the good press we’ve had over the last year or two has helped make us more attractive to candidates,” said Bouffides. “This, along with our other efforts, helped bring the entire class together.”

• A Great Yield

Another factor that contributed to USC Marshall’s gender parity was this year’s impressive yield—the percentage of admitted students who ultimately enroll. It was a significant change from last year’s class, when less than a third of admitted female students (31.3 percent) chose to enroll. This year, 40.1 percent of admitted females entered the full-time MBA program. This meant that more of the students USC Marshall wanted actually attended, resulting in the highest-quality class on record.

The average GMAT score for the Class of 2020 is 705, up from 703 last year, and the average GPA is 3.5 compared to 3.48. This year’s incoming class also includes a record number of underrepresented minorities—21 percent of domestic students, compared to 16 percent previously.

“This year’s applicant pool was the strongest in our program’s history,” said Bouffides. “They brought the highest average GMAT score and the highest average GPA. The women, in particular, were extraordinarily well prepared.”

USC Marshall in the Future

So, where does USC Marshall go from here? We asked Bouffides if the school hopes to reach the same levels in coming years, but he said there is no prescribed quota for women in future classes. The goal is always just to bring in the most robust possible class, and diversity is a big part of that—gender parity being just one aspect.

“First, let me explain that we didn’t go into the admissions cycle this year stating that gender parity was our goal. We never do that for any particular metric when it comes to admissions,” said Bouffides. “We didn’t go into the season with parity as a goal, but it was an outcome of the fact that we had a large and talented group of women applying to the program. My hope is that now that we’ve hit this mark, it will be easier going forward, and hopefully, we’ll be even that much more attractive to women and men as well as they think about schools to which they may apply.”

As for Omenn, she sees USC Marshall as a model for the future where diverse backgrounds represented by different genders and groups can come together to share their ideas and perspectives—elevating discussions for a richer experience.

“Gender parity is a good model for future applicants, not just at USC but at any business school,” said Omenn. “In years to come, applicants will be able to see more of themselves in business school, which will hopefully inspire them to keep striving for their goals.”

This article has been edited and republished with permissions from our sister site, Clear Admit.

Top MBA Recruiters: AT&T

Finding employment after graduating from an MBA program can be a challenge for some. Thankfully, new MBAs are never alone in the process. From companies that actively recruit talent from business schools throughout the country, to MBA programs themselves helping to facilitate interviews and job referrals for their students, students should be sure to take advantage of resources available to them.

A look at 2017 employment data from a top MBA program like the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business reveals the overwhelming trend: a whopping 89.2 percent of students found employment through university-facilitated avenues, be it on-campus recruitment and interviews, networking events, or through a Booth-facilitated summer employer. The success of campus recruitment benefits everyone, not only because universities are willing to open their doors and advocate for their students, but because top companies go out of their way to recruit young talent and create opportunities for them.

One such company is American multinational telecommunications holding company, AT&T. Founded in 1983 as the Southwestern Bell Telephone Company—part of the Bell Telephone Company with roots in the late 19th century—today AT&T has more than 254,000 employees worldwide and $190 billion in revenue. With a commitment to MBA graduates through internships and early career development programs, AT&T makes the grade as a top recruiter and employment destination for MBAs.

What Is An AT&T Career Like for MBAs?

It should be no surprise that MBAs love working at AT&T when you know the kind of investment this company makes in the educational development of its employees. In 2016, AT&T spent $250 million on employee training and invested roughly 20 million hours into the process. With so many opportunities for ambitious team members to accelerate their careers through leadership and development programs, this is the perfect company for those looking to quickly rise into leadership roles.

AT&T has been awarded many times for its workplace culture, including being named on Fortune‘s ‘100 Best Companies to Work for in 2018‘ and 3rd overall on the Diversity Inc. list of the ‘Top 50 Companies for Diversity‘ in 2018.

Of course, it pays to have an AT&T career, even beyond a positive workplace culture. According to PayScale data, MBA graduates at AT&T earn an average annual salary over $95,000. This can range as high as $142,000 for those in operations management. Employees, including interns, are rewarded with competitive compensation and benefits, including paid holidays, time off, and discounts for AT&T products.

Getting Started

MBA students interested in starting an AT&T career should keep an eye out for the various recruitment events set up through their university, where they can apply on campus and may be selected to interview with college recruiting managers. Because of the company’s heavy investment in a diverse workforce, AT&T also has a strong presence at recruitment conferences like the Forté Foundation for female business leaders, Reaching Out MBA for LGBT candidates, and the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA).

Many MBAs start their AT&T career through its many internship opportunities, which are found at locations throughout the country and typically last 10-12 weeks. AT&T offers these paid internships a huge variety of fields, such as data analytics, cybersecurity, entertainment group technology, software development, and leadership, among others.

In addition to internships, MBA graduates may apply for one of the many AT&T career development programs. These are full-time, paid rotational programs that may last anywhere from two to three years, providing hands-on experience, exposure and opportunity. Development programs at AT&T include:

• B2B Sales
• Cybersecurity Development
• Engineering and Operations Development
• Finance Leadership Development
• Leadership Development
• Software Development

What Does AT&T Look for in MBA Candidates?

When hiring for its MBA internships and development programs, AT&T looks for students with at least three years of professional experience with the ability to collaborate on complex issues and thrive in a leadership role. The company seeks candidates who are passionate about the role technology can play in people’s lives and its capacity to transform.

In addition to the internships and early career programs, AT&T also looks for more experienced MBA holders for higher-level executive and management positions. For these roles, the company seeks candidates with at least five to eight years in experience related to the role with the ability to work in a team, be a self-starter, and think critically.

Top Business Schools Respond to Repeal of Diversity Guidelines

Diversity in the college admissions process was dealt a blow in early July when the Trump administration withdrew a guidance that encouraged affirmative action in regards to enrollment. The move was announced when the departments of Justice and Education retracted several letters and memos that advised schools on how they could consider diversity in admissions and other various decisions. Continue reading…

Paid Maternity Leave Increasing, and More – New York News

Pack up the pool gear and beach towels: let’s explore some of the most interesting stories that have emerged from New York business schools this week.

Father’s Day Data: Columbia Business School Research Demonstrates Popularity of Paid Paternity Leave – Columbia Business Blog

How has the culture of paid maternity leave been changing recently? New research from the Columbia Business School explores the topic, which has increased for 12 percent of private-sector workers in the U.S. There is still no current federal law requiring the implementation of paid maternity leave, leaving the U.S. with the precarious title as the only “industrialized” country in the world without a federally-mandated law. Individual states, however, can implement the policy, which has been increasing since the early 2000s.

Earlier this year, New York became the fourth state in the U.S. to create policy regarding paid maternity leave, alongside New Jersey, Rhode Island, and California, which implemented the law back in 2004. According to the article, “California’s paid family leave produced a 46-percent increase in fathers taking time off to bond with newborn and newly-adopted children.”

CBS professor Ann Bartel writes, “This study should help inform the conversation around paid leave, because research shows it is fundamentally a family issue – appealing to both mothers and fathers. At its core, paid family leave is a ‘dad’ issue as much as it is a ‘mom’ issue. As Father’s Day approaches, our research demonstrates that fathers will greatly utilize paid family leave if it is offered, and their employers are supportive of them taking that important time away from the job.”

You can read more about “Paid Family Leave, Fathers’ Leave‐Taking, and Leave‐Sharing in Dual‐Earner Households,” which was published in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, here.

How Social Media’s Powerful ‘Silent Majority’ Moves Bitcoin Prices – Stevens Institute of Technology Blog

Stevens Institute of Technology School of Business professor Feng Mai recently led an investigation to understand how social media public sentiment can significantly manipulate the value of bitcoin.

Professor Mai’s research, which was published in the Journal of Management Information Systems, encompassed scholars from Ivey, Dickinson, and the University of Cincinnati, all of whom “collected and analyzed two years’ worth of forum posts on the world’s most popular public bitcoin forum, Bitcointalk.”

The team found that “periods of increasingly positive social media commentary do in fact influence the rising price of Bitcoin significantly.” Mai writes, “We wanted to know who is affecting the price: a vocal minority, who may be biased, or the quieter majority, who do not seem to have a reason to be untruthful, or both.”

According to the article, “the “silent majority” — infrequent Twitter and Bitcointalk users who took the time to comment on the cryptocurrency’s prospects — moved prices more, as much as ten times more, when they posted positive comments.”

Mai writes, “This was a big finding, and it does seem to prove that people are trusting the silent majority much more, perhaps because they do not seem to have an agenda.”

Check out the full Stevens’ article here.

Johnson Women MBAs Boast Record-Breaking Attendance at Forté Conference – Johnson School of Management Business Feed

As we recently highlighted, Cornell’s S.C. Johnson School of Management reported that 49 Cornell students attended this year’s FortéMBA Women’s Leadership Conference in Atlanta, Georgia—29 from the two-year MBA program, seven from the one-year program, and 13 from the Johnson Cornell Tech MBA program.

The Forté Conference brings “together admitted, enrolling, and current women MBAs from Forté sponsor business schools to explore career paths, meet recruiters and mentors, and hear from today’s most influential businesswomen.”

This year’s conference featured keynote speaker Joanna Lipman, veteran journalist, chief content officer of Gannet, editor-in-chief of USA Today, and author of That’s What She Said, who spoke on “gender bias in the workplace and provided tips for how women can leverage their value.”

In addition to a Power Pitch session and a number of workshopsand panels on “on communications strategies, interviewing, design thinking, sustainable and socially responsible careers, LinkedIn, and the future of feminism, among others,” the conference also included talks from Accenture North American CEO Julie Sweet and State Street EVP and Deputy Global Chief Investment Officer Lori Heinel.

Anne Latham, Two-Year MBA ’20, writes of her experience:

“The Forte Leadership Conference was an incredible few days. I walked away feeling fortunate to have met so many of my incredible female classmates! The Dialogue with Leadership session, moderated by Dean Erika James, featuring Lori Heinel and Julie Sweet, was a particular favorite of mine, due to their incredibly engaging and thought provoking remarks. I hope we all continue to live by Julie’s advice: ‘If your dreams don’t scare you, they’re not big enough!’”

You can read the full article from Cornell here.

Who are the Most Important Female Leaders in Business School Today?

Being a woman in business isn’t easy. While the industry works to improve gender equality, there is still a long way to go. Currently, women only hold 18.1 percent of directorships at publicly held companies. According to the latest report from MSCI, a research and analytics firm for investors, it could be until 2027 before women fill 30 percent of those roles.

And women in business school face similar struggles. Just five years ago, only three of the top 25 schools in the United States had 40 percent or more women enrolled in its MBA programs. And while, currently, nearly half have reached that mark, gender parity is still a ways off. Part of the struggle has to do with female leaders in business school. Currently, there’s only one female dean at a top-tier business school, and there are few other women who’ve made it to the top of their business schools as deans.

The challenges faced by female business school leaders are myriad, which is why we felt it was so important to recognize those women who’ve become prominent leaders in business schools around the world. Continue reading…

Your Essential Guide to Pre-MBA Diversity Conferences, Boot Camps, and Forums

Several organizations are focused on helping increase the pipeline of underrepresented demographics—such as women, LGBTQ students, and those from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds—to business school and the larger business world. As part of these efforts, many host MBA diversity conferences, boot camps, and forums providing recruiting and networking opportunities to admitted students headed off to business school in the fall. For eligible participants, these opportunities, designed to provide a head start for students in the MBA recruiting process before they even arrive on campus, are well worth pursuing.

Forté MBA Women’s Leadership Conference

The Forté Foundation, a non-profit consortium of leading companies and top business schools, works specifically to expand opportunities for women in business through a range of financial and educational opportunities. A centerpiece of these efforts is the annual Forté MBA Women’s Leadership Conference, which will take place this year in Atlanta on June 15 and 16. Registration is now open for both current business school students and those slated to start their MBA programs next fall.

The two-day conference provides an opportunity for women pursuing their MBA to connect with hundreds of other like-minded students. Billed as a chance to “learn from highly successful business leaders how to develop stand-out skills and project an authentic leadership style,” it also presents valuable networking opportunities. Highlights of this year’s conference include a meet and greet with Fortune 100 recruiters, more than 150 speakers and presentations from a variety of industries and career paths, and a keynote lecture by USA Today Editor-In-Chief Joanne Lipman. Conference attendees can also take part in the Forté Power Pitch Competition, pitching their ventures to a panel of judges for a chance at cash prizes.

Reaching Out MBA Conference

LGBTQ+ students and their allies should familiarize themselves, if they are not already, with Reaching Out MBA (ROMBA). This organization focuses on educating current and prospective MBA students on LGBTQ-specific issues and connecting current LGBTQ students with each other and with alumni communities.

“The conference connects more than 1,600 members of the LGBTQ MBA student and alumni community with more than 90 companies looking specifically or LGBTQ talent,” ROMBA Executive Director Matt Kidd explains. Registration is now open for this year’s conference, which will take place in Minneapolis on October 4th through 6th.

ROMBA also helps prepare students in advance of the conference. “We want to ensure they are well positioned for their conversations with our corporate partners at the conference and beyond,” Kidd adds. ROMBA also offers pre-admission mentoring, a summer consulting project, and webinars designed to help students gain a full understanding of the industries represented at the conference.

MBA JumpStart

Unlike Forté and ROMBA, which focus on specific student demographic groups, other organizations offer pre-MBA opportunities for students from a range of diverse backgrounds. One such organization, JumpStart Advisory Group (JSAG), provides an array of resources and tools through its ongoing Diversity Forums.

JumpStart will host its Brand Management and Marketing Diversity Forum in Philadelphia on May 20th and 21st and its Financial Services and Consulting Diversity Forum in Chicago from July 10th through 13th. In Chicago, finance will be the focus on Tuesday and Wednesday and consulting on Thursday and Friday, although enrolled students interested in learning about both industries can choose to attend the entire event.

“Selected students from top-tier MBA programs attend industry-specific workshops, are introduced to case studies, and are provided with endless opportunities for networking with corporate partner representatives and other incoming MBA students prior to matriculation,” according to the JumpStart website. Students interested in attending should apply here by May 13.

“Diversity for MBA JumpStart is defined as individuals that are under-represented in business including women, Black, African-American, or of African descent, Hispanic, Latin-American, or of Latin descent, Native American or American Indian, Asian and Pacific Islander,” the website notes.

School-Year Fellowship Opportunities

In addition to pre-MBA conferences and workshops, students from diverse backgrounds can also apply for a range of fellowship opportunities once they have been admitted to a leading MBA program.

The Toigo Foundation, which is focused on the finance industry, aims to prepare under-represented MBA students for leadership roles and help foster environments where diverse students can thrive during and after their MBA. Recipients of the Toigo Fellowship participate in two weekends of intense training during each year of their MBA program. These training sessions include leadership development and mentoring, networking opportunities, and the chance to make lasting connections across a range of financial industries. Applications are due by April 30, and financial awards vary depending on achievement and financial need. “The selection of each year’s class of Toigo Fellows is a fluid process and not limited to a specific number,” notes the Tioga website. “Recently, we have selected as many as 80 students (from our applicant pool of nearly 400) to become Toigo Fellows.”

In addition to the nonprofit organizations listed above, many well-known corporations also offer fellowship programs of their own that include financial assistance, conferences, and bootcamp-style experiences for students of color, LGBTQ students, and students with disabilities.

For example, Bank of America Merrill Lynch offers a $40,000 fellowship toward first-year tuition as well as a paid summer internship and opportunities for additional funding in the second year of business school. Goldman Sachs features a similar MBA fellowship program that provides funding to cover first-year tuition, a guaranteed summer associate salary, and a signing bonus that carries an additional $40,000 award upon acceptance of a post-MBA full-time offer. To learn about even more corporate MBA fellowship opportunities, click here.

Now, we understand completely that the thought of another application process on the heels of applying to business school may seem groan-worthy to many. But for students from diverse backgrounds, exploring the opportunities presented as part of these pre-MBA diversity conferences, boot camps, forums, and fellowship programs can certainly make the additional effort pay off.

This article has been edited and republished with permissions from our sister site, Clear Admit.

How Toronto Schools Can Help You Pay for Your MBA

Earning your MBA can be an expensive prospect. In Canada, tuition at the most expensive MBA programs can cost more than $100,000 for full-time and part-time students. This can be difficult for some low-income applicants.

So, what are some Toronto schools doing to help offset the cost of tuition, living, and other expenses to pay for your MBA? Continue reading…

How NYC Business Schools Help the Underprivileged Applicants

Pursuing an MBA is a shrewd move for anyone looking to earn a competitive salary right out of school. Though attending a renowned school can up the price tag of earning an MBA, it may also increase the overall return on investment. According to an article in U.S. News & World Report, “… graduates of top-tier business schools usually earn higher starting salaries than their peers who went to lower-ranked schools.”

It’s not jut the opportunity to have a lucrative job right out of school that makes a high starting salary appealing. An enviable starting salary could mean more earning potential down the line. However, a top-tier school may seem out of reach for low-income applicants. After all, how can you enjoy the return on investment if you can’t afford to invest in the first place?

Luckily, many prestigious business schools offer resources for students from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Below, we’ve outlined the resources available for low-income applicants at five of New York City metro’s best business schools.

How NYC Business Schools Help the Underprivileged

Columbia Business School

Columbia Business School offers need-based awards to many students, which may result in anywhere from $7,500 to $30,000 in tuition support. Nearly half of applicants receive need-based scholarships, which are automatically renewed at the start of the second year. Columbia students can also apply for private and federal loans. To create incentive for students to choose careers in public and nonprofit fields, the school offers a Loan Assistance Program for students who utilize their education to pursue these paths. Students are eligible to apply for this program for up to five years after graduation. Depending on the extent of students’ debt, they may receive anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000 of annual support. Columbia students may also receive merit-based scholarships, such as the Columbia Fellows Program, which may cover full or partial tuition and is granted to applicants with an outstanding track record in leadership and creativity.

Stern School of Business—New York University

NYU’s Stern School of Business offers a variety of scholarships for high-achieving applicants. According to the school’s website, nearly a quarter of students who enter the full-time MBA program receive a merit-based scholarship. There are also additional merit-based opportunities for students coming from different backgrounds and perspectives. Scholarships like the Advancing Women in Business Scholarship and the Forte Fellowship are particularly geared toward female-identifying students, to support women in business. The ROMBA Fellowship aims to help LGBTQ students succeed in business education. The Consortium Fellowship exists to increase the number of minorities such as Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, and African Americans in business school as well.

Gabelli School of Business—Fordham University

At the Fordham University Gabelli School of Business, graduate students may be eligible for federal financial aid, merit scholarships, or a variety of graduate assistantships. Awards based on academic excellence range from $10,000 to full tuition. Exceptional students may be eligible for awards like the Dean’s Premier Scholarship, which includes a $20,000 living stipend, and may include a stipend toward one of Fordham’s global programs. Students can also apply for a plethora of need/merit-based scholarships, like the Hitachi Diversity and Inclusion Scholarship, which seeks to help underrepresented minorities finance their education.

Rutgers Business School, Newark and New Brunswick

The Financial Times ranked Rutgers Business School among the top 50 MBA programs for return on investment in 2017, citing a 130 percent increase in salary for students within three years of completing their degree. Moreover, the school’s website states that, “More than 80 percent of Rutgers students receive some form of financial aid.” Moreover, at $31,011 per year (not including fees), this program is far more affordable than many other prestigious schools. Students can apply for federal or private loans, grants, and an array of scholarships. In addition to the awards offered by the Rutgers Business School Graduate Scholarship Fund, the Rutgers website lists 30 fellowships, scholarships, and partnerships. The Ralph Bunche Fellowships, for example, provide tuition remission, and a $15,000 living stipend to minority students from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds.

SC Johnson Graduate School of Management—Cornell University

Around 30 percent of entering the SC Johnson Graduate School of Management students receive some level of scholarship support. Scholarships like the National Society of Hispanic MBA’s (NSHMBA) and the TOIGO Fellowship specifically seek to help underrepresented minorities. The MD MBA Dual Degree Program and Lee Family Scholarship supports students on the rigorous path to receive their MD/MBA. Additionally, Cornell’s Park Leadership Fellows Program awards full tuition to up to 25 MBA applicants annually. The award is granted based on personal and professional achievements, academic performance, social contributions, and leadership. Students can also apply for federal and private loans.

Beyond Business School: Emory Goizueta MBA Alumni Make Waves

One of the key quality indicators of an MBA program is its alumni. By looking at a school’s alumni, you can get a sense of the kinds of individuals who are drawn to the program, the impact the program can have on your future career, and the type of network you’ll have access to. At Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, this network includes Nick Harris, the director of digital operations and optimization for United Airlines in Chicago, and Elizabeth Halkos, the chief operating officer at Purchasing Power, an e-commerce company that provides voluntary benefits programs to employers to help their employees improve their financial well-being.

Nick Harris — ’08 EvMBA

Nick Harris’ job is all about enhancing the online shopping experience for United Airlines customers. To do this, he spends his days studying the behavior of visitors to United.com, from using their smartphones to shop to purchasing a service bundle. He then looks at what the competition is doing to ensure that United Airlines keeps on top of the latest trends.

Talking about his job, Harris told Goizueta: “An average week for me usually involves looking at a wealth of information or data and trying to understand what types of hypotheses we can generate based off how customers are behaving or transacting with our channels.”

For example, one of Harris’ main tasks is ensuring that consumers can purchase products on the United Airlines app as easily as they do on a webpage using their smartphones or computer. He also has to keep up with what the giants of customer service—Google, Apple, and Amazon—are doing.

Harris told Goizueta that when these companies offer a new service or do something really intelligent, they set a new standard that United Airlines has to keep up with. “You’re not just competing against others in your industry; you’re competing for mind space and time with all of the other devices and apps that are on customers’ phones,” he says.

However, this can be difficult for a large company that’s nearly 100 years old, but that challenge is part of what Harris enjoys. Harris regularly partners with other product owners to enhance the digital experience, collaborating across teams to assess metrics together to identify opportunities to improve the overall United Airlines customer experience.

“One of the things that we’ve been doing a lot is looking at web analytics data and marrying that with transactional data. As a company, we have loads of transactional data, which is one of the things that I absolutely love about being at a company this size,” explains Harris.

Nick Harris

His interest in working for a company like United Airlines was one of the reasons that Harris chose Emory for his MBA. Prior to attending Goizueta, he was employed at a small tech firm and considering launching an investment group with a few friends. The problem was that Harris didn’t have the right tool set and background to succeed. So, he began to look into the Goizueta Evening MBA program.

“I felt it was worth the investment to go back to school and take the time to grow in a structured learning environment, in order to build that tool set,” he says. “This way I could evaluate our opportunities and learn the science of business.”

But, in the end, it wasn’t just the classroom experience that impacted Harris, it was the relationships that he built. In particular, his relationship with Professor Patrick Noonan led him to the airline industry. “We were talking one day, and Noonan says, ‘If you really like this work and you’re interested in doing optimization, you should think about the airline industry, given all of the work they do from a space revenue management standpoint,” remembers Harris. And the rest was history.

Elizabeth Halkos – ’01 MBA

As the chief operating officer at Purchasing Power, Elizabeth Halkos has a good deal of leadership experience, which was recently recognized during the 14th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business. Halkos was praised for raising the bar professionally and as a teacher and mentor for young women looking to launch their own ventures. This and her other accomplishments led her to be named a Silver Award Winner in the “Female Executive of the Year, Business Services: 11 to 2,500 Employees – Business Services” category.

Since 2002, the Stevie Awards have honored women executives, entrepreneurs, employees, and the companies they run globally. Each year, more than 170 professionals worldwide come together on five specialized juries to nominate the top women and organizations across more than 60 nations.

Elizabeth Halkos

After earning her MBA with a concentration in statistics and data analytics at Emory Goizueta in 2001, Halkos went on to work as a brand manager at Earthlink, Inc. and an account executive at Monster.com. From there, she served two years at the Inforte Corporation, where she consulted with such clients as Miller Brewing Company and Ocean Spray. Then, finally, she found her way to Purchasing Power in 2006.

Halkos started at Purchasing Power as the vice president of sales and marketing and quickly moved up the ranks. By 2010, she was promoted to chief marketing officer and then to chief revenue officer by 2014. In January of 2017, she was appointed to her current role of COO.

Halkos’s achievements at Purchasing Power include driving the top line revenue from $30M to more than $400M over a decade and helping the EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) grow from $5M to more than $40M. Most recently, she played an integral role in launching Purchasing Power’s 2017 rebranding campaign, which included new channel partnership strategies. This resulted in a 19 percent revenue and 80.5 percent adjusted EBITDA growth, compared to the same six months the previous year.

Halkos’s responsibilities at Purchasing Power include oversight of sales, account management, client services, customer experience, customer care, customer operations, business-to-business marketing, and public relations. She is also responsible for leading the broker and employer growth strategies for the company, which has helped Purchasing Power place on the “Inc. 5000 List of America’s Fastest-Growing Companies” for nine years in a row.

Outside of her job at Purchasing Power, Halkos is still very involved at Emory Goizueta. Since 2008, she has served as a board member, and previously served as president and vice president of the board. Recently, Halkos was also chosen as the recipient of Emory University’s “Annual Service Award” in recognition of her involvement in mentoring and supporting students at Goizueta.

To learn more about MBA alumni at Emory Goizueta, visit the school’s website.

This article has been edited and republished with permissions from our sister site, Clear Admit.

From Just One Woman to 39 Percent of the Class—and Other Ways LBS Has Changed Over the Past 50 Years

The 2017-18 academic year marks the 50th anniversary of the MBA program at London Business School (LBS). Since 1968, the school has offered a two-year Master of Science (MSc) in Business Studies degree program—the original MBA—and has continuously refined its offerings since that time. In celebration of the 50-year mark, LBS is looking back at how far the program has come.

The Beginning

In 1966, two years after London Business School opened its doors, the school launched a two-year Master of Science (MSc) in Business Studies. The first class consisted of 35 men and just one woman, with the average age around 25 years old. The goal of the two-year degree was to prepare students for employment. In fact, according to the website, employment was seen as “one of the most significant aspects of the school’s progress at this stage of its development.”

After graduation, most students joined manufacturing firms, and a few went into merchant banking, management consultancy, and advertising. Their job functions included marketing and financial executives, planning personnel, and personal assistant roles.

As for the feedback on the first year of study, a report on the class stated, “The overall academic performance of the students during the year has been more than satisfactory. The course of studies is arduous and the number of hours of work required is much above average, imposing a considerable workload both on students and staff.”

The Early Years

In the early years of the program, growth was slow but steady. In 1971, the class size grew to 86 students and by 1975, 108 students were admitted, including 16 women. Throughout this time, LBS made various modifications to its program.

• In 1973, LBS introduced the International Management Program, which gave 10 students the change to study abroad in Paris or at New York University.
• In 1978, the International Management Program expanded to include Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Chicago, and top European institutions.

The 1980s

The 1980s were a time of change for LBS and the MBA program. During these years, banking and finance overtook manufacturing as the top industry for graduates. In addition, LBS continued to increase its international reputation; about half of its class comprised non-British students by the end of the decade, with more 30 nationalities represented. Most importantly, the Class of 1987 was the first to be awarded an MBA rather than an MSc degree. In an annual report, the school stated, “This more accurately and effectively conveys the spirit of the program, and the type of qualifications our students are aiming for.”

• In 1982, LBS introduced a new part-time master’s program. The first class accepted 60 people and allowed students to complete their studies over two and a half to three years while still working.
• In 1984, three more U.S. schools joined the International Exchange Program including Dartmouth Tuck, MIT Sloan, and Northwestern Kellogg.

The 1990s

In the 1990s, LBS adopted a more flexible format for its MBA program. The school added increased training in “soft skills” and introduced computer-based management simulation games. The class size also increased to 271 students, with 79 percent of students coming from outside the United Kingdom. Consulting became the top choice for graduates, and manufacturing shrunk to just 11 percent.

• In 1992, LBS introduced a language requirement where students must be fluent in English and one other language to graduate. In addition, the part-time master’s was re-launched as the Executive MBA.
• By 1996, entrepreneurship became an important part of the program, and the school launched several electives with an entrepreneurial focus, including “Small Business Management” and “Financing the Entrepreneurial Business.”
• 1999 was the first Financial Times Global MBA ranking, and LBS ranked #1 in Europe and #8 in the world—the only non-U.S. school in the top 10.

The 2000s

By the 2000s, LBS had become a global leader in MBA education—and in 2009 it became the first non-U.S. school to top the Financial Times ranking. The MBA program was reformatted for increased flexibility, allowing students to graduate in 15 to 21 months. The class size also increased to 315 students, with 89 percent of the class from 59 countries outside the United Kingdom.

• In 2001, LBS ranked as the best Global MBA by the Financial Times, and Forbes ranked LBS as #1 in Europe and #2 in the world for return on investment.
• In 2003, LBS became the first European school to join the Forté Foundation to increase women in business, and in 2005, women made up 22 percent of the class.

The 2010s

In the last decade, London Business School once again revised its MBA program to give students even greater flexibility. The school also continued to increase its size, welcoming 468 students by 2018—12 times the size of the first class in 1968. In addition, women now make up 39 percent of the MBA class, and students represent 77 different nationalities.

• In 2010, LBS started its Incubator Program to help entrepreneurs. As of 2017, 58 businesses have completed the incubator, raising more than £31 million and creating 440 full-time jobs.
• In 2012, LBS launched the Global Business Exchange (GBE), giving students the opportunity to spend a week in another country with options ranging from South Africa to the United States.
• In 2016, LBS completed its first fundraising campaign, raising £125 million.

To learn more about the 50th anniversary celebration of London Business School’s MBA, visit the school website.

This article has been edited and republished with permissions from our sister site, Clear Admit.

The Secret To Finding An Affordable Washington DC MBA

Washington DC may be a top city for students pursuing their MBAs, but the city’s high cost of living could prove prohibitive for many young Mstudents. Growing rent prices over the past ten years have led DC to be one of the least affordable of the major U.S. metropolitan areas.

Of course, MBA students looking to apply their education to governmental agencies won’t find a better place to do so than in the nation’s capital. And though contending with high rent prices may be unavoidable, many business schools offer students a number of ways to keep the cost of their degree at a minimum.

From scholarships to grants and student work opportunities, business schools in Washington DC ensure that low-income applicants can have equal access to the high quality education their program’s provide. Below are just a few of the opportunities provided to assist low-income applicants at Washington DC MBA programs.

Finding An Affordable Washington DC MBA

McDonough School of Business – Georgetown University

Over $1.5 million in aid is available to MBA applicants through merit based scholarships at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. All students are eligible for these grants, but it is advised to apply for the program early to best position yourself for consideration. International students in need of additional funding may also apply for external scholarships and private loans specifically for international students. The university has compiled a list of common lenders that students may want to consider here.

McDonough also provides scholarship opportunities through the Consortium, a group whose goal it is to reduce the under-representation of blacks, Native Americans, and Hispanic students in business education. As a member school, a number of scholarships are also available at McDonough for students admitted as part of the Consortium.

University of Maryland R.H. Smith School of Business

Roughly 85 percent of MBA students at UMD Smith receive merit based awards to help fund their education. Between scholarships, fellowships need-based awards and assistantship opportunities, students have a number of opportunities to reduce their tuition and keep their MBA affordable. Awards such as the Dean’s Award of Smith award provide two years and one-year of full scholarship and fees. Students may also find additional opportunities for scholarships through the university’s organizational partnerships, such as the Forté Foundation or management Leaders for Tomorrow.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Georgetown McDonough Offers New FinTech Elective

George Mason University School of Business

The George Mason University School of Business provides one of the best values in education, demonstrated through the high success rate of alumni and the fact that Mason alumni have the lowest student loan default rates in Virginia.

Mason offers a number of financial aid opportunities through grants, scholarships, work-study employment, and loans. Every year, the school offers millions of dollars to incoming students, including fellowships for graduate students. The Office of Student Financial Aid is dedicated to assisting each student in finding the financial assistance that is needed for their degree.

George Washington University School of Business

The George Washington University School of Business offers a number of different ways for students to reduce the cost of their MBA degree. Each year, graduate students may apply to a number of different fellowships, available through the university as well as private foundations and agencies. At the Office of Graduate Student Assistantships & Fellowships, students can search through these numerous opportunities and see which scholarships best fit their qualifications.

GWU also offers Financial Aid based on the need of each students. Eligible applicants can apply for need-based aid by filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Howard University School of Business

MBA students at the Howard University School of Business may be eligible both for federal student aid, based on need, and a variety of scholarships, which are given based on merit and other factors. Scholarships range, and may cover up to full-tuition, while others provide partial funding. Howard MBA students may also pursue loans for tuition through the ACCESS Loan Program, Alternative Education Loans, or other private loan services.

Kogod School of Business – American University

The Kogod School of Business at American University ensures that its high quality education can be affordable for all. Roughly 80 percent of all students receive financial aid of some kind, with almost $85 million awarded just to the undergraduate population. Kogod offers both need-based aid and merit scholarships. Students may contact the Graduate Admission Office at Kogod for more information on the scholarships available to them, but all applicants who demonstrate excellent academic credentials will be considered for these honors—a separate application process is not needed.

How Chicago Business Schools are Helping Low-Income Students

Business school doesn’t come cheap, which often means that prospective students who could benefit the most from the lucrative career opportunities that come with an MBA either don’t end up at top tier programs or don’t end up applying at all.

The flip side is that MBA programs now more than ever desperately need more diverse perspectives in their classrooms—yet it seems the same ol’ folks end up in these slots every year. Many in academia are woefully ill equipped to meet the challenges of a more diverse and inclusive business landscape but there are a handful of MBA programs that have begun to catch up and take strides to make business educations more accessible to qualified low-income applicants.

The Chicago metro just so happens to be packed to the gills with high-ranking MBAs that take initiative to help promising candidates. Let’s take a deeper dive into four of our favorite Chicago MBA programs that have historically lent a hand to low-income students.

Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management

Situated just above the city limits on Chicago’s North Shore (see: John Hughes movies), the Kellogg School of Management is among the nation’s most coveted MBA programs—and among the most generous too. Kellogg offers a variety of different scholarships based on merit or financial need for newly admitted students and rising second-year students, as well as external scholarship resources through the Office of Fellowships for Graduate Students.

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: Tech Grads Surge in New Northwestern Kellogg Employment Report

Director of Admissions Melissa Rapp explains that Kellogg understands that funding a business school education can be challenging. “To help students meet this challenge, a variety of merit scholarships are offered, including diversity scholarships, such as James P. Gorter Scholarship which is awarded to under-represented backgrounds in the Two-Year MBA or MMM program, and academic, professional or special interest scholarships, such as the Health Enterprise Management Scholarship which is awarded to an outstanding student interested in pursuing a career in healthcare.”

UIC’s Liautaud Graduate School of Business

UIC Business provides opportunities to empower graduate students with a dynamic, proven, business education, and an immersive city experience that enhances both quality of life and career opportunities. Many UIC Business students have financial need and the school makes a point to acknowledge its dedicated staff of advisors who help every student navigate the financial aid process. Alanna O’Connor, Assistant Dean for Student Recruitment and Sid Balachandran, Program Director, explains:

“As a state institution we strive to maintain costs for students and are committed to providing a world-class business education at a campus nationally recognized for its diversity. We offer our competitive programming at a more affordable value than some of our peer schools.  The affordability of our program is an important part of providing a high return on investment. Multiple tuition waivers, scholarships, assistantships—teaching or research—are also are available for students who qualify.”

Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business

The Mendoza College of Business walks the walk when it comes to a socially engaged, community-centered vision of business. Part of that mission entails actively courting and supporting stellar applicants who might demonstrate need, particularly women through the Forte fellows program.

“As a sponsor school for the Forte Foundation, Notre Dame is committed to launching women into successful business careers. Forte Fellows are recognized for their academic aptitude, leadership, and future potential,” the school notes. “Forte Fellows are granted special access to the Forte community, including leadership conference access, mentoring and career development opportunities, and network development.”

It also means that students with deep interests in corporate social responsibility might do well to apply to Mendoza. According to Mendoza, it awards more than 65 percent of one-year MBA students merit-based fellowships based on “academic performance, prior work experience, GMAT or GRE scores, leadership potential, letters of recommendation, and each applicant’s personal statement.”

Lake Forest Graduate School of Management

In its commitment to “attract and develop outstanding leaders who change lives,” Lake Forest has a number of MBA-centric fellowships and scholarships:

• The President’s Scholarship supports “proven leaders who have achieved measurable results, demonstrate a high level of self-awareness and adaptability, and are committed to developing their leadership potential.”
• The Emerging Leaders scholarship supports students who “demonstrate exceptional leadership potential and show the ability and desire to deliver meaningful results, think innovatively, and gain a heightened level of self-awareness.”
• The $3,510-7,000 Leadership Scholarship supports students who demonstrate financial need and “strong leadership potential, verbal and written communications skills, intellectual ability, and motivation.”
• The Yomine Scholarship supports students “are employed in a manufacturing position” who demonstrate financial need
• The $3,510 Tuition Assistance Grant supports “candidates who are not eligible to receive tuition assistance from their employer.”
• The Gariano Scholarship supports “women with an undergraduate nursing degree” who demonstrate financial need.

Loyola’s Quinlan School of Business

The Loyola Quinlan School of Business offers two merit-based scholarships to MBA students: the Dean’s Merit Scholarship, which typically covers 1-2 courses, awards “stellar academic performance” and the $1,000-10,000 Graduate Business Student Scholarship, which supports students “who have proven academic success and demonstrated financial need.”

Top MBA Programs Gain Ground for Gender Parity

The Forté Foundation today released its annual women’s enrollment report for full-time MBA programs at its member schools, which include many of the top business schools in the United States and abroad. This fall, women’s MBA enrollment climbed to a global average of 37.4 percent, up 4 percent over 2013 figures, when the global average was 33.4 percent women.

In fact, the last five years of enrollment data at Forté member schools reveal steady gains in the percentage of women. For U.S. schools, women’s enrollment reached 37.8 percent this fall, up from 37.1 percent in 2016, and 34 percent in 2013. And for schools outside the United States, the gains have been even greater. In fall 2017, non-U.S. Forté member schools enrolled 36 percent women, up more than 3 percent year over year (from 32.8 percent in 2016) and almost five percent since fall 2013 (from 31.1 percent).

“I’m always heartened anytime I see a 1 percent trend overall,” Forté Executive Director Elissa Sangster told Clear Admit. “Year by year, it’s pretty significant for this group of schools to steadily have that same number increase—because it’s a lot of work to get more women into the pipeline and to matriculate those women,” she continued. “But this year, in particular, seeing those other schools outside the U.S. go up 3.4 percent in one year was very surprising.”

Two Schools Reach 45 Percent Women, Highest on Record

In fact, there were many signs beyond these overall statistics that show continuing progress toward gender parity among MBA programs. For one, 17 Forté member schools this fall enrolled 40 percent or more women—as compared to just two schools that reached this milestone in 2013. A total of 26 schools enrolled more than 35 percent women, more than twice as many as in 2013 (12 schools). Best yet, for the first time ever, two schools reached 45 percent or more women enrolled—the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and George Washington University School of Business. And three more schools—two in the United States and one in the United Kingdom—were close behind at 44 percent.

“The 1 percent [overall year-over-year gain] may seem small, but we’re seeing 17 out of 50 schools hit over the 40 percent mark, and that’s huge,” said Sangster. “To start seeing schools trend that direction makes a big impact because it’s a hard thing to obtain for any school at this point.”

Not only that, the progress demonstrates that gender parity is attainable, Sangster stressed.

“Although women’s enrollment in business school is a slow and steady growth story, at this rate we could reach an average of 40 percent women’s enrollment in top business schools in less than five years and 50 percent by 2030,” she said in a Forté press release. “Why is this significant? There is evidence that an MBA can provide both career advancement and significant pay gains for women, giving them greater economic mobility. And efforts to support women to pursue an MBA can contribute to a more diverse leadership pipeline at companies.”

The Forté Foundation is a non-profit consortium of top business schools, corporations, and the Graduate Management Admission Council, and its efforts to move the needle toward gender parity in the MBA and business more generally are widespread. Launched in 2001 after the results of a landmark research study, Women and the MBA: Gateway to Opportunity, Forté now has 51 member schools: 39 in the United States, four in Canada, and eight in Europe. It also has numerous initiatives to help close the gender gap.

“Our college efforts are very robust and have been growing over the last five years. We are connecting with women about their career options and bringing the MBA into the conversation early,” explained Sangster. “It’s important for women in their university years to really understand what type of opportunities they have, to have access to role models, and to know the landscape of what’s to come. I think Forté can be a real guide in that. We know that having those conversations with young women is critical.”

A few of Forté’s initiatives include

• The annual Forté MBA Women’s Leadership Conference, which brings together hundreds of women MBA students and top companies each year to help attendees explore career paths, meet recruiters and mentors, and hear from influential businesswomen;
• The Forté College to Business Leadership Conference, a similar event designed to introduce undergraduate women to career opportunities and summer internships at top companies;
• The “Rising Star” pilot initiative, launched in September 2015, which helps undergraduate women become well-informed about their many career options, and
• MBALaunch, a hands-on, 10-month program that provides guidance, resources, and ongoing feedback about the business school application process through monthly webinars, peer group meetings, and feedback from experienced advisors.

“MBALaunch allows us to give women unprecedented access to business schools, alumnae, admissions representatives, and admissions experts—and also to give them a cohort of like-minded women who can support them and encourage them through the business school application process,” Sangster said. In the past, many women went through the application process alone, she continued. “MBALaunch allows us to present the best version of those women candidates to business schools. That’s what makes a critical difference in terms of admission into your stretch business school.”

The Forté Foundation also awards a variety of scholarships through its Forté Fellows program. The program has exploded from just 33 inaugural scholarships awarded in 2003 to 1,300 scholarships awarded to the incoming Class of 2017 and another 1,100 scholarships awarded to second-year students in the Class of 2016. Overall, since 2003, Forté schools have awarded a staggering $142 million in scholarships to Forté Fellows.

It Takes an Entire Community Effort

To augment Forté’s initiatives, top business schools can continue to make progress on their own by keeping a steady eye on gender parity and getting the entire school involved in the process, said Sangster.

“The schools that are doing a great job at consistently keeping their numbers high have an entire community effort focused on the goal of gender parity,” Sangster said. “It’s not just the admissions team reviewing applications and making decisions. It’s the students enrolled in the school being actively involved in recruiting and matriculating those students. It’s the alums making phone calls and participating in local coffees or teas to talk about their own story and to reduce concerns about the investment that women will be making.”

“It’s not just one small group of people; it’s a team effort, a community effort,” she continued. “The schools that are maintaining their numbers and seeing a steady climb have a full-court press.”

So which schools are leading the way? The following 17 Forté member business schools have 40 percent or higher women’s enrollment:

• Alliance Manchester Business School
• Columbia Business School
• Dartmouth College (Tuck School of Business)
• George Washington University School of Business
• Harvard Business School
• Imperial College Business School
• Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan School of Management)
• Northwestern University (Kellogg School of Management)
• University of California Berkeley (Haas School of Business)
• The University of Chicago (Booth School of Business)
• University of Michigan (Ross School of Business)
• University of Oxford (Saïd Business School)
• University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)
• The University of Texas at Austin (McCombs School of Business)
• University of Toronto (Rotman School of Management)
• Yale School of Management
• York University (Schulich School of Business

And the following nine schools have 35 percent or greater women’s enrollment:

• Arizona State University (W. P. Carey School of Business)
• HEC-Paris
• London Business School
• New York University (Stern School of Business)
• University of California – Los Angeles (Anderson School of Management)
• University of Cambridge (Judge Business School)
• University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign (Gies College of Business)
• University of Virginia (Darden School of Business)
• Washington University in St. Louis (Olin Business School)

To access the full Forté report, click here.

This article has been edited and republished with permissions from Clear Admit.

How Philadelphia MBA Programs Help Lower-Income Applicants

Compared to Philly’s east coast metropolitan peers, its cost of living is laughably low. Additionally, Philly has all of the advantages of being located smack dab between DC and NYC. Although Wall Street has long since displaced Philly as the American center for banking, much of that infrastructure and tradition remain, which helps Philly maintain its status as a major economic powerhouse in the 21st century.

Since, according to Philly Mag, Philadelphia has one of the fastest growing millennial populations in the country, the city has creativity and energy that permeates every sector. All of these factors make Philly the perfect place to launch a career.

For low-income students looking to pursue an MBA in Philly, we’ve compiled a list of what some of Philly metro’s top schools are doing to help students fund their higher education.

Fox School of Business — Temple University

The Fox School of Business at Temple University has a variety of options for students looking to finance their MBA. In fact, according to the school’s website, 60 percent of first-year Temple students receive need-based aid each year. On average, first year students receiving need-based aid are awarded $15,000 toward tuition. Fox carefully assesses the applications of all incoming students, and the school distributes merit-based scholarships for those who demonstrate particular promise. There are also specific financial perks for Temple alumni coming into the MBA program. These students are not required to pay an application fee and receive a five percent tuition scholarship.

JUST FOR YOU: Fox Temple EMBA Jumps in New Financial Times Ranking

Lehigh University College of Business and Economics

The Lehigh University College of Business and Economics provides a some merit-based scholarships to helps students fund their education. Awards are determined by the Committee on Financial aid. The committee considers an applicant’s undergraduate record, test scores, and work experience. Scholarships include the Dean’s Scholar, which offers extremely promising students a full ride plus a $10,000 living stipend.

Lehigh also has a number of Director’s Scholars, who may receive awards anywhere from $5,00 to full tuition. Lehigh offers many other scholarships in addition to need-based financial aid specific that varies depending on the MBA track.

LeBow College of Business — Drexel University

When considering Philly Metro MBA programs that provide resources for low-income applicants, it would be remiss not to mention Drexel’s LeBow College of Business. At LeBow, an impressive 82 percent of full-time MBAs get aid that amounts to 62 percent of tuition. Additionally, nearly 70 percent of full-time students benefit from grants that covered about one fifth their tuition. Drexel also offers merit-based scholarships. Additionally, the school offers the URM Scholarship, which offers supplemental fiscal gifts to underrepresented minority students.

Smeal College of Business — Penn State University

Penn State’s Smeal College of Business has a large number of MBA alumni-funded scholarships that are awarded based on academic achievement, work history, and how well students fit into the Smeal program. Around 20 percent of incoming students receive $5-10,000 awards. There are fellowships for specific groups of students, including the Powerful Women Paving the Way Fellowship which is awarded to promising women, and the Maimuna Mijindadi Anyone Memorial Fellowship, for students of Nigerian descent.

The Wharton School — University of Pennsylvania

Students who apply to Wharton are automatically considered for fellowships that offer some level of financial support. Students also have the option of applying to any of over 700 external fellowship programs. Wharton students can also apply for private or federal loans.

The Ivy League business school offers a litany of scholarship opportunities for incoming and current students, from the American Association of University Women, to the Instituto Ling Scholarship Program for international applicants, among others.

Additionally, Wharton hosts a positively booming array of fellowship opportunities, including some of MetroMBA’s favorites, like the Forte Fellowships program and the Reaching Out LGBT MBA Fellowship.

For more information on Wharton’s many financial assistance opportunities, click here.

Online MBA

Kelley School of Business Online MBA Program Overview

The Kelley Direct Online Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree program offers the rigor expected from a world-renowned business school, with the flexibility needed to keep working while earning a degree.

• Two-year program, with the flexibility to extend
• Average of two live, 75-minute evening class sessions per week
• 50% core curriculum and 50% electives
• Seven majors to choose from
• In-person experiences
• Optional global and domestic immersion programs

Curriculum

Highlights of the Kelley Direct program are the required, in-person Kelley On Campus and Kelley On Location experiences. In the first-year experience, Kelley On Campus, students will work in a team to develop a solution to a real business challenge facing a real company.  In the second-year experience, Kelley On Location, a faculty member designs a unique experience to connect a geographic location with a modern business topic.

The year one core curriculum must be completed before completing electives, chosen by the student. These electives give them the freedom to match their interests and strengths to one of the program’s seven majors.

Online MBA Rankings

• U.S. News & World Report: 1
• Princeton Review: 1
• QS (Americas): 1

How is Kelley Direct different from other Online MBAs?

• No outsourcing! All aspects of the program are designed and delivered in-house by residential faculty and staff at the Kelley School of Business. No outsourcing to a third-party online program manager (OPM) means lower tuition costs, with dollars reinvested right back into the quality of the education.
• Full-time faculty—no adjuncts. The instructors are the same top faculty who teach in Kelley’s in-residence programs. Faculty members also travel with students and teach in person at 12+ optional immersions offered each year in locations throughout the US and around the world.
• Dedicated executive career coaches to guide career success—now and anytime support is needed throughout a student’s career.
• Jellison Studios offers online students the experience of feeling like they are in a live classroom for faculty instruction and interaction with peers. Yet another Kelley innovation to make online classes more valuable and dynamic.

Class Profile

There are 1,239, students enrolled in the Kelley Direct Online MBA program, with 30% female students and 29 non-US countries represented. The average age of enrolled students is 33 years old, the average GMAT score is 650, and the average GPA is 3.44.

Career Statistics

85% of Kelley Direct Online MBA students started a new job or reported receiving a promotion or raise while enrolled in the program, with an average salary after graduation of $143,000.

Tuition, Scholarships, and Financial Aid

The total tuition for 54 credit hours is $88,320.17. This tuition rate applies to cohorts starting in fall 2023 and spring 2024 which is locked for 3 years. There is an additional $2,000 in fees that cover the in-person experiences, including lodging, meals, and course materials. The Kelley Direct tuition rate is locked for three calendar years from the term a student matriculates. Any courses taken after that time period are subject to the current tuition rate.

Multiple scholarships are available, and decisions are made prior to enrollment so the student knows exactly how much they are being awarded before committing to the program.

Students are eligible for federal financial aid through the FAFSA program. Military service members and veterans may be given additional financial support through the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Education Service, Indiana Department of Veteran Affairs, and the Veterans Affairs Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment.

Admissions Checklist

Part one (free and takes 5 minutes):

• Resume

Part two:

• Personal Statement
• One to Three Recommendations
• Official Transcripts
• GMAT or GRE Score (optional)
• TOEFL or IELTS score (international)
• $75 application fee (waivers available for veterans, as well as women in the Forte MBALaunch program)

Spring 2024 Kelley Online MBA Deadlines

November 15, 2023