To those who have been through graduate school.

[slickdadd]

A breakdown please. What were your credentials going in. Did you get any aid. How did you work and go to school, if you did. how challenging was it. Was it any more challening then school generally is? relative to the further you progress, in my mind, the smarter you are anyway and better prepared you are to take it on with less stress. I'm just curious if its basically two years of mind numbing hell in which you have no free time, nor money. And how hard the gre and gmat tests are and such. And the main credentials looked for and at to get accepted into grad schools. I've got a year or two but im planning on it. Any advice....

 

[trick nick]

What graduate program do you have in mind, I have recently finished my MBA.

 

[smallmovesal]

you should never have to entirely pay for grad school... it's great because you get to focus exactly on your interests. expect to be busy and have little money... you likely will get a t/a and/or scholarship.

two years go quickly. enjoy them.

 

[Basement Dweller]

I went to grad school part time (nights) while working about 50 hours a week. I scored a 620 on the GMAT, with a major hang over that day (don't sweat the test, you either know it, or you don't), and had a 3.2 undergrad with a couple Bachelors degrees. My company paid my tuition, so I went to the best school I could find. Had no life for 3 years. It was no more challenging than undergrad, except for the fact I had a full time engineering job, so time was always an issue. Now I pull 6 figures, so I guess it was worth it. The admissions people will look at your GMAT or GRE scores (they want to have the highest average for the students they accept, to help their ratings), your recommendations, your essays and how well you would help diversify their student base (U of M actually discriminates quite blatantly in this regard). Pick a school with a solid reputation, and one that is known at least regionally (i.e. in the south, the midwest, etc), or you could end up with a lot of new skills and knowledge, but a worthless degree as far as employers are concerned. Good luck bro!

 

[mrbill]

A breakdown please. What were your credentials going in. Did you get any aid. How did you work and go to school, if you did. how challenging was it. Was it any more challening then school generally is? relative to the further you progress, in my mind, the smarter you are anyway and better prepared you are to take it on with less stress. I'm just curious if its basically two years of mind numbing hell in which you have no free time, nor money. And how hard the gre and gmat tests are and such. And the main credentials looked for and at to get accepted into grad schools. I've got a year or two but im planning on it. Any advice....

lot of questions...

alot of what you want to know depends somewhat on the school you want to go to, obviously the most elite schools have higher requirements but even an "average" school has relatively high requirements. Your GPA should be at least 3.2 or higher depending on your GMAT score.
I found grad school to be a little more challenging in some aspects but overall not really that much harder than undergrad, but they may be because I took it much more serious.
GMAT is not that bad, if you are worried take a prep course especially if you want to go to an elite program and need the best score you can get.

All of the above pertains to getting an MBA, I have no idea about Med school or something like that.
Good luck.

 

[samson1970]

I did my BBA and MBA both in finance at the same university. Thus, walking into the MBA was not virgin territory. If you are staying within the same areas of study, it will go much easier. If you are completely switching gears, it may be somewhat more challenging. Plus, I had several classes waived for my MBA (all of the 201 prelim. classes) due to this; which was an added bonus both for time and costs.

Regarding some of your other questions:
I worked full-time and went to school at night.
I had no life.
I had to pay (but, I think many companies today pick-up the tab or split the bill as long as you keep certain grade levels).
It was more challenging than undergrad but, not more informative. In Finance (anyway), there are only so many formulas you can memorize before you reach the end of the list. Undergrad touches on them and the teachers walk you through them. In Grad school, the formulas are just much more complex and you're pretty much given the problems and told to solve them. They force you to think on your own, not just through a textbook. You'll hate it at the moment, but appreciate it later.
Don't worry too much about the GMAT. Not bad at all.
Thesis: that's a rough one. Very time consuming.

Overall: if it will help your career, definitely go for it. Suffer for a couple of years but, once that degree is on your wall, nobody can ever take it away from you.

Good luck.

 

[slickdadd]

good stuff guys. I forgot to include my area of study, which is economics, which as far as i've learned, is a big difference with a graduate degree. I'm right now looking at going to the University of Miami for grad school. But who knows. Would need some serious financial help/scholarship.

 

[Supergirl515]

I am an undergrad freshman at University of Miami and i LOVE it....just wanted to let you know =)

 

[manny78]

I did my law school (1997-2000), 3 years and got my degree. During those 3 years of madness, I managed to go to school, study a bit, party a lot, get drunk, smoke weed, had sex and also work as a DJ 2-3 nights a week from 10 to 3 am. Now how was I able to do that ? I guess everyone is different. I usually need 4-5 hours to study for a final exam or mid-term while many people spend over 40 hours. At the end I wasnt the smartest guy but I managed to finish with B+ (85%) average.

 

[bunnymt]

The requirements for each independent graduate school vary. They analyze your GMAT or GRE score (and perhaps your GRE subject scores as well). You GPA is a factor as well as your performance as a matriculating student. Graduate schools are concerned with your preparation for study (what undergraduate classes you took to prepare yourself for post-undergraduate study). I would suggest getting in touch with some of the professors, advisors, and chairpeople at your so desired graduate school. Let them know you are interested. Furthermore, they look at your recommendations (get them from professors in the field you are pursuing). From what I have heard, there is some weight put upon whether or not you need financial aid to attend the school. Basically, one of the mathematics teachers at my universite informed me that if two students have exactly the same credentials, the one who doesn't need any financial assistance will be admitted before the other student who needs aid.

Good luck and PM me with any further questions.

bunny