Several questions about undergrad and grad school!

[ztperdue]

Hi,

     To start off, I will say that I made a bad decision and decided to quit going to the community college I was at. Regardless, I am going back starting this summer, or Fall at the absolute latest. I haven't decided exactly what I want to study, but I know it is in the area of business administration and management/analyst and economics maybe. I live in Virginia and will be going back to a community college for this academic year, and then transferring to a University. I am wondering, how much effect will my community college grades have on my admission to a grad school for possibly an MBA? If I go to a less competitive University after community college if my grades won't allow me to get into a more competitive school, would it best suit me to then transfer again to a more competitive school? What should I be doing now to improve my chances of getting into a grad school of the caliber of NYU Stern for example? Do I have a chance to get into a competitive full time MBA such as that one? I am 23 now, if age has any impact at all on this process. If I need to give more information, I am sorry, please let me know what else is needed, I am new to this. Thank youi for your time and suggestions!!!

[ak48]

I think for graduate school applications your 2nd university will be the more important since that's where you'll get your degree, but you'll be asked to provide both transcripts.

 

I wonder how your 2nd university (the one you transfer to after community college) handles your CC grades. Does it simply label them as credits? Or does it incorporate it into the GPA? From my experience, universities tend to take other schools' grades as credits, not grades.

[juilletmercredi]

For an MBA, your grades are pretty much secondary.  You need full-time work experience.  5-7 years is ideal; 2-3 years is the minimum to get into a good program.  Your short-term goal should be getting a good middle management job at a firm where you can get progressively more responsible work experience.  With economics, your grades will matter much more.

 

Your grades at BOTH schools will be important, so your CC grades will have a big impact.  Remember that if you transfer after your second year at a CC, when you apply to grad school - if you apply in your senior year - there will only be one year of grades at your new university anyway.  This is especially true if you take any classes that will be important to your grad programs while at CC - so for an economics degree, your calculus sequence.  The fact that you went to a CC won't matter, but your grades will.

 

Try to limit your transfers.  No, transferring a third time to a more competitive school is probably not a good idea.  The best thing you can do is do really well, and then work for 3-7 years after college.

[mpheels]

Try to limit your transfers.  No, transferring a third time to a more competitive school is probably not a good idea.  The best thing you can do is do really well, and then work for 3-7 years after college.

I think this bears repeating. I've never been on an admissions committee, but I have hired quite a few employees. When I see a CC and a university on a resume (or some other combination of two institutions leading to a BS/BA), it tells me the applicant had some kind of challenge that kept them from going straight to a four year college, but they pursued education in a planned, deliberate way. It's a good sign that they will be able to plan and work towards long term goals. When I see more than two institutions on a resume, it tells me the applicant approached education in a haphazard way, and may be inclined to rash decisions and failure to plan and/or follow through. Not a good thing.