As you know, at the beginning of their existence online MBA programs weren’t usually taken seriously. But over the recent years they have established themselves as business education staples.
Nowadays, when no one belittles online MBA, it’s possible to establish certain trends within this type of program. They are no worse than traditional full-time programs at giving students the basics of entrepreneurship. At many online programs, students can enroll into elective courses and specialize. Most online MBA programs are accredited and have proved their quality.
Poets&Quants have found 10 interesting features for prospective online MBA students. Knowing about them may help you save some money and effort on your education.
1. No GMAT requirement
Apart from being convenient and flexible, thus proving a better fit for people who don’t want to interrupt their career, many online MBA programs have decided upon a more revolutionary step: they won’t be demanding GMAT results anymore.
Of course, this is true only under two conditions: If you have an average 3.0 GPA and more than seven years of job experience, you won’t need to submit GMAT results when applying to an online MBA program. The requirements for a GMAT waiver vary at different schools: some require 10 years of job experience, and some only six or even three.
Also, you may skip the GMAT if you already have a graduate or postgraduate degree along with job experience.
2. Prerequisite courses
If you don’t have a college degree in business, online MBA programs may require you to take some prerequisite courses before you even start your online education. Such courses will help students not familiar with basic business notions play on the same level with others.
Many business schools won’t let you start your MBA unless you finish your prerequisites, which may take 20-30 hours of your time. These courses usually cover the basics of economics, business law, statistics and accounting.
3. Scholarship opportunities
Everyone knows that even online MBA programs cost you a lot in tuition fees. But not everyone is aware of the existence of scholarships on such programs. There are usually two types of scholarships for graduate programs: merit-based and need-based.
Scholarships vary in amount, thus some students who successfully apply for them may get a tuition fee waiver, and others will just receive a discount.
4. Sometimes you don’t have to finish in one or two years
Mostly, MBA programs advertise their advantages in time-saving: they always insist that you need less than two years to complete them. But for many working professionals it’s vital to be able to put their MBA education on pause during difficult streaks at work.
That’s why some online MBA programs decided to accommodate their students and allow them to finish their degree not in two years, but in as many as six or even eight years.
5. Same as full-time MBA
Many people still think that an online MBA program is like a full-time one, but with less to do, like a secondhand version. It couldn’t be further from the truth. Most online programs employ the same professors and lecturers as their full-time counterparts. The only thing different from a traditional program is that you are not physically present in the classroom - you communicate with your teacher and classmates via the Internet.
6. You are not alone
Online MBA programs usually belong to one of two formats: synchronous and asynchronous. The first format refers to students submitting their papers and logging in for classes at the same time on a specific day, while the second means that you can do all that anytime you want.
Anyway, for many prospective students, the main disadvantage of online programs is that they are allegedly going to be alone. However, this is not the case: even as an online student, you are very likely to do lots of group work, even if you never even once visit the campus.
7. You’ll need to use specific apps
To keep in touch, online MBA students will need to use messaging apps like WhatsApp and Google Hangouts, as well as social networks like Facebook. For sharing projects and information, you can use Google Docs; for meetings, Hangouts is the best tool. It’s also necessary for classmates to exchange emails.
8. Studying abroad
If you think that your online program means you will miss hands-on experience of travelling abroad, you are mistaken. International travel is used by many online MBA programs, and some even require such experience. Anyway, you won’t miss on the action even if you are an online student.
9. The time you need to set aside
Even if your online program is flexible and allows you to study at your own time, don’t think you shouldn’t invest any time at all. Many online students warn that online studies take up at least 16-20 hours of your time per week. If you add that to your working hours (at least 40), you’ll see that it’s a quite serious time commitment.
10. Doing two programs simultaneously
The last, but by all means not the least, fact about online MBA is as follows: if you can’t just choose between a full-time traditional program and an online course, you might as well do both at the same time.
For instance, at St. Petersburg’s Tiedemann College of Business (University of South Florida), there is the “ultimate flexibility” program where you can switch between full-time and online courses according to your schedule, interest and time. Distance-learning students can take part in the same activities as their full-time counterparts, ‘attending’ classes via video chats.
Of course, there are more than just ten reasons to take up an online MBA program. We hope this information will help you to decide what kind of education you actually need.
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