MBA: An Opportunity for Change, The

Black Collegian, Oct 2003 by Patterson, P A

A Master's in Business Administration, or MBA, is a graduate degree that many people obtain to transform their careers, to earn a higher salary, to move up in their current companies, to change professions, or to learn skills that will allow them to start their own businesses. "An MBA is a degree you can use to follow your passion," said Kristina Nebel, Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at University of Michigan Business School. "It teaches you to be a leader and can allow you to recreate your career throughout your life."

Getting the degree can open a person's mind to opportunities nut previously considered, said Barbara Britton Jones, chief operating officer of the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, an MBA-scholarship program for minority students that helps recipients with internships and job placement. Many African-American students are unaware of the wide array of careers available in business. Jones says that a person who goes to business school may become interested in a fulfilling career that they were unaware of before business school.

The numbers support Jones. African Americans and Latinos represent approximately twenty-five percent of the population of the United States, but less than five percent of senior management positions in this country, according to Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), a New York City-based organization that works to increase the presence of qualified students of color in graduate business schools, corporations, non-profit organizations, and entrepreneurial ventures. Even more alarming is the decline in minority application and enrollment in MBA programs at some top MBA programs, according to MLT.

To be sure, the weak economy contributed to a decline in the overall number of applications to many MBA programs in 2002-2003, following a boom in the previous year, according to the Graduate Management Admissions Council. Only thirty five percent of the schools surveyed reported an increase in application volume compared with their 2001-02 application volume, according to the GMAC. Eighteen percent reported an increase of eleven percent or more. Forty percent reported a decrease of eleven percent or more. There was an increase in applications in 2001-2002 because many people chose to return to school instead of hunting for a job in a tight market, according to the GMAC. As the weak economy persisted, people who might have returned to school in better times were less able or willing to pay for school because of salary freezes, depleted savings, or company sponsorship cuts. People who do apply to graduate schools during a prolonged weak economy typically apply to fewer programs to save money. These kinds of economic concerns tend to affect minorities and women first.

Demographics also contributed to the decline in the number of applications at some schools. The population of 25 to 34 year olds, that age range during which people typically pursue an MBA, has fallen. That population is expected to begin growing at a fast rate in 2005, before surging in 2007.

"Our application trends tend to mimic those of the schools," said Jones of the Consortium. The Consortium allows minority students to apply to several schools and for the Consortium Scholarship with a single application and at reduced rates. "There are fewer people at business school age."

That doesn't necessarily mean that it's easier for everyone to get into business school. Directors of admission say that the quality of the applicants improves each year. However, it may be somewhat easier for very qualified applicants to get into the school of their choice. Getting admitted "is still very competitive," Jones said, because "people are testing better. But it may be less difficult for the most qualified students to get in because all of the schools want them."

Aside from economic concerns and demographic shifts, some prospective minority students may have been worried about an impending Supreme Court decision on Affirmative Action at the University of Michigan's Law School and its potential ramifications on their chances of getting into other leading graduate schools. In June, the Supreme Court ruled that race can be a factor for universities shaping their admissions programs, but that race cannot be an overriding factor in admissions policies. In separate decisions, the court struck down a point system used by the University of Michigan's undergraduate program, but it approved a policy, with a 5-4 vote, used by the University of Michigan Law School that gives race less prominence in the admissions decision-making process. Most graduate business schools use a process of admission similar to those of the Law School and the highly ranked MBA program of the University of Michigan. "We were very pleased with the Supreme Court decision, especially at the Law School, because the process at the Law School is closer to how we evaluate candidates," said Nebel, of the University of Michigan's Business School.

The University of Michigan's business school admissions process is the same for each candidate, no matter what their race, Nebel said. The school will continue to evaluate candidates on factors including work and life experience, extra-curricular activities, interviews, their scores on the Graduate Management Admission Test, and previous academic performance. The school also evaluates candidates on the basis of how well they will fit into the school's particular style of teaching. "We look at how well suited a candidate is for a blend of traditional teaching and action-based learning," Nebel said.