Online MBA Accounting

Whenever I speak with prospective students I get the question, "What are you looking for in a successful application?"  I always appreciate this question as it allows me to have a dialog with the prospective student about what the Kelley School of Business expects from it's students and just as important, what they should expect from the Kelley School of Business.  Selecting an online MBA/MS program is a two way street and we understand it is just as important for you to evaluate us as it is for us to evaluate you.  With that being said, here is insight into the Admissions Review Committee's expectations from our future online MBA/MS students:

We review the transcripts from your degree programs.  We look at the courses you took and how you performed in your upper level courses.  You are not disadvantaged if you haven't taken any business courses in your previous degrees.  We look at overall quality and improvement in performance.  We do encourage our students who have not had an accounting or statistics course within the last 5 years with a B or higher to take our accounting and statistics Primers.  These two foundation courses will help you achieve success in your courses.

We review your years of work experience, types of positions you have held and look for upward mobility within your resume.  If you haven't been promoted, you can strengthen your application by taking on additional responsibilities within your current position. With this, we read your letters of reference to add value to experiences and help us understand what value you will add to our incoming cohort.

We review your complete GMAT score.  We look at quantitative and verbal scores as well as when you took the GMAT and how often.  Our average GMAT is usually around 630.  Although the GMAT is not the only aspect of the application we evaluate, it is an important component.  Please study and prepare before you take the GMAT.  We find too many students go into the test without preparation and are disappointed with their scores.  This is the part of your application you have the most control over, please take it seriously.  It is not unusual for us to see a strong application but a weak GMAT.  Often times, we may ask an applicant to retake the GMAT for further consideration.


Finally, we review the application itself, including your personal statement.  This is where you get to sell yourself to the committee.  We want you to tell us what we don't know about you from reading the rest of your application.  Why do you want your MBA/MS degree and how will earning it online assist you in reaching your goals? This is also an opportunity to demonstrate your writing skills, so please proof read before submitting.

Again, you are not alone during this process. Our staff are here to assist you through the application process.  We believe the Kelley School of Business offers the best distance MBA and MS programs and want you to be prepared to enter into this new stage in your life.  Earning your MBA/MS online will require time management, commitment to studying, and putting your best foot forward.  Your application should be no different. 

If you have any other questions about any of our online MBA/MS requirements, please feel free to contact us at kdirect@indiana.edu

It's a Tuesday morning in early November, the day before Veterans Day in the US, about 10am in the morning, I'm in Richmond, VA, and I'm attending class for an MBA program that is in the Top 15.

Now while Richmond, VA certainly has some fine schools, Virginia Commonwealth University (my undergraduate Alma Mater) and University of Richmond, they are not top 15 MBA programs, at least according to the latest Business Week rankings. Just a decade or so ago, if I wanted to attend a top MBA program, living full-time in Richmond, VA would have been physically impossible. I would have had to quit work, uproot my family, and leave the city I love, to move somewhere else for a few years of my life. Quite honestly, I don't know if it would have happened.

Fast forward to 2009, and the concept of online education has taken off, most notably by the "for profit" schools that we always see advertising on TV (which please do not confuse with prestigious schools that are venturing into online education. And while a lot of lower tier business schools have started rolling out an online curriculum, the top 15 to 20 or so MBA programs have been very slow, except the Kelley school at Indiana. Last year about this time I started looking at options for an MBA, trying to find a program that would allow me to work full-time, stay in Richmond, and at the same time feel that I was getting the best education I could. There were some local choices (UR, VCU, and even Virginia Tech who does a remote site MBA here in Richmond), and some online choices (Penn State, Arizona State, Indiana). However, no matter how I analyzed the programs (reputation, price, flexibility), Indiana was my top choice (and I'm a very analytical person). I applied to Indiana first, with all others as possible seconds. I was accepted, and began the program in August of 2009.

Now, at this point I am only a few months into the program, and I can honestly say that there has been no regrets. In fact, I have been blown away by the quality of the program. I have spent literally the past decade in college (working full-time while getting my undergraduate, and a masters in accounting also), so I have taken my fair share of college courses, and the 2 classes I have taken so far in the Kelley Direct program, even though I am attending class from 505 miles away, easily rank in the top 5 of all classes I've taken.

I admit, I was skeptical at first of exactly how the "online thing" would work. But it works incredibly well, and without a lot of the noise and distractions of a typical classroom.

Hopefully this blog, and the other Kelley Direct student blogs, will help to distinguish the Kelley Direct program from others. I will continue to write of my experiences in the program in hopes that it will help future students determine if the KD program is the right choice for them.