Online MBA Program

The Kelley Direct Online MBA program (unlike many other Distance MBA Programs) requires applicants to take the GMAT (Graduate Management Admissions Test).  It is a critical portion of your application for a couple of reasons.

The first is that it is one of the few portions of your application that you can control.  You cannot change your undergraduate transcripts (unless you have deep pockets, know the registrar and have no morals - if this is you, please apply elsewhere; the Kelley School doesn't need you).  You can't change your work history or your accomplishments.  Your GMAT score is something you can control. 

The second is that it your score is important.  I lost count of how many times the faculty mentioned our cohort's GMAT average (it climbed 10 points from the previous year).  Your score is not everything, but it is something.  The GMAT is an objective measure about how you perform against your peers.  Don't get me wrong, I have yet to be asked in any of my MBA classes a standard GMAT work rate question.  But, it shows that you have the motivation to learn (re-learn?) skills and apply them in a time-constrained environment.  Further, it demonstrates to the admissions staff that you have the ability to operate autonomously (which is what an Online Masters in Business requires).

So what do you do?  Buy a book.  Get on Amazon.com and buy ONE study guide (I used the official GMAT book, but I think any would do).  Start going through the practice problems.  Identify ones you are struggling with (work problems, for example).  If your book doesn't do a good job of explaining how to solve them, search for additional resources online.  There are (literally) hundreds of free sites with additional practice problems, tricks on how to solve different types of problems, and strategies for the exam itself.  Once you are confident, take one of the two practice tests that the GMAC (the folks that run the GMAT) provides when you sign up for the test.  This will give you a good judge of how you are progressing.

Then, keep practicing.  I say that because I was reviewing practice questions the morning of the exam and one that I reviewed was almost identical to a problem on the actual test.

So, study up.  Remember that no one cares that you will can figure out the amount of water in a cylinder that is 4 feet high, has a diameter of 2 feet and is 60 percent full.  What they do care about is that you are motivated enough to a) prove that you are smart enough to learn it b) demonstrate that you can learn it on your own and c) prove that you have learned it in the form of a standardized test.  It is these characteristics that separate Kelley Direct students from those enrolled at other online distance MBA programs.

As soon as you are accepted, your score no longer matters to anyone.  But until that point, it matters a whole lot.

Doug Huber is a first-year MBA student enrolled in the Kelley Direct program at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business.  You can read more about Doug here.

What does it mean to “live the dream”? It means to achieve your goals, to accomplish everything you have set out to accomplish. It means to have it all and do it all. Living the dream can be a challenge for most of us because we have conflicting goals. For example, my major life goals include raising a family, having a successful career, and earning a master of business administration degree.   Why are those goals conflicting? They are all competing for my time, the scarcest resource I have.  I have a beautiful wife and two young sons. I love to spend time with them, but I have missed many meals and important family activities because of my hectic work schedule. 

Earning an MBA has always been one of my biggest goals, but as I have progressed in my career and my family responsibilities have increased, I began to think that I had missed the window of opportunity. I finally decided that 2009 was the year to get into business school and make my dream a reality. The challenge was to find a business school that met all of my criteria. I wanted to attend a highly ranked university that would provide a top-notch education. I also wanted a program that would give me the flexibility to meet the obligations of my current job and not become a stranger to my family.

A friend of mine at work clued me in to the fact that there are several top universities across the country that offer distance MBA programs. This opened a whole new realm of possibilities for me.  I became obsessed with finding the best online MBA program. I learned that there are several online business colleges, but I was only interested in an AACSB accredited online MBA program. Ultimately one program stood head and shoulders above the rest—the Kelley Direct program from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.

I am now in my first year in the Kelley Direct program, and I'm living the dream.  I'm getting a great education at one of the best business schools in the nation, and I haven't had to put the rest of my life on hold.  I didn’t have to leave my job to attend business school, and I have the flexibility to work on my studies at my convenience so I don’t have to become a stranger to my family.

--Kelly

In a previous post I talked about the quality of a Kelley degree and why I consider Kelley Direct one of the best online mba programs. I want to spend a little more time talking about our faculty and why learning from these industry thought leaders will help you in your career.

It would probably be best to start with the awards the Kelley faculty has won. Our Kelley faculty has consistently been ranked among the elite teaching faculty in the world. Here is a list of some their achievements:

• Ranked 7th in the nation on faculty scholarship by The Chronicle of Higher Education
• Ranked 4th among public universities and 18th in the nation for having the most frequently downloaded research publications, according to a recent Social Science Research Network (SSRN) study
• Served on more than 30 corporate boards
• Published more than 2,000 articles in more than 300 leading business journals and 200 books
• Won more than 150 research awards and 300 teaching awards
• Received three Faculty Fulbright Scholarships

The instructors that teach in Kelley Direct are dedicated to taking their teaching excellence and applying it to our online MBA program. Students who are looking to earn a MBA online will find that the quality of the faculty is extremely important to their success in an online mba program. Our faculty are assigned instructional designers and course consultants to ensure that their course use the latest technology to help deliver the content.

Many people who are considering a distance MBA program or online mba program often have some concern about the exposure that they will have with their professors; KD faculty pride themselves on their interaction with their students. 

Here is video about student and professor interaction in KD:

 

Welcome my first Kelley Direct blog post. I thought it would be best to talk about our world-renowned degree and a little bit about our history.

Kelley Direct's distance MBA programs began in 1999 as an innovative way to provide the opportunity to earn a Kelley graduate degree for high-caliber working professionals no matter where they work or live.
As one of the top online MBA programs, Kelley Direct offers the highest quality AACSB accredited online MBA available today. In fact, Kelley Direct is the only top 20 business school that offers an online MBA, online degree in finance, and online degree in global supply chain management.

I will talk about our faculty in more depth in a future post but one of the things that makes the Kelley School of Business so highly ranked in our top flight and award winning faculty. Kelley Direct courses are taught by Kelley faculty; the same faculty that teach in the Full-Time and Evening MBA programs.

We consider ourselves to be leaders in business education online, and over 800 students have already earned a Kelley degree through Kelley Direct. Check out this video if you want to learn more.