There is no perfect time for someone to get an MBA. Everyone’s careers take different paths and have different timelines. For those of you who are further in your career, an Executive MBA (EMBA) is probably the best choice. The great news is that EMBA, part-time, and full-time programs all share the same professors, resources, and often career services teams. Before we jump into the specifics of EMBA admissions standards, let’s talk about who generally attends these programs.
How do I know if an EMBA program is right for me?
There are a couple main differences that make EMBA programs stand out:
- Work experience: EMBA programs tend to have the most experienced and seasoned classes, with a median amount of work experience close to 15 years. Students attending part-time MBA programs tend to have fewer than 10 years of work experience, while full-time students average closer to 5 years. The range of years of experience for most EMBA programs will be larger as well. EMBA students will have closer to 10–25 years of work experience versus 5–15 years for part-time and 3–8 for full-time students.
My first EMBA client actually came to me wanting to apply to full-time programs. He had 15 years of work experience but was attracted to the possibility of changing careers. I encouraged him to sit in on both full-time and EMBA classes. After experiencing both, he decided to apply to EMBA programs because he felt like he was sitting in a room where he could both gain from and give back to his peers. In addition, the close relationships he would build with classmates would aid in his career change. - Program delivery: Most EMBA programs meet on a given number of weekends throughout the year. For example, at Berkeley Haas’s EMBA program, you would take core classes Thursday to Saturday about once a month and participate in five different field immersions in person throughout the 22-month program.
- Program timing: With an EMBA, you are expected to complete the program with your cohort. These programs tend to be 20 months long, similar to full-time programs. Meanwhile, part-time programs have more flexibility, and you can generally complete them, based on your schedule, within three to five years.
- Cohorts: In an EMBA program, you start your classes and meet with the same cohort throughout the program. This contrasts with part-time programs, where each class you take will have a different group of students, and full-time programs, where you might be in one cohort among many.
What are the application requirements for EMBA programs?
Now, let’s talk about EMBA admissions standards. Most EMBA programs require the following application components: university transcripts, resume, letters of recommendation, proof of English proficiency, standardized test score, and essays. The goal of the application is to get you a formal interview, which moves you along in the admissions process. Let’s break down each of these components. We like to think about these requirements in terms of quantitative readiness, work experience and leadership, recommendations, and why you want an MBA.
Business schools want to make sure that you can handle the academic rigor of their EMBA program. Admissions teams assess quantitative readiness through the quantitative nature of your work, your university grades, and your standardized test score. Think about these as three different options to show your quantitative abilities—you don’t have to spike in all three areas. If you can’t showcase your quant skills through your undergrad grades, then lean into your standardized test and work examples.
- Quantitative work: If you are in finance, accounting, or engineering, the quantitative nature of your work tends to come across very clearly in your project experience. If you come from a less traditional quantitative industry, think about how you use numbers in your job. Do you manage a budget? Do you conduct customer analysis? The key is to showcase your ability to work with and interpret numbers.
- Undergraduate and graduate grades: Admissions teams will look at the quantitative nature of your degree. (Did you take calculus and statistics?) If you did well at university in quant-related courses, this is a great way to show your quantitative aptitude. But keep in mind that most schools don’t even report average GPA on their class profile pages, so don’t stress about that!
- Standardized test: Most EMBA programs accept the GMAT, GRE, and EA—and some even consider the MCAT or LSAT. Most EMBA programs have a waiver process for standardized tests if you can show your quant readiness through work experience or university grades. MIT’s EMBA program doesn’t actually require the GMAT, but the school encourages people who lack quant evidence in their background to submit one.
I would highly recommend taking the EA, as this test was created for people in the workforce. Although most schools say there is no minimum score requirement, we tend to hear that an EA score of 155 is considered decent, especially for those trying to prove their quant readiness by taking the test. For example, a former client of mine did not have strong university grades and worked in a non-technical career, and some EMBA programs told her that 155 was the score she needed to hit.
Your university grades and standardized test score become less important to your EMBA application because the admissions team recognizes that you have gained a great deal of practical experience through work. Therefore, your work experience and recommenders become even more important in the admissions process.
Your work experience and leadership can help showcase your quantitative skills, but your trajectory and promotions will also be evaluated independent of your quantitative skills. EMBA programs want students in their cohort with a diverse set of experiences, so there is no “right” industry or role for applicants. However, they do want to know that you have held leadership roles. This doesn’t always mean that you must have managed a team directly, but you need to show that you have led, if not teams, then projects, cross-functional teams, etc. Through your application essays and your resume, make sure you can showcase your leadership and the impacts you have made throughout your career.
Your recommendations give admissions teams a third-party perspective of your work. And while recommendations are a part of any admissions process, they are even more important in an EMBA application because your company needs to support you in your EMBA journey. In addition to recommendations, most EMBA programs require a letter from your company showing their support of your application as well. Most programs require two recommendations—and they should be from people who know your work well. There is often a misconception that it’s better to have recommendations from higher-level managers in your organization. However, the truth is, it’s better to have recommendations from those who can speak in detail about your leadership and impact.
Finally, explaining why you want an MBA and how an MBA ties into your goals can help articulate to admissions teams what skills you want to build. EMBA programs require you to be employed during the program—so although you can switch jobs during this time, it is not common to do so. Admissions teams want to know that you have thought about what you need in order to be successful in your career and how an MBA can help you achieve your goals. It is less common for EMBA applicants to talk about leveraging an EMBA to make a big career change. An EMBA can help you grow in your career; it can give you business and leadership skills to open opportunities, and it can help you develop relationships across industries and functions. But an EMBA is generally not a platform to make a big switch, as this is difficult to do later in a career. I’m not saying it’s impossible, just that it is not what an EMBA curriculum is built for. Therefore, keep this in mind when articulating what you are looking for from your EMBA program.
It’s important to understand that EMBA admissions teams are generally pretty accessible to potential students. Most are willing (and, frankly, happy) to have a conversation with you about your candidacy and provide honest feedback. They truly want you to have a clear understanding of whether your profile aligns with their program and what to include in your application. Some schools, such as MIT and Wharton, even make these conversations a part of their admissions process. And over the last couple of years, most EMBA programs have built class profile pages so you can get an idea of what is important to each program.
If you would like to speak to one of our Admissions Counselors to help determine whether an EMBA might be a good fit for you, sign up for a free 30-minute consultation. We’d love to walk through the pros and cons with you!