Business Week‘s Jeffrey Gangemi has just authored an interesting article on life in business school for female students with young children. The story highlights several top schools that have made adjustments to better accommodate moms in their programs, but it also scratches the surface of a larger issue that MBA programs face when it comes to attracting women in the first place.
As the article points out, female enrollment at the top b-schools remains in the 30-35% range, while law, medical and undergraduate programs typically post numbers closer to 50%. Many believe that this comes down to the timing of an MBA, which – unlike medical or law school – typically takes place several years post-undergraduate; at the exact time when many people contemplate starting a family. This is also reflected in the number of students, both male and female, who come to business school with young children.
Of course, one thing we’d like for our female readers to keep in mind is that the admissions officers at the top schools are generally pretty understanding of the conflicts that women may face in choosing their timing for b-school. As such, the standard 4-5 years of work experience may not be as critical for this group (especially if one can demonstrate ample leadership experience in a shorter timeframe). In addition, as certain top business schools have recently begun seeking younger applicants, women who plan to have children in their late twenties may want to consider earlier application to b-school.
See the full article for details on handling babies in b-school:
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/may2005/nf2005054_9530_db_083.htm
The article is actually part of an extensive special report about working moms:
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/db_special/db_05workingmoms.htm
In other news, the LA Business Journal has published an article about MBA application volume in the state of California. Both UCLA and USC have reported a drop in the number of applicants, despite solid stats on the hiring front at both programs (33% more recruiters have hit the UCLA campus and job offers are up significantly). It would seem that this fall might be the time to apply (before the news of high paying jobs trickles out to the applicant pool and the lag effect kicks in).
For the full text of the article on California b-schools:
http://www.labusinessjournal.com/article.asp?aID=471787.3070645.1138384.8892735.2807689.129&aID2=87559
