My dream has always been to go to college and I did that even though I come from a low income family. I got a scholarship that allowed me to go to a really good university and I pretty much got the whole college experience. Since I started college I have wanted to go to grad school. I majored in communications and loved it. It made me realize that I want to work in marketing. I applied to Longwood university’s online MBA program. I think I have a really good chance of getting in. I have a high GPA (3.68) and I had a couple internships. I know some people that went to Longwood and they loved it. It’s a good school, but I am afraid that my MBA won’t be respected because it’s online and it’s only 30 credits and can be completed in 10 months. This seems kind of sketchy to me, but idk. I took a business class my senior year and I loved it. It was hard but I loved everything I learned. It was really interesting. My diploma won’t say it was online but I’m still a little hesitant as to if it will be respected because it takes only 10 months, is 30 credits, and is a “general” MBA. I noticed a lot of other MBA’s have specializations but mine does not. What do you think?
Answers & Comments
There are definitely other - and better - MBA options out there. Longwood IS a real school and it is appropriately accredited. But you are correct in your belief that a 10-month degree is not going to look very good. A 10-month online degree is especially questionable.
A university near me offers a hybrid MBA - students meet for class once a month and the rest is done online. It is an 18-month program and it is INTENSE. I cannot imagine how that could be effectively condensed into a 10-month period of time.
Longwood is a small university which is not a well-known outside of its region. It is, however, a legitimate college (in fact, its among the oldest in the country). Speaking for myself only, I would be dubious about any online degree.
I would also be concerned that you do not mention any prerequisites for entering the program. Your major was not business, and you only took 1 business course as an undergraduate.
MBA programs generally require that those who did not major in business have what they consider to be the equivalent of a business degree. That usually involves taking 18 to 24 undergraduate credits in such courses as accounting, finance, management, marketing, and quantitative analysis. If the Longwood MBA does not have such a requirement, I would certainly look elsewhere.
as a past employing manager, I've never heard of Longwood and would instantly suppose it to be a worthless diploma mill. Demonstrating otherwise would be YOUR responsibility -- there are plenty of other MBAs in the employment markets.