4 ms·

I aced all my high school math classes including calc. Because my school was small and rural they didn't have any more classes for me. So senior year I had no

I aced all my high school math classes including calc. Because my school was small and rural they didn't have any more classes for me. So senior year I had no math. Got to college, took a math placement exam and bombed out, so upset. Then as I was leaving knocked a chair down and everyone stared at me. I ended up with a BFA in Drama. Fast forward 10 years and like the author I worked my ass off to get into a top MBA program and not only that, major in finance. So yeah, it can be done. Hard work, and not accepting the bullshit line "oh I'm not good at math." And without attacking my own gender, women tend to be let off the hook more easily with this excuse, as if we accept that girls can't do math. Fuck that. This post rocked. Thanks to the HN community for bringing it to my attention.

hackinthebochs 13y ago
What was your path to an MBA? I'm assuming a degree in drama doesn't exactly prepare you for an MBA in finance. What happened in between that gave you the motivation and whatever prereqs necessary to even be considered for a spot?
- Nicholas_C 13y ago
  MBA programs not in the top 50 or so will let pretty much anyone in, even people with zero work experience.
- obstacle1 13y ago
  There are no real academic requirements for an MBA program other than you have an undergrad degree and did well in it. Prerequisites would be nil. On that note, most adcoms likely value work experience more than undergrad experience. You don't jump right into advanced topics, most streams give you an intro sequence first assuming you know little to nothing about the topic. That said coursework is like < 50% of the value of an MBA, it really isn't the point of the degree. Plenty of smart but somewhat wayward humanities/soc sci majors end up graduating into a random office job, find out that surprise! they perform well and enjoy business, and proceed to do an MBA. Disclaimer: I'm not an MBA, this is second-hand from MBA'd friends and acquaintances.
  - melindajb 13y ago
    it's true that there are intro sequences in some programs, but due to Cornell Johnson School's unique structure, we did an entire semester of accounting in six weeks; ditto for finance. I'd passed everything I learned in a semester of accounting in 4 days. agree about coursework not being the point, networking is; but coursework to a point is a factor for many things: career changing, or in my case, burrowing into math and finance so deeply you can hold your own with the best and brightest in the world. (for example you learn when to recognize when you are not the smartest person in the room, so it's time to shut up and let other people teach you)
- melindajb 13y ago
  Thanks for asking. 1) spent 2 years in an MFA program in Stage management at Rutgers. I have dozens of blog posts in me about what theatre teaches you that is directly applicable to business especially the collaborative nature of software development. 2) I burned out. I saw how Tony award winning lighting designers lived and realized that my desire to make art wasn't greater than my desire for health care, vacation and a nice place to live. 3) I took a year off to be an admin assistant. this was at the dawn of computers at every desk. Because I'd built my first computer at the age of 10, and taught myself to program in basic in junior high, I was very comfortable with computers and troubleshooting. I quickly morphed into the office computer guru. installed network cards, taught the CEO of the mergers and acquisitions firm how to use a mouse (!), etc. As a fun aside one of my tasks was to print out my boss'e mail for him. :P 4) Fortunately this same boss took a shine to me (in a not creepy way) and taught me a lot about finance, balance sheets, and how deals got done. He said to me one day, you're smart enough to be on the other side of the desk, go do something with your life. 5) I took a job working for a company that sold equipment to the entertainment industry, turned around my first division of the company at the age of 25 (just as the internet rose), then took over a sales territory and tripled it. (that, along with my sales experience got me fantastic references) 6) About this time I got encouragement to go to business school since it was obvious I had a knack for it. I got good advice to not bother unless it was one of the best. 7) I took 3 classes to prove my status and A+ed all them: microeconomics, business math, and accounting. University of Connecticut night school, while working full time. 8) I studied long and hard for the GMAT and got a great score.(again I was just before the online practice questions. I used to sneak the test booklets out of kaplan, and photocopy them so I could work problem sets on the plane.)I scored high enough on the GMAT that when I graduated in the horrific post 9/11 economy I got a job at Kaplan teaching gmat classes here in SF. 9) I wrote good essays about the future of Tech and its impact on the entertainment industry--which have all since come to pass (i.e. content proliferation, the rising value of top talent). 10) Accepted to Cornell Johnson School at the age of 30 (top 10 school). 11) if I May humblebrag, in spite of the fact that I majored in finance so that I could improve my math skills, which cost me GPA, I still finished in the top third of my class. Was luck a factor? for sure. But so was my persistence, drive, and commitment. Going through this process taught me a lot about those things. About never giving up. About working hard. I came from a dirt poor family and the internet didn't exist, so there was no one to really mentor me early on and I had to fix the mistakes of doubt and lack of self confidence and ignorance I'd made as a young woman. People ask me how I got the courage to start a company. After what I just described, after pulling myself out of the hole of poverty and debt, this is a cakewalk.

hackinthebochs 13y ago

What was your path to an MBA? I'm assuming a degree in drama doesn't exactly prepare you for an MBA in finance. What happened in between that gave you the motivation and whatever prereqs necessary to even be considered for a spot?

Nicholas_C 13y ago
MBA programs not in the top 50 or so will let pretty much anyone in, even people with zero work experience.
obstacle1 13y ago
There are no real academic requirements for an MBA program other than you have an undergrad degree and did well in it. Prerequisites would be nil. On that note, most adcoms likely value work experience more than undergrad experience. You don't jump right into advanced topics, most streams give you an intro sequence first assuming you know little to nothing about the topic. That said coursework is like < 50% of the value of an MBA, it really isn't the point of the degree. Plenty of smart but somewhat wayward humanities/soc sci majors end up graduating into a random office job, find out that surprise! they perform well and enjoy business, and proceed to do an MBA. Disclaimer: I'm not an MBA, this is second-hand from MBA'd friends and acquaintances.
- melindajb 13y ago
  it's true that there are intro sequences in some programs, but due to Cornell Johnson School's unique structure, we did an entire semester of accounting in six weeks; ditto for finance. I'd passed everything I learned in a semester of accounting in 4 days. agree about coursework not being the point, networking is; but coursework to a point is a factor for many things: career changing, or in my case, burrowing into math and finance so deeply you can hold your own with the best and brightest in the world. (for example you learn when to recognize when you are not the smartest person in the room, so it's time to shut up and let other people teach you)
melindajb 13y ago
Thanks for asking. 1) spent 2 years in an MFA program in Stage management at Rutgers. I have dozens of blog posts in me about what theatre teaches you that is directly applicable to business especially the collaborative nature of software development. 2) I burned out. I saw how Tony award winning lighting designers lived and realized that my desire to make art wasn't greater than my desire for health care, vacation and a nice place to live. 3) I took a year off to be an admin assistant. this was at the dawn of computers at every desk. Because I'd built my first computer at the age of 10, and taught myself to program in basic in junior high, I was very comfortable with computers and troubleshooting. I quickly morphed into the office computer guru. installed network cards, taught the CEO of the mergers and acquisitions firm how to use a mouse (!), etc. As a fun aside one of my tasks was to print out my boss'e mail for him. :P 4) Fortunately this same boss took a shine to me (in a not creepy way) and taught me a lot about finance, balance sheets, and how deals got done. He said to me one day, you're smart enough to be on the other side of the desk, go do something with your life. 5) I took a job working for a company that sold equipment to the entertainment industry, turned around my first division of the company at the age of 25 (just as the internet rose), then took over a sales territory and tripled it. (that, along with my sales experience got me fantastic references) 6) About this time I got encouragement to go to business school since it was obvious I had a knack for it. I got good advice to not bother unless it was one of the best. 7) I took 3 classes to prove my status and A+ed all them: microeconomics, business math, and accounting. University of Connecticut night school, while working full time. 8) I studied long and hard for the GMAT and got a great score.(again I was just before the online practice questions. I used to sneak the test booklets out of kaplan, and photocopy them so I could work problem sets on the plane.)I scored high enough on the GMAT that when I graduated in the horrific post 9/11 economy I got a job at Kaplan teaching gmat classes here in SF. 9) I wrote good essays about the future of Tech and its impact on the entertainment industry--which have all since come to pass (i.e. content proliferation, the rising value of top talent). 10) Accepted to Cornell Johnson School at the age of 30 (top 10 school). 11) if I May humblebrag, in spite of the fact that I majored in finance so that I could improve my math skills, which cost me GPA, I still finished in the top third of my class. Was luck a factor? for sure. But so was my persistence, drive, and commitment. Going through this process taught me a lot about those things. About never giving up. About working hard. I came from a dirt poor family and the internet didn't exist, so there was no one to really mentor me early on and I had to fix the mistakes of doubt and lack of self confidence and ignorance I'd made as a young woman. People ask me how I got the courage to start a company. After what I just described, after pulling myself out of the hole of poverty and debt, this is a cakewalk.