online bachelor's degrees and business school admissions -- Virtually Advising Q+A

The Q: I want to finish my bachelor's degree through an on-line program, but I would like to get my M.B.A. through the University of Chicago. How do the "good" M.B.A. schools view this type of B.A.?

The A: I've spoken with a friend of mine who works in admissions at NYU's Stern School of Business about your question. Her take, in short, is that an online degree generally isn't going to hold as much value as a bricks-and-mortar degree when it comes to applying to M.B.A. programs, particularly the top-flight ones.

That's the short answer. The longer answer is that the impact of the online degree will depend on a bunch of things: where you earned it from (accredited school? U. Phoenix? a regular university with an online program?), how many of your courses were taken online vs. in person, how well you did in your classes, etc. And, of course, the other traditional factors -- GPA, GMAT, rec letters, leadership/management experience, etc. -- are going to play as huge a role as they normally do, if not more so.

I think the bigger question in your case might be how important it is that you complete your degree online. Doing so might not eliminate your chances of getting into U. Chicago's M.B.A. program, but it's almost certain to hurt them at least a little, unless there's a reason why earning your degree on campus is more or less impossible (or at least extremely unrealistic). You can always explain your decision to get an online degree in your biz-school application; it's anyone's guess, though, whether that explanation will be enough to start you on an even keel with someone who graduated from a bricks-and-mortar.

Them's my thoughts; I'd be happy to hear yours! Write back again if there's anything more we can try to be of help with. You might also want to consider calling up the admissions office at U. Chicago's business school directly (anonymously, if you'd like) with specific questions about applying as a person with an online degree; I imagine the admissions counselors/officials there would be happy to offer their take on your situation as well.

Best of luck,

—Myles Helfand, General Advisor