First off, if you are in high school and you have even a remote idea of the field that you want to pursue in college and a subsequent career path beyond that, then you are already one step ahead of the game! Remember, it is totally okay to not have any idea (or a full idea) of what you might want to pursue. But, having some inkling certainly makes your life a lot easier because it gives you more time to plan and strategize in terms of options for college and potential graduate school, as well as keeping in mind the double importance of applying for scholarships to cover all that tuition.
If you have any gut feeling that you might want to pursue a career in business (and maybe even go to graduate school), here are a few key tips and things you should keep in mind:
Make sure that whatever colleges you are applying to have a strong business program.
Even if you are not totally sure what area you might want to go into, if you look at schools that rank highly in terms of their overall business school program, then this can give you the peace of mind that whatever major you choose will give you the education you deserve.
Do some research early on about whether or not it might make sense to continue on to get an
MBA after completing your undergraduate degree.
Getting an MBA is something that is certainly not required if you pursue an undergraduate degree in a business major, however, depending on what your major is, getting that extra qualification could be an important stepping stone to help you establish yourself in that field. Try to do some research on this as early as you can, because this can definitely impact your choice for where you complete your undergraduate degree if cost is something that matters to you.
Plus, many schools offer MBA programs that can act as an extension of your undergraduate program, so this is something else to consider which might impact your choice for where you obtain your bachelor’s in business.
Know that your GMAT scores are valid for 5 years.
This is a great thing! Because the scores for the GMAT (the exam that most students must take as a part of their MBA applications) last for so long, this means that you can attempt to be strategic in terms of when you want to start studying for it.
Maybe one semester in your junior year of college you have a slightly smaller course load; this would be an ideal time to perhaps get acquainted with the exam and start studying, because it would lessen the burden and pressure of doing it later on during a more stressful semester.
Regardless of whether or not you know if you want to pursue an MBA, you should still be applying for scholarships.
As a high-school student, you should definitely be hopping on the applying-for-scholarships wagon! Not only can you get started with trying to earn money and chip away at your undergraduate degree costs, but if you get into a rhythm of searching and applying early on, then it will be much easier to keep up once you get to college and have to potentially look forward towards graduate school. If you are relatively new to the scholarship game, check out this list of great scholarships high school seniors should apply for.