Which MBA programs can I apply to if you do not have work experience? This is a question I am asked fairly often – and in fact just spoke to some one on this very topic. 

So what are your options?

1. HBS 2+2 program:

You apply to HBS in your junior year at college. If you get get accepted then after your graduate you will go into your 1st summer program at Harvard. This will be followed by go two years of approved work experience. After the 1st year of work experience you attend your 2nd summer program at Harvard. Once you have completed your work experience you immerse yourself in two years at the Harvard Business School MBA Program.

2. Yale  Silver Scholars program:

Each year Yale SOM admits a select handful of college seniors to a three-year MBA program called the Silver Scholars Program. The program provides the unique opportunity to enter an MBA program immediately after your undergraduate education. The program was created in 2001. 

As a Silver Scholar, you will spend your first year at Yale developing the basic skills and mindset of a manager through SOM’s core curriculum. During the second year, you will complete a full-time internship. In your third year, you will return to campus for the conclusion of the MBA program, taking electives at SOM and elsewhere at Yale in the areas that most interest you. You can only apply if you are a college senior.

3. Apply to programs that are more open to college seniors or early career applicants:   

These include Stanford, MIT, Chicago, CMU, UCLA and Simon Rochester.