It is a common fact that an MBA program is a highly demanding and professional degree that requires a certain level of professional experience as one of its primary eligibility criteria. However, if you are among those students who want to pursue this program but have still not gained any extensive professional degree, then you can apply for a deferred MBA program. This program is similar to a regular MBA program. The only difference in a deferred MBA program is that you can basically apply early for a general MBA program in case you are still in your final year of undergraduate. Through these early MBA programs, you will get the opportunity to reserve a seat for yourself in the future MBA program while you gain 2-4 years of work experience before starting the program. Here you will find the top 5 deferred MBA programs and the schools that offer them:

1. HBS
   

The deferred MBA program at Harvard Business School has been designed to allow students to book a seat for their future MBA class at HBS through a deferred MBA program of HBS 2+2.  This program’s main highlight is that it encourages students who have an academic background in humanities and STEM to apply to this program along with other disciplines. The 2+2 structure is formulated to keep in mind that when the student completes his/her graduate degree, they can directly start working in a public, private, or non-profit firm for two to four years before they officially join the MBA class. However, you need to fulfil, wherein any gaps between your undergraduate or graduate program are not accepted.

2. Stanford GSB Deferred Admission
   

The Stanford GSB deferred MBA program is another very prestigious program created for students who lack full-time work experience. Like the HBS 2+2 MBA program, you need to be in the final year of your undergraduate or student of any graduate program which you enrolled in without any breaks after your undergraduate studies. Most importantly, you shouldn’t have full-time work experience to be eligible for this program as it catered towards aiding students who lack this aspect in their profile.

3. Wharton MBA Advance Access Program

This program was initially introduced and was made available to exclusively the final year undergraduate students of the University of Pennsylvania. Recently, it has been extended to be accessible to students outside of the University of Pennsylvania. Moreover, through the Wharton MBA Advance Access program, the students would get an opportunity to work for around two to four years in any sector of their choice using this as their free pass to get hold of a job. Likewise, you will have to be in your final year of undergraduate to apply for this program. You need to possess exemplary academic and extracurricular achievements under your belt to showcase your worthy spot in their future full-time MBA program.

4. Yale SOM Silver Scholars Program
   

The Silver Scholars program is the deferred MBA program of Yale Business School. Unlike the other deferred programs mentioned in this list, this particular program is slightly different from its admission pattern, wherein early career MBA applicants are directly enrolled in the current running MBA program. However, the program runs for three years whereby the second year is deemed mandatory for a full-time internship. Furthermore, you should fulfill some of the common norms prevalent in a full-time MBA application, such as GMAT/GRE score, academic transcript, summer internship quality, and part-time work experience. Extracurriculars, and most importantly, you have to go through an interview process.

5. Chicago Booth Scholars Program
   
   

Similar to the rest of the programs mentioned in this list, the Chicago Booth Scholars Program is also formulated to facilitate the final year undergraduate students to reserve a seat for their future full-time MBA program at Chicago Booth. Moreover, you will get the opportunity to upskill your professional experience through a period of two to four years, depending on your profile’s competency. The application’s main components to this program are GMAT/GRE score, LORs, Essays, resume, TOEFL/IELTS/PTE scores, and a personal interview round.

Conclusion:If you are interested in getting into a deferred MBA program, you should start working as soon as possible by building your professional profile to receive the best benefits and to minimize the loss of time in the complete application process. 

Author Bio: Abhyank Srinet is a passionate digital entrepreneur who holds a Masters in Management degree from ESCP Europe. He started his first company while he was still studying at ESCP, and managed to scale it up by 400% in just 2 years. 

Being a B-School Alumni, he recognized the need for a one-stop solution for B-School to get in touch with schools and get their application queries resolved. This prompted him to create MiM-Essay, a one-of-a-kind portal with cutting edge profile evaluation and school selection algorithms, along with several avenues to stay informed about the latest B-School Updates.