[amartinsu13]

My recollection is that B school really wants its applicants to have some work experience first.

They're getting a little more lenient these days.

I was accepted as a senior in '13 to the GSB on a 3 year deferral.  So they accepted me when all I had was some summer internship experience, but they wanted me to get 3 years of real work experience before starting (finally starting this fall!).

I also had two other friends from undergrad get accepted as seniors, but they didn't do any deferrals.  They started their MBA1 year right after senior year.  But they're also both doing dual degrees (MS in CS), so they're a little bit of a weird case. 

In my experience talking to current/former GSBers though, 99% recommend getting a couple years of real work experience before starting because it gives you some insight/background into the cases you'll discuss in class.  They also noted that if someone in class without any experience was sharing their opinion, they'd take it with a grain of salt. 

Even from a social aspect, it makes sense to get work experience first.  It's probably easier to make friends with 25-27 year olds if you're also 25-27, and not 22.

[amartinsu13]

My recollection is that B school really wants its applicants to have some work experience first.

They're getting a little more lenient these days.

I was accepted as a senior in '13 to the GSB on a 3 year deferral.  So they accepted me when all I had was some summer internship experience, but they wanted me to get 3 years of real work experience before starting (finally starting this fall!).

I also had two other friends from undergrad get accepted as seniors, but they didn't do any deferrals.  They started their MBA1 year right after senior year.  But they're also both doing dual degrees (MS in CS), so they're a little bit of a weird case. 

In my experience talking to current/former GSBers though, 99% recommend getting a couple years of real work experience before starting because it gives you some insight/background into the cases you'll discuss in class.  They also noted that if someone in class without any experience was sharing their opinion, they'd take it with a grain of salt. 

Even from a social aspect, it makes sense to get work experience first.  It's probably easier to make friends with 25-27 year olds if you're also 25-27, and not 22.