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My MBA at the University of Phoenix Online, Part 2: Admissions

by Flexo on September 25, 2006

in Education

University of Phoenix LogoNormally, when you want to be accepted into a university to study towards completion of a Master’s degree, schools require potential students to take the GMAT, a standardized test.

The University of Phoenix does not have this requirement. The school has a different philosophy for accepting students.

According to the Graduate Management Admissions Council, the organization that manages the GMAT, scores from the test do not predict success in graduate school. In fact, they concede that undergraduate GPA is a better predictor. Lately, more schools are dropping the GMAT as a requirement. (I read this in the news several months ago, but can’t find the source at the moment.)

Thus, the University of Phoenix has a GPA requirement for admission to the MBA program. Here are the details:

To enter a graduate program, you must have an undergraduate degree from a… nationally accredited college or university… and a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 (on a 4.0 scale) as shown on the undergraduate degree posted transcript.

The University of Phoenix also requires at least three years in the workforce and active employment in order to immediately apply concepts and provide insight during the classes.

In August 2003, after making the decision to take on this degree program, I communicated with an admissions counselor, paid an $85 application fee, and I was ready to begin classes. The rest of the story didn’t play out exactly as I expected, and there will be more about that in a future post.

This is Part 1 of a series about my experiences with the University of Phoenix Online. Here is what has been published so far.
* Part 1: The Decision
* Part 2: Admissions
* Part 3: Course Logistics
* Part 4: Curriculum
* Part 5: The Team Experience
* Part 6: Administration
* Part 7: Finishing Up

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About the Author

Flexo, the owner and creator of Consumerism Commentary, has been blogging and writing for the internet since 1995 and has been building online communities since 1991. Find out more about him and follow him on Twitter.

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  • Interestingly, the GMAT doesn't predict graduate school success, but it is considered a good enough indicator of actual intelligence to be admissable to Mensa. Since using it that way, I've questioned whether it was really true, seeing as I was the one who spent $250 to take a test when I could barely pay for groceries...
  • Mike
    So basically, anyone with $85 can get into the program?
  • ... And a GPA of at least 2.5, and active employment. Those who aren't right for an MBA program will end up dropping out after the first couple of classes, and even more drop out before the final three classes.
  • Mike
    Most schools that I'm familiar with with put you on probabtion and eventually expel you if you can't maintain a GPA of 2.0. A 2.5 GPA is not a very high standard. Active employment is an even lower bar. By those criteria, someone could have taken 10 years to graduate before securing a job at the local McDonald's and be UofP material. So basically, anyone with $85 can, essentially, get into the program.
  • Mike M.
    Yes, you are correct - admissions "standards" are not broad nor far reaching. However, as a recent graduate, I can certainly attest to the fact that those not willing to participate and perform work to an acceptable standard eventually fall by the wayside. If it is more important to you that the students with you in the beginning curriculum meet your definition of high calibre, then perhaps this isn't the best course. If, however, you are willing to work to get the most out of your education and take personal responsibility for your learning then you will do well. I was hung up on the low admission standards before enrolling. And yes, the beginning courses are attended by some folks simply "kicking the tires" that truly have no place in an MBA program. These unsuitable tire kickers eventually go away and you are left with high quality students that may be doctors, attorneys, business owners or command ships. Ultimately you must be comfortable enough with they notion that you are in charge of your own learning - not whether or not a classmate meets some pre-conceived notions of quality. Much as the real world is frought with poseurs - any program such as this will be full of them, too. They ultimately get exposed, especially in an online program that demands self motivation.

    Hope this helps.
  • Buck
    Traditional colleges such as the University of Washington, Northwestern University, and Arizona State are all very well respected and accredited Universities yet they are ran like a bureaucracy. Lots of red tape and very difficult to get things done. They also have a limited amount of classroom space. The GMAT helps weed out applicants in order to save physical space in their facilities.

    Since the University of Phoenix is done online and ran like a business things get done quick. The University of Phoenix is able to meet the demand because of their vast amount of resources. Think about it...If all of a sudden in Bellevue Washington 1000 people wanted to take the MBA program and the professor in Bellevue could only handle a workload of 30 people they could split the workload with professors around the country. Whats the difference? Your not going to see the guy anyway.

    The UPX is an accredited school. Just because the school is ran like a business does not de-value the degree people are receiving. Many online Unversities have been stripped of their credenitals yet the University of Phoenix is still going strong. Their programs offer what employers want and make it available for people to attend school. Stop your hating on the UPX people its not doing anyone any good.
  • Suzeeee
    Maybe you need to look up University of Phoenix Rip-Off site and tell 15 pages (30 complaints to a page) worth of people threatening to sue the u of p, what a great school it is.

    peace
    suzeee
  • Alias
    One correction. The University of Phoenix is NOT nationally accredited. They are regionally accredited. Regional accreditation is higher than national even though it seems backwards. Their credits are accepted everywhere!
  • Alias
    No matter what school, business, or company you are looking to get involved with, you can put the word "sucks.com" or "ripoff.com" after it and find something on everyone one.
  • ktombo
    Perhaps it may be true about "sucks.com or "ripoff.com", but the stories about UOP online are consistent throughout the years. Try having the credits accepted by Edinborough University or Stanford, for just two examples.

    A UOP degree is only good for having the piece of paper.

    It's a perfect example of being able to go through the motions, spend lots of money, only to end up with a meaningless degree.

    Same scenario: I have known several people who hold Cisco Certifications, but put them in front of a real CISCO product and they haven't a clue as to how to program it in even the simplest of ways. Perfect example is to ask them to reset the router password!
  • MmHmmm
    Oh and by the way, my friend went graduated from University of Phoenix with a 4.0 and was accepted by Harvard to the MBA program. Of course, he aced the GMAT, but still...clearly, a UoP degree is not meaningless.
  • Andrew
    ktombo: i 'spend lots of money' because i can and because i want to. i too am attempting Harvard entry. then i will have 2 'pieces of paper'.

    let me be more clear, i don't know anything because you said so. but when i write the check for all that schooling, it doesn't bounce. i must be doing some things right. maybe some other students are too.

    consider it.
  • JGKoenig
    I am thinking that the majority of the people that are attacking University of Phoenix have never actually taken any of their online classes. I am certainly not going to say that UoP is any competition for Harvard, but it does provided a very good education.
  • MmHmmm
    I am a recent graduate of University of Phoenix, and I can speak for myself and my fellow classmates when I say that we earned our degrees the hard way, just like any other college graduate. It is a very difficult program and does require a lot of time, perhaps more so than a regular university. Additionally, employers are beginning to catch on to, and even prefer, online education. It shows a true devotion to success, as the majority of attendees of online universities work full-time simultaneously. Look at it this way: an employer would much rather hire someone who has relevant work experience, displays time management skills, and has a degree from a regionally accredited university than hire someone who went to daddy's Alma Mater for 9 years (first 5 years for partying) with no work experience except Starbucks for three months.

    Also, to those who think UoP simply gives anyone with money a meaningless piece of paper with the word "Degree" on it....isn't this the case with all degrees?? Alas, we need these pieces of paper to get good jobs.
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