Preparation for the Online MBA

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The Online MBA (OMBA) at Questrom includes the essential quantitative and skill-development competencies of a rigorous graduate level credential for business management. As a result, some students may benefit from a refresher course or further exploration within key content areas such as statistics, economics and basic tools such as Excel. While OMBA does not require a formal prerequisite in these areas, students with previous exposure may absorb the course content more fully and more rapidly.  For your success, it is important that all incoming students are prepared for this fast-paced, integrated learning environment. If you have never studied business at the undergraduate or advanced level, or if it’s been a long time since you were last in a classroom taking quantitative study, voluntarily taking MBA Math prior to beginning the program may be valuable. Additionally, the Online MBA program requires a strong knowledge of Microsoft Excel, so we encourage all enrolled students to brush up on their Excel skills before the start of MOD 0. We’ve also found students with a familiarity with Statistics have been better prepared for the Online MBA, so depending on your skillset in this area, it may be beneficial to take a free statistics course as well. Details about each of the tools can be found below. Again, these courses are not required but may be helpful to your overall success in OMBA.

MBA MATH

This is a self-paced online quantitative skills course that takes between 15-30 hours to complete.  Participants will have access to 24 lessons across 5 subjects. The course will outline basic quantitative skills in finance, accounting, economics, statistics, and spreadsheets.

Some benefits of MBA Math via their website:

Skip What You Already Know

Every lesson provides a pre-quiz to allow experienced students to prove proficiency and move on to the next lesson. Students with no prior experience can skip the pre-quiz and start the lesson.

Self-Paced Math Lessons in a Business Context

Every MBA (or related MS) student learns the quantitative subjects that business leaders must know to make solid decisions. We teach MBA Math in the context of Finance, Accounting, Economics, Statistics, and Spreadsheets.

Hands-On Training with Drills & Solutions

After learning the concepts through the narrated lecture and seeing the formula summary, students work through drill exercises to analyze data and solve problems in common business scenarios using Excel spreadsheets.

Enrolled Online MBA Students are eligible to receive a discounted price of $120 by using a Questrom promotional code. In order to receive the promotional discount, please email us with your name and BU ID (listed on your admit letter) for further information and details on how to sign up.

Learn more about MBA Math

Excel Preparation

The Online MBA program also requires a strong knowledge of Microsoft Excel, so for those of you looking to refresh your skills, or even learn some new ones, we recommend taking a basic excel class prior to starting the program. Our partner edX has some great options, but you can use any resource that works best for you!

Statistics

Given the quantitative rigor of the Online MBA, some students may find taking a Statistics course prior to the start of the program beneficial.  Our partner, edX, offers several free statistics courses such as Statistics for Business, Introductory Statistics, and other quantitative courses. You can register and view all available offerings via the edX website.

Resources for preparation:

• edX (a Questrom School of Business partner)
• Khan Academy
• Coursera
• LinkedIn Learning