MBA preparation: Four pre-MBA courses to help you succeed
Some MBA programs will require that students possess, right from the beginning, core skills in accounting, finance, math, and analytics. While you may have brushed up on your skills to prepare for the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), there’s probably room for further study in order to be ready for the inevitably daunting first three months of your MBA program. While you’re adjusting to a rigorous new schedule that includes extensive nightly reading and lecture preparation, the last thing you want to have to do is go back to the drawing board on quantitative math or data analysis. You don’t want to experience the sinking feeling of listening to a lecture and drawing a complete blank on linear regression analysis while everyone else in the room seems totally at ease.
Fortunately, there is a free online MBA preparation series from Imperial College Business School designed to help you get fully up to speed and ready to go on day one of your MBA. These courses, offered by the Imperial College in London, serve as an MBA boot camp that you can complete online, on your own time, and in any order. Each course is four to six weeks long. You can take them alongside your GMAT prep, but they are also great to take during the months just prior to starting your MBA program.
The essential MBA preparation
1. Accounting
Learn to read income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements and find out how to turn financial data into well-informed business decisions.
2. Finance
Understand the core concepts of finance including capital budgeting, asset allocation, company valuation, and the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM).
3. Math
Learn and practice the various types of linear equations used throughout an MBA program and practice how to use calculus to optimize profit. Understand net present value, compound interest, and other key mathematical concepts.
4. Data analysis
Skills in statistics and data analysis are essential for business. With the amount of data collected growing exponentially due to the Internet of Things (IoT), it’s more important than ever to know how to process, interpret, and make key decisions from data.
Bonus: Sustainability
Learning about sustainability can help set you apart as you enhance your business knowledge. Sustainability impacts business decision making, policy formulation, and competitive strategy development, making it essential for future business leaders and policymakers to understand. In the Climate Change: Financial Risks and Opportunities program you’ll discover the financial aspects of climate change, explore risks and opportunities for investors, learn about investment policies, and examine risk management strategies in response to environmental risks. The Introduction to Corporate Sustainability, Social Innovation, and Ethics program offers a broader perspective on sustainability, addressing corporate sustainability, business ethics, and social innovation.
Don’t stop here. Find many more courses and programs on edX that dive deeper into business administration, accounting, finance, free cash flow, math, data analysis, and sustainability. Enroll now and take courses from respected universities and institutions worldwide.
Last updated: January 2024