The average salary for UT's Master of Business Administration class of 2007 is $93,649, but students who join the program soon after earning a bachelor's degree may encounter trouble during recruiting season.

Ben Manwaring, a second-year MBA at Red McCombs School of Business and Teach for America veteran, said he had difficulty marketing himself to recruiters because he only had three years of work experience after earning his undergraduate degree. The average MBA student at McCombs has five years of work experience - three more years of experience than required.

"I had to work hard to let the [consulting firm] know why teaching was a good fit," Manwaring said. "If I had five years of work experience with a bank on Wall Street, that would have been an easier sell."

Manwaring said students' goals are important as well, and if they plan on getting a Ph.D. or working for nonprofit organizations, the lack of experience may not be a big deal.

"It's not the end of the world, but it has to do with where you want to go," Manwaring said.

In addition to dealing with the ups and downs of recruiting season, Manwaring said younger MBA students may have difficulty discussing cases and working with older students. The average MBA student is 28 years old, according to the McCombs Web site. Daniel Garza, assistant dean for McCombs' full-time MBA program, said the admissions process takes into account many factors, including the student's ability to adapt to different settings, even though he or she may not have the required work experience.

"When [young MBA students] do get here, they don't have the usual amount of professional experience, but they bring some other things to the academic profile that maybe someone who hasn't been in a classroom for five years wouldn't be able to," Garza said. "They have a healthy contribution."

Scott Humphreys, a first-year MBA student at McCombs with six years of work experience, said students need to have some sort of business background because MBA courses are taught differently than undergraduate courses.

"[Young MBA students] have to be the best and the brightest," Humphreys said. "They definitely are a major contributing part. I don't feel they're short-shifted, and I don't feel like they're a weight on anyone else."

Even though more students are applying with fewer years of experience, McCombs is not actively searching for young candidates specifically, Garza said.

"We literally only accept one or two young students per year out of a class of 260," Garza said. "We're always going to be interested in those candidates who exhibit the qualities we're looking for, and we recognize that you could have had other experiences that are a good indicator of your potential."

Schools are more open to admitting less-experienced candidates even though the majority of applicants and enrollments consist of those who have spent a significant amount of time in the workforce, he said.

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