A Free MBA?!
I was scrolling along my Instagram feed, as many people do, when an ad for a free MBA program pops up! What? How could that be possible? I had never really been the entrepreneurial type, but I knew that a Masters degree in Business Administration was universally recognized as a crucial part of understanding how businesses work, from strategy and innovation to operations and accounting. And if it was free, there was literally no downside except for using my time, which would otherwise be spent doing less productive things. I had to check this out.
If you can’t wait and need to check out this site now you can click here.
It’s the Real Deal
So it turned out that this was a real program that was launched in 2015 by an educational technology company called Pedago. Smartly is licensed by the Washington DC Office of the State Superintendent of Education Higher Education Licensure Commission. This means that Smartly confers a licensed MBA degree. Since Smartly is still in beta and has recently launched, it is currently awaiting formal accreditation, which usually takes approximately four years.
How it works
So once I found out that the program was legit, I checked out what the program entailed. It turns out that the Smartly program is entirely online, and has a unique and interactive site and app that allows you to complete courses directly on the application! The other great thing about the program is that the lessons are at your own pace. It is perfect for the modern day professional who is super busy but wants to make productive use of their free time. So I filled out the application which was fairly extensive. According to their site, they are able to provide this MBA for free because they have very low admission rates and also charge employers to access their career network in order to hire new Smartly graduates!
I found out in early March that I was a member of the August 2017 graduating class of the Smartly MBA program! I know what you’re thinking: How could I be graduating in August? Smartly’s coursework consists of 9 concentrations that each take about 5 hours to complete. These online classes combined with interaction with classmates on the online forum, and two exams create the MBA. That still doesn’t answer the question of how this is comparable to a business school. After all, Smartly boasts that its program is comparable to a top 10 business school.
In an independent academic study, Smartly users performed better than MBA students from HBS, Stanford, Wharton, and Fuqua in a test of accounting, and performed as well as the MBA students in a test of finance. While there will be benefits to a traditional physical school including the in-person interactions among professors and students and the collaborative project-based assignments that are hard to emulate perfectly online, we are proud that the quality of the instruction rivals that of the top-10 business schools worldwide.
Progress
So far I have finished the Business Operations, Accounting, and Economics concentrations and have really enjoyed the experience. I am learning a lot and the app is very easy to use. Whenever I have a small chunk of time to spare, I can knock off a few lessons, with each one taking approximately 5-7 minutes. One of the best things about the program though is the career network.
Because the program is selective, it attracts a lot of quality employers to the network to look for high quality MBA candidates. Smartly generates a unique and attractive resume profile for each of its students that employers can view based on the extensive application that students filled out. Once admitted, you can update the profile and fine tune it to your liking. It allows you to highlight skills, work experience, career interests, work preferences, and even allows you to list personal websites and social media accounts.
Apply!
The Smartly MBA is constantly looking for new applicants, and unlike many business schools, it doesn’t require a GMAT or GRE test to get in, although it wouldn’t hurt. Smartly is changing the game! I will be sure to fill you all in on my progress. Check out Smartly for yourself! I highly recommend it!