Acton School of Business The Acton MBA in Entrepreneurship

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Students Say - Academics
The Acton School of Businessâ€""the only business school I know of that exists for the sole purpose of preparing students to become entrepreneurs," one student writesâ€"offers the nation's closest version of boot camp for entrepreneurs. The program is designed to deliver two year's worth of training in a single year; as one student explains, this "condensed, 12-month program…requires at least nine months of focused attention," during which "students will be studying or attending class an average of 100 hours a week." No, that is not a misprintâ€"you really are doing school-related activities for about 100 hours per week. Logic follows that "It is impossible to work while in the program." When you're studying this much, travel time is a luxury you cannot afford and as a result "many students relocate near the campus." Acton MBAs undertake a "phenomenal" curriculum that focuses on analysis of 300 case studies. Instruction is delivered in the Socratic method, resulting in "students [who learn] to articulate, defend their arguments with reason and evidence, and ask insightful questions." As one student tells us, "By combining a pure case-study curriculum with the Socratic method, Acton requires students to not only learn the material, but understand it to the level that they can defend or attack it. By forcing the students to be integral to the discussion of the cases or the material, the students hold themselves much more accountable for the material." Acton's single-minded curriculum "focuses on entrepreneurs, [so] the classes are tightly integrated," one student explains. "All the classes are intentionally selected to build on each other." As you might well imagine, success here requires a huge commitment of time and intellectual ardor, but for most here "the rigor of the program is a draw." As one student put it, "I wanted to be tested in an environment that has pressures similar to what an entrepreneur faces in the real world." Others tell us that the "commitment required [means] Acton has a greater ability to be truly transformational." A program like this is only as good as its instructors, of course. Fortunately, professors receive high marks from Acton MBAs, who report that "Acton professors are all successful entrepreneurs and have each operated, bought, or sold several companies in their professional career." Capitalism purists will be pleased to learn that fundamental Smithian principles are applied even in their professors' pay system. "The teacher compensation plan involves a small base salary with bonuses based on student feedback," one student reports approvingly. "This compensation plan brings in only the best teachers who have a genuine love for teaching."

Students Say - Admissions
Acton looks for students who display perseverance, a curious intellect, and integrity. You must also demonstrate a high level of achievement in your undergraduate academic record, an aptitude for graduate study as evidenced by your GMAT score, and a history of leadership and involvement in extracurricular activities. With such a low enrollment (around 40 students currently), Acton takes a personal interest in getting to know their applicants. In addition to essay questions and letters of recommendation, every student is personally interviewed before being admitted to the program.

Students Say - Campus Life
"There's never a dull moment at Acton," where schoolwork consumes pretty much every waking hour. "A typical day begins at 6 A.M. with study group and ends as you close your last case at midnight or later....Make no mistakeâ€"life at Acton is tough." Students "do ten cases a week, each requiring five to eight hours worth of prep time." As one student puts it, "The schedule sounds ridiculous and readers of this will assume that I am exaggerating. Let me assure you that there is no exaggeration here. One hundred hours a week is every bit as intense and uncomfortable as you can imagine. The trade-off to this hectic schedule is the learning that follows. You don't notice as you're working throughout the semester, but you actually retain every bit of it." While there's not much time for leisure activities, "Acton hosts a couple of dinners each semester for students and their significant others; these gatherings are a time to relax, socialize and swap ideas for how to handle the rigor of Acton." Students enjoy a strong esprit de corps. One explains that "because Acton has a small student population, you get to know everyone well. The social environment is fun and students band together to help each other." It should come as no surprise that Acton students are "intense," "focused," and "ultra-competitive."

Students Say - Careers
Acton administrators tell us that "Many schools rely on a centralized Career Services Office to send out thousands of resumes to hundreds of employers. Our approach is completely different. Through the Life of Meaning course, we rely on students to identify a specific job at a specific company that will be the next stepping stone to achieving his or her lifelong goals. Once a professor is convinced that a student has made a considered choice, the professor will call that employer to make a personal introduction." Students confirm this, reporting that "the Life of Meaning course gives you the tools to define a career that's both meaningful to you and impactful to the world."

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