Agnes Scott’s Women’s Bridge to Business is a three-week intensive program in partnership with Georgia Institute of Technology’s Scheller College of Business. During the sessions, students of all majors are exposed to various modules and classes that include interview prep, previews of GA Tech MBA courses, personal finance, and even self-improvement classes such as public speaking. Even if you don’t have an interest in earning an MBA, or any form of upper education, this program provides great exposure for students willing to sacrifice the time and commitment before the start of the fall semester.
Bridge to Business Scholars ‘17, Craig Bromley Photography
After participating in this year’s Bridge to Business program, I took into consideration some of the suggestions and concerns that my peers shared with the group. I wanted to know whether past scholars shared the same concerns and hoped that having this information would help future participants in making their decision for applying to the program.
Hence, I gathered information from twenty past participants who were willing to answer a short, informal, survey about their experiences with the Bridge to Business program. I received some interesting findings.
One of the concerns that arose from participants of this year’s program was the accessibility to non-business majors, considering the name of the program containing “business” in its title. Based on the survey results, most participants felt like the program was not only accessible, but also clearly stated that the program was inclusive of all majors (measured on a numerical scale of 1-5, 1 being not encouraging and 5 being very encouraging; average rating of 4.05). Even more so, only 30% of the respondents were business majors when they participated in the program. Though, it is understandable how some applicants may feel intimidated by the name of the program, especially if they feel like their major has nothing to do with business.
A Public Health major from 2017 explained, “I was concerned that most of the students would be Business or Econ Majors, which would mean that they would have more knowledge and exposure on the topic of business.” Yet her advice to future participants was positive, “I would definitely encourage everyone to participate in the B2B program, especially non-business majors. This is your chance to learn about the different components of business, and how they can help you in your future decisions and career.” Even a business major from the same year had concerns before the start of the program, “I thought it would be difficult or very boring because I didn’t know much about the program. [B]ut it turned out to be very interesting and although it wasn’t easy, it wasn’t too challenging to the point where I was frustrated or wanted to give up. I came home inspired everyday.” Overall, the program appears to be accessible to every major like it is advertised.
Another concern that arose was how the program was introduced to students. If you check your ASC P.O. box regularly, you probably have received a B2B brochure at some point. However, more than half of the respondents inquired that they found out about the program through emails from Dr. Will (the ASC program coordinator) and/or the Irvine, and simply by word of mouth. All information about the program may not be expressed in those messages, though, as my peers expressed.
One last major concern referred to the payment of the program. As explained on the financial aid page, the cost of the program is $450 per credit, B2B being a six credit course. Essentially, the program is just a little under $3,000. There are scholarship and other financial aid opportunities for students. Exactly 75% of the participants paid for the program with scholarships from Agnes Scott, and a little over half of those same participants covered the rest of the cost with personal and/or family contributions. What I found shocking was that the program was once not only free, but students received a stipend to participate. Only respondents who participated as far back as 2011 provided this answer.
There were many participants who had extremely positive experiences from the program and left great advice for future applicants:
“[T]he public speaking session [was] my biggest fear. However, I chose to ignore that, participate anyway, and I have my speech. The man leading the session said, ‘I never would have thought you were so scared,’ after I described my nervousness. It was a liberating experience.” – B2B 2016, International Relations major, Business Management minor
“It definitely was a topic of conversation in interviews when I was applying for jobs. People automatically recognize the Georgia Tech business school name and automatically have questions and want to hear about that experience. I have used skills and methods that I learned in B2B almost every day in my corporate world job. B2B really gave me a glimpse into how I could expect the work force to look like.” – B2B 2015, Neuroscience major
“It’s a great program for students who are not business or econ majors! It has come in handy in my personal life and law school.” – B2B 2012, English Literature-Creative Writing and French major, Political Science minor
And as many positive responses as there were, there was also suggestions on future improvements for the program:
“My suggestion would be to include practical learning opportunities for the participants along with the theoretical foundation. Provide the participants with an opportunity to hear and learn from men and women who actually own businesses both small and large so that they are better prepared to make decisions about what types of business they are truly interested in.” – B2B 2012, Psychology major
“I wish the projects had been scattered a little more. There was a time crunch towards the end of the program because it wasn’t possible to start on the projects until after we had had the appropriate modules.” – B2B 2017, Economics major
“I think it should be longer to go more in depth on certain subject matters instead of surface level examinations.” – B2B 2012, Political Science and History major
With the consideration of these experiences and opinions of the program, hopefully, future applicants will be more informed about all that the Bridge to Business program entails from student perspectives. And, of course, if you still have questions or concerns, you can email the director of the program, Dr. Thomas Will (search it in your ASC email) or you can visit the official webpage to view more information.