并不是只有投资银行家或者咨询师才能进入顶级MBA学院。事实上，脱离公司的羁绊反而能让你脱颖而出。

    当然，包括哈佛（Harvard）、斯坦福（Stanford）和沃顿（Wharton）在内的顶级商学院里还是充斥着高盛(GS)、麦肯锡和黑石(BX)的前雇员。但和21世纪第一个十年中期不同，现在每个商学院的新生年级都会为创业者保留一席之地。主管MBA招生的院长们正在为他们的创业实验室和其它项目寻觅有创业经验的学生，至于是成功还是失败他们并不在乎。

    这种变化不只是针对美国学生，对国际学生也一样重要。在过去，国际申请人需要依靠知名公司的名气才有机会进入名列前茅的学校，而现在，世界各地的创业者被顶级学校录取的现象屡见不鲜。

    我的公司最近服务的某个学生毅然辞去咨询工作，独立投身于全球科技行业。虽然几乎没人听说过她那家与清洁能源相关的公司，录取她的却可以说是全美最好的商学院。另一个成功的创业者挣脱公司的枷锁，开创了一家食品服务公司，这一小小的成功就足以让他加入排名前五的MBA。

    促成这个趋势的有几个因素。一部分是由于大众对创业公司的迷恋，商学院转而尊敬、赞赏今天的新一代技术性创业者所取得的巨大成就。同时，商学院也注意到一些顶级人才开始从其传统聚集地麦肯锡、高盛流向像Facebook这样更具创新性的公司。最后，学校也开始认识到走出当前的经济低谷的必经途径是由创业推动的增长，他们同样希望在这一转变过程中发挥自己的作用。

    除了扩大创业者的招生名额，商学院还投入巨资开设了新课程和新的创业项目。加州大学戴维斯分校（University of California Davis）最近宣布投资500万美元设立跨学科的创新和创业研究所，取代其成功的创业研究中心。而哥伦比亚大学商学院（Columbia Business School）则为三年级学生提供了内部创业项目。

    哈佛商学院也不甘人后，押注于更有创业精神的新一代商学院学生，其新开设的创新实验室为学生、创业者和当地企业提供交流想法和合作的据点。哈佛还新增了一门一年级课程：领导力培养的实地投入体验，其中的一项活动就是将学生分成小组，给予启动资金（3-5千美元），用于创建实体企业。

    You don't need to be an investment banker or consultant to land a spot at a top MBA program. In fact, breaking free from your corporate bonds can help differentiate you in a very positive way from your competitor in the next cubicle.

    Of course, the halls of the top B-schools -- Harvard, Stanford and Wharton to name a few -- are still teeming with alums of Goldman (GS), McKinsey, and Blackstone (BX). But today, unlike in the mid-2000s, spaces in each entering business school class are reserved for entrepreneurial types. MBA admissions deans are often looking for people who have launched successful, or even unsuccessful, businesses to fill spots in entrepreneurial labs and other programs.

    This shift has been important for international as well as American applicants. In the past, international applicants needed the brand of a well-known firm to have any real chance of admission to a leading school, but entrepreneurs from around the world are now regularly accepted to top schools.

    My firm recently worked with a student who had left behind the comforts of consulting to go it alone in the global technology space. While few had ever heard of her service, which is related to clean energy, she earned a spot in arguably the nation's top business school. Another successful entrepreneur left the trappings of corporate life behind to start a food services firm, the modest success of which has propelled him into a top-five MBA program.

    There are a few factors contributing to this trend. It is partly a result of the fascination with startups. Business schools have come to respect and admire the incredible value generated by today's generation of young, often tech-focused entrepreneurs. Also, business schools are noticing the migration of some top-tier candidates from more traditional firms like McKinsey and Goldman Sachs to more entrepreneurial firms like Facebook (FB). Lastly, schools are starting to believe that the way out of the current economic downturn is growth fueled by entrepreneurship, and they want to play a role in this transformation.

    As they recruit more entrepreneurs, business schools are investing heavily in new classes and entrepreneurship programs. University of California Davis recently announced a new $5 million investment in an interdisciplinary institute devoted to innovation and entrepreneurship, which builds on the school's successful Center for Entrepreneurship. And Columbia Business School is developing a third-year entrepreneur-in-residence program for its students.

    Similarly, Harvard Business School is making a significant bet that the next generation of business school students will need to be more entrepreneurially minded by launching an innovation lab that offers a hub where students, entrepreneurs, and local businesses can share ideas and collaborate. Harvard has also added a first-year course called Field Immersion Experiences for Leadership Development (FIELD), which, among other activities, splits students into groups and gives them seed funding ($3,000 to $5,000) to build a real company.

    可以肯定的是，你在商学院上第一堂课时，你左右的同窗中可能会有一个银行家或者咨询师，但很可能在前排或者几个座位之内也坐着一个创业者。

    毫无疑问，不是非得创建了下一个Facebook才能进入商学院，只要能证明公司的影响力（收入、客户增长等等）就足够了。即使你的公司最终失败了也能有所帮助。你可以以此证明你愿意承担审慎的冒险，而得到MBA学位将有助于你未来的成功。

    不管背景如何，每个商学院的申请者都必须证明自己的创业能力和热情，即使是那些最传统的申请人也不例外。没有创业背景者仍然可以在其工作或其他生活领域显示其创新或者“内部创业”能力。

    最后，如果你热爱金融或者咨询工作，别放弃。你仍然很有机会进入某所声誉卓著的商学院。但如果你想离开公司圈子，开创自己的事业，你同样也有希望加入顶级商学院，加油！

    Shawn P. O'Connor是Stratus Prep的创始人和首席执行官，该公司是位于纽约的备考及入学咨询公司。

    To be sure, when you are sitting in your first class at business school, you'll have a banker or consultant to your left or right. But you'll likely have an entrepreneur sitting on the other side, or at least within a couple of seats.

    It almost goes without saying that you don't need to have launched the next Facebook to gain admission to business school, as long as you can demonstrate your firm's impact (revenues, customer growth, etc.). Even starting a business that ultimately failed can help your chances. You can use the example to show your willingness to take measured risks and how you might grow from getting an MBA.

    No matter your background, everyone who applies to business school must demonstrate a capacity and passion for entrepreneurship. The schools are looking for this quality even from their most traditional applicants. Those who are not from an entrepreneurial background can still show how they have been innovative or "intrapreneurial" in their workplace or in other parts of their life.

    Ultimately, if you love your finance or consulting job, keep it. You will still have a strong chance of admission to a prestigious business school. But if you want to leave the corporate world and start your own company, you will also have a shot at a top program, so go for it!

    Shawn P. O'Connor is the founder and CEO of Stratus Prep, a New York-based test preparation and admissions counseling firm.