花老板的钱去读MBA商*

各大公司正在用一种相当特别的工作待遇来吸引顶尖的本科毕业生人才：把他们送进研究生院的大门。

As a means of attracting stellar young hires, an increasing number of firms in finance, consulting and technology are shepherding employees through the graduate-school admissions process by organizing and paying for test-preparation courses, inviting admissions consultants to help with applications, arranging mock interviews with senior staffers and even bringing school representatives to information sessions at the office.

作为一种吸引优秀新人的方式，金融、咨询及科技领域越来越多的公司开始帮助员工申请研究生，包括组织员工参加备考课程并提供学费，邀请申请顾问协助申请，安排由高级员工模拟的面试，甚至邀请学校代表参加公司的信息交流会。

Companies support staffers attending a number of graduate programs, but business school is by far the most common destination.

公司支持员工入读各种研究生项目，但目前商是最普遍的选择。

It may seem counterintuitive to encourage employees to head for the exits, but firms say that assisting with the graduate-school application process leads to long-term loyalty and, with strings attached to tuition money, improves the chances that employees will return after graduation. (Most companies reimburse employees only after they've been back for a number of months or even years.)

鼓励员工离开公司似乎有悖常理，但这些公司表示，从长远来看，帮助员工申请研究生有助于增强员工的忠诚度，而且由于有学费的附带条件，更能增加员工毕业后回到公司的几率。（大多数公司在员工回到公司几个月甚至几年后才会报销学费。）

Such programs have been in place for a while, but have grown more popular in recent years as the recruiting process heats up.

此类项目的出现已经有一段时间了，但随着招聘市场升温，近几年开始越来越流行。

Employees generally begin applying to business school two or three years into their tenure. The prep programs, some of which require formal applications and a manager's sign-off, are generally geared toward high-potential employees and direct those employees toward top schools.

员工一般都会在入职两三年后开始申请商。这种预备项目一般都是针对潜力较大的员工，帮助这些员工入读顶尖学校，其中有些项目需要正式申请以及管理者的签字同意。

Corporate interest in the GMAT course at Manhattan Prep picked up about six years ago and has grown steadily since, says Evyn Williams, senior manager of marketing and corporate relations at the New York-based test-prep company.

纽约Manhattan Prep是一家提供备考服务的公司。该公司市场及企业关系高级经理威廉姆斯（Evyn Williams）说，六年前左右，企业对该公司GMAT课程的兴趣开始增加，并且从那以后一直稳定增长。

Manhattan Prep's client list -- it boasts more than 40 corporate partnerships including dedicated classes and discount rates -- reads like a who's who of feeders for (and recruiters from) elite graduate business schools, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Boston Consulting Group Inc., Deloitte Consulting LLP and Google Inc.

Manhattan Prep表示其已与40多家公司建立了合作关系，服务包括各类专门的课程，并提供折扣价格。公司的客户名单看起来就像是精英商的人才输送库（同时也是招聘大户），包括高盛集团（Goldman Sachs Group Inc.）、波士顿咨询公司（Boston Consulting Group Inc.）、德勤咨询公司（Deloitte Consulting LLP），以及谷歌（Google Inc.）。

Hoping to snag top talent, BCG began supporting GMAT test preparation in 2005 and brought courses on-site in 2008, though more recently it shifted to online courses to better accommodate traveling employees.

为抓住顶尖人才，波士顿咨询公司从2005年开始提供GMAT备考支持，2008年开设现场课程，直到最近开始提供网络课程，以更好地照顾到出差的员工。

Jennifer Comparoni, head of Americas recruiting at BCG, says the support available for graduate-school applicants is 'absolutely' part of the company's recruiting pitch when hiring undergraduates.

波士顿咨询公司美洲地区招聘主管卡姆帕罗尼（Jennifer Comparoni）说，对申请研究生的员工提供的支持“绝对”是公司在招聘本科毕业生时招聘策略的一部分。

The firm also partners applicants with more senior employees who hold M.B.A.s to assist in crafting essays and preparing for interviews. The aid doesn't end once the employee gets an acceptance letter: about 75% of associates are offered full-tuition sponsorship for up to two years of graduate school, with reimbursement upon return to the firm after graduation.

该公司还将申请者与更资深的拥有MBA学位的员工配对，让后者帮助申请者修改文书和准备面试。公司给予的帮助并不是在员工拿到录取信时就结束了：约75%的员工会获得最多两年研究生学业的全部学费资助，毕业后回到公司就可以报销。

Ms. Comparoni declined to provide financial details of the admissions assistance programs, but it could easily run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars at many companies, and more for those that cover school tuition.

卡姆帕罗尼拒绝提供申请协助计划所花资金的具体情况，但很多公司的花费动辄就达到数十万，报销学费的公司花的钱就更多了。

Manhattan Prep charges a retail price of $1,590 for its nine-week GMAT course, and while corporate partners do get a discount, Ms. Williams says many still pay more than $1,000 per person. Class sizes generally range from 15 to 25 people, and some clients sell out sessions at multiple offices. Manhattan Prep has run about 40 dedicated corporate classes in the past year.

Manhattan Prep的GMAT课程共九周，零售价为1,590美元。威廉姆斯说，虽然企业合作伙伴能拿到折扣价，但很多公司给每位员工所付的学费都在1,000美元以上。班级人数一般为15到25人，有些客户会在各个办事处安排课程。Manhattan Prep过去一年开设了约40个企业班。

Washington Post Co.'s Kaplan Test Prep also has been teaming up with companies for years, but Howard Bell, vice president of graduate programs, says there's recently been 'significant growth' there as well. The company declined to provide details of its corporate rates, but retail courses at a Kaplan center cost $1,599 per student, while virtual courses range from $599 to $949.

华盛顿邮报公司（Washington Post Co.）旗下的备考机构Kaplan Test Prep多年来也一直在与各大公司合作，其研究生项目副总裁贝尔（Howard Bell）说，最近公司也出现了“显著增长”。该公司拒绝透露面向企业客户课程的具体价格，其一家培训中心的零售课程价格为每人1,599美元，网络课程的价格为599至949美元不等。

'It's a very significant investment, both financially and time-wise, but we see it as one of the most important things that we do in terms of developing our practitioners,' says Julie Meehan, a principal at Deloitte who oversees undergraduate recruiting for the strategy and operations practice.

米韩（Julie Meehan）是德勤负责战略管理咨询岗位本科毕业生招聘的主管。她说，从资金和时间上来看，这都是一项巨大的投资，但我们把它看作是在我们培养咨询执业者方面所做的最重要的事情之一。

Ms. Meehan says the broad perspective that business school provides helps with consulting assignments that require creative problem-solving.

米韩说，咨询业务需要创造性解决问题的能力，商提供的宽广视野对此很有助益。

An M.B.A. may not be a requirement, but it's still very much a rite of passage at many companies.

MBA学位可能并不是硬性要求，但在许多公司，它差不多仍然是一种必经之路。

'You need to get your M.B.A. to move up the ranks' and become a principal in the strategy and operations group, Ms. Meehan says.

米韩说，拿到MBA才能升职，才能成为战略和运营团队的核心人物，

Erin Kruse, a Chicago-based manager in the strategy service line at Deloitte, says the company's support for business school 'was a key point' in her decision to take the job offer in 2006. Ms. Kruse, 28 years old, returned to Deloitte last fall after completing