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I'm going to apply for an MBA program within the next year and wanted to hear some of your thoughts. I graduated a top liberal arts school (Amherst) but my grades were average, just above a 3.0 actually. I'm going to be realistic and apply for programs I CAN get into instead of shooting for the top. Once at grad school, I plan to work in order to pay my way because I'm doing this partially to get away from home and start my own life.
Now some have recommended to me that unless I get into a top MBA program, it's really not worth the financial investment. Whereas, I was always raised to believe that it's not WHAT SCHOOL you went to that matters so much as what you did with your time there to maximize your investment. I'm about to invest a lot of time and money over the next several years and incur some debt, so I thought I'd at least ask: is it really worth the investment if I go to a school that isn't ranked in the top 20 or even 30 programs?
Any MBA (even from alleged Top 3 schools) has been fairly irrelevant to high-powered, selective employers for past ~15yrs
Smartest kids worked at investment banks/hedge funds post-college and simply/quickly rose through ranks, so MBA (from anywhere) since ~'95 has largely been a badge of shame, advertising someone who couldn't figure out how to be directly promoted up ranks in competitive industries
Would much rather hire a smart, industrious kid (even if weak GPA or college) who proved real-world-relevant skills via working with (and impressing) smart guys at some respected employer in real-world...whether at leading, wildly profitable investment banks/hedge funds or tech cos. or energy cos
Hell, would even consider (for marketing/sales jobs) a kid who showed talent figuring out how to market overpriced toilet paper at mundane places like P&G...or sugar water/junk food at mockable places like Coke or Pepsi or McD's
Work ethic and real-world shrewdness and skills tend to overshadow theoretic IQ/GPA within 2-4yrs post-college...will be rough road early on, esp in today's economy where many of today's recent elite lib arts grads are un/underemployed, but college/GPA becomes irrelevant if one earns respect of employers/peers at a respected, highly profitable co.
hsw, generally I agree with you but I staunchly disagree with you here.
Top consulting firms (MBB) send their consultants to top B-Schools as a prerequisite to move up in the industry.
Bulge-bracket investment banks send their investment banking analysts to B-School after their contract is up.
In addition, for many I-Bank analysts, a top MBA serves as a stepping stone to coveted PE and VC positions, and you cannot argue the power of the network at a Harvard or Wharton.
And Robinson Crusoe, you were raised to believe one thing by your parents / family - unfortunately they do not make the hiring decisions. Forget top-20, shoot for a top-10.
i feel like there's a lot of truth to what both of you are saying. i have several friends who are doing extremely well in their fields with just a bachelor's degree, but many of them are the types who would have done well even without a college degree for the reasons you listed: they have great work ethic, innovative problem-solving abilities, and the rock solid commitment to see their work through to the end. but my friends who are in business school are also pretty impressive themselves. you have to remember that in order to even GET INTO a top10 MBA program, you need to have a stellar resume.
i guess to clear up some confusion, it's worth listing some of my goals. i'm interested in becoming a serial entrepreneur in the tech/media field. it's what best fits my personality. i'm not suited to managing a large corporation. i work best starting something from scratch, working odd/long hours and making something grow. Then, when that project's completed, i start a new one. i've started two nonprofits, a student publication, and a failed dotcom while at school.
nothing extraordinary, i admit, esp in comparison to what a lot of students at top10 MBA programs have achieved. so i think that combined with my average GPA, I wouldn't have much of a chance at a top10 MBA, which is why I'm wondering if an MBA is the right path for me?
I have seen resumes of students admitted to top 10 MBA programs. I actually have resume books saved on my PC. Very few of them have worked 2 years of Investment Banking at Goldman / Consulting at McKinsey or served as a Navy SEAL or founded 50 churches in Africa or found a cure for Cancer. If you score well on your GMAT and construct a good story, I'd say you would be a competitive applicant with your entrepreneurial background. You attended Amherst and have good leadership skills / background, it's not like you attended University of Phoenix and worked at CVS for the past 5 years. Good luck, hope to see you on campus.
I agree with NYCAnalyst here, I know several guys who are graduates from the top schools (Stanford, UChicago, MIT and Columbia) and most of them had good grades and good work experience but they weren't superhuman. Also remember that a lot of the programs have classes of 500+ students and they are filling the spots with people from different backgrounds. So it's not only the X ones with the top GMAT or GPA.
I'm not telling you to apply to top 10 only, but there are plenty of programs in the top 25 that might be more accessible for you and still very good at the national or regional level.
1. You said you were applying for an MBA program, yet did not discuss your private work experience. It soudns as though you would be going directly from college (or perhaps one year afterwards) to the MBA
2. If you are seeking to be an entrepreneur, why get an MBA? Sure, a couple of classes would add value, but most of the others are tangential to your goals.
3. You have a degree from Amherst. A degree from a lesser school may undermine your brand. Be careful.
Whereas, I was always raised to believe that it's not WHAT SCHOOL you went to that matters so much as what you did with your time there to maximize your investment.
This is what people tell themselves to keep the myth alive that we have a classless society. The sort of opportunities both educational and afterward you're going to receive by going to a top program is rather different than what you're going to get at a mid-ranked program.
1. You said you were applying for an MBA program, yet did not discuss your private work experience. It soudns as though you would be going directly from college (or perhaps one year afterwards) to the MBA
2. If you are seeking to be an entrepreneur, why get an MBA? Sure, a couple of classes would add value, but most of the others are tangential to your goals.
3. You have a degree from Amherst. A degree from a lesser school may undermine your brand. Be careful.
S.
1. i graduated in 09, so i would be applying literally right after college with little work experience outside of various summer internships.
2. i don't have it all figured out...but part of the value of an MBA for an entrepreneur is the talent pool you meet at those programs. people with like-minded goals and the talent to help make it happen.
3. will do.
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