Re: What really is the difference?
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30 Jan 2009, 18:08
I think this is a concern that almost everyone deciding on a business school spends some time thinking about. There's a lot that could be said on the subject, so I'll try to keep my thoughts as brief and organized as possible. I'm going to address it as a job-related question because people can make their own personal choices based on location, family, weather, city-size, etc.
First, I think the cluster system is the best way to look at the various schools, and for this discussion I'll limit it to ultra-elite, elite and other. I can tell you from my own experience that folks at schools in the 'other' category do not have nearly the same opportunities as people in the elite and ultra-elite categories for jobs that are most popular and competitive among MBA students. These jobs include top consulting, banking, a few of the elite general management roles and the hot companies/industries of the day (Google today, maybe green tech tomorrow or whatever). Certainly, I've met students from UNC, Texas, Vandy, etc. that have landed good jobs, but there have definitely been some situations where it would have been quite unusual to see students from outside the E/UE schools. The difference between elite and ultra-elite tends to relate more to very specific and in-demand jobs and industries (not surprising). So, if you're hoping to land at a hedge fund or in venture capital, being at an ultra-elite will definitely give you a leg up, all things being equal. For the more traditional highly competitive MBA roles like banking and consulting, there is a much smaller difference between elite and ultra-elite.
There's a missing element that people tend to forget (or never consider in the first place) when assessing different schools, and that is that different individuals will have different advantages based on their own backgrounds. I would encourage people to consider how their backgrounds and their perspective schools fit into the puzzle.
Here's an example: If I'm interested in banking and have the right pedigree (ivy league school, bulge-bracket analyst experience, etc.) then my best bet would probably to get to a place like Wharton or Columbia that sends tons and tons of people into banking every year. On the other hand, if I'm interested in banking but have a non-traditional pedigree, I think it would be a tough road competing against a multitude of fellow classmates with spot-on profiles; I might have a much better chance at a school where the competition is less focused. If a firm comes to campus and wants to put 100 people on their closed list and you have 200 classmates who worked at bulge-bracket banks before school, you might have a tough go of it as a career-switcher. I'll use my own case as an example. I had no finance in my background (entrepreneur, law as some of you know) but was able to land on 20+ closed lists (basically every one I applied to) last year for investment banking internships. Speaking with friends from other schools I've met along the way, if I were at Columbia for example, I doubt I would have been selected for 1/2 as many. My pedigree would have been lost among the crowd there.
Another huge factor that cannot be overlooked is that you'll have a 1000% better opportunity to land a job if the firm/industry you are interested in recruits on campus. This is a subject that has been widely discussed many times in various threads, but keep it in mind because it's really really important. Some schools may list a whole bunch of employers that recruit at the school, but some are just job postings (generally worthless), some are just presentations by HR folks (better, but not great), and some are bona-fide recruiting relationships where firms host events and interview on campus (and perhaps give out offers on the spot). Big, big difference and definitely worth doing a little digging before making a final decision.
If you're thinking about doing a non-traditional job search, the strength and responsiveness of the alumni community is a huge factor. All schools like to say they have a great alumni network, but in speaking with friends at other schools, there are major differences between schools in responsiveness and what you can expect when reaching out to alumni. Tuck and Darden have always been leaders in this area - not surprising given the out-of-the-way locations and small, tight student communities. I'll tell you from my experience that community cohesiveness across generations is noticeably strong here, while friends at other schools have negligible expectations when they reach out to their alums, especially older ones. This isn't going to matter much to you if you're looking for a traditional role with a firm that recruits on campus, but it could make all the difference in the world if you want to explore a new part of the country (or world) or try to get into a different industry or perhaps one that doesn't have a well-developed MBA recruiting plan.
Going back to the OP, would it be worth it to take a scholarship at an elite over an admit at an ultra-elite? Hard to answer, and conditions could really change depending on the economy, strength in various industries, personal goals, etc. I'll use my own example again. Given how crappy the economy is and how tough the job market as been (especially for finance roles), being on a full scholarship has really taken a lot of the pressure off. On the flip side, I've hard that things have been particularly tough this year at schools that traditionally send a lot of folks into banking (I'm sure nobody is surprised by this). Things might be different if the economy was booming. If we consider another hypothetical, say if we were in the middle of a tech boom, people in Charlottesville might feel left-out if all the action is in Silicon Valley. So, it's really hard to say which situation (scholarship / higher ranked school) would be more advantageous without knowing the future.
So, consider your goals, the firms and industries that your perspective schools have relationships with, how your personal background fits without what a schools offers/demands, your own financial situation, where you want to live in the future and how comfortable you will be in each situation. It's hard to give any definitive answers because the questions and answers are so personal, but the good news is that, in my opinion, the vast majority of people at all of the elite & ultra-elite schools are very happy.
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