What lessons are MBAs learning about income inequality and economic disparity?
As income inequality becomes an increasingly divisive issue, many of today’s MBA students are choosing to forgo the path of traditionally coveted Wall Street jobs. Learn why in our roundup of top business school news.
Wall Street jobs lose appeal
Is Wall Street—once the dream destination for many MBAs—falling out of favor? One business school admissions dean thinks so. William Dudley, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York who is spearheading an effort to improve behavior on Wall Street, says some students who see themselves as “highly ethical” are avoiding careers in finance. During a Q&A session following a speech he gave to the Economic Club of New York, Dudley noted that although Wall Street jobs have been traditionally the most sought after among MBAs, “a number of people there from the academic community said that people who think of themselves as highly ethical, people of high integrity, were deciding not to go into the financial business because they were concerned that that was not up to their standards.” (Bloomberg Businessweek)
Meet Fisher’s Class of 2017
Looking for an MBA program that has a great location, strong alumni network, generous financial aid packages, and strong employment stats? Of course you are! Take a look at Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business. Its most recent class profile reflects a true melting pot that includes everyone from a salsa dancer, to a lieutenant in the Navy, to a corporate lawyer, to a bionutritionist. One student even flipped the script, going from being an admissions officer to prospective MBA. The members of the new class averaged 664 on the GMAT, with scores ranging from 600 to 720. Students who took the GRE route (yes, this is one of the 90% of top schools that accept the GRE) scored an average of 156 in both verbal and quantitative. (Poets & Quants)
Choose your program wisely
At Kaplan, we encourage prospective MBAs to be introspective about not only why they want to go to business school, but also where they want to go to business school. Unlike your days as an undergraduate, when other colleges would generally accept almost all of your credits, transferring MBA programs with the same level of success and seamlessness is next to impossible. “It’s actually very challenging for someone to transfer in,” says the assistant dean of graduate programs at the George Mason University School of Business. At top-ranked Fuqua, transferring isn’t an option at all. In short, do your research, ask questions, and make a sound decision. (U.S. News & World Report)
MBAs discuss income inequality
Coinciding with the downward trend in MBAs pursuing Wall Street jobs, the issue of income inequality has become a hot button issue in American politics, as class and wealth consciousness are issues that many presidential candidates are talking about. The issue is also being discussed in one of the most unlikely of places: the MBA classroom. The business schools of MIT, Harvard, and Northwestern have all recently introduced new courses and research investments that explore income inequality in both the United States and in other countries. While some of the courses look for remedies, others try to help students market to less affluent consumers. “Everyone’s waking up to the seriousness of the problem,” said Thomas Kochan, a professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management. (The Wall Street Journal)
Avoiding business school debt
You cannot think about attending business without thinking about how to pay off the loans you are likely to take out to finance it. Some business schools are a lot more generous than others in terms of merit-based aid (business schools only give out a small amount of needs-based aid). A new study of nearly 250,000 student loan refinancing applications filed through bank alternative SoFi over the past year shows that there are MBA programs where graduates’ earnings quickly outpace any debt incurred. That’s something to consider when deciding where to enroll. (Business Insider)
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