To Sofla and lepatron,
some quick replies:
1. I saw the LBS 2011 employment report out there on another thread, which would be more accurate than my very anecdotal evidence.
2. Also, the lag between this year's hiring and the 2014s is going to be 2 years, not sure where the world will go in that time. Banking is clearly not in a good state now, and certain sectors weren't hiring. Will it recover in 2 year's time? Consulting hiring is very healthy now (and I'll be heading that route), will it be healthy in a year or two? PE/VC traditionally is a much smaller pool of recruits to begin with than banking (many that start out thinking they want to do PEVC end up switching to something else). London is a good route to pursue that, especially with some of the mid-cap firms, but again, my rough sense is that things are not so great at the moment.
The impact of the UK visa issue is still not certain because it hasn't kicked in yet, but definitely some form of negative impact.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that it is quite hard to distinguish global effects from local (London) effects at the moment, given the state of flux. That said, most people have found jobs, will find jobs
3. I'd say the key difference between LBS and the US schools is the diversity in the student body, and of course, the location. Diversity drives better performance, if the academic research is to be believed, and LBS has had great results at the different MBA competitions. This diversity (not just nationality, but also in terms of work experience and age) extends from outlook to implementation styles. Thus you can go from an observation of "that's cool/interesting" to "that's actually a way that I never thought about, and is likely better".
Within the US schools, I would generalise that fit in terms of location, class size, emphasis/focus would be the differentiators. My friends really loved their exchange but all said - "After comparison, I'm very happy with LBS". I don't think that anyone had bad things to say - as has been said often, these are all great choices, pick the one that is right for you.
The exchange is a good opportunity to really explore other options, and not feel buyer's remorse. That said, I'm certain the people that came on exchange here felt very happy with their own parent school choice, and just appreciated having a chance to hang out in London for a few months.
In terms of impressions of schools, especially the ones you mention, I think that some of the generalisations play out - great academics and some superstar professors, but the rest of the impression is due to fit factors - smaller size=more collegial, bigger size=more transactional, some schools are more theoretical, and also strength of parent institution.
Hope that helps.
27 Dec 2011, 04:29
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