Is Haas a regional school?

Question

I'm thinking about applying to Haas, but am on the fence as I'm not sure if I'd stay out in SF post MBA. From looking on linkedin, it seems that the great majority of Haas alumni are in SF (53%) and a small amount in NYC (5%) - where I live now and will likely end up. Does it not make sense to apply to Haas unless I'm sure about staying in SF if I go there? I'm a bit concerned that the network could be super small in NYC given the low percentage and small class size. I run my own business currently and am looking to transition into early stage VC.

HealthcareMBAGuy · Answer

Based on your career goals it sounds like Haas is actually a perfect fit to be honest. Also, I would double check those LinkedIn statistics - are you sure that doesn't include the Part Time and Executive MBA programs?

jessepinkman · Answer

its not broken out on linkedin so it likely includes PT, EMBA, and undergrads which will naturally boost the SF %. Having said that, 24,201 alumni on linkedin - 12,928 in SF and 1,097 in NYC

Stang523 · Answer

When I visited a couple months ago they shared statistics and the majority of alums are in fact in the Bay Area (unfortunately can't recall the exact percent), so it is regional in the sense that there is more of a concentration. That said, they do have alumni all over, and part of that visit included a presentation by Career Services - which was very impressive - and they spoke the concept of being able to "activate" pockets of alumni to assist those looking in other areas. Though NY probably still has a critical mass of alums so it would be less of an issue than someone like myself who may want to return to the Midwest (where there are less).

And as the previous poster mentioned, for your career goals from a purely functional perspective, Haas is very strong for entrepreneurship/VC and likely can get you where you want to go, so I personally wouldn't sweat it too much.

And as the previous poster mentioned, for your career goals from a purely functional perspective, Haas is very strong for entrepreneurship/VC and likely can get you where you want to go, so I personally wouldn't sweat it too much.

north200 · Answer

My two-cents. I believe Haas (Stanford is relatively similar) has more students stay "regional" than other schools by choice. The Bay Area is already one of the top locations for post-MBA jobs due to the number of new, exciting, and innovative companies in the area. When you add weather, topography, and the sheer amount of activities there are to do in Northern California, you end up with a lot of people that don't want to leave. This has pros and cons. One drawback may be that some recruiters from non-traditional locations choose not to recruit at Berkeley because they don't anticipate a solid yield. Haas has such a strong reputation that it is certainly not regional but it may take a bit more effort to get to under-the-radar locations. Many, many, many students do still leave: the most popular U.S. destinations tend to be NYC, Boston, Los Angeles, Texas, Seattle, and Chicago but the alumni network might be a bit smaller. Some alums also tend to leave the Bay Area a few years post-graduation.

bb · Answer

Is Haas a regional school?

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