MBA Admissions Consultant
Joined: 26 Dec 2008
Posts: 2457
Location: Los Angeles, CA
Re: Kind of like a profile Eval
[#permalink]
02 Feb 2009, 12:17
I think you applied to the right range of schools - my guess is that if you applied next year again, you'll probably get similar results - a mix of dings and admits; maybe an additional admit or two, depending on how well you executed your application (and how well you interview), as well as who happens to be evaluating your applications (which is basically luck). From what little you wrote, your profile won't be out of place at the kinds of schools you're applying to (i.e. you won't be an outlier on either end of the spectrum).
As for whether to accept Darden this year or to risk applying next year, that's a tough call. The difference between Darden (or UCLA, Haas, Duke, Michigan, etc.) and a Chicago/Kellogg/Columbia/Sloan isn't really significant enough to wait an additional year in my opinion. Of all the schools outside the top-8, Darden does a pretty good job (arguably the best job?) of attracting the banks and consulting firms if that's what you're after. I could be wrong on that, but that's what I've seen in the past. If you're looking for careers and jobs outside of banking or consulting, then the difference between the bottom half of the top-16 and the top half is even less significant - arguably insignificant depending on your individual circumstances. But hey, everyone is different - some people really covet the name on their resume even if it won't have much of an impact on their career; going to b-school is as much a personal thing as it is a career thing for some people.
The job market is going to be rough. The question is for how long. As you may or may not know, job markets are "sticky" - they are usually the last to tumble, and the last to recover. So even if we're well on our way to recovery in say a year or so (i.e. the financial markets not only stabilize but are rising, consumer confidence is starting to increase, demand/orders are growing, etc.) the job market won't recover right away.
Medium- to long-term, things are going to be fine. We'll recover from this mess. But expect a real bumpy ride in the short-term - whether you go this year or next year. Expect recruiters to renege, expect to be fired/rehired and expect a lot of job hopping.