kryzak wrote:
there are a few exceptions with top state schools, but unfortunately (for state school applicants), I have to agree with river's analysis. If you come from the top 3-5 state schools in the nation (Berkeley, Michigan, Virginia(?), UCLA), then your application will probably be treated pretty well by the adcoms of top MBA schools, but outside of that, it's either by a regional basis (like U of Illinois for the Midwest) or won't compare with top private schools.
It's definitely a sad reality...
I think this is truly overplayed. The reality is that most kids coming out of the state schools won't have very impressive work experience. If they're in IT, Accounting, or some other back office function that makes it difficult to show leadership - that is the reason they will get dinged, not because they went to University of Iowa or SUNY Buffalo. By the same principle - I dare anyone on this board to find me a Harvard, Princeton, or Yale undergrad who works as a staff accountant. I'd be truly impressed if someone showed me that.
Remember, Undergrad was quite a while ago for most people and selecting where you wanted to attend Undergrad was truly ages ago. I think Adcoms are far more concerned with what you've been doing the last 2 years than what you've been doing at any other point in time. It's the most accurate snapshot of what you will be like at B-School. People mature, change, turn around all the time and you want to make sure that you are catching them at their peak.
In fact, I think HBS and other schools really enjoy admitting students from state school backgrounds - as long as they are convinced that these are some of the top kids that graduated from their state school and they shot out of that school like a cannonball into a rapidly accelerating career with a lot of leadership/impact. It adds to the diversity of the class significantly.
I think it's the same thing for undergraduate admissions to a degree. Is the kid from Groton or Andover or Harvard-Westlake or some NYC prep school who graduated with honors likely going to succeed and be a good fit for Harvard or Princeton or Yale? You can bet on it. But can you fill your whole class with kids like this and turn away people just because they went to a public school in Alabama? No way.