cole2012 wrote:
So, what's the deal here? Does it place too many MBAs (~30%) into Tech to be ranked near Wharton or Columbia? Why is it not on par with MIT, whose strengths of tech and entrepreneurship are arguably *bettered* by its Cali rival? Is the network perceived as too West Coast? By that logic, shouldn't Kellogg and Booth be hampered by being so Midwest?
I think it has to do with it's West Coast location, which in turn leads to it's West Coast placement. The last employment report Haas published showed 60% stayed in the SF Bay area. That's a lot! I think this factor is why some folks might apply to Stanford for the brand name but not Haas. Anyone serious about Tech or placement in the Bay area will apply to both Stanford and Haas.
What it boils down to is that the West Coast schools like Stanford, Haas and Anderson are more regional by nature, though Stanford's brand definitely trumps that. What I mean is when you look at employment reports it looks like schools in the midwest and northeast are able to place a significant amount of students out west along with their regions, whereas the west coast schools a dominant majority on the west coast and just a few in other regions. To illustrate, Kellogg isn't "too midwest" because they place 35% of their class in the midwest, 18% in the northeast, and 18% on the west coast. That shows any applicant to Kellogg that not only can a Kellogg MBA place you in all major markets, but wherever you land, you'll have a solid network. By contrast, returning to Haas' employment report, they place 60% in the Bay Area, 5% in SoCal, and just 2.2% in the Northeast and 1.7% in the midwest.
Using myself as an example, I know Haas is a tremendous school, but seeing how I'm interested in ending up in NYC post-MBA, there were better options (I applied to Kellogg based on the reported 11% that end up in NYC). Again, it's not impossible to go from Haas to NYC, but when you do, it doesn't look like the network in NYC will be strong since most Haas grads don't choose to go that route.
By comparison, Stanford reports 60% placement on the West Coast, just 1% midwest, but a pretty solid 19% in the northeast...and again, it's strong reputation leads many applicants to go with the H/S/W application strategy based purely on brand because those schools are so different. Ultimately this leads to Haas drawing less applications - HBS has about 9000/yr, GSB ~6600/yr, and Wharton ~6400/yr...I think Haas is in the ~3400/yr range, and when you have less applications, the perception is that you get less choice of the "best" applicants.
This is probably more than you cared to read on a Saturday afternoon, but yes, I agree, Haas is under appreciated and usually placed near the bottom of the top 9, but anyone applying there as a "backup" to Stanford needs a reality check - it's about as selective as HBS! (12%)
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25 Feb 2013, 21:04
