Top 20 Bschools Strengths and Weaknesses

Question

The Business School judgements and stereotypes!  
This is THE thread for "Which business school should I choose question?" Regardless of whether you are just thinking about the GMAT, done with it, writing applications or thinking about which school to apply to, THIS is the place for you. I invite applicants, current students and alums to contribute to this thread with information, arguments and some friendly banter. But before that, here are a couple of interesting data set that I collected in the past few days!

HBS  Strengths: 
   Ultimate BSchool authority with very few people questioning its Top spot in the rankings. Regardless where you are in the world, everyone knows Harvard 
  Reports about students being pretentious jerks and snobish, generally appear not true. We found the percentage of jerks to be actually somewhat less than other programs 
  One of the main strengths is the eclectic and very diverse student body with folks from politics, performing arts, and many other backgrounds 
  Guaranteed employment (?)

Cons 
   Program Size - it the largest full-time programs in the nation - very easy to be lost in the sea of students and grads 
  No merit scholarships

Stereotypical Essay Topic:  Of which Fortune 500 company are you going to become the CEO and why would you pick that company?

GSB (STANFORD)  Strengths: 
   The undeniable Top 2 school in the nation and often considered a second Top 1. Many HBS admits choose Stanford without feeling that they downgraded.  
  Small program esp compared to HBS 
  The place to be for Venture Capital and Silicon Valley networking; also strong in social enterprise  
  Has a unique Sloan program 
  Guaranteed employment (?)

Cons 
   Bay area traffic

Stereotypical Essay Topic:  Why? (100,000 words recommended)

WHARTON  Strengths: 
   Finance, Finance, Finance 
  Very strong job placement and pretty much guaranteed employment

Cons 
   Program Size - huge 
  Philly

Stereotypical Essay Topic:  Of which Fortune 500 company are you going to become the CFO and why would you pick that company?

BOOTH (CHICAGO) 
 Strengths: 
   Finance - that reputation has stuck with Booth regardless of what the school tries to do or alums say though not as strongly pigeon-holed as Wharton 
  Polsky entrepreneurship center and New Venture challenge have helped many startups come to life (e.g. Bump app) 
  Strong network in Chicago and Fantastic job placements

Cons 
   Program Size - between the Full and Part Time programs, there are close to 3,300 students 
  Class bidding system can be a pain 
  Wind

Stereotypical Essay Topic:  Provide a detailed statistical analysis of why Chicago-Booth is #1 in BWeek and never higher than #3 in USNews. Do the math in your head.

KELLOGG SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT 
 Strengths: 
  Long term rep as one of the top 5 B Schools in the world. 
 The most spouse friendly campus. Significant others can join clubs and audit classes 
 Chicago goodness bring in them recruiters

Cons: 
  Reputed to go easy on the academics 
 Chicago weather 
 Not so good Fin Aid support

Stereotypical Essay Topic:  Sell your resume in less than 50 words.

SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

Strengths: 
  Rigorous academic programs. 
 The engineering school 
 Flexible curriculum outside the 1st semester core with the ability to cross register for almost no additional cost at HBS and all other Harvard graduate schools.

Cons 
  The perception that students lack soft skills. 
 The engineering school 
 Not seen as a general management track school

Stereotypical Essay Topic:  Draw and explain the On load tap changer circuit in an Induction Motor.

COLUMBIA BUSINESS SCHOOL 
 Strengths: 
  Amazing Location in the financial hub of the world (NY) 
 Most diverse student body in terms of minorities and women 
 Strong finance program

Cons 
  Stern offers a Columbia MBA program which is easier to get into 
 Students are known to be not so polite 
 Commuter crowd.

Stereotypical Essay Topic:  Tell us everything you like apart from business and academics.

TUCK SCHOOL OF BUSINESS 
 Strengths: 
  Strong culture leads to amazing student enthusiasm 
 Cult following in GMAT Club 
 Extremely helpful alum network

Cons: 
  Limited social options in Hanover 
 Limited class size

Stereotypical Essay Topic:  Reflect on how living in NH can be the most satisfying experience of your life.

FUQUA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS 
 Strengths: 
  Maybe the best health care management program in the country. 
 Strong team culture 
 Great brand name

Cons: 
  Fairly young program 
 Reportedly unambitious

Stereotypical Essay Topic:  Tell us ALL your short term, near short term, middle term, Long term, Far long term plans. Also attach an affidavit of your Will.

HAAS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS 
 Strengths: 
  Great location and silicon valley proximity 
 Small class size and tight culture.  
 Berkeley has very strong international brand name.

Cons: 
  Weak ties to the financial sector 
 Extremely selective program

Stereotypical Essay Topic:  What matters most to you and why? (We are sure you have written that essay with more enthusiasm)

YALE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT 
 Strengths: 
  World class brand name.  
 Arguably the best social enterprise program in the country.  
 Relatively strong job placement for the rank.

Cons: 
  Newer program means little real rep with employers or alumni to lean on.

Stereotypical Essay Topic:  Write about your only work experience at Peace Corps.

ynk · Answer

can you please tell me which business school will be best for MBA program in Logistics and supply chain management.i am really getting some confused answers on google.
expecting score of around 680's range and i have 2 yrs. of work ex.

ARINGO · Answer

Hi ynk, As you can read here: https://www.aringo.com/MBA_specializations.htm, the following programs are relatively strong in Logistics and supply chain management: CMU Tepper MIT Sloan

ynk · Answer

Aringo  thanks dude.finally i have a targeted school to go for.

HiLine · Answer

This topic is awesome. Thank you.

Posted from my mobile device

MadMaxwell · Answer

This is an interesting topic but the pro's and con's listed are not very current. Meaning, they are broad generalizations based on how schools used to be perceived.

For example, CBS just helped HBS launch a startup incubator in NYC, similar to the one CBS has had in the city for years. CBS also has a big advantage over schools like Tuck and Yale based on its proximity to Silicon Alley.

It is a good example of how rankings are not based on the quality of the school and the impact that each school's overall MBA experience can have on your career.

TheLegendaryHero · Answer

Haha I like the stereotypical essay topics

redfield · Answer

+1 these were pretty funny

MBAbot · Answer

Hello from the GMAT Club MBAbot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.

Top 20 Bschools Strengths and Weaknesses

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards