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danerd
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Program focused on strategy/entrepreneurship Updated on: 24 Nov 2010, 15:57
Originally posted by danerd on 09 Jun 2010, 19:26.
Last edited by danerd on 24 Nov 2010, 15:57, edited 1 time in total.
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lagomez
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Program focused on strategy/entrepreneurship 09 Jun 2010, 19:32
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danerd
Hey guys,

I'm planning to apply to bschool for 2011. My post-MBA goal is either to join a tech startup as a product manager or if the right conditions apply, start a company. I know that you don't really need to go to business school to achieve these goals, but in my case, without explaining much yet, I think going to school would help a lot. That being said I've started a list of schools that I plan to apply to:

1. Haas (The Valley, nuff said )
2. Sloan
3. McCombs (Austin's booming startup scene)

So far, I've only visited Haas and I really liked it, I believe my DNA fits in the program. I'm planning to but haven't visited Sloan and McCombs yet. And although NYU is traditionally viewed as a finance powerhouse, there are two reasons that I might consider it: 1. I read somewhere that a new NYU venture capital fund just started with a focus to seed startups, 2. the Silicon Alley scene in New York is slowly growing.

To people who are in these schools or applying to these schools: what are you thoughts? Are there any other schools you would suggest to me based on my goals?

Thanks!
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I think the list is good. However, depending on your background, i.e. your competitiveness in the aforementioned programs, it's hard to say what other schools you should consider. In an ideal world your list is fine, maybe consider Stanford. If you are not competitive then you may want to throw in a school like Babson (going on rankings and reputation here not that Babson is a bad school)
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Program focused on strategy/entrepreneurship Updated on: 24 Nov 2010, 15:58
Originally posted by danerd on 09 Jun 2010, 19:48.
Last edited by danerd on 24 Nov 2010, 15:58, edited 1 time in total.
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lagomez
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Program focused on strategy/entrepreneurship 09 Jun 2010, 19:53
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danerd
Oh right, forgot to post my background. In a nutshell:

Age: 30 (just turned, that helps a bit right? lol)
New York based software engineer who worked at a major bank and now working at a major media company. Also worked at a startup in between.
GPA: 3.02 (I know :()
Ivy league masters in CS, undergrad in a university in Taiwan
GMAT: 760 (Q: 50, V: 44) AWA: 5.5

My GPA and tech focused background would be my achilles heels when I apply, especially for Sloan and Haas. But what's done is done, I do believe I have a lot of good stories to tell in my essays and hope that could make up for it.

Stanford is a great choice but not applying to it due to the combined realities of my old age and subpar GPA. Plus I don't wanna overstretch myself in the application process applying to too many schools.
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I'm not an expert so perhaps you should ask one of the consultants. I would think your list of schools is fine.
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EChopeful12
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Program focused on strategy/entrepreneurship 10 Jun 2010, 06:22
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Based solely on class profiles and websites, you seem to have a pretty competitive application for Haas. They really value experience and skew older than most schools. Just take a look at the employment report and you'll see that it's probably the best school for you. However, your GPA is low for them but I have a feeling that it's not too bad considering you had a difficult major and you have tons of experience.
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Program focused on strategy/entrepreneurship 10 Jun 2010, 06:49
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You have a good list of schools there and definitely a strong profile. If you're looking for another school with extensive entrepreneurship resources (which might be a bit of a safety for you), you might want to also consider UNC Kenan Flagler. A lot of their faculty is practitioner-based and they have strong ties with some of the nation's most promising tech startups in the Research Triangle.
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Program focused on strategy/entrepreneurship 10 Jun 2010, 06:57
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Darden also has a pretty cool program (forgot the name of it) but it's basically a grant set up by some alumni that allow entrepreneurs to work to start their own businesses partially on their dime with a lot of helpful resources around. Plus, the rest of Darden rocks too (biased).
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Program focused on strategy/entrepreneurship 10 Jun 2010, 18:02
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Since I have extremely similar goals post MBA, I have looked at a lot of schools in this arena. Here are some more to consider.

Stanford: As mentioned before, Stanford is great for technology start-ups. Extremely hard to get into and the most selective school in the entire nation, but possible the best place for what you want to do.

Carnegie Mellon University - Tepper: I have found few schools that have such a Tech focus. Arguably, CMU caters more to tech folks than MIT. Sloan is somewhat trying to shed the heavy tech label that they have and prove that anyone can go there, but CMU seems to embrace it. They also have several solid Entrepreneurship programs.

Generally speaking, a strong engineering and computer science program were important to me. I feel like one of the best ways to start a Tech company is to partner with a person focused in Tech ... and that happens when there is a good engineering/comp sci school for you to steal talent from. As a result, Unv of Michigan was also on my list, but I can't hands down recommend them.