which top schools for someone with a quantitative background

Question

ok so im confused.
i have a quantitatiave background, a triple major in Computer Science, Economics, and Applied Statistics. 

i wanted to get into a top school and i had heard that i should be looking for quantitative top mba programs as i would have a better chance there.

but after reading posts here, im getting the impression that i would have it tougher in programs like mit and carnegie mellon because of all the tough competition from people with similar backgrounds.

so would i have a better chance of getting intoa quant school like mit/carnegie mellon or would i have a better chance of getting into a non quant business school like berkeley? 

any thoughts?

kidderek · Answer

There are way too many variables. You should choose a school based on what your needs are, not on your chances of getting in. With that said, what do you plan to get out of bschool? Then go from there.

riverripper · Answer

depending on scores, work exp, gpa, and activities you could be a candidate at any school.

MIT, Wharton, and Chicago are all very quant heavy programs...they all are also ultra elites. Princeton's masters of finance is very quant focused but is about as tough a program to get into as there is.

CMU is also very quant focused, and will be much easier to get into than those.

All b-schools are going to have a lot of quant...you need to worry more about showing how well rounded you are. Don't come across as a quant jock at the expense of everything else.

naturallight · Answer

au contraire  my friend;) I agree that Berkeley isn't known as a quant school in the sense that some other schools (CMU and MIT, maybe Chi) are. 

But I wouldn't call it a "non-quant" school (and for that matter I'm not sure if you could call any of the top schools "non-quant"). The adcom places a big emphasis on quantitative ability. I applied to 5 schools, and Berkeley was the only one who asked me to list out all my math courses and other quant exp. So even the poets here still know their stats and calculus (which you need for the core micro econ class, and I'm sure a few others).

rhyme · Answer

The odds of you getting into a quant school because you have a quant background are completely indistinguishable than those of you getting into a non-quant school with a quant background. To put it somewhat more formally, the difference is likely statistically insignificant. 

Choose schools based on what you want to do, where you want to live, what you think you can reasonably attain, etc. Don't listen too much to the stereotypes of a given school, and choose based on what feels right.

kryzak · Answer

Hey naturallight! were you at the >play conference today?

Anyway, yes, Berkeley is the ONLY school that I'm applying to that asks for your math classes and grades from undergrad. I talked with one of the adcom today and she stressed again that they ask the question to make sure you can survive the quant part of classes. One year they decided not to ask it, and people were having a tough time with the quant courses, so they put it back again. Berkeley is pretty tech and quant oriented, maybe not like Wharton or Chicago, but I wouldn't call it non-quant.

naturallight · Answer

nah, I couldn't make it to the >play conference. Was it good?

kryzak · Answer

>play was pretty exciting. So many people, so many cool things!

pelihu · Answer

The name of the conference was ">play"? Those Berkeley folks are wild and crazy. :lol:

Back to the original question, there are so many people with quantitative backgrounds going to business school these days that it really won't be a distinguishing factor in most applications. I don't think any of the top schools will view your application any differently basic on the quantitative nature of your background. I also don't think you should select a school based on how quantitative their reputation is.

kryzak · Answer

LOL! Yeah, Berkeley people are crazy.

But it's actually the "play" button, you know, a circle with a triangle inside it ">" on an iPod or some other digital media device. So when typing it, they just use ">play"

gmatclb · Answer

I never understood why Berkeley asked this question. If they really were reviewing all the applications corerctly, they would clearly see the math classes on the transcript.

So they don't ask this quesiton 1 year and all of sudden admit students that have no quant experience? What were they reviewing?

kryzak · Answer

That is something you can call their adcom and ask. Just report back to us if you find out the answer. :wink:

jimjohn · Answer

thanks guys for the advice

naturallight · Answer

Just a guess, but I think it's for self-selection purposes.

gmatclb · Answer

Care to elaborate?

which top schools for someone with a quantitative background

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