We’re resuscitating a post from the ‘snarchives today because it’s illustrative of something tangible that you can DO RIGHT NOW to begin working on your Round 1 MBA applications. The references are to some events in the culture that seemed to have occurred a lifetime ago, but only happened in the past five years. If you’re not American, you may not be familiar with these references, but hopefully the use of this example shows you the value that we’re trying to articulate in taking this app-strategy advice nonetheless.
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rwelch9439 says
I have a moleskin notebook specifically for my mba notes. Any student I chat with or ad on I chat with I always take notes. If someone offers me their business card, I scotch tape it right in there next to the notes I took during our conversation…
Just an update about my quest: I visited Georgetown and Carnegie Mellon this past weekend and was extremely impressed. Because no MBA stuff is going on in the summer I sat through an info session and took a tour at each school with the undergrad program. Because these schools are not ranked as high as some elite programs, we forget how prestigious they actually are. I would have been laughed off campus in high school if I applied to them in high school and so I am greatful to have the opportunity to apply to them for an MBA. What program do you guys like better? Even though Carnegie Mellon is ranked higher than Georgetown, I feel like Georgetown has much more name-brand recognition. Do companies know the ins and outs of MBA programs to recognize which ones are more elite? Or do they go by name brand?
essaysnark says
@rwelch9439, this post is so insightful and we truly wish that more BSers would get to where you’re at with your evaluation of the schools.
TOTALLY AGREE with everything you’ve said.
Tepper is probably more of a niche program; CMU still has its best reputation in the computer science sector, probably, and the Tepper name is not widely known outside of MBA recruiting circles. But that’s also the case for McDonough. Nobody has heard of either of those bschools. However, as a university, as you said, Georgetown is most certainly a name that the general public is familiar with. But different companies are going to have deep(er) connections to different places. It really depends on your future career goals and target industry.
Here’s a post that discusses this phenomenon to a degree:
Well-known universities with bschools you can actually get into (aka “The Gramma Test”)
This is relevant too:
What’s the difference between Top 5 and Top 20?
It again depends on what you want to do with the education and where you’re headed. Someone going into pharma or healthcare is going to be set up great for a school like UNC or Vanderbilt. Someone going into the defense industry will gain useful connections at Georgetown. Someone interested in energy could have an even better experience with greater opportunities at Rice. Etc etc etc.
We may make a banner headline out of your quote: “Because these schools are not ranked as high as some elite programs, we forget how prestigious they actually are.” This is soooooo important. It’s why we react so negatively when BSers get overly fixated on prestige.
(This last comment is not directed at rwelch9439 it’s simply the thought that crosses EssaySnark’s mind about a gazillion times a day in dealing with the applicant crowd)
Do you REALLY think you’re getting into Harvard?!??
And do you really think you’re too good for one of these other amazing programs? We’ve even had people say Cornell is not highly ranked enough. omfg wtf
Thanks for the dose of reality, rwelch9439!!!!!! So very important.
ETA: The moleskin with the tapped-in cards is also excellent! Staying organized through this process is key.