tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255671504631235632.post7090715858367765072..comments2023-10-06T23:57:47.929-07:00Comments on MBA Admissions and Careers: What kinds of people get into HBS, Stanford or Wharton?MBA Applyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03845975274006682317noreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255671504631235632.post-52193893135671260402012-01-29T20:04:32.390-08:002012-01-29T20:04:32.390-08:00This comment has been removed by the author.Inspiration Boardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05258136693471822839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255671504631235632.post-18189281140105293292012-01-12T14:37:52.584-08:002012-01-12T14:37:52.584-08:00this comment is retarded. Bill Gates dropped out ...this comment is retarded. Bill Gates dropped out of undergrad, not b school. If itwas b school, then it was after he started Microsoft and then we would call him a vegabond/blue chip because he was harvard guy that owned a 8 figure company applying to hbsT-Rexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07799169369787772698noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255671504631235632.post-22133131868332283232011-06-15T01:07:24.948-07:002011-06-15T01:07:24.948-07:00if blue chips were the only folks who mattered and...if blue chips were the only folks who mattered and made all the difference in the world after graduating then whoever thinks along this line is thouroughly misinformed.dont forget that mr bill gates was a harvard dropout and he wasnt such a hot shot blue chip when he was taken in..but he WAS..and now has become the case study of the top b school which according to you would have been the "best thing that ever happened to him". if he had been such a desperate average joe he would not have left the best b school ever.starhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00599604682491903626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255671504631235632.post-13562046229919421262011-04-20T04:15:42.644-07:002011-04-20T04:15:42.644-07:00Lets look at some recent exploits of HBS alumni on...Lets look at some recent exploits of HBS alumni once they went out into the real world:<br /><br />1.) Robert Rubin (HBS: Destroyer of Citigroup),<br />2.) Stan O'Neal (HBS: Destroyer of Merryl Lynch),<br />3.)John Thain (HBS: Also helped destroy Merryl Lynch),<br />4.) Larry Summers (Harvard: PhD Economics: Almost single handedly responsible for half the Credit Crunch),<br />5.) Chris Cox (HBS: Head of SEC... epic FAIL)<br /><br />Who needs an MBA? All it's going to do is teach you how to destroy companies, no create them.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11847954430022650050noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255671504631235632.post-68301103846222165172011-03-23T18:29:47.805-07:002011-03-23T18:29:47.805-07:00No offense, but I imagine that only folks who disa...No offense, but I imagine that only folks who disagree with this post are those who didn't come from the blue chip background. This post is a rather hard pill to swallow, though true. Blue chips self-select most of the time, because they can. And if they end up at a sub-par school, it's most likely for a really good reason, not b/c they didn't have options.open eyez open mindhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12947204826733989006noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255671504631235632.post-66085396427313188052009-12-17T02:01:55.022-08:002009-12-17T02:01:55.022-08:00Does a PhD count as a blue chip or a vagabond (or ...Does a PhD count as a blue chip or a vagabond (or an average joe for tha matter) or none of these? Does it matter what the subject is?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13951655605777575658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255671504631235632.post-60446711824350808342009-10-13T08:45:37.933-07:002009-10-13T08:45:37.933-07:00Great post. Not too much to disagree with here. Pe...Great post. Not too much to disagree with here. Pedigree of undergrad or work matters a whole lot when applying to these schools. As far as work pedigree is concerned, large consumer goods companies like Johnson and Johnson also seem to offer that pedigree (in reply to comment about engineers/scientists, engr/sci will fall into pedigree group if they worked at Fortune 500 consumer goods/Pharma or prestigious goverment/non profit organization). It also matters what roles you are in within those companies . Brand management seems to be favored. <br />I think people (adcom) do not like to take risks in general. (Can you blame them?) So, they are likely to go for certain types in spite of themselves. If you were adcom at H/S/W would you select state school graduate with a decent job over the Harvard student who worked at a Hedge Fund because those opportunities were available to him? Unless the Harvard grad is a total failure or the state school grad launched and sold a company for 8 figures, probably not. In fact selecting the ivy grad helps to further the mystique of these schools which works to their advantage. This is not to say that someone without pedigree but who has been a top performer every where they have been will not get into H/S/W. But this goes back to what the article and a few commenters have said; the kind of people these schools want to and will admit for the most, did not need an MBA from those schools to be successful. It is a snowball effect though. I think the HBS MBA brand does propel people into C-level suite. Take a look at bios of Fortune 500 executives. A good chunk of them went to Harvard (I have heard 1 in 3 of those with MBAs went to HBS). Unless HBS adcom can see the future, the name has to count for something. Moral of the story: If you are in your sophomore year at a no-name school, sit up, ace your academics, get leadership experience in clubs, get an internship at a firm with pedigree, hope they hire you full time, excel when you are there and then after 2years apply to HBS. Not a guarantee you will get in, but you will have a fair shot.Originalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02115581431229714170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255671504631235632.post-22652519013759700562009-01-29T14:10:00.000-08:002009-01-29T14:10:00.000-08:00The entire post is very convoluted. Your "profile"...The entire post is very convoluted. Your "profile" i.e Princeton/McK/3 years is not half as important as your application itself. I have seen people from India with IT backgrounds (non-IITians) make it to H/S/W and people from some fancy UG schools going to lesser schools. You the person is the only thing which matters. Otherwise, the process would not be as comprehensive as it is.Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07336627028214678374noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255671504631235632.post-142285452545640572008-03-22T16:04:00.000-07:002008-03-22T16:04:00.000-07:00Alex- Don't forget the real "average joes" like me...Alex- Don't forget the real "average joes" like me. The guys who are not super bright and have no ambition, but somehow managed to get into a top 25 undergrad, but hated it. Then got a 2nd teir consulting job, and hated it. Then applied to B-School just to get away from the crumby consulting job, and now is stuck in a top five-ish b-school with a bunch of people who are overly ambitious, and I don't like very much.<BR/><BR/>We are the real average joes, and by some strange twist in the fabric of the universe have ended up in places that we shouldn't be. Don't ever forget about us.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02362512834729938466noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255671504631235632.post-48819840235536497072008-01-10T19:23:00.000-08:002008-01-10T19:23:00.000-08:00I think this is one of the better posts I have rea...I think this is one of the better posts I have read on MBA admissions. Having gone to Stanford as an undergrad, my peers who have returned to get an MBA from Stanford, Harvard or Wharton fall into the first two buckets. Some started companies and worked at non-profits, others did 2-3 years of consulting or PE or banking. In all of their cases, none "had to have the MBA." They bought a lot to the table but I have no doubt that they would succeed even if they didn't go back. That doesn't mean that I haven't seen amazing individuals who went to less prestigious undergraduate schools admitted. Some in fact did not go back for an MBA and did not go to a top 10 undergrad school but are still some of the most successful and talented investors or CEOs I've ever met. For a lot of my Stanford and Harvard friends, business school is one option, not the only option... that's why they apply and it's true, the people I see get in are those who don't have to have that stamp of approval; they are already distinguished in their own ways.S1234https://www.blogger.com/profile/01682341557834328285noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255671504631235632.post-32014309752089483142007-12-11T15:18:00.000-08:002007-12-11T15:18:00.000-08:00please tell us something we don't know.please tell us something we don't know.Sureshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05455548148498845377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255671504631235632.post-56575884031556115102007-10-24T02:09:00.000-07:002007-10-24T02:09:00.000-07:00Very interesting read, and I am sure it is by and ...Very interesting read, and I am sure it is by and large true, but: <BR/><BR/>On one hand you posit that the creme de la creme (Blue Chip) folks are self-selecting. They tend to apply to Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton and get easily selected. <BR/><BR/>On the other hand you say towards the end that if the best thing has happened to you is Harvard, Stanford, and Wharton, then you won't be selected. <BR/><BR/>The irony is that there is apparently no one who doesn't "need" an MBA from these three top schools. Even the best Blue Chip folks keep applying. Why? <BR/><BR/>You seem to miss the point that everyone wants the best they can get. While there are many boilerplate professions that will go into your definition of Blue Chip (Princeton to McKinsey et al) I have also seen several profiles that are not so obvious or common. Decent but not sparkling schools, but excellent work experience from unconventional firms. Not your marine or police stuff, but interesting organizations. <BR/><BR/>These people do get into the top schools. At Wharton in particular I have seen many such folks.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07535692499080360791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255671504631235632.post-16216153641298147262007-07-18T00:54:00.000-07:002007-07-18T00:54:00.000-07:00Harsh, but you have some good points. The only thi...Harsh, but you have some good points. The only thing I see missing is the entire 20% of H/S/W's class profile of engineers/scientists. Many of us (some from top undergrads) worked in our original field for a few years before deciding business is what we want to study. Which "group" do they belong to?berlinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04104329927928546131noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6255671504631235632.post-59291766307742677822007-07-07T07:43:00.000-07:002007-07-07T07:43:00.000-07:00Israeli Military is 3 years mandatory and a good p...Israeli Military is 3 years mandatory and a good percentage does a 4th year as well. I would not consider it a stint.Beuwolfhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05549843478298825726noreply@blogger.com