Differences Between MBA Programs (Fit), Am I Missing Something?

So I've talked to a lot of people in multiple MBA programs, and everyone's advice has emphasized fit. So I asked what differentiates the school from others. Barring a few true differentiators (quant focused school, marketing, etc.), everyone says the exact same thing!

Duke is all about collaboration and teamwork. Ross is really focused on being a team player and working with others. Tepper is known for its tight knit community and working together. Darden can't be beat when it comes to collaborating with teams. And everyone boasts about their alumni being the best. You get the gist. Everyone says the same thing. And when I made a comment about Booth being a quant focused school when I visited, the admissions officer immediately shut me down and kept talking about the collaboration and alumni support.

Am I not digging deep enough?

I'm trying to customize my essays for each school's "strengths" but they are all the same. I even asked about clubs and classes, and everyone has extremely similar activities. Board fellows is board scholars somewhere else. I don't want to sound insincere in my application, any advice?

 

I have the exact same problem. I've visited 3 different schools, talked to students from 2 others, and still can't figure out the cultural difference between them, even seemingly disparate schools like Duke and CBS. The students I've interacted seem to be similarly smart and outgoing across all schools, and they all emphasize the same points: strong sense of community and teamwork, well-rounded students, leadership, etc. The only way I'm really able to demonstrate fit is to just reference my visits and student interactions in my essays while touching on how I meet the aforementioned criteria.

 

Schools have their strengths when it comes to academics, placement, etc., but they all emphasize teamwork, leadership, and community. The reality is different since some schools clearly are more cohesive than others. In terms of writing essays, don't try too hard to pander by kissing adcom's ass; they can see right through it. I actually advise applicants to NOT mention specific courses, professors, or clubs in the essays since they don't add any information that adcom doesn't know. Rather, focus on a few key themes in your narrative and tie them to the school's culture and strengths and how you will build upon that during your time there. This is not to say that you can never mention a club or a certain course that deeply resonates with you, but just be careful here. Avoid the laundry lists and cliches that typically permeate MBA essays.

 
mbavsmfin:

Schools have their strengths when it comes to academics, placement, etc., but they all emphasize teamwork, leadership, and community. The reality is different since some schools clearly are more cohesive than others. In terms of writing essays, don't try too hard to pander by kissing adcom's ass; they can see right through it. I actually advise applicants to NOT mention specific courses, professors, or clubs in the essays since they don't add any information that adcom doesn't know. Rather, focus on a few key themes in your narrative and tie them to the school's culture and strengths and how you will build upon that during your time there. This is not to say that you can never mention a club or a certain course that deeply resonates with you, but just be careful here. Avoid the laundry lists and cliches that typically permeate MBA essays.

What's wrong with providing programs, clubs or classes that you think will help get you to where you want to go? Seems like a great way to be specific about how a given school's program will help you get to where you want to go.

 
Best Response

I definitely disagree that all schools are the same. When I was going through the application process I couldn't really tell the difference. However, having just graduated this past spring and spent the past two years immersed in not only my school but the bschool machine I can tell you there are differences. Honestly, I probably wasn't at the best fit school for me but still had a pretty decent time.

For starters, despite the fact that schools are diverse, there are definitely under weights and over weights within each segment. The California schools draw more west coast type people, the south schools (Duke/UVA) draw way more southerns, the NE schools are more culturally east coast and the mid west are mid west. In my opinion these are subtle yet massive differences if you are not culturally aligned with the majority of students at the school you attend. Then there is the career focus culture. If you are at a CBS/Wharton/Chicago where a lot of students have IB/PE/HF backgrounds and/or want to get into those fields the daily conversations with friends will be relevant to those types of jobs. Whereas at more consulting heavy schools Kellogg/Tuck/Duke/UVA the dialogs will be a different way. Also, I'd argue that there are differences in the personality types of people that go into different industries and again this will manifest itself, positively if you are at a school that fits your track and negatively if you aren't. Another point is the location of the school, urban vs. rural. Again there is huge self selection biases at play here between people that are city-types vs small town types. So not only is the actual experience different but so are many of the types of people that choose one environment over another.

While this just really skims the surface to say there aren't differences is just off base. They are similar enough to where its not gonna be a miserable experience if you are at the wrong school culturally. However, it probably does make the difference between being an good experience to an amazing one.

 
ke18sb:

I definitely disagree that all schools are the same. When I was going through the application process I couldn't really tell the difference. However, having just graduated this past spring and spent the past two years immersed in not only my school but the bschool machine I can tell you there are differences. Honestly, I probably wasn't at the best fit school for me but still had a pretty decent time.

For starters, despite the fact that schools are diverse, there are definitely under weights and over weights within each segment. The California schools draw more west coast type people, the south schools (Duke/UVA) draw way more southerns, the NE schools are more culturally east coast and the mid west are mid west. In my opinion these are subtle yet massive differences if you are not culturally aligned with the majority of students at the school you attend. Then there is the career focus culture. If you are at a CBS/Wharton/Chicago where a lot of students have IB/PE/HF backgrounds and/or want to get into those fields the daily conversations with friends will be relevant to those types of jobs. Whereas at more consulting heavy schools Kellogg/Tuck/Duke/UVA the dialogs will be a different way. Also, I'd argue that there are differences in the personality types of people that go into different industries and again this will manifest itself, positively if you are at a school that fits your track and negatively if you aren't. Another point is the location of the school, urban vs. rural. Again there is huge self selection biases at play here between people that are city-types vs small town types. So not only is the actual experience different but so are many of the types of people that choose one environment over another.

While this just really skims the surface to say there aren't differences is just off base. They are similar enough to where its not gonna be a miserable experience if you are at the wrong school culturally. However, it probably does make the difference between being an good experience to an amazing one.

I completely agree with this. It is hard to describe how the culture of a school differs from another, but it is certainly something you feel. If you've spent significant time in New England vs. South vs. West Coast vs. Midwest you can definitely appreciate the massive differences.
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