I'm worried that I'm not applying to strong enough schools for MBA
After speaking with my dad and I friend of his, both of whom I would consider pretty high up in the business world, I'm starting to second-guess my MBA application choices.
Right now, I am planning on applying to Harvard, Wharton, Columbia, Kellogg, and Sloan in round 1 of this year.
Basically, they are saying that I am making a mistake not applying to Stanford and Booth, and the other 3 to which I'm applying are not in the same league as H/W. I do not want to live on the West Coast, be an entrepreneur, or work for a tech firm, hence why I had discarded Stanford.
Careerwise, I want to go into corporate strategy at a large financial services company (JPM Chase, Citigroup, Capital One, Amex, etc.)
Background:
780 GMAT
Currently 2 years of consulting at small boutique place focusing on investment banks (3 upon matric)
Currently coach a youth sports team of underpriveleged kids and lead a group of SAT tutors for underpriveleged kids (within a bigger organization, didn't found group or anything)
3.6-3.7 GPA from H/Y/P/S undergrad
Varsity athlete, OK other extra currics but nothing special
White Male
Do you agree with their assessment? I feel like if I just apply to H/S/W/B, my application is not strong enough to guarantee I will get into at least one of them, so I need to apply to some lower-ranked schools (but I think that "safeties" don't make sense to apply to for MBAs). Of the other 3 on my list, Kellogg aligns well with my general management/strategy interests, Columbia's location is a big boon, and Sloan I have less time justifying but think I have a very good chance of getting in (dad is an alum and practically half my family across several has been to MIT undergrad) and think it is still very much worth attending and seems to be on the rise outside of finance and entrepreneurship.
I would appreciate any insight someone can give!
HS and possibly W -- Tier 1
Remaining m7 - Tier 2. The remaining (e.g. Booth, Columbia, Kellogg, etc.) are all equal. Apply to whichever you prefer.
Grad schools, including business schools, like to take people out of their network. Since you are from HYP, it is going to be easier for you to get into Stanford than it is for you to get into Harvard, maybe even Wharton.
So I would apply to Stanford.
Disagree. Hbs take most of us students from Harvard. There is almost no situation where Stanford is easier to get into than any other business school.
Also disagree. HBS loves HYP and Wharton undergrads. There was a P&Q post about this a while back.I found it. http://poetsandquants.com/2011/08/15/top-feeder-colleges-to-harvard-bus…
To the OP: If you have the time to prepare apps for more than just HSWB, what's the downside of doing it?
Your choices look fine to me. I mean, you are targeting all the top schools except Stanford and Booth. If you still have some doubts, just apply to Stanford so that your dad is ok with it and then pick the best school you get. However, again, you are applying to the best schools out there...
I must admit, that wasn't the list of schools I was expecting when I saw the title of your post. Your school selection is just fine and you shouldn't feel the need to justify it to your family and friends. Out of the top seven schools in the world, I'd be shocked if all seven were a fit with your personality and career goals. You've identified five of them that are, that's more than enough. In fact, if I were you, I'd drop Kellogg and maybe MIT out of your round 1 applications and push them back to round 2. Then do Kellogg/Sloan/Booth round 2 if you don't get in round 1. Will make your life a lot less stressful because completing five applications in the same round is a huge pain in the ass.
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