It seems like top business schools aren't all that hard to get into compared to law schools... is this so?
As far as I can tell, to get into a top 5 business school you need a 3.6+, ~700+ on the GMAT, solid work experience, the ability to sell yourself, strong writing skills, etc.
A top 5 law school seems, for all intensive purposes, impossible to get into. You need a 97.3 GPA and a 332 on the LSAT's and to have invented wool and defended Hitler whilst working in the Peace Corps.
Is this an accurate assessment?
Most B-schools tend to be mere daycare centers for people who are worn out by a few years of pushing pitch books across i-banking floors; An opportunity to take a break and get some social contacts for the long-run.
Law Schools, on the other hand, tend to churn out slightly more intelligent monkeys but, at least, monkeys with the ability to think more independently and analyze important concepts.
Stanford b-school acceptance rate: 11%.
Stanford law: 8%.
Seems like at first glance other law schools also have lower acceptance rates. However, top b-schools get about 5,000 applicants a year, whereas law schools get over 7,000. In other words, it's about the same.
As far as law students being smarter, that's frankly a load of bs. I know so many people who applied to law school b/c they were afraid of the math on the GMAT. It's a different kind of smart--lawyers are more verbal and analytical; business students are more quantitative and entrepreneurial.
Wouldn't the applicant pool for Stanford Law be more self-selecting than the business school?
GPA's are lower for B-Schools because they are much less importent in the process. Law school is right out of college so its GPA and LSAT.
B-schools look for experiance and GMAT, so people with strong things there can get in with lower GPA's, thus lowering the GPA, not the selectivity.
The difference between law and bschool isnt at Stanford.
Look about 20 schools down on both lists. The qualifications of getting into a 20th ranked Bschool are extremely average, while 20th ranked law school and you are still looking at 95+% on the LSAT.
Example:
20th bschool down: UNC Acceptance rate = 49.9%
20th law school down: BU Acceptance rate = 24.5%
what do you mean by "You need a 97.3 GPA and a 332 on the LSAT's " this makes no sense.
I took the lsats once upon a time, and the gmat too...if you're good at standardized testing, law school is very easy to get into. it's a straight formula approach. business school seems to be more holistic. depends which type plays to your strengths.
Most applicants for law school have nothing to distinguish themselves besides GPA and LSAT. Top B-School applicants usually have about 4 years of work experiance and have shown they can excel in the workplace. B-School applications are very subjective. Most top law schools do not even interview canidates.
You will notice that I-banks at the associate level are not looking for 4.0 GPA MBA students but are looking for well rounded students with pretty good grades 3.2 GPA and up. Someone that has management experiance, 3.4 GPA out of MBA but also can network very well is a most likely a better canidate then a 3.9 GPA MBA that has just worked for the man.
Also, from my experience people apply to more b schools than law schools, so a lot of the acceptances are really high quality people getting into multiple schools...
From my experience, anyone with a 3.2+ GPA (In B-School) was game for an I-Banking 1st round based on how good the resume looked. However, the majority of the people with job offers and internships were not the ones with the very high GPA's.
Secondly, as any corporate lawyer will tell you: the high GPA JD's go on to become professors: the middle GPA JD's join the government and do all right the low GPA JD's all become rich.
Those entering law school have nothing else to distinguish themselves except for high grades (and a desire to stay in school); whereas, B-school applicants bring real world experience which broadens the admission criteria. Not all with high undergrad grades do well in the workplace and neither do all with high undergrad grades go back to B-School. The B-School applicant pool is far more self-selecting than the law school applicant pool as there is a far greater opportunity cost to going back to school after working for a bit (and living the good life).
I think that most people would agree that top business schools are easier, because they can be much more forgiving to people who were 3.2 GPAs, who nonetheless are very smart and then go on to distinguish themselves professionally.
In my opinion, law school acceptance was much easier for me, since it's much more focused upon grades and standardized tests (which have always been a strong suit of mine). I got into Yale, Stanford and Harvard Law, which were the only schools I applied for.
MBA schools I felt were much more accessible, but the admissions criteria are much more esoteric. By the time I applied to b-school, I had a sterling academic record, astronomical test scores, and work experience that included leading men in battle on two continents as well as being a bulge bracket banker.
I got dinged by Stanford, HBS and Wharton on my first try (also the only schools I applied to). Go figure.
I must say that may be one of the most disheartning things I have heard on this board.
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