Thoughts on Schwarzman Scholars?
Let’s say you’re 1-3 years into your career and are admitted. Already at something like MBB or BB IB. Does it make sense to do a program like Schwarzman? Is it an MBA substitute? Does it carry prestige and will get you the ROI given you lose 1 year of income?
less prestigious than HSW MBA
worse ROI than HWS MBA or staying as direct promote
seems fun tho
Can’t really speak to your other questions as I start in January and haven’t done any of these programs.
But one of the guys I met during the process at one of the MBB did a different prestigious fellowship he was accepted into after starting and was welcomed back. These companies are prestige whores and you can always ask if they’ll hold your spot.
It doesn’t help except for fun and if you’re into China
Spoke with several scholars when thinking about applying as an undergrad.
Not an MBA substitute but anecdotally have heard some firms will consider you for post-MBA role if you had prior work experience to the program. Most people who defer work offers are straight out of undergrad and have their full-time spots held by the firm.
They offer special internships (although in Beijing) during the program so useful if you want to pivot to China. Otherwise, the program is very prestigious but not meant to be used for a career pivot or job-seeking so likely lower ROI than MBA as you can’t do the summer MBA internships.
My friend did the program and went into policy after. She applied after working few years at a F100 firm. Now she's doing an Exec MBA at a M7
Very prestigious provided you go right after graduating. The value of going to the program tends to erode as you get older & doesn’t replace an MBA.
I do not think it is generally considered very prestigious, and the average person in that program is not very impressive in my experience. As others say, it is not any better than a HSW MBA and most graduates I have seen have not gone on to do anything great. I also think it is important to consider that aligning yourself too closely with China could also become a professional liability in this political climate.
Schwarzman Scholar here and MBB consultant. There's some dumb takes in this thread so let me give my 2 cents:
It's hard to make an argument that it's a bad / low ROI when the program is literally free, whereas an M7 MBA program is easily $250k+.
The acceptance rate was ~3% this year, less than any MBA program (Stanford is 5%, HBS is 10%). It's one of the most selective graduate fellowships in the world. However, it's a relatively new program and these major scholarships (Rhodes, Marshall, Truman, Gates-Cambridge, Schwarzman, etc.) aren't as well known to the layperson as top MBAs.
That being said, it does not replace an MBA as it's a one-year program and is focused on leadership, global affairs, and China. The career & graduate school outcomes of graduates and alumni are very strong, but it's an incredibly diverse program with people pursuing a myriad of paths all over the world (only 40% come from the US), so the alumni network isn't going to be as strong within finance/consulting/etc. compared to an MBA program.
I'm coming into the program thinking of it as a gap year -- I want to learn and grow as a person while living in a foreign country with a diverse group of people, especially after toiling away at my MBB for the last 3 years. That's why a lot of opinions on this thread I think are misguided -- you shouldn't be evaluating this program from a strict financial or ROI lens, but rather as a holistic life experience.
TL;DR very prestigious but still relatively new, program & alumni base is less directly helpful for finance/consulting than an MBA, less direct ROI (builds social/cultural capital moreso than financial capital IMO), but a very fun and worthwhile life experience in your 20s if you want to do it
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