Why Does Everyone Want To Go To BSchool?

It's honestly really hard to quantify and for a lot folks its a negative ROI deal (excluding intangible factors like "fun"). The value proposition really breaks down like this:

• Network. Obviously this is strongest in your class and section but you have access to every person who ever has or ever will graduate from your school, which is saying something at any M7 school and especially at Harvard or Stanford. This may not mean much if you go work at some MM fund bidding in auction processes but if you ever want to strike out on your own and raise a fund, generate differentiated deal flow, find the right portco executive, etc. it's a game changer. The managing partner at my previous fund told me several times that he never would have completed his first fundraise if it weren't for his HBS network.

• Branding. Even harder to quantify but having a top tier brand your resume just lends an air of credibility that's impossible to replicate. It doesn't matter if someone says they're completely rational in evaluating experience, the GSB line on your resume will mean something. This is especially important later in your career if you're fundraising or looking to get on a board or something. It certainly carries much further than your first job as some people would have you believe.

• Education. Look, this isn't anyone's first, second, or third reason for going to business school but at the end of the day these places are legit institutions that employ the leading social science scholars in the world. I may not whip out the framework I learned in core marketing on a regular basis but it certainly shapes the way I'm thinking through problems with portfolio companies, framing deals for investment committee, or diligencing prospective investments. You're also surrounded by an incredibly diverse, accomplished group of professionals who are literally some of the best and brightest people in the world. You're going to learn a thing or two just by osmosis.

• Fun. Business school is just fun in a way that's completely different from undergrad. For a lot of folks it's the last chance you get to essentially be a kid without responsibilities before you go off into the real world again. Once you've been working for a while you realize how special that truly is and it's like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders. It's really, really hard to explain this to someone who hasn't experienced the same thing. That alone is worth quite a bit IMO. It's also just a really weird fantasy world where everyone does things like go to Formula 1 Races and hang out on yachts and ski in Japan. There won't ever be another time in your life where you'll have the time, energy, budget, and company to do things like that.

So overall, it's up to you if it's worth close to $1MM. A lot of these things are intangible and impossible to ascribe a value so it's ultimately a very personal decision. At the end of the day, any M7 school is worth considering and IMO HBS and GSB are worth going no matter what.