Based on my profile, what and how many mBA programs would You recommend I apply To? Aiming for Six-Figure f500
Here's my profile. I have a 3.82 GPA from UC Berkeley, majored in Philosophy, and did high-tech SaaS software sales at IBM for four years. I got a 740 on the GMAT. My EC's include being a team lead volunteer at our local Autism Awareness Branch and tutoring inner-city, low-income children in Los Angeles in the SAT.
I'm not interested in pursuing IBD, finance, or consulting (MBB or otherwise). I'm actually more interested in a f500 gig, and would like to recruit for decent rotational programs, leadership development programs, marketing analytics positions, and potentially brand management (albeit more analytics-type stuff). My minimum requirement is that it pays over $100,000 annually to justify the ROI, and it doesn't consistently have 60+hours/week.
What exact schools, and how many, would you recommend I apply to? During high school, I literally applied to around 30 colleges, but I think that's overkill for MBA, haha.
Thanks a ton! Appreciate your help :D
It is possible to access F500 6-figure gigs from a wide variety of schools. These jobs can be accessed from schools that are not even top-50. With that said, as you ascend the rankings, the probability that you successfully obtain one of these jobs increases proportionately.
Not all F500 6-figure jobs are made equal. Again, the likelihood is that the sexier roles will more often go to students from T15/M7, although they can certainly be obtained from other schools. Different companies have different feeder programs for a wide variety of reasons.
You'll have much better access to employers and more opportunities at say UMichigan than you will at UMinnesota or UIndiana.
That said, the better the program the better the access and the greater variety in opportunities. The lower ranked the school is the more regionally concentrated the opportunities are.
Also not all F500 programs are created equal. Some are pretty low progression and with less responsibility, others will have you as a VP/GM of a 100M dollar business in 5-6 years.
Don't discount the importance of your own background in all of this. If you have really strong pre-MBA experience in operations (for example), chances are you could pull down the same really good operations gig regardless of whether you attended a school ranked 30-40 or a T10.
Personally, I'd recommend Kellogg (they are king at marketing), Haas, Columbia, Fuqua, Ross, Stern, and UCLA. Maybe replace Columbia with Johnson and UCLA with UNC. Darden could substitute Stern as well. The lowest I would apply to is Indiana-Kelly.
I have a similar background (3.9 engineering at a top 20 undergrad, 740 GMAT) and goals (F500 gig, work/life balance important) as you, but with less impactful ECs.
I think you have a good shot at T15 or M7 because I made it into both and am in the process of choosing. I applied to 3 schools R1 and was not as prepared as I should be - 2 dings and 1 waitlist. In R2 I applied to 4 places, got into 2 T15 with fellowship, and 1 M7 no fellowship.
Some things you might consider in terms of ROI are getting fellowships at some of the schools. Be very prepared when you interview and have your story together. Make sure you understand the school's story as well and how you can contribute to it - my impression is that that will play a large part in whether you receive a fellowship.
In terms of what schools to apply to, think about the type of role and the location you want to be in (during school and after). For roles, you can look at employment reports or check linkedin or talk to alums/current students. One thing that stuck out to me was that while some of the most desired companies recruited at all of my target schools, the roles they recruit for may be different. It is of course company dependent and may not always be the case, but for one company I was looking at for the T15 it was more around Supply Chain / Marketing / Finance roles whereas for M7 it was Strategy / Data Analytics.
While I think it's possible to get just about anywhere geographically from an M7, if you want to spend time in a certain geography during B school you can focus there as you are applying.
Keep in mind that applying to B-school is more expensive than undergrad. App fees are $200-$250. You may decide to fly in to visit or fly in for an interview (flight + hotel + food). You may also fly in for multiple admit weekends.
Good luck! You'll do great.
strong profile, i don't see a reason to apply to schools below T9. i would pick 4-5 of the T9 with one T15 if you want a safety
Agreed with most of the comments above on your admit chances. If you're really convinced what you don't want MBB / IB, I would also think about regional preferences as it can be a bit easier to get some corporate jobs in your region from a "local" school, though still relatively easy (assuming it's a major metro area) to get a job from an M7.
I personally believe there's value for folks with your preferences to get a scholarship to a regional T15 and save on a bunch of loans while still checking the box on a good MBA. This site is largely M7 MBA / MBB / IBD or bust, which I just honestly don't think fits everyone's goals in life. If your essays are decent / you interview well, I'd imagine you're going to get some pretty lucrative offers.
This advice is about worth what you paid for it.
Aliquid sequi ut iusto exercitationem nihil sint. Et tempore dolores quia tempora non libero. Impedit est aspernatur et in sequi voluptatem molestias.
Veritatis cupiditate optio totam quis. Dolore voluptas et explicabo consectetur voluptates et eum et. Cupiditate aut quisquam repudiandae voluptatem aut aut soluta. Distinctio laboriosam similique consequuntur sint aut qui.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...