Do MBA programs favor alums?
I have heard that schools like Darden may give a slight bump to students who graduated from UVA undergrad. Is there any basis for this?
I have heard that schools like Darden may give a slight bump to students who graduated from UVA undergrad. Is there any basis for this?
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no real stats on this AFAIK but it's common knowledge that the school you went to for undergrad will impact your bschool where you get your mba from. if you go to stern for undergrad, chances are it'll be that much easier to go to stern for mba.. and likely same for others.
Only formally applies to non-target schools / schools that accept applicants with 0 work experience. For target / semi-target its about the tier of your undergrad.
I think it seems pretty obvious that this would be somewhat true, though maybe not formally. Part of the b-school criteria is that they have confident a student can succeed in their program. So if you already have demonstrated success AT that university, it can only help you.
That said, I knew a Berkeley Haas undergrad alum who went on to have a successful career (IBD -> VC) but couldn't get into Haas MBA. So, who knows.
I spoke to a travelling Haas adviser a few years ago and he said that the Haas MBA program does not favor alumni. He even said that Haas MBA prefers non alums. Doesn't really make sense to me, but that was what the adviser said.
There's a stronger bias for the 2+2 type programs. And each school is different. However, when you think about "fit", it seems natural that someone who attended the university can already check half the box compared to another applicant. So a slight bias would make sense.
It's still competitive though and I would not assume that it makes you a shoe-in, nor would I make it the focus of your application essays.
Seems like it would make your "why this school" story more credible. Also the adcom presumably believes their university to be a couple notches higher in ranking (incl. undergrad) than the consensus view.
Why would you go back to the same school?
One of my favorite undergrad profs would always push us to go elsewhere for graduate school. Her reasoning: (a) new environment, faces, profs, ideas/teaching methods; (b) provides you with another network to leverage; (c) gives your CV more credibility (you balled out in multiple programs and a larger, more diverse group of people attest to your knowledge and abilities).
Princeton grads are favored in all cases.
Do B-Schools favor alums from other programs? (Originally Posted: 12/14/2011)
Personally, I've never heard of this case, but I was just wondering if I had a better shot at B-School if I graduated from the same school with a bachelor's or some other graduate degree. Does this matter at all?
I have received conflicting reports on this issue: I have heard that b-schools prefer to not favor their former undergrad students because they want them to go out and explore the world (i.e. attend other places of education), which has never really made sense to me. If a student excelled in your undergrad program, wouldnt you want them to be part of your MBA program for obvious reasons (they are competent, school loyalty > could potentially lead to donations in the future, etc.). I dont have any numbers on this but I would imagine that it is at least a slightly favorable data point.
Honestly I don't think there is a set hard and fast rule about this. But I am curious: why do you want go back to your undergrad school? You could potentially get access to the MBA network through the virtue of your undergrad. And at a new school you get a brand new network. Wouldn't that be better?
Good point. I was just curious about this because, even though I haven't heard of something like this for B-School admissions, I've heard a similar story for music doctorate admissions. Someone told me that staying in the same school for undergraduate, master's and even the doctorate degree is (somewhat) frowned upon because it indicates the lack of exposure to various areas, or something like that. And I'm pretty sure I heard a similar story for engineering graduate degrees. I applied to master's programs in engineering a few years ago, and I ended up getting a rejection from my own Alma Mater, which was a state school (and a safety school for me) even though I was accepted to many "better" schools...
Anyway, so I was curious if anyone had any knowledge on this.
B-schools do like to keep it in the family - so yes there is a slight advantage for being an alum. Loyal alums tend to donate more, tend to contribute more to the school (not just money, but also likely to stay involved with the school beyond graduation in some capacity, etc.).
Most of them would support..And it basically depends on the b-school that you have selected..
Most of them would support..And it basically depends on the b-school that you have selected..
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