I have decided to apply to 4 schools in the 1st round:
1) Harvard
Pros: Strong GM program; Harvard !; Best minds
Cons: Undue reliance on case method; An aura of arrogance surrounding the school and alumni; Alumni fragmented.
2) Stanford (Dream School !)
Pros: Strong GM program; West coast; Best minds; Silicon valley; Small class; Intimate environment; Strong alumni network willing to help
Cons: Young class (I am 28 now)
3) Wharton
Pros: Reliant on Quants; Big City School; Innovative mindset; Stress on team work; More international student body.
Cons: Large class size; Inclination towards finance.
4) Kellogg/ Booth / MIT / Haas
Kellogg
Pros: Stress on teamwork; Strong alumni network willing to help; Stress on GM and Marketing; Like their approach; Big City school combined with small city environ (evanston);
Cons: Chicago (Brr...); Low in rankins sometime
Booth
Pros: Good ranks; Strong in quants; Entrepreneurship focused
Cons: Why is it never in the news?!; A comment from someone: "Booth alums seem, well... too ordinary"; Chicago (Brrr....)
Haas
Pros: West coast; Entrep. focused; Innovative mindset
Cons: Rankings?
MIT
Pros: Stress on teamwork; Close to Harvard Kennedy School
Cons: Poor cousin of Harvard?
So for the 4th school I am still confused. I am inclined heavily towards Kellogg but it will take more research and some help from Sanket to decide finally.
What is with the Chicago (Brr...)?. Well, if you have read my first posts, I did my masters in UMich, Ann Arbor and it was a damn cold place. People say it doesn't matter but it does. The problem of cold was aggravated by the fact that Engineers were isolated in the North campus which has no life and is full of nerds unlike Central campus which is also the downtown and is happening. It kills you, believe me.
Of course, Chicago or Boston or Philly should not be so bad as they are big cities with a lot happening. Although, Evanston a bit away from Chicago is eerily similar to Ann Arbor, North Campus a little away from central campus. Am I being silly? I believe not.
1) Harvard
Pros: Strong GM program; Harvard !; Best minds
Cons: Undue reliance on case method; An aura of arrogance surrounding the school and alumni; Alumni fragmented.
2) Stanford (Dream School !)
Pros: Strong GM program; West coast; Best minds; Silicon valley; Small class; Intimate environment; Strong alumni network willing to help
Cons: Young class (I am 28 now)
3) Wharton
Pros: Reliant on Quants; Big City School; Innovative mindset; Stress on team work; More international student body.
Cons: Large class size; Inclination towards finance.
4) Kellogg/ Booth / MIT / Haas
Kellogg
Pros: Stress on teamwork; Strong alumni network willing to help; Stress on GM and Marketing; Like their approach; Big City school combined with small city environ (evanston);
Cons: Chicago (Brr...); Low in rankins sometime
Booth
Pros: Good ranks; Strong in quants; Entrepreneurship focused
Cons: Why is it never in the news?!; A comment from someone: "Booth alums seem, well... too ordinary"; Chicago (Brrr....)
Haas
Pros: West coast; Entrep. focused; Innovative mindset
Cons: Rankings?
MIT
Pros: Stress on teamwork; Close to Harvard Kennedy School
Cons: Poor cousin of Harvard?
So for the 4th school I am still confused. I am inclined heavily towards Kellogg but it will take more research and some help from Sanket to decide finally.
What is with the Chicago (Brr...)?. Well, if you have read my first posts, I did my masters in UMich, Ann Arbor and it was a damn cold place. People say it doesn't matter but it does. The problem of cold was aggravated by the fact that Engineers were isolated in the North campus which has no life and is full of nerds unlike Central campus which is also the downtown and is happening. It kills you, believe me.
Of course, Chicago or Boston or Philly should not be so bad as they are big cities with a lot happening. Although, Evanston a bit away from Chicago is eerily similar to Ann Arbor, North Campus a little away from central campus. Am I being silly? I believe not.
I think visiting the schools will help you finalize your list for R1. Don't let the rankings be a deciding factor. You picked amazing schools and the differences are not of quality but culture and fit. Don't sleep on Haas. It's even more selective than one of the big 3 and it's inching up in the rankings every year. It's a solid top 10 pick.
ReplyDeleteAnd I've never seen Kellogg ranked lower than 5 so I don't think it's rank is an issue either.
Just my $.02.
Hi Cheetarah,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your advice. However, I am not in a position to visit the schools as visiting the US implies taking a week off of work and also the application process.
You are right in that I should not delve too much on rankings. I know this already from my UMich experience. However, I have to use the rankings as one of the criteria in absence of the ability to visit the schools. I have been scouring websites, forums and all available resources to get a feel of the culture. My unused resource as of now is the alumni based in India. But I have to decide fast as I will have only 8 weeks after my GMAT for R1.
You got any more advice?
Thanks for mentioning me in the post. Well let me know if you need any help in school selection! About your fourth school, I see it like this….
ReplyDeleteChicago Booth – it’s all about ideas…integrated ideas…there is so much focus on asking right questions…critical questions…it’s a process of learning about you and about others through defending and adapting to ideas and diverse thinking process…throughout the interactions with the Chicago Booth students I got this feeling…
MIT Sloan – Sloan is all about converting those ideas into reality….you will find one of the most practical minded people here….34% engineers from Top universities…what else you could expect…lot of focus on getting the things done in practical way…..it more about doing the things here….
Kellogg – Well..they believe you are not supposed to do anything alone….you have to do it in teams because that’s the best way to do it….Its possibly a best combination of above….you alone can’t have all the answers so develop or motivate the team to generate the ideas and implement them with the help of team….
Chicago – controlling belief is --- Ideas and Questions should drive the process of Leadership
Sloan – controlling belief is --- Not only ideas but practical implementation of those is what matters
Kellogg – controlling belief is ---Teamwork or collaboration is the way to generate ideas and drive them to reality!
I am surprised that you are not considering Tuck….I urge you to consider this school….If for last 2.5 years in my school research….if there is one school from which students showed consistent willingness to let me know more about the school and the culture then it the TUCK….they are so supportive and so much interested in YOU!.....
You know I was planning to apply couple of years back but one Tuck alumni advised me to wait and learn…he told me what am I lacking and how I can get it….he gave me confidence that not only supermen get to top b schools but people like you and me can also get there….that gave me confidence…so think about it….seeing is believing so talk to some students and you will get the feel!
BTW I can let you whatever you want about B-schools but I really need your help in clearing this GMAT….Imagine a situation…my application content is 85% ready..it’s just a matter of copy and paste but this GMAT is taking a lot of time…although the accuracy is good but I am not feeling confident…May be will learn from your story! I somehow need to motivate myself...
ReplyDeleteHey Sanket,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great advice man. Well, I am not considering Tuck mainly because my wife is a qualified individual who may have difficulty getting a job in Hanover with H1B et al. Plus I prefer a big city school or atleast one which is close to a big city. What is your opinion on LBS ?
As for GMAT, no exchange necessary man. Let me know how I can help you. Where are you lacking? Is the verbal part ok? When is the test? What books have you used?
Regards.