Before we get started, I have to admit how incredibly excited and blessed I am to have the option of these three schools, despite a 640 GMAT score (mortifying, I know).
What I am looking to do post-MBA:
I wrote my essays on wanting to use organizational management skills to open up my own charter schools and address teach attrition in low-income schools, while bringing in technology and innovative people management strategies. While this is true, this is a very, very long-term goal. My original plan was to do a Broad Residency or work with Education Pioneers after graduation, where I would be in a management position for an educational organization. But in reality, in the short-term, I would be really excited to do work for a big company's corporate social responsibility-ish team (Nike Foundation, Google K-12 Outreach/Google.org, etc.), work at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation/Clinton Foundation, or go back to the tech industry and finally pursue my interest in marketing at a place like Apple or Google. Either way, I feel like getting an MBA gives the opportunity to start in a new industry, and I am pretty excited to any of these new things after graduation. I am not interested in finance.
Here is what I am looking for in an MBA program:
- more than the traditional MBA program. I am looking for a program that appreciates innovation and thinking outside the box.
- ample opportunity to go abroad. The more international opportunities I can squeeze out of these next two years, the better. I am a culture geek.
- leadership development. I am not just going to get another degree, I want to emerge a true leader.
- community. I don't know how else to explain this other than... community. Perhaps this has to do with size, perhaps it has to do with levels of interaction, but engaged classmates are awesome. And an engaged community = engaged alumni. I want to go to a place where people love their school, because I already love both of these programs!
- action-based learning. I don't only want to learn things in theory, I want to be able to practice it as soon as I can. The pro-bono consulting that business school students do? I love that. I also think it bring excellent exposure and a diversity of thought.
- expert faculty and visits from world-class leaders. I want to learn from the best and hope their insight causes their awesome to rub off on me. Or at least inspire me. This also goes for really intelligent peers -- I want their smarts to rub off on me, too!
- multi-disciplinary. Originally, I was going to say "ability to get a join degree with a Masters in Education." But neither of these schools have that option. Yale doesn't even have an education school. But I would like the opportunity to pursue an auxiliary interest while there, if time permits.
- supportive. A place where student support is fostered, although I am not sure if this is a nod to grade non-disclosure. Also, somewhere that does some sort of pre-orientation Math Camp. I definitely need to learn how to do more math before I go to business school, so I would love a school that has one of these math workshops sorted out.
- prestige. I will admit, this is all a part of it too. I want a big name, or maybe a high rank. Or maybe I need to stop being so prideful.
- career opportunities. A place where seek out talent.
- fun. challenging. exciting. interesting. an opportunity to grow as a person.
- puppy. I have a small dog (8 pounds, non-shedding) that I will bring with me. It would be awesome to go somewhere where I can get really close housing (cheaply) and keep my dog. Not a huge deal, but thought I would throw that out there.
Hopefully what is above isn't so trite that it will actually help some of you see where I am going with this. Excuse the copious amounts of detail... hoping it encourages you to tell me your opinions!
And now on the the Pros and Cons of each program (that I know of thus far):
Kellogg:
Pros:
- scholarship, which would cover 75% of tuition
- name is well-known in the business world
- higher b-school rankings... #1 Marketing, #5 Management, #5 Nonprofit [US News and World Report]
- just a 3.5 hour drive from my spouse, if he stays in Indiana
- lots of student engagement -- looks like a lot of fun! KWEST!
- has some social enterprise initiatives that I really love
Cons:
- name is not as well-known outside business-school recruiting
- building is old and feels cramped (I know they are making a new building, but I wont be there for it)
- grade disclosure breeds unnecessary competitiveness? I might be making this up.
Yale SOM:
Pros:
- full-tuition scholarship
- name is well-known universally
- integrated curriculum is pretty neat
- mandatory international trips the first year... I like the sound of that.
- the new building is going to be an awesome learning environment. I wonder if that will affect future rankings?
- being on the Yale campus means there will be lots of pretty awesome events to go to and centers to be a part of... I might be imagining this one.
Cons:
- traveling in and out of New Haven is such a hassle. The local airport only flies to Philly, and you otherwise have to make your way to and from NY. getting home would be such a pain.
- not as well-known in the business world/doesn't have as high rankings
- they use Outlook instead of the Gmail platform. I am not necessarily dinging them for that, it just makes me sad, haha.
Haas:
Pros:
- name is well-known universally
- high b-school rankings... #9 Marketing, #7 Management, #4 Nonprofit [US News and World Report]
- fan of the smaller class size (and this would also be a pro for Yale)
- a very innovative atmosphere
- going, going back, back to Cali, Cali (it would be nice to escape the snow for a while!)
- they were very thorough in their admissions call as to why they accepted me -- I really appreciate that and it left a good impression
Cons:
- have to do supplemental essays now in order to be considered for scholarships
- name is not as well-known outside business-school recruiting
- the admitted students weekend is until after I have to make decisions for other programs (anyone have advice on this?)
Basically, I want to learn the most, experience the most, and see the most. I would love any and all opinions, as I am going to thinking about this for the next few months and want to take anything and everything into consideration. Please tell me what you think! Thank you!
