We've all read that we should attend the best school we can get into, but wouldn't that mean we'd most likely be near the bottom of our class?
The root question is this: Is it better to stand out at a school ranked 15th or fizzle near the bottom of your Harvard/Wharton/Stanford class?
very interested in your response,
-brent
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Standing out in a lower ranked school
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Fastnhappy
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Lisa Anderson
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Dear Brent,
An interesting question...I actually believe you should attend the school you believe to be the best fit for you on many dimensions you determine. I can also argue both sides of your question. So, let me give you some thoughts on your post:
How do you know if you are the "worst applicant" admitted to a program? If you assume that your GMAT is the lowest score in your class, than does that mean you will somehow be the worst academic performer? I have to tell you from experience that your GMAT is not the best indicator of academic performance or future success. While there is a correlation between GMAT scores and academic performance in business school, there is also the factor of an individual's motivation and commitment. In reality, the "bottom feeders" of many MBA classes at top 10 schools are not the ones you would predict based on their applications.
So, I guess what I am saying here is that you are still in control of how you do in business school--not only academically, but socially and otherwise. Who cares if you think you are the "worst applicant admitted"--you got in and no one knows your GMAT/GPA unless you share it. Make the most of the experience you choose because it is a huge investment and you have the ability to maximize it.
As for the other part of your question, which is standing out a school that BW or US News does not hold in as high regard, I think that the same still applies. The class size might be a bit smaller and maybe you are coming in as one of the "smarter" admits based on GMAT/GPA. At the end of the day, it is still up to you to perform academically, excel socially, and land that awesome internship/job that you want. You have to work for those opportunities no matter where you go--the number of competitors and amounts/types of resources just might be different at a lower ranked school.
Hope that makes sense.
Lisa
An interesting question...I actually believe you should attend the school you believe to be the best fit for you on many dimensions you determine. I can also argue both sides of your question. So, let me give you some thoughts on your post:
How do you know if you are the "worst applicant" admitted to a program? If you assume that your GMAT is the lowest score in your class, than does that mean you will somehow be the worst academic performer? I have to tell you from experience that your GMAT is not the best indicator of academic performance or future success. While there is a correlation between GMAT scores and academic performance in business school, there is also the factor of an individual's motivation and commitment. In reality, the "bottom feeders" of many MBA classes at top 10 schools are not the ones you would predict based on their applications.
So, I guess what I am saying here is that you are still in control of how you do in business school--not only academically, but socially and otherwise. Who cares if you think you are the "worst applicant admitted"--you got in and no one knows your GMAT/GPA unless you share it. Make the most of the experience you choose because it is a huge investment and you have the ability to maximize it.
As for the other part of your question, which is standing out a school that BW or US News does not hold in as high regard, I think that the same still applies. The class size might be a bit smaller and maybe you are coming in as one of the "smarter" admits based on GMAT/GPA. At the end of the day, it is still up to you to perform academically, excel socially, and land that awesome internship/job that you want. You have to work for those opportunities no matter where you go--the number of competitors and amounts/types of resources just might be different at a lower ranked school.
Hope that makes sense.
Lisa
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Fastnhappy
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Thanks for the thoughts. Maybe the sub-question is about how much your class position affects your ability to land a job. Certainly there are some recruiters at Harvard and Wharton that don't "slum it" down at UNC or Cornell and just being at Harvard gives you access to those jobs. But those in the bottom half of the class probably don't have a credible shot at those positions anyway. It's naive to say that the worst student at Harvard is better than the best student at the University of FL (even though their rankings are 50 spots apart).
The more I think about it, I'd rather go to school where I feel comfortable with my abilities in relation to the class, but still capable of fulfilling all my goals.
But that's just me. I'm trying to take ego out of the mix completely...
-b
The more I think about it, I'd rather go to school where I feel comfortable with my abilities in relation to the class, but still capable of fulfilling all my goals.
But that's just me. I'm trying to take ego out of the mix completely...
-b
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Lisa Anderson
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A good attitude, Brent, and one that is the right perspective as you enter business school. To piggyback on your last post though, it is uncommon for recruiters to know your class standing as schools will not provide that information to them. Some companies have been known to ask students, and then it is up to them on whether or not to answer, but many business schools do not even rank their students. The GPA would be a telling sign, but remember this is graduate school where in most schools you need to maintain a 3.0 to stay, so everyone is typcially clustered on a smaller bell curve, so to speak. I guess what I'm trying to say is recruiters might be initially attracted to the students noting the 4.0 on the resume or the 780 GMAT, but that student still must interview well--maybe perform well in an internship--to get the job.
So, that is where you, as an individual, have some control over the job search process. You can network your way into a company--you do not and should not rely on campus recruiting to get you the job you want. Often, the students that end up on the campus interview schedule are actually the ones that also made networking contacts in the company prior to interview selections to ensure their names would be known by the campus recruiters when the time came.
While I don't disagree with you--you should absolutely go to the school where you feel most comfortable on many levels. I don't want you to think that if you aren't at HBS you can't get the same job as someone from HBS because you absolutely can.
two cents poorer,
Lisa
So, that is where you, as an individual, have some control over the job search process. You can network your way into a company--you do not and should not rely on campus recruiting to get you the job you want. Often, the students that end up on the campus interview schedule are actually the ones that also made networking contacts in the company prior to interview selections to ensure their names would be known by the campus recruiters when the time came.
While I don't disagree with you--you should absolutely go to the school where you feel most comfortable on many levels. I don't want you to think that if you aren't at HBS you can't get the same job as someone from HBS because you absolutely can.
two cents poorer,
Lisa
