Niche Program vs. top B-School

[pknox]

Stacy:

I am a 23 year old male, looking to apply for B-School in the Fall of '08. I graduated with a 3.66 in May of '06 with a degree in International Business from UT-Knoxville and speak fluent spanish. I worked full-time throughout college and have been working as an account executive for Dell for the past year. I have not taken the GMAT but feel confident I can score 700+.

I am looking to get into sports susiness and was curious to know your opinion on whether or not to look at a niche program like the sports business MBA from Arizona State or a Dual-Degree MBA/MS in Sports Management from UMASS, as opposed to looking at a higher-ranked program like Wharton, Kellogg, etc.

I am certain that I want to work in the sports field and am close to getting a position with a professional sports team until I can apply for b-school. If I can get into a top-10 program, would it be better to go to that program as opposed to the sports-focused MBA? It seems to me that one should go to the school where the contacts are the best based on what that person wants to get into. My brother goes to Wharton and is of the opinion that you should always go to a top-10 school over a niche program simply based on prestige, do you agree?

It just seems to me that if I want to get into sports, I should go the program that has the best contacts in the sports world.

Thanks for your help and my apologies for the long question and explanation.

[Stacy Blackman]

It really depends what you want out of the program. Your goals may be very different than your brother's. If your main purpose is to "get the job", you should call potential employers and ask how they view the MBA. They may not value an MBA at all - from any program. However, if you want prestige or flexibility should you change careers, a higher ranked program could be more valuable.