Blog Archive MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed Your MBA Program is the Sole Determinant of Your Future

Blog Archive MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed Your MBA Program is the Sole Determinant of Your Future mbaMission  hosts a weekly blog series, “Admissions Myths Destroyed,”  for our friends at  Beat the GMAT. Check out the BTG site for fresh material and ours for “reprints.” The following piece was penned by mbaMission Founder, Jeremy Shinewald:   Human nature dictates that amid a competitive application process â€" exaggerated by the pervasiveness of rankings and the chatter surrounding them â€" some will perceive that they are ahead of others with an acceptance at a top-school and others will perceive that they are behind their peers with an acceptance from a lower ranked school. What is often lost amid all of the worrying is that you, not your business school, are the independent variable. You, not your school, will determine your success. Many regard Harvard Business School or the Stanford Graduate School of Business as a holy grail of sorts. Their reasoning is something like, “All you have to do is get in and you are set for life!” This is undoubtedly wrong. While there are tremendous opportunities for those who graduate from Harvard or Stanford, no graduate is just given a free pass. When MBA students/graduates find summer/full time positions at prestigious firms, they are still competing with others from many schools once they enter their workplaces and (surprise!) their individual performance, not their pedigree, then determines their successes. A staff member at mbaMission recalls her MBA summer internship at JP Morgan, wherein the firm  recruited students from seventeen top MBA programs. At the end of the summer students from UPenn-Wharton, Michigan-Ross, UVA-Darden, Texas-McCombs and NYU-Stern, were asked back for full time positionsâ€" while many other schools were shutout. This is a very small sampling fr om one firm and one summer, but this simple anecdote can be an eye-opener for an MBA applicant who assumes that a top 5 or top 10 school is the “ticket.” Further, there are a myriad of studies that suggest that lower ranked schools offer a greater ROI than top-schools. In one study sponsored by GMAC, the collective of MBA programs that administers the GMAT, data suggests that lower ranked schools offer lower costs and higher returns over a ten year period (185% vs. 118%). We are not suggesting that you start applying to lower and lower ranked schools or that you shun Stanford or Harvard, both have excellent programs. Our point is simply that some applicants can too closely identify with their target schools and neglect to recognize that their internal motors have gotten them to a place in which they can compete for acceptances. These internal motors will not be shutoff during or after business school, but will continue to drive them going forward. Share ThisTweet Admissions Myths Destroyed Harvard University (Harvard Business School) Stanford University (Stanford Graduate School of Business) University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) University of Virginia (Darden) Blog Archive MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed Your MBA Program Is the Sole Determinant of Your Future Human nature dictates that amid a competitive application processâ€"exaggerated by the pervasiveness of rankings and the chatter surrounding themâ€"some MBA students will perceive that they are ahead of others because they were accepted at a top school, while others will perceive that they are behind their peers because they gained acceptance from a lower-ranked school. What is often lost amid all of this worrying is that  you, not your business school, are the independent variable.  You, not your school, will determine your success. Many regard such prestigious institutions as Harvard Business School and the Stanford Graduate School of Business as a holy grail of sorts. Their reasoning is along the lines of, “All you have to do is get in and you are set for life!” This is undoubtedly wrong. Although tremendous opportunities exist for those who graduate from Harvard or Stanford, no graduate is simply given a free pass. When MBAs find summer or full-time positions at prestigious firms, they are still competing with others from many schools once they enter their workplaces, where (surprise!) their individual performanceâ€"not their pedigreeâ€"then determines their success. An mbaMission consultant recalls her MBA summer internship at J.P. Morgan, wherein the firm  recruited students from 17 top MBA programs. At the end of the summer, students from Wharton, Michigan Ross, UVA Darden, Texas McCombs, and NYU Stern were offered full-time positions, while students from many other schools were left out. This simple anecdote features a very small sampling from one firm and one summer, but it can be an eye-opener for an MBA applicant who assumes that a top ten school is the “ticket.” Further, a myriad of studies suggest that lower-ranked schools offer a greater return on investment than top-ranked schools. In one study sponsored by GMAC (the collective of MBA programs that administers the GMAT),  data suggests that lower-ranked schools offer lower costs and higher returns over a ten-year period  (185% vs. 118%). We are not suggesting that you start applying exclusively to lower-ranked schools or that you shun Stanford or Harvardâ€"both have excellent programs. Our point is simply that some applicants can too closely identify with their target schools and neglect to recognize that their internal motors have gotten them to a place where they can compete for acceptances. These internal motors will not be shut off during or after business school, but will continue to drive the applicants in the future. Share ThisTweet Admissions Myths Destroyed Blog Archive MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed Your MBA Program Is the Sole Determinant of Your Future Human nature dictates that amid a competitive application processâ€"exaggerated by the pervasiveness of rankings and the chatter surrounding themâ€"some MBA students will perceive that they are ahead of others because they were accepted at a top school, while others will perceive that they are behind their peers because they gained acceptance from a lower-ranked school. What is often lost amid all of this worrying is that  you, not your business school, are the independent variable.  You, not your school, will determine your success. Many regard such prestigious institutions as Harvard Business School and the Stanford Graduate School of Business as a holy grail of sorts. Their reasoning is along the lines of, “All you have to do is get in and you are set for life!” This is undoubtedly wrong. Although tremendous opportunities exist for those who graduate from Harvard or Stanford, no graduate is simply given a free pass. When MBAs find summer or full-time positions at prestigious firms, they are still competing with others from many schools once they enter their workplaces, where (surprise!) their individual performanceâ€"not their pedigreeâ€"then determines their success. An mbaMission consultant recalls her MBA summer internship at J.P. Morgan, wherein the firm  recruited students from 17 top MBA programs. At the end of the summer, students from Wharton, Michigan Ross, UVA Darden, Texas McCombs, and NYU Stern were offered full-time positions, while students from many other schools were left out. This simple anecdote features a very small sampling from one firm and one summer, but it can be an eye-opener for an MBA applicant who assumes that a top ten school is the “ticket.” Further, a myriad of studies suggest that lower-ranked schools offer a greater return on investment than top-ranked schools. In one study sponsored by GMAC (the collective of MBA programs that administers the GMAT),  data suggests that lower-ranked schools offer lower costs and higher returns over a ten-year period  (185% vs. 118%). We are not suggesting that you start applying exclusively to lower-ranked schools or that you shun Stanford or Harvardâ€"both have excellent programs. Our point is simply that some applicants can too closely identify with their target schools and neglect to recognize that their internal motors have gotten them to a place where they can compete for acceptances. These internal motors will not be shut off during or after business school, but will continue to drive the applicants in the future. Share ThisTweet Admissions Myths Destroyed Blog Archive MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed Your MBA Program Is the Sole Determinant of Your Future Human nature dictates that amid a competitive application processâ€"exaggerated by the pervasiveness of rankings and the chatter surrounding themâ€"some MBA students will perceive that they are ahead of others because they were accepted at a top school, while others will perceive that they are behind their peers because they gained acceptance from a lower-ranked school. What is often lost amid all of this worrying is that you, not your business school, are the independent variable. You, not your school, will determine your success. Many regard such prestigious institutions as Harvard Business School or the Stanford Graduate School of Business as a holy grail of sorts. Their reasoning is along the lines of, “All you have to do is get in and you are set for life!” This is undoubtedly wrong. Although tremendous opportunities exist for those who graduate from Harvard or Stanford, no graduate is simply given a free pass. When MBAs find summer or full-time positions at prestigious firms, they are still competing with others from many schools once they enter their workplaces, where (surprise!) their individual performanceâ€"not their pedigreeâ€"then determines their success. An mbaMission consultant recalls her MBA summer internship at J.P. Morgan, wherein the firm  recruited students from 17 top MBA programs. At the end of the summer, students from Wharton, Michigan Ross, UVA Darden, Texas McCombs, and NYU Stern were offered full-time positions, while students from many other schools were left out. This simple anecdote features a very small sampling from one firm and one summer, but it can be an eye-opener for an MBA applicant who assumes that a top ten school is the “ticket.” Further, a myriad of studies suggest that lower-ranked schools offer a greater return on investment than top-ranked schools. In one study sponsored by GMAC (the collective of MBA programs that administers the GMAT),  data suggests that lower-ranked schools offer lower costs and higher returns over a ten-year period  (185% vs. 118%). We are not suggesting that you start applying exclusively to lower-ranked schools or that you shun Stanford or Harvardâ€"both have excellent programs. Our point is simply that some applicants can too closely identify with their target schools and neglect to recognize that their internal motors have gotten them to a place where they can compete for acceptances. These internal motors will not be shut off during or after business school, but will continue to drive the applicants in the future. Share ThisTweet Admissions Myths Destroyed Blog Archive MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed Your MBA Program Is the Sole Determinant of Your Future Human nature dictates that amid a competitive application processâ€"exaggerated by the pervasiveness of rankings and the chatter surrounding themâ€"some MBA students will perceive that they are ahead of others because they were accepted at a top school, while others will perceive that they are behind their peers because they gained acceptance from a lower-ranked school. What is often lost amid all of this worrying is that  you, not your business school, are the independent variable.  You, not your school, will determine your success. Many regard such prestigious institutions as Harvard Business School and the Stanford Graduate School of Business as a holy grail of sorts. Their reasoning is along the lines of, “All you have to do is get in and you are set for life!” This is undoubtedly wrong. Although tremendous opportunities exist for those who graduate from Harvard or Stanford, no graduate is simply given a free pass. When MBAs find summer or full-time positions at prestigious firms, they are still competing with others from many schools once they enter their workplaces, where (surprise!) their individual performanceâ€"not their pedigreeâ€"then determines their success. An mbaMission consultant recalls her MBA summer internship at J.P. Morgan, wherein the firm  recruited students from 17 top MBA programs. At the end of the summer, students from Wharton, Michigan Ross, UVA Darden, Texas McCombs, and NYU Stern were offered full-time positions, while students from many other schools were left out. This simple anecdote features a very small sampling from one firm and one summer, but it can be an eye-opener for an MBA applicant who assumes that a top ten school is the “ticket.” Further, a myriad of studies suggest that lower-ranked schools offer a greater return on investment than top-ranked schools. In one study sponsored by GMAC (the collective of MBA programs that administers the GMAT),  data suggests that lower-ranked schools offer lower costs and higher returns over a ten-year period  (185% vs. 118%). We are not suggesting that you start applying exclusively to lower-ranked schools or that you shun Stanford or Harvardâ€"both have excellent programs. Our point is simply that some applicants can too closely identify with their target schools and neglect to recognize that their internal motors have gotten them to a place where they can compete for acceptances. These internal motors will not be shut off during or after business school, but will continue to drive the applicants in the future. Share ThisTweet Admissions Myths Destroyed Blog Archive MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed Your MBA Program Is the Sole Determinant of Your Future Human nature dictates that amid a competitive application processâ€"exaggerated by the pervasiveness of rankings and the chatter surrounding themâ€"some MBA students will perceive that they are ahead of others because they were accepted at a top school, while others will perceive that they are behind their peers because they gained acceptance from a lower-ranked school. What is often lost amid all of this worrying is that youâ€"not your business schoolâ€"are the independent variable. Youâ€"not your schoolâ€"will determine your success. Many regard Harvard Business School or the Stanford Graduate School of Business as a holy grail of sorts. Their reasoning is along the lines of, “All you have to do is get in and you are set for life!” This is undoubtedly wrong. Although tremendous opportunities exist for those who graduate from Harvard or Stanford, no graduate is simply given a free pass. When MBAs find summer or full-time positions at prestigious firms, they are still competing with others from many schools once they enter their workplaces, where (surprise!) their individual performanceâ€"not their pedigreeâ€"then determines their success. A staff member at mbaMission recalls her MBA summer internship at J.P. Morgan, wherein the firm  recruited students from 17 top MBA programs. At the end of the summer, students from Wharton, Michigan Ross, UVA Darden, Texas McCombs, and NYU Stern were offered full-time positions, while students from many other schools were left out. This simple anecdote features a very small sampling from one firm and one summer, but it can be an eye-opener for an MBA applicant who assumes that a top 10 school is the “ticket.” Further, a myriad of studies suggest that lower-ranked schools offer a greater return on investment than top-ranked schools. In one study sponsored by GMAC (the collective of MBA programs that administers the GMAT),  data suggests that lower-ranked schools offer lower costs and higher returns over a ten-year period  (185% vs. 118%). We are not suggesting that you start applying exclusively to lower-ranked schools or that you shun Stanford or Harvardâ€"both have excellent programs. Our point is simply that some applicants can too closely identify with their target schools and neglect to recognize that their internal motors have gotten them to a place where they can compete for acceptances. These internal motors will not be shut off during or after business school, but will continue to drive the applicants in the future. Share ThisTweet Admissions Myths Destroyed Blog Archive MBA Admissions Myths Destroyed Your MBA Program Is the Sole Determinant of Your Future Human nature dictates that while engaged in a competitive MBA application processâ€"exaggerated by the pervasiveness of rankings and the chatter surrounding themâ€"some candidates will perceive that they are ahead of others because they were accepted at a top school, while others will perceive that they are behind their peers because they were accepted at a lower-ranked school. What is often lost amid all this worrying is that you, not your target business school, are the independent variable. You, not your target school, will determine your success. Many regard such prestigious institutions as Harvard Business School and the Stanford Graduate School of Business as some sort of holy grail and believe, “All you have to do is get in and you are set for life!” This is patently wrong. Although tremendous opportunities exist for those who graduate from Harvard or Stanford, no graduate is simply given a free pass. When MBAs find summer or full-time positions at prestigious firms, they are still competing with others from many schools once they enter the workplace, where (surprise!) their individual performanceâ€"not their pedigreeâ€"then determines their success. An mbaMission Senior Consultant recalls her MBA summer internship at J.P. Morgan. The firm had recruited students from 17 top MBA programs, and at the end of the summer, students from Wharton, Michigan Ross, UVA Darden, Texas McCombs, and NYU Stern were offered full-time positions, while students from many other schools were not. This simple anecdote features a very small sampling from one firm and one summer, but it can be an eye-opener for an MBA applicant who assumes that a top ten school is a kind of guaranteed “ticket.” Further, a myriad of studies suggest that lower-ranked schools offer a greater return on investment than top-ranked schools. In one study sponsored by GMAC (the collective of MBA programs that administers the GMAT), data suggested that lower-ranked schools offer lower costs and higher returns over a ten-year period (185% vs. 118%). We are not saying that you should start applying exclusively to lower-ranked schools or shun Stanford or Harvardâ€"both have excellent programs. Our point is simply that some applicants focus too exclusively on their target schools and neglect to recognize that their unique experiences, skills, and potential are what have made them competitive applicants in the first place. And these qualities will not be nullified during or after business school but will instead continue to drive them in the future. Share ThisTweet Admissions Myths Destroyed