Hello,
I am a Fall 09 applicant from India currently working in US for last 6 years. 29/m/married. Background Engineering with 8 years of W/E in IT. Graduated from a top univ from India. GMAT 740.
I want to work in retail in supply chain management post MBA. I have been working in this area from IT side for 4 years as a consultant. I have a few questions regarding school selection.
1. From my reading so far, I feel that schools with focus on General Management are a better fit for my profile and post-MBA goals. Tuck, Duke, Darden come to mind. Can you recommend any other? Thought about Sloan and Ross, but felt that their focus is more on operations than on GM. Am I right?
2. My spouse is currently working at a good position for a well known Bank and she plans to continue working although she is flexible about the employer. Knowing this, would I be better off avoiding schools in remote parts if Long distance relationship is not an option? If so, should I rule out Tuck and Darden?
3. I have heard both positive and negative opinions about case study method. One of fears about the case study method is getting dominated by people who come from particular industries such as IB or Finance. Although adcoms assure me that my fear is imaginary, I have experienced such thing in my past education and can't come over it. What is your opinion?
4. I would prefer schools where a good percentage of the class is married. Although I have nothing against singles, I think gone are the days when I could live a single lifestyle. I feel that I would miss out on the social life (and hence networking) if I join a school with majority of the class single. Tuck with more than one third class married really stands out. Any other schools that one can recommend me?
Considering the above criteria in that order of importance, can anyone recommend me some schools preferably from top 20?
Thank you so much.
GMAT Forum
5 postsPage 1 of 1
- singularity
- MBAApply
To answer your questions:
(1) Every b-school gives you the same degree - the MBA. It's not a specialist degree, but a generalist degree. No matter where you go, you'll be taking more or less the same first year core courses (marketing, accounting, finance, operations, strategy, org behavior, leadership, econ, stats, etc.) and once you've completed the core you will take electives of your choosing. Top schools are "top" not because they are only good in one specialty, but because they are strong across the board. B-schools can be a victim of their own marketing hype to the point where applicants overstate the differences in the academic curricula of various b-schools.
(2) Tuck is going to be tough for a spouse to find a job. Darden should be less of an issue - it's not rural at all; contact students if you can through the Darden Partners club (or whatever it's called for married students) and they should be able to give you firsthand info.
(3) I'm not sure where you got any of this from. The case method has nothing to do with finance, IB, etc.
(4) All schools have a significant minority that are married - it ranges from 20-40%. At the top b-schools, there is something for everybody (that's why b-schools value diversity).
Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com
(1) Every b-school gives you the same degree - the MBA. It's not a specialist degree, but a generalist degree. No matter where you go, you'll be taking more or less the same first year core courses (marketing, accounting, finance, operations, strategy, org behavior, leadership, econ, stats, etc.) and once you've completed the core you will take electives of your choosing. Top schools are "top" not because they are only good in one specialty, but because they are strong across the board. B-schools can be a victim of their own marketing hype to the point where applicants overstate the differences in the academic curricula of various b-schools.
(2) Tuck is going to be tough for a spouse to find a job. Darden should be less of an issue - it's not rural at all; contact students if you can through the Darden Partners club (or whatever it's called for married students) and they should be able to give you firsthand info.
(3) I'm not sure where you got any of this from. The case method has nothing to do with finance, IB, etc.
(4) All schools have a significant minority that are married - it ranges from 20-40%. At the top b-schools, there is something for everybody (that's why b-schools value diversity).
Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com
- MBAApply
Your best bet is to visit a 100% case method school (which leaves you with Darden and HBS). These schools conduct the case method differently than other schools that don't use the case method exclusively.
At schools that don't use the case method exclusively (i.e. every school except HBS and Darden), the classroom discussions are usually more laid back -- it feels more like a Sunday afternoon conversation. Even if a good portion of your grade for that particular class is determined by the quality of what you say, it feels as if the stakes in that class are certainly lower than at a 100% case method school.
Conversely, at HBS and Darden, the discussion is more heightened -- it feels like a discussion panel of pundits on TV news talk show; the discussion is certainly cordial and friendly, but it certainly feels more like you're "on camera" so to speak because so much of your grade is determined by the quality of what you say.
As for the pros and cons -- the biggest plus of a 100% case method school is that you spend so much of your time articulating your points in a class room AS WELL AS listening much more closely to what others have to say (so you can respond that much more succinctly and substantively). It really hones your communication skills which is absolutely essential for senior/executive management anywhere -- where most of your day is spent interacting in Board meetings, being interviewed by the media, speaking at conferences, meeting with key customers, etc. Once you're in a *real* decision-making role in any industry, most of your time is spent dealing with people (your subordinates are responsible for the analytical aspects which they then present to you). In short, it's probably the best training and preparation for senior management.
The biggest minus of a 100% case method school is developing the technical and raw analytical knowledge that you will need for virtually all the jobs post-MBA. Doesn't mean you can't learn the fundamentals of accounting, finance, etc. but for the raw analytical and knowledge foundation for most b-school courses, having a professor conduct a lecture can certainly be more effective (i.e. you can either have a "class discussion" on a case to "discover" the basics of balance sheet, income statement and cash flow through those class discussions -- or you can simply have a professor TELL you what those basics are in a series of lectures). As such, students coming out of a 100% case method school tend to have a weaker foundation in the core business subjects -- which can be an issue in the short-term, particularly in more technical roles particularly in finance.
While every student will have an opinion on this -- my own personal opinion is that the 100% case method schools are ideal for those with a strong business background (ex-consultants, ex-bankers, and those with a business undergrad degree) -- since the case method is ideal for *applying* what you know, as opposed to learning what you don't know. It's ideal for elective courses where you already have a foundation in the subject. However, if you have little to no business background, you'll probably get more mileage out of schools that use a combination of cases, lectures, projects, etc.
Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com
At schools that don't use the case method exclusively (i.e. every school except HBS and Darden), the classroom discussions are usually more laid back -- it feels more like a Sunday afternoon conversation. Even if a good portion of your grade for that particular class is determined by the quality of what you say, it feels as if the stakes in that class are certainly lower than at a 100% case method school.
Conversely, at HBS and Darden, the discussion is more heightened -- it feels like a discussion panel of pundits on TV news talk show; the discussion is certainly cordial and friendly, but it certainly feels more like you're "on camera" so to speak because so much of your grade is determined by the quality of what you say.
As for the pros and cons -- the biggest plus of a 100% case method school is that you spend so much of your time articulating your points in a class room AS WELL AS listening much more closely to what others have to say (so you can respond that much more succinctly and substantively). It really hones your communication skills which is absolutely essential for senior/executive management anywhere -- where most of your day is spent interacting in Board meetings, being interviewed by the media, speaking at conferences, meeting with key customers, etc. Once you're in a *real* decision-making role in any industry, most of your time is spent dealing with people (your subordinates are responsible for the analytical aspects which they then present to you). In short, it's probably the best training and preparation for senior management.
The biggest minus of a 100% case method school is developing the technical and raw analytical knowledge that you will need for virtually all the jobs post-MBA. Doesn't mean you can't learn the fundamentals of accounting, finance, etc. but for the raw analytical and knowledge foundation for most b-school courses, having a professor conduct a lecture can certainly be more effective (i.e. you can either have a "class discussion" on a case to "discover" the basics of balance sheet, income statement and cash flow through those class discussions -- or you can simply have a professor TELL you what those basics are in a series of lectures). As such, students coming out of a 100% case method school tend to have a weaker foundation in the core business subjects -- which can be an issue in the short-term, particularly in more technical roles particularly in finance.
While every student will have an opinion on this -- my own personal opinion is that the 100% case method schools are ideal for those with a strong business background (ex-consultants, ex-bankers, and those with a business undergrad degree) -- since the case method is ideal for *applying* what you know, as opposed to learning what you don't know. It's ideal for elective courses where you already have a foundation in the subject. However, if you have little to no business background, you'll probably get more mileage out of schools that use a combination of cases, lectures, projects, etc.
Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com
- Guest
MBAApply Wrote:Your best bet is to visit a 100% case method school (which leaves you with Darden and HBS). These schools conduct the case method differently than other schools that don't use the case method exclusively.
At schools that don't use the case method exclusively (i.e. every school except HBS and Darden), the classroom discussions are usually more laid back -- it feels more like a Sunday afternoon conversation. Even if a good portion of your grade for that particular class is determined by the quality of what you say, it feels as if the stakes in that class are certainly lower than at a 100% case method school.
Conversely, at HBS and Darden, the discussion is more heightened -- it feels like a discussion panel of pundits on TV news talk show; the discussion is certainly cordial and friendly, but it certainly feels more like you're "on camera" so to speak because so much of your grade is determined by the quality of what you say.
As for the pros and cons -- the biggest plus of a 100% case method school is that you spend so much of your time articulating your points in a class room AS WELL AS listening much more closely to what others have to say (so you can respond that much more succinctly and substantively). It really hones your communication skills which is absolutely essential for senior/executive management anywhere -- where most of your day is spent interacting in Board meetings, being interviewed by the media, speaking at conferences, meeting with key customers, etc. Once you're in a *real* decision-making role in any industry, most of your time is spent dealing with people (your subordinates are responsible for the analytical aspects which they then present to you). In short, it's probably the best training and preparation for senior management.
The biggest minus of a 100% case method school is developing the technical and raw analytical knowledge that you will need for virtually all the jobs post-MBA. Doesn't mean you can't learn the fundamentals of accounting, finance, etc. but for the raw analytical and knowledge foundation for most b-school courses, having a professor conduct a lecture can certainly be more effective (i.e. you can either have a "class discussion" on a case to "discover" the basics of balance sheet, income statement and cash flow through those class discussions -- or you can simply have a professor TELL you what those basics are in a series of lectures). As such, students coming out of a 100% case method school tend to have a weaker foundation in the core business subjects -- which can be an issue in the short-term, particularly in more technical roles particularly in finance.
While every student will have an opinion on this -- my own personal opinion is that the 100% case method schools are ideal for those with a strong business background (ex-consultants, ex-bankers, and those with a business undergrad degree) -- since the case method is ideal for *applying* what you know, as opposed to learning what you don't know. It's ideal for elective courses where you already have a foundation in the subject. However, if you have little to no business background, you'll probably get more mileage out of schools that use a combination of cases, lectures, projects, etc.
Alex Chu
alex@mbaapply.com
www.mbaapply.com
http://mbaapply.blogspot.com
This is the best advice I have seen so far. Thank you so much.
5 posts Page 1 of 1