THE NEXT BIG THING Online Education, With a Low-Cost Twist Western Governors University delivers online education at a fraction of the cost of for-profit players, and cash-strapped states are taking notice
VIEWPOINT A College Degree Is Still Worth It Sure, it costs more, and technology is threatening high-paying jobs. But the Great Recession shows postsecondary education is more valuable than ever
BEST BUSINESS SCHOOLS 2010 Business School, Explained Is business school on your horizion? If so, get answers to all your questions on admissions, careers, and B-school life from the experts
B-SCHOOL FORUMS
Visit BW Online's interactive forums for wide-ranging discussions about management education. Search through over 1,359,000 posts for topics that interest you. Join in today! Here are a few samples of recent messages:
Getting into Business Schools — Quality of Students in MBAs
From: vanta To: All
One of my friend tell me only to apply for M7 level MBA, because the alum and student quality are much better than tier 2 schools (ex, ROSS, Fuqua). M7 students are way smarter than other schools (yes...he is from one of M7). However, I didn't agree with his point, since I have seen many successful alum from UCLA or UMich. For those who have friends in different tier schools, do you think this statement is true? What make the gap between M7 and top15? I am an international students, but I would like to listen to more insights from different countries.
From: ColumbiaYesorNo To: vanta
There are smart students at all schools and dumb students at top schools. As an example, you are probably the smart one because you don't believe it and your friend fits the latter category.
From: FrancescaBW To: vanta
Hi,
Congrats on thinking about going to business school and pro-actively seeking information. While rankings and the like are a great starting point for you to narrow down your list of schools and get information about the competitiveness of a program (What is the average GMAT? How many students apply? How many are accepted?), you must really look at what each program offers you personally. The point is to find a school where you'll fit in. Rankings and tiers can't capture that. You need to know what it's like to live at that school in that particular town or city. You need to know what the class sizes are like and what specialties the schools have and if any of those coincide with your career goals. You should visit the campus, if you can. Even if you can't, you should talk to students and alumni about their experiences. Then, you must consider everything you discover from your research to determine to which schools you should apply.
Good luck, Francesca
From: FrancescaBW To: vanta
One more thing - you can check out our rankings here - http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/rankings/
From: JinShil2 To: vanta
Just look at the objective data such as GMAT and GPA. They are virtually identical across the top 15 schools.
Sure, there might be differences in work experiences, EC, and leadership abilities. Every school, however, would admit they dinged students they should've admitted every year. The top 15 ADCOMS decisions are something like admitting only one of 680+3.8, 720+3.3, or 750+2.9 and ADCOMS aren't perfect.
How many students get admitted to top 15 schools every year? About 5000, and that is a from a global pool of applicants. That data alone should tell you there isn't a huge difference between them.
From: lissenup To: vanta
smart does not always equal successful.
successful does not always mean you are smart.
Getting into Business Schools — Value of International Work Experience
From: medagan To: All
Hi All,
I intend to apply to business school later this year (second round applications) and I'm considering going to work in India for a year starting this summer. I have a good job in the U.S. renewable energy sector, but I'd like some international renewable energy market exposure, and India is the next hot renewable energy market (aside from China). I've heard from a few people that international experience could substantially bolster my application.
Does anyone know if, in general, having international work experience would enhance the profile of an MBA candidate applying to top tier B-schools? I understand that the potential benefit, if any, would vary by candidate and type of experience.
Just to give you a brief overview of my profile, I'm a white American who never studied abroad with roughly 3 years of energy market work experience.
Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Medagan
From: MBAApply To: medagan
It seems like you've answered your question already - it would depend on the person and type of experience. Whether it's "international" or not is secondary to the quality of the experience itself.
Alex Chu
From: FrancescaBW To: medagan
Hi,
I have to agree with Alex. The quality of the work experience is more important than where it is. That said, schools today realize that globally minded students will be an asset both in the classroom and when recruiters come to campus. If the quality of the work experience is good - you will have additional responsibilities, chances to demonstrate leadership, an opportunity to work on innovative and/or interesting projects - in another country, such as India, then you should consider it. If this is just a glorified study abroad experience or you'll actually be getting a demotion, I wouldn't bother. Be sure to make note of the experiences you are having at work because you will rely on these notes when you write your essays and prepare for admissions interviews. What do you think you're going to do?
Good luck, Francesca
From: kashifaltaf To: FrancescaBW
Work experience can get preference when it is relevant to your study or your educational background. I recommended that International experience will be preferred everywhere in the world but in which field where you want to enter
Getting into Business Schools — Columbia vs. MIT?
From: z1234 To: All
Hi all,
Any opinions on how Columbia and MIT Sloan stack up if you are not interested in banking (columbia) or entrepreneurship (MIT)?
Appreciate the advice. Thanks
From: MBAApply To: z1234
It would be more helpful to find out what you are interested in rather than what you're not interested in. Consulting, oil/gas, real estate, rotational programs, tech, auto, etc.
It's sort of like going to a bartender and saying "I want to order something, but I'm not interested in beer or soda. What should I order?"
Alex Chu
From: z1234 To: MBAApply
Thanks. I am interested in alernative finance, i.e., vc, pe or potentially hedge funds...i have pe experience now and hear it is up to you to get back into that field, so I am just curious if there is a general sense for which school is the better brand outside their respective sweet spots.
From: MBAApply To: z1234
You sort of answered your own question -- it's going to come down to your own legwork, because they're not hiring "school brands" but are bringing you in based on your overall resume, of which b-school is just one line item.
It comes down more to location and convenience of networking -- NYC has more PE and HF than Boston, whereas Boston has more VC (especially life sciences VC as far I as remember). So that should be more important than which has a better "brand" perception wise which will vary from one person to the next.
Alex Chu
From: WernerGunther To: MBAApply
Alex, your answer is one of the best i've read on these forums!
From: z1234 To: MBAApply
Thanks for the helpful advice
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Business school faculty sometimes get a lot of grief about their research. Irrelevant and obscure, much of what passes for research on b-school campuses doesn't do managers much good at all, and if it advances the cause of knowledge creation it's incremental at best. But that's not to say some of it's not interesting. As Francesca Di Meglio reports, professors at Georgia Tech have figured out why companies that go green aren't always rewarded with higher market valuations, and a post-doc at Harvard has discovered that Web surfing on company time may not be such a bad thing after all.
As research topics go, Western Governors University might be a fruitful one for some enterprising faculty member. As Alison Damast writes, the Salt Lake City school offers more than 50 online programs, but that's where the similarities to the University of Phoenix end. A nonprofit, the school has cut costs to the bone by dispensing with faculty altogether — content comes from web-based tutorials, simulations, and the like — and crediting students for knowledge they already have. That "competency based" model allows many to progress quickly through the program, lowering the cost even more.
Is it perfect? Far from it, but it works well enough that several states have already partnered with WGU, and several more are in discussions with the school. It may not be the next big thing in online education, but it's an interesting idea.
Louis Lavelle Business Schools Editor Bloomberg Businessweek
UCLA Anderson: Admissions Q&A MBA Admissions Director Mae Jennifer Shores explains what UCLA's Anderson school has to offer and what it takes to get in
MBA Insider Check out this feature-rich area for advice and tools that will help you choose the right B-school -- and develop a strategy for getting accepted
Full-Time MBA Rankings & Profiles BusinessWeek's Top 30 U.S. programs and Top 10 international programs. Plus, scan in-depth profiles of more than 300 full-time programs around the world
The Best Undergraduate B-Schools Undergrad business programs are getting MBA-like respect, and competition to get into them is hotter than ever. Here's how the top schools stack up
B-School Calendar BusinessWeek.com's scheduling tool will give you an idea of upcoming events at B-schools in the U.S. and around the world. You'll find information on admissions receptions, application deadlines, networking events, alumni events, conferences, and much more.
Reader Dorothy Beach Writes:
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