<p>Business Week recently published an article that should make any of us with children looking towards an MBA rethink their college choice. Applications to business schools are way down, 16% at Harvard this year and over 30% at some lower ranked schools. Why? Many of the employers that used to make kids flock to b school no longer care about the MBA.</p>
<p>Top B schools used to have many, many would be investment bankers, it was the surest route to get a plum job at a top bank. No more according to Goldman Sachs which now hires 75% from undergrad institutions. </p>
<p>So a change in strategy may well be a good idea. The thought that a less expensive undergrad degree was fine because b school would follow may not be a good strategy now. Food for thought in my house.</p>
<p>I wonder a bit about the intepretation of what’s going on. Even when MBA enrollments were high, most students started out in the industry from a BA degree and acquired experience that helped them to gain enrollment into the better MBA programs.</p>
<p>My guess is that the MBA’s still rule the roost in financial institutions, and that their average pay is far above that of the average non-MBA employee (with exception of those with JD’s or equivalent), even considering the number of years of experience. Non-MBA’s reach a ceiling in the administrative/supervisorial/leadership responsibility they are allowed to assume.</p>
<p>Read the B School article. It makes sense to me as a grad of a top B school. Since the average person id out four or five years before they can get into a top B schools, many employeers are finding it worth to do the training themselves. They then can focus on the skills most important to them. A check with ibankers at banks now reveals they will make every bit as much in their banks as an MBA.</p>
<p>I can believe this may not be the case in corporate America, but most toop MBAs go for service induetries for fast, big bucks.</p>
<p>No doubt that at my very top buiness school, the hardest part was getting in. And the interview process was amazing. First class trips to see prospective employer, great hotels and dinner at the finest restaurants. They also came to campus and fed us some amazing meals in town. What fun! A total boondoggle from work, which was only 2 years post undergrad in the day. My first employer, McKinsey, is also in the B school article questioning whether their employees need an MBA. The world has changed in a ghurry. The big chages in who these guys are hiring have happened in a mere three years.</p>
<p>I’m investing top dollar in a feeder undergrad, no question after following up on the article.</p>
<p>If your student is aiming for high level finance jobs out of college [IB, consulting etc; as opposed to working in the finance or marketing department of a regional company/bank], it isn’t a good idea to say ‘i’ll go to a regular undergrad and then aim for a ivy/high ranked MBA.’ Those jobs are selective and just looking at the facebooks of analysts/associates at those firms, you rarely see any who aren’t either from one of the top ranked undergrad b-schools or from top ranked/ivy universities. If you have one of those jobs and then decide to go to b-school, you offer more ‘name brand’ experience in terms of your education and pre-MBA job, thus making your recruiting a little easier. For better or worse, finance and wall street in general is a prestige oriented industry and that starts in college.</p>