<p>I know that Wharton has the best MBA program. But, in the real world, would a company more likely hire someone coming from the Penn or Harvard program? I was thinking Harvard just because of the “wow” factor.</p>
<p>Ummmm recruiters where Wharton and Harvard grads visit know both of them well and know that they are both equal in terms of strength of the kids. Now if you are talking about some small, non prestigious company in kansas (no offense) then yes Harvard will look good. But if you are applying to the best companies (investment banks, consulting firms, hedge funds, PE) then both are the same.</p>
<p>I think it will be hard for us to come to an agreement about which MBA program truly is the best. For examlpe, there’s a certain program in Palo Alto that also claims to be the best. There’s also a certain program in Evanston.</p>
<p>I think the best we can come up with is that certain schools are better at certain things. All of the top programs are extremely strong. Extremely. Yet each has its own special sauce that might make it the best for you, depending on what exactly you want. For example, if you want to get into financial services, you have to seriously consider going to Wharton. If you want a career in marketing, think seriously about going to Kellogg. If you want to be a high-tech entrepreneur, think seriously about going to Stanford. If you’re into quantitative analysis and operational management (the ‘technocratic’ model of management) , think seriously about going to MIT-Sloan. And if you want to be a part of arguably the broadest and deepest alumni network in the world, go to HBS (I think that even Wharton people will concede that the HBS alumni network is deeper and more extensive).</p>
<p>One thing to consider when choosing a business school is the strength of the program’s career center. If the school doesn’t have a name like HWS that the recruiters will flock to, it is up to the career centers to go out and develop relationships with companies so that they will come to the school and recruit. The top 20 schools have no problem getting companies to recruit. Usually it’s an issue when you get to those schools ranked lower.</p>