Is Now The Right Time To Apply To The Top Ranked MBA Programs

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Mon, 30 Sep 2019 16:15:49 +0000

The reason that I started this thread:

Applying to elite 2 year, full time MBA programs during a robust economy when applications are down:

means less competition at the highest ranked schools for admission

& less competition for merit scholarship awards

as well as more competition (increased scholarship money offers) among some elite MBA programs for the “best” applicants.

Our economy is cyclical. Many economists predict a recession in the next 2 years. If accepted, but the timing is not quite right, many MBA programs will permit an accepted applicant to defer admission for one year.

There is a hierarchy of schools even among the M-7 MBA programs with Harvard, Stanford & Penn-Wharton considered the most elite programs among the most elite at this time.

Arguably Chicago-Booth & Northwestern’s Kellogg School are next in line. While both are located in the Chicago area, they attract different types of students. Chicago’s rep is as a program for quantitatively oriented students who choose their own courses while Northwestern’s Kellogg School is well known for marketing, management and teamwork (as there are 6 or 7 required courses which students take as a cohort thereby establishing strong relationships & connections). Northwestern Kellogg interviews all applicants primarily to assess interpersonal skills. (Although I am not sure if this is true for Kellogg’s recently launched one year full time MBA program.)

This perception of the top 5 programs mirrors the US News rankings although historically Northwestern’s Kellogg has a history of being ranked higher than #5 and has frequently been ranked at #1.

Columbia & NYU-Stern (NYU is not considered an M-7 program) place well in high paying finance positions such as IB (investment banking).

MIT is among the M-7 and usually ranked at #5 or so by US News.