Is Williams good for business?

Ephman
Mon, 12 Jan 2015 22:44:04 +0000

Everyone I know from Williams who was interested in business got a job at a top-notch consulting firm, investment bank, or hedge fund out of college. These are precisely the same employers that any top graduate of any undergrad business program is aiming for. Folks with quantitative majors like math, cs, physics, and mathematically-focused econ consistent get jobs at tech firms like Google, as well. So obviously, the employers don’t think that you need a business curriculum to succeed. My friends who eventually got MBAs went to Wharton, Wharton, Harvard, Haas (on scholarship), Sloan and Tuck, respectively. Not all of them had killer GPAs at Williams, either. Other friends have succeeded in business without an MBA. Several of the top hedge funds out there are run by Williams grads (Chase Coleman, Andres Halvorsen), and several prominent past and future CEOs were Williams grads (just look at Williams’ Wikipedia alumni list). The examples go on and on, but really, if there is any advantage to an undergraduate business curriculum, it’s not evident from the career paths of graduates.

I think the one real advantage of an undergrad business school is if you want to be en entrepreneur in or directly out of college (not to say it’s impossible from Williams, lots of prominent examples like Steve Case of AOL fame, Bo Peabody/Ethan Zuckerman, etc.). They have the infrastructure and support to help you get a business idea off the ground while still in college – Williams, or really any LAC, is not going to offer that, so you’d have to be more independent in that regard. But if you want to start your career at the most prestigious large employers of business grads, you can’t do any better than Williams.