Importance of Geography
The leading MBA programs are generally based in three important business locations, or “centers-of-gravity” for business that comprise MBA recruiters, MBA alumni and leading MBA programs. These locations are New York City and the surrounding North East corridor (Harvard, Wharton, Sloan, Columbia, Yale, Tuck and Cornell), Silicon Valley (Stanford and Haas) and Chicago and the mid-west (Booth, Kellogg and Ross.)
The location of a business school is key for a variety of reasons, but the most critical is its impact on post-MBA recruiting (large percentages of MBA classes tend to work in close proximity of a business school) and its alumni base, which is generally strongest within its region.
The emergence of the tech sector, which now competes for top MBA talent with the consulting and finance sectors, has seen the increasing importance of Silicon Valley as an MBA center-of-gravity. This benefits Stanford and Haas.
New York City and the north east corridor remains a strong center-of-gravity with its variety of industries, and strengths in consulting and finance. Leading schools in this area are also developing better links to the Silicon Valley area, whether through campuses on the west coast (Wharton for example), exchange programs (Columbia with Haas) or career trecks, which are common across all leading programs outside of Silicon Valley. Many of the leading tech firms also have east coast hubs.
The Chicago and mid-west center-of-gravity, the home of Booth, Kellogg and Ross, is weakening (probably need to use better wording). Its attraction for top MBA candidates was for large consumer goods firms and industrial firms, headquartered in the region. While this remains attractive to some top MBA candidates, candidates are typically more interested in service related industries of consulting and finance, and the emerging tech sector. Because Booth and Kellogg have been leading MBA programs for many years, and have built strong recruiter networks, and have large alumni bases (they are both relatively large programs, graduating large numbers of alumni each year) they remain leading MBA programs, and are able to send numbers of students to both Silicon Valley and the north east; but their presence in both Silicon Valley and the north east is weaker than the leading schools that are based in those regions.
Example, McKinsey founded in Chicago, now headquartered in NYC.
The majority of other leading MBA programs, in tiers 3 and 4, are in smaller cities outside the three main centers-of-gravity. The exception to this is Anderson and Marshall, which are based in Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. That said, Los Angeles is not a strong center-of-gravity for business that’s attractive to top MBA candidates. Its main industry is media and entertainment, which less than 5% of top MBA candidates pursue. And those interested in media and entertainment increasingly have additional options in New York City and Silicon Valley.
Other leading programs, outside of the main centers-of-gravity for MBAs, are able to have significant impact in their own region, in terms of placing students and cultivating their alumni networks, but their influence elsewhere is going to be weaker than their influence in their own region. For candidates who know where they want to establish their careers, after the MBA, this may be an opportunity, if a candidate’s preferences are for placement in another part of the United States or around the world.
MBA Applywire
I have about 4 years of experience at a financial derivatives advisory firm, where I'm a Vice President advising real estate and equipment-finance clients on hedging strategies. My firm is very small. which means, I am asked to take leadership roles. For example, I lead our largest client relationship, and I get to present to clients' executives and investors. Before this, I had one year in a mid size public sector consulting firm and before that, I had a year of service in the AmeriCorps, working in homelessness services.
I have a 3.58 GPA from a good but not top tier public university. At graduation I have 150 credits, which meant I was able to graduate with two bachelors degrees. They were a B.S. in Math and Economics, and a B.A. in History.
Outside of work, I volunteer roughly 120 hours a year with a hunger-relief nonprofit a and serve as a junior board member. I also organized my company's first ever annual day of service, which we've continued for 3 years. My personal interests include collecting vinyl records, and learning ancient History.
Post-MBA, I want to build on my background in real estate capital markets to move into banking on the lending side, with a particular focus on real estate. I like the real estate world, but I want to work at a bank as I think a larger institution would provide more opportunities for growth in the larger world of finance.
I am struggling to decide which schools to apply to. I keep adding programs to my list, and I already think my list is too high. My brother wants me to apply to Stanford because he's moving to the Bay Area, but I don't think I'd be competitive. My dream school is Wharton, but I think it's a long shot.
Also, in case it's relevant, I am a 28 year old White male from Pennsylvania, and a member of the LGBTQ community.
My low cgpa was as a result of working part time during my undergrad to cover my expenses and mostly for experience. Parent's business run into financial challenges made things difficult because i had to pay my fees. had CGPA of 3.0+ in 3rd and 4th year in my undergrad(60 credit hours). currently work in commercial bank in CX with 4yrs Work Exp. It will be 6yrs when I apply for the MBA ,I will be promoted to a different unit soon. pro bono consulting for young entrepreneurs. Led youth groups at church and organize capacity building events.
Plan on writing the GRE with 330 as target.
Hoping for a significant scholarship
1. I want advise on how to build my profile to make me an ideal candidate for R1 acceptance and $$$
I have worked for over 10 years in sales and business development and I am currently completing a PostGraduate Diploma in Banking and Finance and I need an a good MBA to enable me pivot into financial services.
Currently working in consulting with a major FMCG/alcobev client, mainly across analytics, supply, and business problem-solving work. Over time, I’ve realized I enjoy understanding why problems exist within organizations and how teams, systems, and decisions can work better together, which is what’s pushing me towards strategy consulting and an MBA.
A lot of my interest in business also comes from seeing how everyday products and operations work behind the scenes. Outside work, I co-founded and ran a digital literacy initiative (1yr 2mo) during COVID where we helped elderly individuals and women from underserved communities learn basic digital tools to stay connected and manage daily activities during lockdown.
I’m currently preparing for the GMAT and exploring schools such as LBS, Fuqua, Ross, Tuck, and a few reach schools depending on how the score progresses.
MBA LiveWire
Rejected after being kept on waitlist for 6 months. Annoying but am anyway committed to Dartmouth
a bit of a bummer but that's okay. got into several other great schools :)