I’m not sure how many people on here can answer this but here it goes. Why is that most MBA students, even at HBS and Stanford, didn’t go to an ivy undergrad( I’m not counting tier 2 ivys like Cornell and Dartmouth). I’m a software engineer at faang looking at applying round 1 to pivot to VC. I went to a tier 1
that didn’t have a business program. While an MBA on paper seems appealing, im not sold yet since it seems most people in MBA programs already have business backgrounds and seem to just be trying to put a better brand on their resume and get a networking vacation versus learn new skills. I imagine no one from Harvard College would go to Wharton for an MBA for example. Do most tier 1 undergrads just skip the MBA? Genuine answers only please. Just trying to figure out if I’m better off just networking my way Into VC or if there is real value in an MBA. I’m 24 if that helps.
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1. Keep in mind that the best MBA programs are drawing talent from across the globe. On the HBS or Stanford GSB campus, you are nearly as likely to run into someone who went to Oxford or one of the IITs for undergraduate as you are to find a Williams, Princeton, or Yale alum.
2. Of course, while the top MBA programs have diverse international student bodies that make it impossible for any single undergraduate program to dominate the population, I have not observed what you are stating when it comes to the lack of Harvard/Princeton/Yale undergrads in these programs. What is your source of data on that front? (I ran into plenty of grads from all three of those programs during my time in business school).
3. MBA programs are not solely filled with students who studied business at the undergraduate level. While there are certainly some, they are not in the majority - especially at the leading MBA programs. The class profile data shows this - with plenty of students coming from hard sciences, social sciences, and even humanities. For instance, the current class at HBS had 25% undergraduate engineers, 17% math and physical science majors, and 12% social science majors. Just 22% of the class had business/commerce undergraduate degrees.
4. I do not find that "most tier 1 undergrads skip the MBA". While there are certainly instances where an economics or business major lands on Wall Street post-undergraduate and never looks back, there are many 'tier 1' grads who find their way to the MBA degree.
I strongly encourage you to spend some time at one of these business schools; sit in on a class, walk the grounds, talk with students & faculty. While the MBA is certainly a resume boost, it's really so much more than that - from leadership training and deep-dive electives to global treks and lifelong networks.
Best of luck as you continue to research, and thanks again for your post.
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