4 ms·

Just another reminder that our top business leaders are taught on a fundamental level to leverage. Whether this is good or bad it certainly separates a lot of t

by redwood 14y ago

Just another reminder that our top business leaders are taught on a fundamental level to leverage. Whether this is good or bad it certainly separates a lot of the rest of us from those in the driving seat: they are willing to take on massive debt obligations for themselves and for the companies they run, and understand the world of leverage and all it entails/empowers.

michaelochurch 14y ago
The vast majority of them have parental funding. MBA may not seem selective (a lot of mediocre people get in) on intelligence, but the "work experience" bar can be quite high and usually requires a leadership position in an established business (not some acq-hired startup) before 26. Stodgy blue-chips don't promote that fast, so no one gets that without their daddies pulling strings, which means they also come from money.
- rprasad 14y ago
  Pretty much everything about that statement in inaccurate. The vast majority of them have parental funding. Most MBAs are self-funding; almost every MBA I met at the Berkeley, Stanford, Case, Loyola, USC, and UCLA business schools was. A few were lucky enough to have their employer bankrolling the degree. Perhaps one or two were attending on their parents' dime. MBA may not seem selective (a lot of mediocre people get in) on intelligence, but the "work experience" bar can be quite high and usually requires a leadership position in an established business (not some acq-hired startup) before 26. Stodgy blue-chips don't promote that fast, so no one gets that without their daddies pulling strings, which means they also come from money. MBAs can be very selective; it depends on the school, but even the most selective only require 2-3 years of work experience before they will seriously consider an applicant. Experience can be acquired in any industry, including startups, restaurants, and service industries. The key factor is not where an applicant worked, but what the applicant managed to accomplish while working there.
- rayiner 14y ago
  I know a lot of MBA students at NU/Kellogg, and very few bit that mold. They're mostly upper middle class, like pretty much everyone in professional degree programs, but their work experience is stuff like two years at an investment bank, consulting firm, etc. Lot of people from non-profits too. Being VP at IBM or something is decidedly not a requirement...
- travem 14y ago
  In my experience the amount of work experience and intelligence are actually switched around. There is usually some filtering for intelligence as a result of the GMAT while their experience can often be quite limited. This can lead to newly minted MBAs having a good grasp of certain tools of management but fairly limited intuition around when to appropriately apply those tools.
- FelixP 14y ago
  Stanford GSB is actually extremely competitive. Acceptance rate is about 6% (lowest in the world for MBA programs, I believe), and almost the entire applicant pool is highly qualified.

by redwood 14y ago

michaelochurch 14y ago

The vast majority of them have parental funding. MBA may not seem selective (a lot of mediocre people get in) on intelligence, but the "work experience" bar can be quite high and usually requires a leadership position in an established business (not some acq-hired startup) before 26. Stodgy blue-chips don't promote that fast, so no one gets that without their daddies pulling strings, which means they also come from money.

rprasad 14y ago
Pretty much everything about that statement in inaccurate. The vast majority of them have parental funding. Most MBAs are self-funding; almost every MBA I met at the Berkeley, Stanford, Case, Loyola, USC, and UCLA business schools was. A few were lucky enough to have their employer bankrolling the degree. Perhaps one or two were attending on their parents' dime. MBA may not seem selective (a lot of mediocre people get in) on intelligence, but the "work experience" bar can be quite high and usually requires a leadership position in an established business (not some acq-hired startup) before 26. Stodgy blue-chips don't promote that fast, so no one gets that without their daddies pulling strings, which means they also come from money. MBAs can be very selective; it depends on the school, but even the most selective only require 2-3 years of work experience before they will seriously consider an applicant. Experience can be acquired in any industry, including startups, restaurants, and service industries. The key factor is not where an applicant worked, but what the applicant managed to accomplish while working there.
rayiner 14y ago
I know a lot of MBA students at NU/Kellogg, and very few bit that mold. They're mostly upper middle class, like pretty much everyone in professional degree programs, but their work experience is stuff like two years at an investment bank, consulting firm, etc. Lot of people from non-profits too. Being VP at IBM or something is decidedly not a requirement...
travem 14y ago
In my experience the amount of work experience and intelligence are actually switched around. There is usually some filtering for intelligence as a result of the GMAT while their experience can often be quite limited. This can lead to newly minted MBAs having a good grasp of certain tools of management but fairly limited intuition around when to appropriately apply those tools.
FelixP 14y ago
Stanford GSB is actually extremely competitive. Acceptance rate is about 6% (lowest in the world for MBA programs, I believe), and almost the entire applicant pool is highly qualified.