Choosing a B-School: Look Past the Stereotypes

By Jeremy Shinewald, mbaMission

Here we present part five in our nine-part series, Selecting Your Target MBA Program. This week, we discuss the importance of looking beyond a target program’s stereotypes and truly understanding the depth of their specializations. Next week: Alumni Base.

Everyone knows the Kellogg School of Management is a marketing school, right? After all, Kellogg is home to Philip Kotler, author of some of the world’s most widely used graduate-level textbooks on marketing. And no one can deny Kellogg’s prowess in this field (and it goes far beyond Kotler). However, Kellogg perceives itself to be far more than a mere “marketing school.” “In fact, Kellogg has sent significantly more graduates into consulting positions every year for the past five years than into marketing roles—yet its marketing reputation persists.” 

Similarly, many candidates will likely assume that Columbia Business School (CBS) is “just a finance school.” Sure, it consistently sends a significant percentage of its graduates into positions in the finance field (an average of 53.2% of each class over the past five years), but assuming that CBS is “only” a finance school ignores the program’s strengths in consulting (which an average of 20.5% of its graduates have entered over the past five years) and fails to recognize CBS’s excellent entrepreneurial program (which boasts an incubator on campus), among numerous other strengths and resources. The Wharton School likewise faces the “just finance” stereotype, but it actually offers a first-rate health care program, the largest MBA marketing faculty in the world and more. READ MORE