| Topic Name: |
"Quant Programs" |
| Message Name: |
Good Words |
| Date Posted: |
02/23/2000 |
| In Reply To: |
The idea of a "quant" or "marketing" or "finance" or "tech" school can be quite deceiving since the concept is used primarily as a way for top b-schools schools to try to differentiate themselves. While this might lead to some self-selection by the students applying, I believe that these brand images deserve only as much consideration as your future employer might give to these tag-lines (which is marginal at best). The education simply isn't that different across schools. If you look across the top schools like H, S, W, MIT, K, & UofCh they really do offer access to the same employers and very similar education. Almost all schools have the same core courses with the same/similar texts during the first year and the second year offerings never really make anyone a "quant", "marketing", or "tech" expert in anything. There simply isn't enough time. If you want that kind of focus, then a multi-disciplinary MBA program isn't the answer...perhaps a Ph.D. would be more appropriate.
So no matter which top school you choose there will be quantitative expectations and opportunities. Yes, even at Kellogg or HBS. All these schools offer courses applying similar statistical and mathematical principles whether in finance, decision making, marketing, and operations. Just because the case method is used, don't believe that rigorous quantitative analysis isn't required. And don't think for a moment that marketing doesn't require quantitative skills. Most of these schools have enough flexibility for those who want heavy quant loads and for those who want ligher quant loads (if you want zero quant, then an MBA isn't for you). So if spreadsheets, complex statistical packages, mathematical theory, and simulation software make you happy, most schools have classes to meet your needs.
Applicants understandably might put a lot of weight on the supposed "quant" images of top schools. But in practice rarely do these images hold water. For example, I know of a couple where one person is at UofC and one is at Kellogg. According to them, the UofC core finance courses simply didn't require the pace and quantitative rigor of the Kellogg courses. While I doubt this is generalizable across all classes, it simply brings the idea home that these "quant" "marketing" "finance" "high-tech" images get a little bit too much air play. Summer internships were a great way for me to see that performance levels in particular business principles did not seem to correlate with students from any particular business school (very unscientific, but works for me). The moral of the story...don't sweat these brand images too much or you will be sorely disappointed with your school selection and if you graduate from b-school believing the hype in these images you will be sorely misinformed. |
| Message: |
I generally agree with your comments (except that part about Kellogg's finance classes being more rigorous than Chicago's but of course I'm biased).
One thing I think people tend to forget is that in many cases the same teachers seem to be shared among the same schools. I'm currently taking a marketing class from a professor that taught for years at Kellogg and has not changed the way she teaches - she still uses the case method with everyone paired up into groups with heavy emphasis on group projects. In addition, I had an economics teacher that spent years teaching at HBS, although that may not be the greatest example since he ditched the case method and moved to a more lecture based format but I imagine much of the class probably stayed the same.
On the other hand, some of these stereotypes are accurate to a degree. Kellogg does seem to have more emphasis on group work than other schools. Chicago is quite proud of their nobel prize winning faculty for economics and I do get to see my finance professor (who is simply amazing) quoted in WSJ but the largest student groups at Chicago is no longer investment banking/management and managerial consulting. Its the Hi-tech and Entrepreneurial/Venture Capital groups, which gets the majority of the attention on campus.
Furthermore, during last Christmas break about one third of the class went to our Silicon Valley career fair to network for jobs in small start-ups. I'm guessing this is probably the same trend going on at other "quant schools" like Columbia.
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