There are numerous MBA rankings. The most famous ones are US News, Business Week, Financial Times and Frobes. None of them, however, reflects the reality from an international perspective. Referring back to my one of my previous posts – an MBA is very American and things Americans treat as obvious are far from being obvious to Internationals.
Let's take Wharton. Americans treat Wharton as "one of the three". Internationals don't really know Wharton. Kellogg is another perfect example. Non-American students pursuing their undergraduate degrees at universities across Europe, Africa or Asia rarely recognize Kellogg as a top-notch business school and rather know it as a cereals brand. Chicago seems to follow the pattern. Go to European (or any other) universities and ask what Chicago is famous for. Most probably, you will hear Chicago Bulls or E.R. and not Chicago Booth. The bottom line: many international candidates had no clue what good b-schools are till they started preparing applications (i.e. looking into rankings). For American students it may sound astonishing, but they forget that they have been hearing Wharton, Kellogg, Chicago names since they were crawling on all fours.
I did hear about Wharton but didn't know that it has such a good MBA program. Now you might say that it's not about Joe Doe knowing about Wharton, but about recruiters at McKinsey or Goldman to know how good Wharton is. But that's only partially true.
Firstly: It's wrong to assume you'll be working only "with knowledgeable" people. At some point you might be making a deal with somebody who doesn't have a clue about MBA. Or you might be setting up your own business in your country of origin where MBA is another foreign word. If that's the case then Wharton will not be of much help.
Secondly: MBA is as much about "wow" factor as about MBA itself. Wharton will not wow majority of people. Not because it's not good but because it's not known. And so on...
Showing posts with label internationals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label internationals. Show all posts
Different perspective
An MBA in the US is almost "the best thing ever" (business-wise of course). When I tell Americans about my acceptances at number of M7 schools, they tend to be seven times as amazed as I am. They would trade their mothers, sisters and wives for a spot at any of these schools. Names such as HBS, Stanford, Wharton, Chicago, MIT, Kellogg and Columbia impress them a lot.
Well... the thing is that an MBA is only "nice to have" addition from an international perspective. In the US one needs it to accelerate career or change the job. Outside the US, it's not the case. At private equity firms, investment banks, top industry companies or strategic consultancies, people get promoted without an MBA. A degree from Wharton will help, but lack of a degree from Wharton will not make or break you. American CEO usually has an MBA; non-American CEO rarely has an MBA. And so on...
Understanding this difference helps both sides: Internationals and Americans. Internationals should understand that they should approach applications process differently than their American peers. Especially, that they should take advice from American peers with a grain of salt. Not because it's wrong, but because it's given from the different (American and not international) perspective. Americans, on the other side, should understand that there is hope for those without HBS degree (especially outside the US).
Well... the thing is that an MBA is only "nice to have" addition from an international perspective. In the US one needs it to accelerate career or change the job. Outside the US, it's not the case. At private equity firms, investment banks, top industry companies or strategic consultancies, people get promoted without an MBA. A degree from Wharton will help, but lack of a degree from Wharton will not make or break you. American CEO usually has an MBA; non-American CEO rarely has an MBA. And so on...
Understanding this difference helps both sides: Internationals and Americans. Internationals should understand that they should approach applications process differently than their American peers. Especially, that they should take advice from American peers with a grain of salt. Not because it's wrong, but because it's given from the different (American and not international) perspective. Americans, on the other side, should understand that there is hope for those without HBS degree (especially outside the US).
