<p>There's a great article in Wall Street Journal about transfer admissions.
Unfortunately, it's only available to subscribers online and I can't report it on this board. So subscribe, buy a hard copy or get it illegally somewhere online (not from me though.)</p>
<p>Anyway, the gist of the article is something like- it used to be that students transferred because they were unhappy with their first school. The new phenomenon however, consists of lots of students already at great schools but simply want to go to a 'better' (please note better is in quotations) school-i.e. Columbia to Harvard or Michigan to Yale etc.</p>
<p>What is interesting however, is that 'some' employers do not necessarily see this as 'prestige whoring' (a term that seems to have gained a bit of currency on this board) but as Morgan Stanley's Vic Garber, managing director for fixed income puts it: often when he sees a transfer on an applicant's r</p>
<p>"often when he sees a transfer on an applicant's résumé, it shows the candidate has "hustle" and the drive to get to their dream school."</p>
<p>I think this statement is accurate, but also it shows, if they aren't happy at your company, they will LEAVE for a better one, but i guess that's becoming increasingly frequent in this day and age as the most profitable career path anyway because of severances, signing bonuses, the loss of retirement plans, etc.</p>
<p>I agree with the article.
Nothing wrong with wanting to transfer to a school with bigger opportunity.</p>
<p>For example, everyone knows that McKinsey is probably THE MOST prestigious consulting firm in the globe. And naturally, McKinsey will want to recruit from just as prestigious school in the globe - Harvard, Yale, Stanford, Wharton, MIT, and MAYBE Berkeley. And if your goal is to work at McKinsey, it is most logical to transfer to a schoolt that Mckinsey recruit the MOST.</p>
<p>sure some people say "if you try best, you can certainly go to McKinsey from a less prestigious school", which is to some degree true, but there is a limit to "trying your best" - it has to be backed up by the school you attend, because believe it or not, top firms like McKinsey and Goldman Sachs look at the elite-level schools FIRST before turning their eyes to "Ivy-Wannabe" schools like UCLA, Ann Arbor, and Virginia.</p>
<p>I listened to the "Podcast" interview with Ellen Gamerman off wsj.com. Interesting stuff. I expect that the numbers of people applying for transfer admission will only increase.</p>
<p>you call it obsession, i call it a passion.
McKinsey is an excellent example of a prestigious business firm that EVERY consulting prospects would love to work at.
Plus, McKinsey Consultant has always been my dream career.</p>
<p>
[quote]
you call it obsession, i call it a passion.
McKinsey is an excellent example of a prestigious business firm that EVERY consulting prospects would love to work at.
Plus, McKinsey Consultant has always been my dream career.
<p>Haha...dhl3 it's not that people don't like McKinsey, it's just that your fanatical postings about McKinsey are overdone. It's good that you're aiming for McKinsey though.</p>
<p>I remember one student telling how Enron is the "greatest company" on Earth. He loved their competitive atmosphere, always thriving to be the best; and with a Dad in the energy business, he reasoned that everybody will need energy so his job is secured. I don't know how it worked out for him, but I can't help thinking about him when I read the McKinsey debate here.</p>
<p>Well you can't really do anything about what's going on in a firm internally if you are not in any executive manangement position.</p>
<p>So if McKinsey ends up like Enron, well too bad. But most people who work at McKinsey don't stay there permanently. They stay average of 3 to 8 years. Then McKinsey sends them off to other firms (usually smaller) to work as a top management position.</p>
<p>Whatever the reason is, having to work at McKinsey will add incredible amount of credit to the person. It's like the President of the U.S. retiring from his "presidentship". People will still respect him due to his past experience of being the most powerful person in the World.</p>