<p>Somewhat recently I decided that I want to go out and get an MBA within the next few years. For me, the MBA would not be worth it unless I go to a top notch school (I'm looking at Michigan, UChicago, Northwestern, Stanford, and the Ivies). I graduated in 2005 from the University of St. Thomas (Minnesota) with a 3.84 GPA. I majored in actuarial science and I have been working for a big 4 consulting firm for the last 4 years. As of recently, I am also a new FSA (for those who know what that is). Also, my GMAT score was 700 if that helps. Anyways, to get to my point, do I still have a chance of admission into these top-flight programs? Or will my little-known undergraduate university put me at a big disadvantage? Did I make a mistake by not going to a more well-known university like the U of Minnesota or UW-Madison? Any advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you.</p>
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<p>Why?</p>
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<p>No. Not with a high GPA and 4 years of work experience.</p>
<p>The reason I don’t believe it would be worth it is because any school not in the top 15 wouldn’t be worth the opportunity cost. Graduate school is not usually recommended for actuaries, and rarely comes with a higher salary. An MBA from one of those top tier schools will hopefully either attract attention from my current company (and consider me for management roles) or attract attention from another.</p>
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First of all, your school is not little-known to grad programs. They don’t learn about undergrad programs by reading magazines on supermarket checkout stands.</p>
<p>Second, grad schools do not judge applicants based on things like the “prestige” of their undergraduate program. They are looking at the rigor of your program, your GPA, GMAT, work experience, etc.</p>
<p>benny is being bit too idealistic, saying they don’t judge undergrad program title weight is just sour talk. They don’t have to believe in the mystic golden aura, but the fact a student went to a top school is a good indication of his/her ability/criteria. </p>
<p>Of course there is by no means saying coming from a good school is a guarantee and vice versa, it’s just one of the aspects, a good student from mid-school is a stronger applicant than a bad student from a top school. And I think your stats are good.</p>
<p>The thing is that prestigious schools tend to have rigourous programs (at least there’s no grade inflation here in Canada), and prestigious research institutions = good research experience if you have any, well-known faculty, good facilities, etc… It means the people writing your LORs are probably better known, it means the courses you took might be more relevant to your field, it means you might have the chance to take grad level courses, etc. All of those things add up.</p>
<p>people don’t even use academic references the vast majority of the time…</p>
<p>good stats from an okay school will be fine, more important is what you do for work in the 3-6 years before you go back though.</p>
<p>PS most of the people on here have never been near a top business school, so take most comments with some skepticism</p>