<p>Hey guys, I had a quick question: how important is it to go to a top undergrad to go to a top MBA program such as HBS or Wharton? Also, what benefits does a top undergraduate business school have for people other than finding a job? Thanks for the input!</p>
<p>Bump bump bump</p>
<p>You’re getting close to an answer with your second question. Your undergrad school in itself really won’t sway an admissions committee if everything else is the same. That is, if you have the same GMAT/GRE scores, same undergrad GPA, same work experience, same essay, same recommendations, then your undergrad really won’t matter.</p>
<p>The thing is, a “better” undergrad school will USUALLY lead or is an indicator for other criteria. That is, if one can get into a top undergrad program, they usually can score better on their GMAT/GRE. They will probably be able to craft a better essay for their application. They might have better connections for a powerful commendation. </p>
<p>Most importantly, their work experience will be more impressive. More than any other grad school program, business school puts a lot of weight on work experience. In fact, it’s probably the second most important aspect behind GMAT/GRE. The that is, one can go to a random state school, get a 3.0 GPA, get average GMAT/GRE scores, but if they went to the Olympics or started a very successful company, they could get into HBS/Stanford/Wharton. That isn’t most of us though. So the rest of us usually NEED to get into a top undergrad program to get some solid work experience (PE, M/B/B, Apple, Google are all very impressive) to get into a top b-school. This, of course, is because top wall street and consulting firms only recruit at top 15 schools, and it’s a huge uphill battle if you’re coming from another school.</p>
<p>So in itself, a top undergrad education isn’t required to get into a high-ranked MBA program. It is the work experience you can get out of these schools that makes it so valuable. </p>
<p>I recommend looking at the PoetsAndQuants website and the GMATClub Forums for more information than you can imagine on b-school.</p>
<p>Best of luck.</p>
<p>Awesome thanks for all info! I guess it ultimately depends on how eager you are to succeed and how driven you are. I’m sure many kids go from decent undergrad schools to top MBA programs. It ultimately comes down to your connections, and work experience overall. It’s a tough decision when you have a full ride from a decent undergrad, however you get excepted into a top undergrad b school and have to pay the full price.</p>
<p>What are the schools?</p>
<p>In general, I would take the full ride at the decent undergrad UNLESS you are paying in-state to the top B school. I don’t think OOS/private full-tuition (200k) is at all worth it for undergrad. </p>
<p>Besides, it’s much easier to stand out at a lesser school to receive top internships and connections with professors. Make sure you get good work experience in your summers, work your connections, and you can get some pretty damn good recommendations/work experience under your belt (all while saving $200k).</p>
<p>The undergrad school is either Kansas state university, university of Arkansas, or full tuition at northeastern (which I don’t consider a lesser state school). I might be able to get in state at W&M, and UVA. However, UVA would be tough to get into</p>
<p>Bump bump bump</p>