<p>So, four years ago, I had a choice to either go to NYU Stern's undergrad program or Rutgers Business School's undergrad program, and I ended up choosing RBS as between the lower base cost and the scholarships it saved me quite a lot of money. Fast forward 4 years and I'm graduating in May with magma cum laude and a pretty decent job lined up, so I'm pretty happy with how things turned out.</p>
<p>Buuut, I'm entertaining thoughts of applying to a top-tier MBA at some point, maybe after working three or four years. Unfortunately it seems most of the accepted applicants are from more prestigious undergraduate universities. And on paper, I guess I can't blame MBA programs for favoring those students. I guess my question is, if I do apply a few years from now, is there any way I can leverage excellent references or my ever-charming personality or whatever and overcome the stigma of my less-prestigious undergraduate program, or am I screwed in this matter? </p>
<p>if you have a really good job w/ well connected/powerful bosses your undergrad shouldn’t matter. If not then its an uphill battle and the only thing you can do is just kill the GMATs and hope for the best</p>
<p>Hmm, damn, that’s what I thought, but thanks. My job’s pretty good but it’s not exactly Goldman Sachs. I’m pretty confident about nailing the GMATs but I imagine the Harvard kids will also be applying with very high scores. Oh well, not getting an MBA won’t be the end of the world, I guess. </p>
<p>Go to work for a few years, prep for and take the GMAT and then apply and see what happens. You’ve got a very strong GPA and with some work experience and a high GMAT, you’ll be competitive at the top schools.</p>
<p>I went to a public school lower ranked than rutgers, got some hard/interesting jobs and got accepted to a top two school. I think it comes down to your overall story with a 700+ GMAT score (for top 10 schools). Other than that, it’s a crapshoot. The reality is that probably half the applicants merit acceptance but there isn’t enough space. Decide on whether going to school makes sense 2-3 years from now. You might not need to attend.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice/perspectives, everyone. I think I’ll give the MBA applications a try after a few years at work; if it doesn’t work out, I can always just take the CFAs</p>
<p>@TSchaser: I got a position as a financial analyst in a “leadership training program” (which is really just some more varied exposure in different departments and a slight fast track for promotions) in a large lending firm. It’s Fortune 500, but at the end of the 500. </p>