Is acquiring a bachelors in business administration from state schools (I.E. California State University) detrimental towards one’s career? Is there any hope of getting a decent job and eventually working your way up to a prestigious finance position in NYC/SF/LA? I know that school prestige matters a lot but is it a complete deal breaker if you attended a university that isn’t known for its business at all? Let’s say that the student finishes with a 3.8+ GPA and was able to acquire an internship in a business related field while still in school. How hard would it be for the student to than get a significant job for 2-3 years and successfully apply for a prestigious M.B.A.?
I can’t figure out how to edit the original post, but the business administration degree would also include a concentration in either accounting or finance.
Did they teach you to “buy low, sell high”?
I suggest that you meet with career placement at your school to get a sense of what type of jobs the top students end up at. That will give you the first piece of information you need. Getting a good job out of your school is job #1. Doing well and learning at the job is #2. Take one step at a time. Too many things that you can’t work on until later are needed to get into a “prestigious” MBA program (and how do you define prestigious?) such as great work experience, great recommendations, top GMAT scores so I would not focus on that now.
And as an unsolicited comment – on CC as in work and life, it is a mistake to come up with a reply like yours above based on a sample size of 1. I almost did not post a reply as a result of that comment. Regardless of if you find my comment useful or not, many here, including myself, do want to help. I gave you the same advice I’d give my own kid. It is your job as a poster to sort through the replies, use what helps you, and mentally discard the rest.
Is your goal Finance or IB?
The situation’s different in those two fields.
Regardless:
The best way to a “Top MBA” program isn’t a business degree, but a degree in a “traditional” field. For example, you’ll see that only 24% students admitted to Ross and 13% of admitted MBA at Stanford had a business background (most of those from top undergraduates where business students essentially complete a double major, one in a business specialty and one in liberal arts - Stern, Wharton, Mendoza…)
https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/programs/mba/admission/evaluation-criteria/class-profile
https://michiganross.umich.edu/programs/full-time-mba/class-profile