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On a less dramatic level, if I were to go to UW-Madison for undergrad (my safety) and study business, is it conceivable that I could get a good paying job for a few years and then go to an Ivy or other highly prestigious business school?
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<p>I'll give you an example. Consider the LFM program at MIT Sloan, which is MIT's prestigious dual MBA+MS program. It's the program that the latest winner of Donald Trump's Apprentice, Randal Pinkett, graduated from. I know the current LFM class has people who did undergrad at such places as New Mexico State, Kettering, University of Oregon, SUNY, University of Washington, University of Delaware, and the Illinois Institute of Technology. Heck, even Randal Pinkett came from Rutgers, from which he won a Rhodes Scholarship, then worked for Lucent for 2 years, then went to LFM, then stuck around MIT to complete a PhD from the Media Lab.</p>
<p>Similarly, at Harvard Business School (HBS), I've known people who did undergrad at BU, UMass, UConn, University of Maine, and CUNY. </p>
<p>Now, don't get me wrong, the bulk of people came from the 'usual suspects ' - HYPSM. For example, in LFM, the most commonly represented undergrad program is, unsurprisingly, MIT. </p>
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Is it a disadvantage, in other words, if I can go to Penn or Georgetown or other well-known undergrad schools, would that help my job prospects/grad. school? Complex question but I think you all get the point.
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<p>The point is that going to a better undergrad program helps, but is not decisive. Not by a long shot. It's not like you can just say that you did undergrad from Harvard, so now you automatically have the right to get into HBS. Ditto for MIT and Sloan. If you graduate last in your class at Harvard or MIT, you're not going to get into a top graduate school. And at every school, somebody has to graduate last. </p>
<p>As kcirch said, B-school admission hinges on work experience. True, a better undergrad program can present you with better job opportunities. But you still have to be the one to take advantage of those opportunities.</p>