This weekend I was speaking with my uncle about applying to B-schools and as I was listing the schools I was considering applying to he asked me, "Aren't you going to apply to a back-up school?". My response to him was my theory that MBA's are a dime a dozen and in order to shine amongst the thousands of b-school graduates every year your resume better have a top 10 school listed on it! Plus I'm going to spend almost $150k for two years in b-school. To me, an MBA just doesn't seem to be worth the time, effort nor the money if it doesn't come from a big name.
But then I started thinking. What if he was right? What if I'm shooting too high? All of this work and preparation not to mention $$$$ to apply and what if I don't get accepted to a top 10 school? Is it worth going to a lower ranked school? Or maybe Yale is my back up school? Depending upon which ranking you look at, it's not even in the top 20! So now the question begs to be asked, what is considered a back up school? How far down the ranking pole do you have to go to ensure admittance? So back to the rankings I go...more school websites to read, more programs to research...does this process ever get easy?
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Well, just because you apply to a back-up, doesn't mean you absolutely have to go to it. I think it's okay to just find one top-20 or top-30 (instate/public) school you wouldn't HATE going to. You're right about the 'brand' of the school mattering, but to some extent, school is still what you make of it, no?
Yes you have a good point. But what I don't understand if you read some other blogs are people who have been accepted to Wharton and not to Georgetown? WTH? So is it really worth it to apply to a back up school...are you ever really guaranteed admission? This is so hard!
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