Have MBAs Lost Interest In I-Banking?

Harvard’s Best and Worst Student Clubs

 

Academics may draw you to a business school, but it’s the clubs that keep you there. Chances are, you won’t develop much of a network from class. You build your relationships in less formal settings. Travel is certainly one. But clubs are easily underrated aspect of business school life.

Here, you can set yourself apart. You can practice leadership and showcase your talents on a stage that sometimes resembles the workplace itself. You can learn from their peers and even rub shoulders with alumni and faculty. Clubs are literally the place where you’ll meet your next business partner (or find your next job).

The challenge, of course, is identifying the clubs that offer the most value for the 10-15 hours that you can devote to them. And that was the impetus behind a survey conducted last spring at the Harvard Business School. Sponsored by The Harbus, clubs were rated on a ten-point scale (“10 being extremely satisfied, and 5 being neutral”) using six dimensions:

• “Dues (dues are reasonable relative to member benefits)
• Social (club provides opportunities to socialize with other members)
• Career (club provides opportunities to pursue career interests)
• Events (events are reasonably priced given club dues and are well organized)
• Communication (frequent and clear communication with members)
• Leadership (club leaders interact with members to gather feedback and organize events effectively)”

In the end, The Harbus collected 196 responses – roughly 10% of the class – covering 54 of the school’s 70 clubs.

So which club scored the highest? That would be the General Management & Operations Club, with an 8.3 score overall. However, the club includes certain drawbacks according to one respondent. “This club is very big and I didn’t feel like I got to know many people in it. It is helpful for job posting awareness but I will likely not join it next year.”

Ironically, the lowest-rated club also came with the highest sample size (25 respondents). Earning a 5.2 overall, The Harbus added that the score represented “clashing extremes,” including high scores on social and communication and low scores for dues, career, events and leadership. “Way too expensive, given how much all the events cost afterward,” noted one respondent. “I decided not to renew my membership because I wasn’t getting enough out of this club.”

Another notable was The Women’s Student Association, which earned a 7.6 mark. According to The Harbus, the club scored high in “dues, events and communication,” but missed the mark when it came to “social and leadership.” Cumulatively, Harvard clubs averaged a 6.8 score. The Harbus added that “Communication” (7.4) was the highest rated category overall among the clubs.

For scores and feedback on other clubs, click on The Harbus link below.

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Source: The Harbus