Busting The Biggest Business School Myths

 

Myth: Boothies are quants who don’t know how to have fun.

Reality: “Many people don’t understand the Booth community until the experience it. Booth is located in the great city of Chicago, which is full of attractions and amazing culture and food. Inside the Booth community, there are more than 80 student groups and a plethora of speaker series, activities, and socials that truly allow every student to collaborate, focus on diversity and culture, and have fun! Myth busted!”

– Victor Ojeleye, University of Chicago (Booth)

 

Myth: Because Babson College is the top school for entrepreneurship, everyone must be a founding entrepreneur, right?

Reality: “The majority of students aren’t creating their own businesses. While there are a significant handful of students who are starting up their own businesses on campus through the Butler Venture Accelerator, the appeal of Babson’s entrepreneurship intrigue and status is that it attracts students who want to learn the principles of entrepreneurship to help them be better business leaders. Whether it’s a Fortune 500 company, or a two-person venture, Babson’s methodology of “Entrepreneurial Thought and Action” allows its students to navigate uncertainty in any business setting. This skill set is still a scarcity in the business world, and Babson MBA alumni take these assets to heart, and are better leaders because of them.”

–  Ross Chesnik, Babson College (Olin)

 

Myth: USC is the University of Spoiled Children.

Reality: “I have classmates with incredibly diverse backgrounds from all over the world, and they are all hard-working and conscientious. Nothing was handed to this group; we went out and earned it.”

– Laja Obasaju, USC (Marshall)

 

 

Myth: All the Notre Dame MBA students talk about is ethics.

Reality: “While we certainly place an emphasis on this, we have a strong track record of educating students through a holistic approach, particularly through rigorous quantitative courses.”

– Sylvia Banda, Notre Dame (Mendoza)

 

Myth: Yale SOM is the “Nonprofit Management School.”

Reality: “It is true that we have a strong culture and many systems that support students who want to work for nonprofits. However, in reality, I’d update that title to the “Social Impact Management School.” I’ve never been amongst a group that is so interested and passionate about using their business skills and acumen to make a positive impact on the world. It is astounding how many different paths students pursue this, whether in the government, B Corps, progressive corporations, NGOs, academia… as well as in nonprofits.”

– Katy Mixter, Yale SOM

 

Myth: Ross is in the middle of nowhere.

Reality: “Ann Arbor has been an incredible place to go to school—the University of Michigan has dozens of top-ranked programs and I am consistently surprised by the caliber of speakers and offerings across campus. Ann Arbor has been a great home and getting a front row seat to all of the changes happening in Detroit (and the broader debates around the future of the city) has been an incredible experience.”

– Holly Price, University of Michigan (Ross)

Myth: The students in the BYU MBA program are homogenous.

Reality: “The students are very diverse, colorful and extraordinary in their breadth and expanse of experiences, international knowledge, traveling and living abroad and speaking various languages, among many other things.”

– Autumn Marie Wagner, Brigham Young University (Marriott)

Myth: Kellogg is a marketing school and a feeder program to consumer products groups.

Reality: “I heard this a lot when I was choosing a business school. Upon researching and speaking with current and former students, it became clear that this was a very myopic view. With over half of the students going into consulting or finance, it’s clear that the label is an antiquated remnant of a time when Kellogg put marketing on the map and introduced the concept of being customer-centric to the business school landscape. Dean Blount said it best during our first days on campus when she addressed being labeled as a “marketing school” by smiling and saying, “If people want to blame us for being customer-centric, it’s fine by me.”

– Adam Maddock, Northwestern University (Kellogg)

 

Myth: Kenan-Flagler hates Duke!

Reality: “While the North Carolina-Duke, rivalry lives on the basketball court (and during MBA Blue Cup), I’ve really enjoyed getting to know the MBA students up the road.”

– Lauren Montagne, University of North Carolina (Kenan-Flagler)

Next Page: Are Haas MBAs just a bunch of hippies? Is Hogwarts really better than Oxford? Plus, the Best & Brightest dispel myths at Columbia, Tuck, and the London Business School.