The Worst Parts Of The MBA…From MBAs

The cost of two years in the MBA program at Harvard Business School can exceed $300,000

The Worst Parts Of The MBA…From MBAs

For many, an MBA can be a lifechanging experience that leads to a new career, greater pay, and an expansive network.

But all that glitters isn’t gold. Redditors on the r/MBA thread chimed in on the worst things about their MBA program – from unearned reputations to bad interview experiences. Here are a few things redditors had to say about their MBA experience.

UNDERGRADUATE VS. MBA REPUTATION

Some Redditors commented on the stark differences between the reputation of a university’s undergraduate program vs. its MBA program.

“My program (2019 grad) lives and dies by the reputation of undergrad business school and the university in general,” one Georgetown grad comments. “The amount of push back that the MBA program gets for the most minor initiative to better the program goes through multiple layers of administrators before eventually being shot down because of overall risk aversion. Because of this, a globally recognized university has an under-ranked MBA program. As students and alumni, we definitely punch above our weight, but the reputation of the program overall suffers, which cascades through admissions, recruiting, career placement, and the programs ability to raise money from successful alumni.”

Others commented on their poor interview experience at the school.

“Completely unprepared and unmotivated staff: that’s who I’m paying 150k to? The level really plummets after the T25; there might not be b-schools that are properly good + easy to get into,” one Redditor said about their interview experience with Georgetown.

Or well, Georgetown’s reputation/ranking could be misleading, as with the highest acceptance rate in the top 42 then maybe it’s not really a T30 (26-30).”

LACK OF SOCIOECONOMIC DIVERSITY

Other B-schools have a diversity problem. And while many have increased minority enrollment over recent years, some say it isn’t enough.

“To me, the biggest negative with all of these top programs is the lack of socioeconomic diversity,” one Redditor comments. “There’s a diversity of ethnicity/nationality, but it’s a bit hollow when such a large proportion of the class comes from wealth.”

“You need to spend thousands of dollars just to apply to a business school. It’s ridiculous. And then you need to look at stuff like grades and ECs,” another Redditor comments. “People from lower socioeconomic backgrounds will obviously be on the backfoot with regards to these things. And then you’ve got rich people hiring consultants for thousands of dollars to perfect their apps. And these consultants are former adcoms from these very schools! I mean that’s just cheating. I’m not blaming consultants for existing (if I had that expertise and background and got paid that much, I’d do it too), or rich people for hiring them (I’d hire them too if I had the money), it’s just so maddeningly unfair to someone outside this circle of privilege it makes you want to rip your hair out.”

What are your peers saying about your target schools and their biggest disappointments with business school? Check out the full r/MBA thread here.

Editor’s Note: Here is a response from Prashant Malaviya, senior associate dean of the McDonough MBA Program, regarding comments made about the program by anonymous commenters on Reddit:

“At Georgetown McDonough, we have a wonderful MBA community of students, alumni, faculty, and staff that work together to elevate our program. Some examples from just the past few months include launching the Operation: Cura Personalis well-being initiative or our MBA Mentorship Program, which paired all 130 participants in the program with an alumni mentor. Through our community, including initiatives like our Hoyas Helping Hoyas program, Georgetown McDonough has a strong ROI and one of the best sets of career placement statistics among all schools for the class of 2020, and we have been named by employers as producing the world’s best-prepared and most creative graduates.”

 

Sources: Reddit, P&Q

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