Busting The Biggest Business School Myths

Hate standing in airport security lines?

Ryan Bingham does. The traveling downsizer played by George Clooney in Up In The Air, Bingham cautions a protégé early on to never get behind old people. Why? “Their bodies are littered with hidden metal and they never seem to appreciate how little time they have left.” His ideal line mates: Asians. “They pack light, travel efficiently, and have a thing for slip on shoes.”

When his travel companion recoils at his reasoning, Bingham briskly shrugs off her concerns. “I’m like my mother. I stereotype. It’s faster.”

GRAIN OF TRUTH IN MANY STEREOTYPES

Many MBA candidates fall into this same trap. Awash in options, they’ll seize upon a popular nugget that reinforces what they want to hear about a program — or makes it easier to chop a name off their target list. Funny thing is, there is a grain of truth in many stereotypes. Take the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. According to Buzz Becker, who received the school’s highest academic award, Darden is known for its rigor. In fact, he happily validates this observation. At the same time, he notes the benefits of an academically-intensive curriculum that some might not consider.

University of Michigan’s Aaron Silver

“While we don’t skimp on the elbow grease—with a dedicated party in October for the first-year students completing 100 cases—Darden creates an environment of creativity and rational trade-offs through time pressure,” he shares. “It is a phenomenal place to learn life balance in our future careers, no matter how demanding our schedules may be.”

Alas, stereotypes and myths aren’t just restricted to specific MBA programs. The degree itself suffers from the impression that “grades don’t matter.” Aaron Silver, a Deloitte-bound graduate of the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, doesn’t buy into that notion — at least not how it is commonly interpreted. Instead, he views business school as a time when the competition for letter grades is simply less important than areas like personal growth, critical thought, and debate.

ACADEMICS MATTER…IT’S JUST INTERPRETED DIFFERENTLY

“Academics are taken seriously. The onus is on the individual MBA student to be a good group partner, contribute to an active classroom, and learn, but he or she is not punished for having periods where he or she momentarily shifts priorities to internship recruiting or student-life events. I think it is the right approach for early- to mid-career professionals who are aspiring executives. It is just different than what one typically encounters during the undergraduate experience.”

Yes, there are half-truths and tall tales about every MBA program. Occasionally, there are flat out fibs. What’s the biggest? “There is sufficient parking,” jokes USC’s Mollie Hartung.

During the nomination process for the Best & Brightest MBAs, Poets&Quants asked students to share the biggest myths about their MBA programs. From Stanford to Simon and Oxford to Olin, here is the Class of 2017 setting the record straight on what’s true and misleading about conventional wisdom about their alma maters.

Myth: There is a disproportionate focus on entrepreneurship at Stanford.

Reality: “There are certainly great courses, advisors and tools for the entrepreneurial-minded. And of course, Sand Hill Road is ten minutes away, and you do hear conversations about “pivoting” all the time in Town Square!

However, the focus of the majority of students is on general management. The first year provides a solid foundation across key business disciplines, and the second year allows you to dive deeper in your specific areas of interest. I was not planning on starting a business when I came to the GSB, and I feel that I obtained all that I needed and more from an educational standpoint, at the highest level.”
–  Federico Mossa, Stanford GSB

Myth: An MBA at Olin means you’ll end up with a job in St. Louis or the Midwest.

Reality: “While you certainly can get a job in St. Louis or the Midwest at Olin, the opportunities at the school are all over. We have students that are going to the East Coast, the West Coast and all over the world. Olin may be in S. Louis, but it opens doors to wherever you want to go.”
– Conn Davis, Washington University (Olin)

Myth: Rotman is strictly a finance school.

Reality: “Although Rotman is certainly known for producing exceptional finance talent, we also have a very strong management consulting track, as well as a variety of cutting edge programs focused on entrepreneurship, like the Creative Destruction Lab, robust Business Design and Marketing practices, and an emerging group focused on Real Estate Management and Economics. Rotman offers a variety of degree specializations, concentrations, and majors. While finance is definitely one of our strengths, it is far from the end of the story!”
                                                                        – Alex Walker Turner, University of Toronto (Rotman)

Myth: Soft skill development comes at the expense of academics at Fuqua.

Reality: “Fuqua has a reputation of being a school for people interested in “soft” skills and this can at times be interpreted to mean we don’t emphasize academic rigor. That is furthest from the case. My experience at Fuqua has been one in which I was forced to learn how to employ my ability to work in teams and personal leadership principles during the most difficult friction points of academic learning. Similar to what I expect in the business world, we will be asked to be empathetic leaders at times when our companies are facing the hardest business problems of the time.”
– Erika Hines, Duke University (Fuqua)

Myth: Recruiting is more difficult in Cornell’s Ithaca location.

Reality: “I found recruiting activities to be incredibly accessible — especially for New York City. It’s always important to remember networking with firms should focus on quality over quantity. Also, Johnson alumni LOVE coming back to Ithaca to recruit students.”
– Patrick Grumley, Cornell University (Johnson)

Next Page: Do Booth students know how to have fun? Does North Carolina really hate Duke? Plus, stereotypes debunked at Yale, Kellogg, and Ross.

Are these Booth alumni cutting loose in the heartland?

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.

How the general public imagines a Haas student orientation.

 Myth: Haas is filled with hippies.

Reality: “My friends from previous careers and my family seem to think this, but it’s absolutely not true. We’re more collegial and service-focused than other business schools as you’d expect based on our culture, but the cognitive horsepower and lofty ambitions are very much alive and fundamental to Haas.”
– John Moore, U.C.-Berkeley (Haas)

Myth: McCombs is a “Texas school.”

Reality: “I chose McCombs because I wanted to leave California (my home for 15 years) and have a new, exciting experience while maintaining ties to the west coast. In fact, in 2016 nearly 20 percent of graduating students headed to the west coast. Due to its expansive undergraduate and graduate networks, as well as its existence within The University of Texas at Austin, McCombs boasts alumni presence all over the world.”
– Timothy Carreon, University of Texas (McCombs)

 Myth: Oxford pales in comparison to Hogwarts.

Reality: While sadly, my wand never arrived, I did get a wizard robe (called a Subfusc) and the experience here has been as Harry Potter-esque as the real world gets. We are surrounded by an 800 year-old university with candlelit great hall dinners and common rooms filled with incredible academics from across the university.”
                                                          – Ashley Thomas, Oxford (Said)

Myth: Columbia Business School is a pure finance school where students aren’t close to each other.

Reality: “This is totally not true! CBS has a very diverse program and we have a lot of people interested in retail, media and other industries. I also think that the city of New York provides countless opportunities for you to explore it with you classmates. You will learn a lot about your peers through different activities and you will be amazed by how diverse and well-rounded your peers are. If you are a foodie, you can defiantly find your group of people to try out restaurants; if you are into arts, you might be surprised that there’s someone working in auction house before business school that can tell you a lot of art history and these are just some samples.”
– Tiffany Yua Chia Chen, Columbia Business School

Myth: The University of Rochester focuses on finance (and it’s too cold).

Reality: While it does rank very high for finance, we have brilliant faculty in a number of fields and many MBAs go into a multitude of roles after graduation. Marketing, consulting, operations and supply chain, data analytics, and entrepreneurship are all amazing career options that Simon MBAs are consistently chosen for. My classmates in other disciplines are very happy with the rigor of those tracks as well.

Also, Rochester isn’t an arctic tundra — at least not all year long. In the summer and fall, the campus and city are absolutely gorgeous.”
– David Distant, University of Rochester (Simon)

Myth: Recruiting is more difficult at Kelley because “significant” employers prefer to visit schools closer to big cities.

Reality: “No matter where the talent is, the best firms will find it and recruit at those places. Our alumni network is enormous and there are so many top-ranked programs within the larger umbrella of Kelley School of Business that the prestige, track record and level of human capital speaks for itself, even in a smaller town like Bloomington, Indiana.

Not only do the largest and most innovative companies come to campus, Kelleys get out of Bloomington a lot, traveling around the world for consulting projects, company visits, case competitions and alumni meetings. Kelley places no restrictions on where you want your recruiting goals to take you.”
– Jay Russell, Indiana University (Kelley)

Myth: There’s nothing to do in Hanover, New Hampshire.

Reality: “I think, because Tuck is sort of in the woods, there’s an assumption that––outside of hiking and skiing — there’s nothing to do. I’ve found that we’re more creative with how we spend our time — and much more deliberate about the people with whom we spend it. While my restaurant bucket list may have suffered these two years, my relationships haven’t.”
– Tom Allin, Dartmouth College (Tuck)

Myth: Students can’t foster a sense of community in London like they can in more secluded locations.

Reality: “Fortunately, this couldn’t be further from the truth. We all live in what we call the “Baker Street bubble.” The majority of the students live around campus, and we rarely leave this area in our first year. This creates a strong sense of community. On the other hand, it’s also difficult to escape the bubble due to so much going on at the school in the first year. Therefore, I feel that I finally properly explored London during my second year.”
– Julia Paykin, London Business School

Myth: Your opportunities are only limited to Atlanta at Emory.

Reality: “While I had many classmates intern in Atlanta with me this past summer, I also had classmates interning in Seattle, New York City, and India. Next year I’ll have classmates working in China, Miami, and Chicago. Goizueta truly has a global footprint.”
– Adam Parker, Emory University (Goizueta)

Next Page: Can you pursue social impact at Wharton? Are Stanford MBAs too soft? Are Haas grads too nice? Is Booth just a finance school? Find out on the next page.

Can you follow your heart and give back at Wharton?

Myth: Wharton is a finance school where you can’t pursue a passion for social impact.

Reality: “What I didn’t realize is that Wharton is so much more than just one thing. All 1,700 of my classmates have unique passions and interests, and I’ve loved learning from all of them. Every academic department here is world-class, and resources to pursue your interests are (nearly) unlimited. For me, the Wharton Social Impact Initiative is an incredible commitment from Wharton to being a leader in developing and promoting business strategies for a better world.”
– Mary Gamber, Wharton School

Myth: Although D.C. is crawling with Georgetown graduates, the MBAs are not very well connected to the D.C. network.

Reality: For me, at least, this has been far from the truth.

Through the Georgetown MBA network in D.C., I attended a Congressional Ball, got box tickets to Wizards games, toured the White House, skipped lines at a few Smithsonian Museums, and dined at fancy venues with senators. The network also allowed me to seek out unique volunteer opportunities, partner with nonprofits and NGOs, and get up close and personal with Super PACs and other lobbying entities. The Georgetown D.C. MBA network gave me an inside look at the inner-workings of the business and politically elite.”
–  Tahira Taylor, Georgetown University (McDonough)

Myth: Stanford students are “soft.”

Reality: “Stanford is known for being all about the soft skills, and I think it’s definitely fair to say that this is where the school excels in terms of teaching. At the same time, the student body is very smart and capable academically. The curriculum is very much about general management, but many students come with their own background in areas like finance and math too.”
– Kate Archibald, Stanford GSB

Myth: The University of Illinois is located in a nondescript, not-so-happening place in the middle of corn fields.

Reality: “Urbana-Champaign is a peppy college town. Being a university town with over 44,000 students on campus from various programs, the whole ambience is young and dynamic, and the place keeps me feeling motivated and energetic. Our university is rated as the third best party school in the U.S. by Princeton Review too!”
– Paul George, University of Illinois

Myth: Booth is just a finance school.

Reality: “While it is true that we have world-renowned professors and Nobel Laureates in that field, I have found that some of the most fulfilling classes I have taken have been in fields such entrepreneurship and marketing, with professors who are also industry leaders in their own right.”
– Jennifer Dunn, University of Chicago (Booth)

Myth: Ohio State is a very small program, so it must not provide the diversity of thought as larger schools.

Reality: “While it is true that the class size hovers around the 100 mark, the full time MBAs share elective classes with the working professional MBA program, the Masters of Human Resources Management, Specialized Masters in Finance, Masters of Accounting, and Masters of Business Logistics Engineering programs at Fisher as well. Considering the many of the Socratic style classes we have, having multiple programs definitely increases the diversity of thought that one might have had in a Full-Time MBA program alone… and also expands the pool of individuals that one might get to meet.”
– Tada Yamamoto, Ohio State (Fisher)

Myth: The University of Washington is only a place for people who want to work at Microsoft and Amazon.

Reality: “There are a lot of people who find unique and exciting career paths. That being said, there are a lot of students who work for the local large companies like Microsoft, Amazon, T-Mobile, Phillips, Starbucks, Deloitte, Accenture, Nike, Intel, Expedia, Holland America, and Paccar.”
– Lydia Islan, University of Washington (Foster)

Myth: Haas is too nice.

Reality: “We are kind but it would be a mistake to take this as a lack of confidence. Haasies remind me of this quote from Wole Soyinka: “A tiger doesn’t proclaim his tigritude, he pounces.”
– Hady Barry, U.C.-Berkeley (Haas)

Myth: The Smith School’s MBA program is only about business.

Reality: “Sure, there’s a lot of number-crunching and market-sizing in my program, but what has surprised me most are the defining experiences I have had related to personal development. At Smith, I’ve learned to identify and embrace my own strengths through personality assessments and coaching. I’ve been able to mentor others and practice giving constructive feedback by working with undergraduate students. I’ve made life-long friendships with peers from all over the world. In short, my MBA has been a lot about business, and it has also been a lot of idea sharing, risk-taking, and relationship building.”
– Alexandra Moore, University of Maryland (Smith)

What are the biggest myths you’ve noticed about specific schools? Let us know in the comments below. 

DON’T MISS: Best & Brightest MBAs: Class of 2017 OR How MBAs Would Change Their Schools