which one to attend?

7/9/2007 3:06:17 PM

MBA

Pros: Two years, can do at night or weekend, or fulltime (i did fulltime), easier (grades don't really matter if you pass), concentrated on particular disciplines, no real competition between students, eaiser to get into and get $$ for it, easier to get a job nationwide, instant feedback on the GMAT, no final exam to practice

Cons: Low % of girls, older crowd, probably harder to get a job (depends on where you go), so many different schools that you have to go to a good one to make it worth your time, salary range is extremely variable, must have decent work experience to make any $$$

LAW

Pros: Prestige, $texas if you are smart and high up in class rank, usually larger class sizes, easier to get local jobs in smaller towns and cities.

Cons: Competition, harder to get into, LSATs are gay, have to prep for and take the Bar exam, character analysis is shitty, degree is rarely transferable between states unless you pass that individual state's bar, can't work while going to law school (decent schools anyway)


i went to MBA school but have VERY close law friends including an ex gf (of 4 years) who was in law school so i know a lot about the process.

[Edited on July 9, 2007 at 3:22 PM. Reason : ]

7/9/2007 3:21:25 PM

do both

7/9/2007 3:48:09 PM

Do you want to practice law? If yes, go to law school. If no, do not go to law school.

7/9/2007 6:00:12 PM

yeah these arent exactly the same type of job or anything.

7/9/2007 6:29:16 PM

I choose to get an MBA primarily because it provides a ton of flexibility for your career - the skills you learn are highly transferable to any industry/function. I mean, there are options for lawyers too, but law school is quite a grind (and to be quite honest, the majority of the lawyers I know don't like their jobs after graduation either). My life in business school consisted of about 35 hours a week of classes/homework/recruiting, and about 4 nights a week of getting str8 tore back.

I think partial put it best - if you want to practice law, go to law school. If you're not completely sure about that, I would recommend the MBA. Especially if you can get into a top-20 program.

7/9/2007 10:19:08 PM

^

yeah, mba school was pretty much a drunk fest - make sure that there are other graduate school or undergrad hoes around, cause b school is usually a sausagefest

7/10/2007 7:46:46 AM

Quote :

"Do you want to practice law? If yes, go to law school. If no, do not go to law school."

seriously, don't go to law school because you don't know what else to do with your life. you won't make it past your first year.

7/10/2007 9:31:12 AM

^ Agreed

7/10/2007 9:41:53 AM

Quote :

"yeah, mba school was pretty much a drunk fest - make sure that there are other graduate school or undergrad hoes around, cause b school is usually a sausagefest"

That's the truth. Well, the drunk fest thing depends on where you go. If you go to a top 10 school, it may not be. I know the guys at Kellogg are known for retarded ass study habits and basically severe nerdiness. But then again, they get good jobs. I just don't like that "gunner" mentality...we made fun of those fuckers at our grad school.

I went to Emory for my MBA. Top 20, in a city with tons of big companies, small class size (~150 per fulltime class). We even had "kegs in the courtyard" every Thursday after class. But total dude fest. Problem with MBA is that the average work experience is 5 years (if you're going with less than 5 and hope to get into a good school, you better have tits, be a minority, or absolutely kill your GMATs), so most people are married/engaged/involved. But there were plenty of NY/NJ whores in the BBA program to hit on.

My buddy went to a top 20 law school, but he partied a lot too, especially after he finished with 1L. He's going to be living in DC making about twice what I'm making now in Atlanta. Not that my quality of life is bad. and I can buy a house in a nice area of town for way less than an entry level place that's actually inside the beltline in DC.

It all depends on what you want to do. Law school is a huge commitment compared to an MBA in my mind. We had a lot of people doing joint JD/MBA, but they almost all went to the JD side of the house after graduation. MBA is also a lot more team driven. Every school I know has you in set study groups for your core classes 1st semester.

I would also be wary of big programs. I was in shock when I went to an interview for an internship in CT and came up on a bunch of kids from Columbia and these people were introducing themselves to each other for the first time even though they had been in school for a year together. By the end of my 1st semester at Emory, I not only knew everyone's first name, I laso knew most of their spouses, where they were from, and what their favorite drink was.

[Edited on July 10, 2007 at 9:52 AM. Reason : .]

7/10/2007 9:49:06 AM

I have 2 years of engineering experience, of which I have about 6 months of direct management/supervisor experience. With that said, I find engineering extremely boring and I am tired of busting my chops so the CEO and stock holders kids can have bigger college funds. Im thinkin' MBA at the moment.

7/10/2007 9:57:38 AM

3 years + good gmat should get you into a pretty good school, maybe not top 10, but unless you want to go to school up north, there are plenty of top 50 schools in the south that you can get in, most starting salaries are around 75K at a top 25-45 school, again depending on region. 75K in the south is good money, while you need that 125K up north to adjust for the expensive cost of living.

7/10/2007 10:33:20 AM

Quote :

"5K in the south is good money, while you need that 125K up north to adjust for the expensive cost of living. "

its more expensive up north, but its not 50K a year more expensive.

[Edited on July 10, 2007 at 10:36 AM. Reason : d]

7/10/2007 10:36:18 AM

^^^^ I went to Wharton, and it was pretty much the same socially as you described Emory. I swear I miss getting tore back Thursdays after class. Ahhhh well.

^^^ I had 3 years work experience as an engineer at a chemical plant prior to heading to business school. My classmates were typically 3-6 years out of college, and about 65% male. I enjoyed being in a big program, as the economies of scale are great for recruiting, social activities, networking, etc. But that's just personal preference. Word up.

7/10/2007 10:48:52 AM

im just at 3 years now...and ill be starting my mba in the fall.

7/10/2007 10:50:58 AM

I'm partial towards just the MBA, but getting the JD/MBA might be a killer combo.

7/10/2007 11:03:51 AM

Campbell has a JD/MBA.

I have no idea which of the two would be right for you -- they take you in varying directions. I'd do MBA b/c I have no desire to still be paying for my education when I'm 40.

7/10/2007 11:08:08 AM

So, to people who graduated from or will go to business school, what was/will be your concentration? I am planning to start business school in the fall of 2009. My concentration will be Finance/Banking. (Currently I work at real estate investment company in Japan.)

It would be really nice if I could get into Wharton or Stern... but I have no brain/money for those schools..

spooner, how did you like Wharton? I know all the factors (GMAT, GPA, Essay, Recommendation etc etc) are important, but what factor does Wharton put the most weight on?

7/10/2007 11:15:27 AM

smith's program (umd) doesn't have concentrations....instead you choose your own path based on what you want to get from the program. im interested in program management leaning towards international business...so ill take the approprate classes for that.

7/10/2007 11:23:55 AM

if one got a business minor how hard is it to get a business degree and then the mba?

7/10/2007 1:58:15 PM

I wasn't railing on the top schools. I have some friends who went to Penn and Harvard, and they are good dudes who like to party. It just seemed that there were a lot more tools with them (well, just about every Asian and Indian guy in an MBA program is a tool, but they don't know better - some can be salvaged).

Anyway, I concentrated in Marketing as well as Decision & Information Analysis. Emory doesn't have majors or anything of the likes. We just have different fields that the courses fall under. Take a certain amount, and the school recgonizes you as concentrating in it, but you don't have anything on your diploma about it.

7/10/2007 2:09:24 PM

^ hahaha, yeah, I feel you. We of course had our share "those guys", who were really competitive and just plain asses - but actually not near as many as I had expected. Not sure about Harvard, though

My concentration was in ops management, which basically meant that I took 4 semester credits worth of ops electives (out of about 10 total credits) during my second year. So even though wharton requires you to have a concentration, the requirements aren't too limiting. I imagine other schools that require concentrations are similar. And about admission, I'd say that GMAT scores and GPAs are primarily viewed as thresholds that have to be crossed, and the essays and work experience are what they use to really differentiate candidates. I think this is how many other schools view things as well. Word up!

7/10/2007 2:47:56 PM

i thought about applying to wharton, but i needed a part time school. i have a mortgage that eats money, so i couldnt really stop working. plus, i like my job.

what was your GMAT to get in there?

7/10/2007 2:50:44 PM

fyi

http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/



[Edited on July 10, 2007 at 3:24 PM. Reason : v]

7/10/2007 3:22:48 PM

I know the avg at Emory was in the 680 range. I think for top 5 schools it's in the 710-720 range I hit 95% (720) on my GMAT and picked up a partial ride (50%) even thou I applied way after the scholarship deadline (I was late round everywhere as I didn't decide to go to B-School until xmas and took the GMAT in Feb).

A lot of good schools have evening MBA programs. I had quite a few friends who did that and worked full-time.

[Edited on July 10, 2007 at 5:18 PM. Reason : .]

7/10/2007 5:17:15 PM

Already been said....If you don't want to study law/practice law/or like law then not for you to go to law school. 1st year is a test of your desire and willingness to go that extra effort.

If really not sure which way to go, try Combo program....then u can choose after first year if you want to let one go.


III

7/11/2007 8:07:35 PM

man, it's going to be awesome to have a phd.

7/11/2007 9:36:03 PM

^ word! you gettin' that playa hatin' degree???

7/12/2007 11:24:08 AM

fuck.

i have an average gmat score (700), but almost no work experience that i can list.

i wonder what my options are.

7/12/2007 11:49:04 AM

700 is an above average GMAT score

7/12/2007 11:51:41 AM

yes thats considered quite good

[Edited on July 12, 2007 at 11:57 AM. Reason : myabe not bust down doors with scholarships good, but good overall]

7/12/2007 11:56:42 AM

^^^ honestly, don't be too harsh on your work experience - as long as you can show some steady progression through your career, you could be ok. i mean, i was just a production engineer at a chemical plant with 3 yrs experience, had been promoted once (pretty much on schedule), and i was able to get into a few really good programs.

but if you have no real work experience at all, you'd need a pretty compelling story to get accepted into a top-30 school...

[Edited on July 12, 2007 at 12:08 PM. Reason : ..]

7/12/2007 12:07:11 PM

700 GMAT is bomb dude

7/12/2007 1:14:37 PM

sit on that 700 and get a year and half of work experience somewhere. you'll be able to go wherever you want.

7/12/2007 6:17:50 PM

sober -
I've got a friend from work who's starting at Smith this coming semester and a neighbor who is just about done. The one that's almost finished loves it.

I actually applied there too, but I'm going to Fuqua because I can finish in 20 months without having to stop working.

I've got another older coworker that became a consultant after retiring from practicing law, and he kept trying to get me to go to law school. Said it has nothing to do with practicing law, it's just a good way of thinking about things....

7/16/2007 10:02:20 PM

Does your undergrad major and or grades matter if you score high on the gmat?

7/17/2007 1:00:57 AM

I guess our business school is sliding:

http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/06/full_time.htm

(It's not listed)

7/17/2007 8:11:53 AM

^sliding? was it ever a top ranked program? not to knock it or anything, but its pretty new, and probably not up to par with top 30 programs yet.

Quote :

"sober - I've got a friend from work who's starting at Smith this coming semester and a neighbor who is just about done. The one that's almost finished loves it. "

thats good to hear. there are a bunch of people i work with in the program, and they think its great as well. i dont expect to have a life for the next 2.5-3 years, but im sure ill survive.
7 hours of school a week + >40 hours of work a week + hw = not much free time.

Quote :

"actually applied there too, but I'm going to Fuqua because I can finish in 20 months without having to stop working."

how does that work? you're in DC right? is it a weekend program?






[Edited on July 17, 2007 at 8:40 AM. Reason : df]

7/17/2007 8:36:30 AM

our B-school is young, and still very small.

my graduating class ('05) was about 40 full timers and twice that many part timers.

the Fuqua summer intern we have just told me their class is 400 people just in the full time program.

7/17/2007 11:02:31 AM

fuqua is trying to double the size of their classes in the next 4 years or so...aiming for 800 people per class last i heard

7/17/2007 2:04:07 PM

Quote :

"how does that work? you're in DC right? is it a weekend program?"

I am in DC. My program is technically full time, but you only attend class one out of every 10 weeks (2 this time to include orientation). The rest is online. Of our 8 residencies, 6 are in Durham, 1 in Brussels, and 1 in Shanghai. Given I'm just starting, but I like it a lot. Meeting a bunch of people from a lot of different countries and industries.

I looked at Darden's weekend program too, but they wanted something crazy like 12 years of work experience.

I also have a good project manager that's cool with me only working 40 hours a week and taking the time needed off while I'm taking class.

7/21/2007 11:50:33 PM