Distinctions without Difference?

[guest]

i'm tired of reading about "fit." what does that mean, anyway? the way i see it, i'd love to attend many of the best schools and i think i could "fit" at any one of them. i mean, isn't it up to me to make the most of my experience wherever it is? please correct me if i'm wrong, but i don't recognize many real differences among the best schools. they all emphasize leadership, teamwork, innovation, etc. one school's really big on social responsibility - so what? the others aren't? or entrepreneurship - every good school seems to claim good entrepreurship programs. what is really meant by "fit" and how do i decide where i "fit?"

[guest2]

I agree. I think that a lot of schools just want you to stroke their ego. So what, blow a little smoke up their a$$. If they say they want a 'leader' talk about your leadership skills. If they want an 'entrepreneur' then talk about the website you started.

The only school I would disagree with what I just said is Stanford. They are clearly looking for a specific type on student.

[Guest]

Thank you for your inquiry.

I think that fit has a lot to do with environment and program design. For example, one individual might thrive in Tuck’s environment - an intimate 240 person class, where many students live on campus in student housing, while another may find such close confines to be overwhelming. Similarly, one candidate may find that Chicago’s flexible curriculum with only one common class to be appealing, because of choice and variety of students that he/she will constantly meet; meanwhile another may find the choices to be overwhelming and may be concerned that he/she will struggle to meet people as the students will constantly change from class to class.

All of that written, some schools do have unique courses and programs. For example, Texas has a massive asset management program where students manage $16 million. Tuck has a first year consulting project, where candidates are working "live" to solve real business problems in their first term. While these are just two examples, some of these courses can really resonate with certain students and make the difference.

Sincerely,
Jeremy Shinewald
MBA Mission

http://www.mbamission.com
646-485-8844
Skype: MBAMission

i'm tired of reading about "fit." what does that mean, anyway? the way i see it, i'd love to attend many of the best schools and i think i could "fit" at any one of them. i mean, isn't it up to me to make the most of my experience wherever it is? please correct me if i'm wrong, but i don't recognize many real differences among the best schools. they all emphasize leadership, teamwork, innovation, etc. one school's really big on social responsibility - so what? the others aren't? or entrepreneurship - every good school seems to claim good entrepreurship programs. what is really meant by "fit" and how do i decide where i "fit?"