The goal of an MBA program is not, by and large, to educate future entrepreneurs, although there will be entrepreneurs among the group. These schools are largely in existence to churn out upper-level management types and investment bankers schooled in business “best practices” and, more importantly, “best business jargons.” If you think MBA programs are geared toward entrepreneurs you’re in for a rude awakening.
My experience has been that everyone gets to where they’re going regardless of the schools on their resume. The reason that MBAs from Harvard, etc. tend to be successful is NOT that they went to Harvard – it’s that they were the type of people that got accepted in the first place. They would have been successful regardless. Harvard was just a train stop on their journey.
I was accepted to one top-10 MBA program, Darden at UVA. I turned them down because I thought it was way too expensive. Instead I attended a program that tends to hover between 40 and 50 in the rankings, but they gave me a scholarship. It was still pretty much a waste of time in hindsight, but at least it didn’t cost very much.
So far as I can tell, this decision has had virtually no impact on my career. I might have gotten a slightly better job right out of the program if I had gone to Darden, but 10 years out I’m where I wanted to be anyway, so I think the decision was largely meaningless from a long-term perspective. And, frankly, with hindsight, I think I should’ve skipped business school altogether – it hasn’t provided much benefit.
Having said that, if it’s your goal to work 60-80 hours per week in some mindnumbingly boring upper-level corporate job, or even worse as an associate at one of the large investment banks (count on 90 hours a week in one of these hell pits), then business school might be right up your alley. Someone, after all, has to do those jobs.
