Top Law Schools

is getting one form a non top say 20 or so school with little w/e just as bad as going to law school

yep

.

From my limited knowledge, you're not getting M7, much less any respectable MBA, sans WE

Would what you learn, if you learn anything, in the program help if one wanted to start up a business

cooldude87 wrote:Would what you learn, if you learn anything, in the program help if one wanted to start up a business

Pretty much everything from market research, places to look for financing/funding, everything accounting related from buying your first box of pens through to selling off the company, merging/acquiring or closing up shop, marketing, likely some HR/managerial training, etc.

It's an MBA, so it should, by definition, be pretty all-encompassing.

Having said all of that, you could very well get an MBA with all the necessary training, find a way to finance a reasonable size start-up, and fall flat on your face. It has happened before. However, if you're going to start a business it is a good idea to know how to construct a business plan.

It is true that MBAs have lost some of their prestige since every paper mill in every town has started cranking them out. I still think it's a beneficial degree if you can get into somewhere respectable. Even absent of WE, an MBA from anywhere half-well known should give you a leg-up in getting employed on an entry level career track position, and will likely help in progression and not being shut out of higher positions by default due to lack of fancy letters. Of course, in the real world it is accomplishments that matter; sometimes you need to have the letters too, though. Or at least it doesn't hurt.

Really? A school like Rice, for example, is ranked 25 and has a 92% employment rate. I'm not sure if there's a law school transparency equivalent for MBA programs, but on the surface, seems better.

An MBA is a very misused degree.

It's educational purpose is to prepare a mid-career professional for middle-management (and beyond). In that case, if you're not looking to change employer, but merely want the skills/knowledge an MBA can provide, I don't think there's much difference between a great business school and a mediocre one.

There's also the networking opportunities, the quality of which is directly correlated to the quality of the school, but keep in mind that a networking opportunity is just that. There's no guarantee it'll do anything for you other than meet new people.

A handful of schools have incredible career opportunities, and for a K-MBA, or for those looking to switch career/employer, M7 is the way to go.

Lastly, there are those, like cooldude, who think it'll be useful to start a business. Sure, it'll teach you the basics of just about everything, but, if you're gonna start a business, you're better off e.g. paying an accountant a few thousand than a business school a few tens of thousands. Better to stick that money into your business, and, once it's successful enough where you might need the skills, you do an executive MBA on the weekends to learn that information (and continue to pay the accountant*)

*An MBA is almost like taking a survey course in a dozen different directions. You'll be able to do basic accounting, but you're better off letting the specialized accountant deal with it; rather, you will understand what the accountant means when talking about LIFO and FIFO and other technical jargon, and you will be able to make the decisions required; an MBA teaches you to operate at a 10.000 foot level, while the specialists handle the details

cooldude87 wrote:is getting one form a non top say 20 or so school with little w/e just as bad as going to law school

No. MBA's rarely make you less employable the same way JD's do. So, to answer your question, no. That being said, not all MBA's are immediately beneficial in securing employment. Further, MBA's are always more valuable after 2-5 years of experience. If you are interested in business and didn't study it in undergrad, consider pursuing a Masters of Finance, Masters of Risk Management, Masters of Marketing Research, Masters of Accounting, Masters of Management in Energy, Masters of Real Estate, etc. They are designed to introduce people to each of those areas in order to pursue entry level employment.

Edit: M7 isn't really a meaningful designation; in fact, it's certainly less meaningful than T14. MBA programs can functionally be split into ~3 elite programs (i.e. Penn), ~15 national programs (i.e. MIT), and ~30 strong regional programs (i.e. Rice). I'm not going to play the ranking game, but it's not hard to figure out what goes where. The remaining MBA programs not in those groups are not worth attending for free, and the strong regional schools need to offer you a good discount to attend.

Three points:

1. My friends with MBAs from nonprestigious schools are all stuck in back office positions and all wish they could go back in time and not go to these schools.

2. I've met a few top level executives who've told me point blank they only hire from Harvard, Wharton etc.

3. If you don't already have experience a MBA can screw you over because it puts you on a different payscale. Few people want to hire someone on a high payscale and then teach them the basics.