Adcoms focus on hire-ability of admits, fear career changers, and have career commisars on adcoms
ADCOMS FOCUS ON HIRE-ABILITY OF ADMITS; W. JOB COMMISARS ON ADCOM COMMITTEES
Sandy,
What’s your take on how heavily adcoms are weighting immediate post-grad employability in the admissions process? BusinessWeek posted an article yesterday that emphasized how schools are now (more than in the past) looking for people who are placeable. I’m not sure how much this applies to top 5 schools? Here’s the link if you haven’t seen it:
http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/jul2009/bs2009079_054049.htm?chan=bschools_bschool+index+page_top+stories
From the article:
…B-school admissions departments are taking a closer look at how easily candidates will be able to parlay their education into a job come graduation. That means, among others, that they’re seeking out candidates who have developed a workable career plan along with polished interview skills and a killer r�sum�. While admissions officers have always favored these qualities, increasingly�as the job market tightens�they’re demanding them.
thanks, art. is basically correct, for all schools, but sure, more dramatic outside HWS, and also warning about career changers is well made. It does apply deeply to COlumbia, and to some lesser extent to Wharton, which is feeling slow down in finance jobs in a big way and worried. Also notE Dean Light fr. HBS in Crimson yesterday (ABOUT 3 POSTS UP), who said that one hindrance to expanding the HBS class to 11 sections (e.g. 990 kids in 11 sections vs. 930-40 this year in 10 sections) was fear of placing all those new kids. I personally think that is smoke, and just a way to play it close to the vest, but it could be an overhang.
HBS by enforcing lower ages for admits is basically addressing this issue in its own way, by turning out very “hire ready” generically smart kids for IB and MC firms, with or without prior exp, who are cheaper and willing to do entry IB and MC stuff. For PE and VC it was always the case that it was nearly imzzble to break into those fields w.out prior ex.
Point in article by Doofus fr. Aspen Institute (you want a Doofus, you call Aspen) about Medical schools not worrying about employability of its grads, so they can be high minded about accepting risky or off-beat types, and B schools should follow suit, well, DUH, that is what happens when you have a monopoly– and if there were only 106 b schools in USA, each w. about 80 kids, well, they would not be worried either. The artificial MD shortage in USA, thank you AMA, is one reason for high med $$$$ blah blah dont get me started. Aspen would no doubt like to see total “Gov-AMA” type control of business as well, so the Aspen folks could waste jet fuel and create methane pollution at their exotic conferences to decide what business USA should pursue, and who among their friends should lead them.
Seriously, that was a very revealing remark by that dude.
