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继续转 Hi, I'm a GSB grad from the Class of 2004, haven't been on these boards in years but for a random reason, am back on to inform myself of the buzz in applicants' minds between schools. I thought the current crop of applicants deciding between S and H -- congrats by the way -- might benefit from a post of another classmate of mine. It was written in 2003 but I think holds remarkably true today: Congrats to you and the others facing this wonderful decision. I was a first-round H/S/W admit last year, and like BCGDUDE I was pretty active (too active) on these boards. I had a very tough time deciding, but ultimately I chose Stanford. I love it here! Some thoughts/advice: First, read ARODSUCKS' post if you haven't already. I agree with pretty much everything he said. Second, size matters. Do you want/need to be surrounded by a large group of people with similar backgrounds? I was in the military before business school, and if my goal was to go through b-school with a large support group of other vets, then perhaps HBS would have been a better choice. Even if the proportions are exactly the same (and of course they aren't always), a class of 900 students is going to offer you a critical mass of whatever type of people you identify yourself with (vets, African Americans, Tampa Bay Bucs fans, whatever). Even during the admit weekends, I felt this difference keenly. HBS was so big that people naturally started forming affinity groups, and so I spent most of that weekend hanging out with the ex-military guys (and they were an amazing bunch). But at Stanford, there just weren't as many people with my background (say, 10 instead of 30), and so it seemed that you were almost forced to hang out with people very different from you. I've made some incredible friends here who are very different from the kind of people I would have been drawn to in the past. I know both schools pride themselves on diversity, and others may disagree with what I'm saying. But for me, Stanford fosters an environment where one is much more likely to become friends with a wide-range of people, where HBS seemed like a place where one is much more likely to stick with a group of similar folks as you navigate a huge institution together. Recruiting. I think the size distinction ties in here. I can't imagine a better recruiting environment than what we have at the GSB--from the student's perspective. The smaller size/same total diversity means that you have fewer people interested in X. And of the people who are interested in X, you will have fewer with a similar background to yours. This translates into some pretty amazing opportunities. Last week, there was a Sales & Trading interview with a major IB that was available for grabs; no one had bid on it and it was there for the taking. So I took. (Hell, I'll even give you the name if you contact me offline.) From conversations with HBS first-years, I don't think that sort of thing is happening there. Don't forget that a HUGE student body and a HUGE alumni network can be a two-edged sword; it's nice to have contacts, but at the end of the day you have to differentiate yourself. There's a balance to be struck, and I personally like the way the GSB strikes it. Finally, let me add this. Your original post (and the posts of many others) sets the issue up this way: I want to go to Stanford, I think I'd enjoy my time there more, but I'm afraid that I'll be giving up some hard-to-quantify career edge by turning down HBS. I don't agree with that framework (see above), but since it seems to be a consensus concern, let's run with it for a second. Not to sound preachy, but we will all face this dilemna many times going forward, and how we resolve these tradeoffs will in large part determine what our lives look like. You may be offered a job in a city that you don't like. You may get a promotion that will require significantly more travel away from family. Etc. Some people will always choose the career-optimizing path, and run the risk of getting caught in a perpetual delayed-gratification trap. Others will make different choices and seek more balance. To each his or her own, I suppose. But if you feel that H/S is one of those types of choices, then ask yourself this: when again in your life will taking the "lifestyle" choice ever be so low risk? If you chose the perceived career-maximizing path now, when would you EVER choose a more balanced option? Again, I don't agree with this framework, and I suspect the good people at HBS don't either. I think you can have your cake and eat it too---that you can come here for the two most amazing years of your life, and still have the world as your oyster afterwards. (And I'm sure the HBS folks feel they are having a ball now, while counting down the days to world domination.) But if you DO feel that's the dilemna your facing, then be very, very careful. What is the true long-term risk in your life? I don't think the risk, for people at any of these schools, is that they will wind up with unsuccessful careers or too few business contacts. I do think there is a risk--hell, it's a stereotype--that we'll end up hollowed-out shells with fantastic careers but empty personal lives. So manage your risk intelligently. Your career will be fine. And if HBS is where you think you'll make the best friends, laugh the most, and be the happiest, then absolutely you should go there. But if you feel that place might be Stanford, then I think it would be silly (and chickens**t) to not come here. Hope this helps. I'd be happy to talk more offline if you want to shoot me an email. Good luck, MT | 
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发表于 2006-6-26 11:58:00
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