How I decided which business schools to apply to.

WARNING: many stereotypes and generalizations ahead.

I only applied to two business schools, both in R1 (first round). Some might call it risky, considering acceptance rate for top b-schools is well under 20%. However, I am happy with my current job, so I did not see the point of applying to schools I was not interested in attending. How did I decide on the two schools? I went through the list of the top US business schools, and identified which ones would be the best fit. I am a big believer that the classmates constitute a very important aspect of the business school experience, so I drew on my knowledge of alums whenever possible. Here are my snap judgments:

HARVARD (HBS)

No doubt, a very good school with a great name, but the size (at 1800, HBS is one of the largest in the top tier) as well as the case method were a turn off. The turning point, however, was when I met an HBS alum at Forte Forum event (Forte Foundation is an organization that promotes women in business). The first thing that the woman said about her experience was that "she was a bit of an outlier as she had 5 years of experience before entering HBS." I have 5.5 years of work experience now, and I am significantly more prepared for the business school experience now than I was even 2 years ago, so I can't imagine a classroom where half the class has less than 4 years of experience. PASS.

STANFORD (GSB)

Stanford did not even bother to show up at the Forte event. Everyone else was there: HBS, Kellogg, Sloan, INSEAD, etc. Apparently, Stanford does not care much about women in business. The age (median work experience of 3.9!) was again a turn off. I actually visited GSB and sat in on some classes as otherwise the school seemed great (small size, nice weather, focus on entrepreneurship, international exposure, etc). Sadly, the age did really show in class discussions. It is a bummer too, as a lot of my co-workers who I respect deeply are GSB graduates. Of course, they all graduated few years back before the trend of accepting younger students emerged. Close call, and I almost applied in R2, but PASS.

NORTHWESTERN (KELLOGG)

Eh, I just wasn't that excited about the school. A few of Kellogg alums that I know are still unemployed, which I gotta say does not fare well for the school. PASS.

UPENN (WHARTON)

I have a good friend that graduated from Wharton and did not enjoy her experience there much. She said the people were very competitive. From few casual Wharton acquaintances, I can definitely see that. In addition, I have no desire to go into Finance. PASS.

MIT (SLOAN)

Hallelujah! Sloan is perfect. It's small, with a strong focus on technology and entrepreneurship, and the best part of all - people are analytical but fun. I can see myself fitting right in. Keeping my fingers crossed that I get in! APPLIED.

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO (BOOTH)

Another close call. Good school, solid curriculum, people are super nice, but I felt like the people were missing that special spark that made the Sloanies stand out. PASS.

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA -BERKELEY (HAAS)

Another school that has everything I am looking for: the size, the focus, nice people. Only minus is that it is not as well regarded as other schools, but on the plus size it has a strong brand in Asia. APPLIED.

DARTMOUTH COLLEGE (TUCK)

Another great school, and I gotta say that Tuckies are probably the closest knit of the bunch. Tuck is a bit too similar to my undergrad experience (small New England liberal arts college), so PASS based on the fact that I am looking for a different experience.

Feel free to throw flames my way now. :)