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Critics refer to it as the ‘West Point of Capitalism’ while the world calls it the mecca of business education; Harvard Business School (HBS) is a name that draws reverence, and sometimes ire too, as no other business school does. Just the fact that you have graduated from HBS is enough for people to sit back and take notice of you; it’s a label that shouts out loud that you deserve attention.
MBA or Rockstar?
It’s the school which every candidate, irrespective of the MBA programme he lands up in , always dreams of studying at.
Recruiters have a love-hate relationship with HBS. While every organisation wants HBS graduates to work for them, they often complain that they are unaffordable and often elitist — they are too demanding when it comes to compensation and overambitious when it comes to roles. But what is so special about HBS that the very mention of a degree from there makes people believe that you are a rockstar? I have heard many instances of recruiters taking pride in the simple fact that an HBS alum applied for a position they advertised for! Such is the influence of HBS!
I believe that probably the biggest reason that makes HBS such a juggernaut is its track record of producing the most successful business leaders and thought leaders of the 20th century.
Global leaders
A cursory look at the most notable alumni of the school will give you a long list of business leaders, politicians and thought leaders.
The second reason for its stature is that it is the birthplace of the MBA, a degree that did not exist till the 20th century, and the school has since then maintained its leadership in management education through cutting edge research.
Apart from this, the extremely high calibre, driven and successful peer group at HBS ensures that you have a rich network that will become the next generation’s thought leaders, industry captains, political leaders and entrepreneurs. A look at the current list of Fortune 500 companies does the talking for HBS.
Peer network
HBS has the highest number of CEOs from any business school in the current list of Fortune 500 CEOs, has four times the number of CEOs than its closest competitor, Stanford GSB, and three times that from Wharton.
An unofficial estimate shows that HBS alumni hold an estimated 25 per cent of the private equity jobs in the US, an industry that is known for sky high salaries and fat bonuses. What this means is that HBS graduates can tap into their immensely successful alumni network to get access to those opportunities that would otherwise not be accessible to them.
To sum up, though an HBS degree is by no means a ticket to success, it’s definitely a ticket to increasing your odds for success!
(The author is the co-founder of Aristotle Prep – an online test prep company for the GMAT and GRE that provides and publishes books across seven global locations for students in more than 60 countries.)
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