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| Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sloan School of Management |
OVERALL 1998 RANK: 15 BW corporate rank: 14 BW graduate rank: 19 BW 1996 rank: 9 |
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1999 Profile Update School Profile School Statistics Graduates' Comments: Sloan provides a challenging environment uniquely suited to today's business challenges. The curriculum is strong in analytic tools and new technologies. The small but diverse student body promotes teamwork and strong bonds. Sloan teaches students to be analytic but flexible, to understand international issues, and to be team players. --Consultant Part of what impressed me most about Sloan is the willingness of both the faculty and students to go to all ends to help out individual students, both with regards to academic work and in their job search. The quality and diversity of backgrounds and experiences among the Sloan student body helped make this possible, but it was also a result of a genuine desire among students to help each other out in whatever way possible. --Unknown In addition, I was impressed by the responsiveness of the faculty to student comments and suggestions on future class session and curriculum changes. The quality of teaching was nothing short of first rate, and virtually every faculty member was at the cutting edge of his or her field. Classes utilized a good mix of theoretical ground-laying and real-world practical applications. My only caution to a prospective student would be that quantitative skills continue to play an important role in the school's curriculum. You don't need a PhD in math, but candidates should be comfortable with numbers and basic spreadsheets. The workload also tends to be somewhat heavy. --Consulting Before I had had an important interview with an investment bank, a friend of mine competing for the same position, who had just interviewed with that bank, filled me in on the type of questions being asked. I didn't even ask him for this. This behavior is typical of Sloan camaraderie. We have tremendous representation from international students, adding to my program's diversity. Since business is global, a Sloan MBA can only further enhance one's understanding of global management issues. The school needs to improve its marketing department, although I hear its technology marketing courses are outstanding. I heard the accounting department strongly improved after putting forth a weak effort my first year. The strategic management faculty is excellent. The administration listens and attends to student complaints. The perception that Sloan is a place for geeky, asocial types is completely absurd, although we do attract individuals who are technically (mathematically, analytically) extremely sound. I was amazed at the level of intelligence of my classmates. --Finance Sloan not only gave me an incredible analytical skill set, it also exposed me to a huge entrepreneurial community in high tech and it helped me to develop my soft skills in teamwork, negotiation, and organizational dynamics. The O.P. course in the core is taught by a world class group in organizational management. I wasn't expecting this kind of strength from what I perceived to be such a quantitative school. I was disappointed by the lack of physical space. They really need a new building. --Consulting Just prior to beginning my MBA program, I became very apprehensive over my decicision to leave work and return to school full time. I was well known and respected in my company and had moved quickly into the management ranks. My employer was willing to fund an executive MBA program for me, while I continued working. I was struggling with the combined loss of income and cost that I would bear for going full time, versus the marginal difference in knowledge and capabilities that I would acquire in the full time program. --Unknown In retrospect, I was not looking at the problem correctly. What a full time program like Sloan's can give you that a part time program cannot is full immersion in a community of high performers drawn from around the world. It is a very challenging and stimulating environment. This has changed my perspective in ways that I did not anticipate, broadening me both personally and professionally. Besides the knowledge that I gained (which is probably the same in most full-time and part-time programs), I have a different perspective on the world now. I believe that this was the most important part of my MBA experience, and most valuable yet impossible to value. To those that face a similar dilemna to mine, my advice is simple: "Just do it". --Consulting There are three things that make Sloan stand out among other business schools. First, the incredible international diversity (45% of the class of 2000 will be non-U.S.). No other school gives this sort of international exposure, and it is truly wonderful to be able to interact with such a diverse group of people -- this in itself provides probably the best learning experience in today's business environment. --Unknown Second, the social side of Sloan cannot be beaten. The weekly C-functions (now renamed Cultural Functions, no longer Consumption Functions) provide students from all corners of the globe the opportunity to throw a party for the school and incorporate within it extravaganzas, traditions, and shows from their respective countries. But even further than that, these events give the opportunities for there to be weeks at Sloan dedicated to the various countries -- for example, it will be the Brazilian Week for the seven days prior to the Brazilian C-Function. During these weeks, various events take place, such as lectures by professors on the countries represented, dance classes, dinners with food from the respective countries, sports, games, decorations etc. This is a wonderful way to integrate everyone into the Sloan community, and it gives an invaluable learning experience at the same time. (Sloan's small size allows the atmosphere to be so very friendly and collaborative). --Unknown Third, the school's location is perhaps the best of any business school - close to the center of Boston, surrounded by high-tech, startup and established corporations (many of which have been started by MIT grads!) - right in the heart of a wonderful city. The work is hard -- perhaps excessive in the first semester -- but everyone pulls together to get it done, and manages to have a fantastic time doing so! --Marketing Overall I was very pleased with what I learned but I was disappointed that the career aspect was so heavily slanted towards mainstream management consulting and Wall Street. There are a lot of strong marketers at Sloan and they need more external attention. I am very excited about my job after Sloan, consulting to health-care technology companies, and I really believe that Sloan is the premier place in the world for students interested in technology marketing and strategy. This and Sloan's international strength are two tremendous assets. --Consulting Working with a diverse group of people in a team-driven environment was an amazing experience. The small class size means you get to know almost everyone and facilitates lasting relationships. Lastly, the relationship with the general MIT community is a great asset to the school -- especially in the entrepreneurship field where the school has done a great job of bringing together the technical skills of MIT with the business skills at Sloan to form successful companies. --Consulting I was a fellow in the Leaders for Manufacturing program which altered my educational experience slightly. We had some particularly good treatment of leadership/teamwork issues as well as some exclusive administrative assistance and improved facilities computers/fax/meeting rooms etc.). We have a full two calender year program and received engineering master's degrees in addition to an MBA. The internship part of the program is six months in length and serves as the basis for our thesis requirement. This program made my educational experience a step better than what I felt I would have received in the basic MBA program. --Operations The Leaders for Manufacturing (LFM) program stressed teamwork amongst the fellows during our first summer together, which is the summer before the rest of the Sloan community starts. In fact, during the summer, there is not one individual assignment. All work is turned in as a team, and the only way to differentiate the students is from exam scores. This built a very close-knit group of high-potential manufacturing leaders during a very intense summer. During the summer, the workload is equivalent to the regular core, but it is completed in two-thirds of the time. To use a materials science analogy, which is the engineering field I studied during the program, when you put people in a small room and apply pressure and heat, bonding results. --Operations MIT Sloan is moving aggressively in two directions: emerging markets and entrepreneurship. MIT's Enterpreneurship Center is raising both the study and practice of startup ventures to an entirely new level, one that brings the engineering and scientific resources of the University together with the business acumen of Sloan's faculty and student body. Equally important, the composition of the student population is beginning to reflect the importance which both the institution, and, indeed, the United States, place on the development of emerging markets. --Consulting (Entrepreneurship) Check out the entrepreneurship program at MIT. I've looked at the programs at different schools around the world -- and this is an order of magnitude better than anything out there. While the classes are great (Entrepreneurship without Borders features a conversation with a different entrepreneur about their business plan each class meeting), it's the environment (best business and technology minds) and the access to resources that make the program outstanding. The world-reknowned, student-run MIT $50K Entrepreneurship Competition gives the startup process structure and introduces you to MIT alumni who are amazingly helpful for advice and funding. (In response for repeated request for help to start competitions around the world, the MIT $50K hosted a first-ever conference for organizers of business plan competitions in March. Recently, the Competition has worked closely with teams at Stanford and in Germany to develop their competitions.) For MBAs and other graduate students interested in "what's it like to be an entrepreneur," the 15.399 Entrepreneurship Lab class lets you work with a startup on a problem that keeps the CEO up at night. Talk about practical, timely experience. --Entrepreneurship MIT Sloan is an interesting place where there has always been an integration between the practicality of the business and the innovation of engineering. I know only one school that can combine the two programs effectively. Courses like product design and development and entrepreneurship lab bring in the great MIT engineering students and the fabulous business students together to create not only innovative solutions but also viable products. Thus I am proud to say that this school will definitely become (if not already) the leading business school in the 21st century. --Entrepreneurship The great thing about the Sloan School is that you have all the resources of MIT in addition to the assets of the business school. For example, I am very interested in high technology, and the Laboratory for Computer Science and the Media Lab gave me the opportunity to explore those areas. Teamwork is strongly emphasized at Sloan. All of our classes involve a team project. Moreover, some of the classes, such as the Entrepreneurship Lab and Product Design and Development, have teams composed of business school students and engineering students. Entrepreneurship is a fast-growing area of interest at Sloan. The New Product and Venture Development track is the fastest growing track. Combined with the MIT $50K Entreprenuership Competition, we leave Sloan well prepared to launch a company. In fact, I will be joining a startup after graduation. --Entrepreneurship Proof of the quality of Sloan: Dr. Stuart Myers (wrote the book, literally, on Corporate Finance); Dr. Modigliani -- Nobel Prize Economics; Dr. Solow -- Nobel Prize Economics; Dr. Andrew Lo -- Financial Engineering; Dr. John Cox (wrote the book, literally, on Options theory); Drs. Merton and Scholes -- did the work for which they received the Nobel prize while they were at MIT Sloan, although they are now at Harvard and Stanford; Dr. Krugman -- best economist under 40 years of age; Dr. Rudy Dornbusch -- no explanation necessary; Dr. Lester Thurow -- no explanation necessary. Between the entrepreneurship cluster that has emerged in the City of Boston (venture capitalists, high technology, Rt. 128 corridor, etc.), the technical resources that MIT as a whole offers, MIT Sloan's Entrepreneurship Lab, and MIT's history of entrepreneurship (3Com, etc.), MIT Sloan is the place to be if you want to start your own company. --Finance Back to Top 1999 Profile Update School Profile School Statistics |
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