Harvard vs. Stanford MBA 2017: Ranking, Class Profile & Curriculum

In a span of just 10 years (1999 to 2009), the US Economy went through two booms and busts. The 2001 bust was the result of irrational exuberance that you see when new technology has not found a foothold on the market. Speculators jack up the price. Real investors play along. And then all go to the dust. 2001 was the period when taking the Business online no longer was a lottery for exponential growth but became the new reality of doing Business.  

The 2008 financial meltdown nearly brought down world economies, prompting the govt. to offer a $700 billion bailout – the largest Financial Rescue plan in US history. Officially called, the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, the plan bought non-performing loans in auto, mortgages and college tuition. The turnaround happened when the Congress passed the Recovery Act in Feb 2009. It took a year for the Act to see results when private employers outperformed govt. recruitment, adding 17.6 million jobs from March 2010 to Nov 2017 at an average of 190,000 jobs. 2008 also triggered the longest period of high unemployment rate – a trend that was reversed only in June 2015.

In such a dynamic time, it is only fair to evaluate two sought-after MBA programs that have gone on to create one of the longest lasting rivalries.  If you want to measure where the economy is headed, analyze the recruitment pattern in these two top programs.

Ranking

Ranking has always been a tricky criterion for school selection. Many have less than 30% alumni survey response. However, the top 5 MBA programs are often fairly consistent in most ranking publications. This has been the case for Harvard and Stanford MBA program in the four ranking publications we have considered – Financial Times, The Economist, US News and Bloomberg BusinessWeek.


 
On average, Harvard outperformed Stanford by over a point and 3 quarters.

Ranking: Harvard > Stanford

Class Profile

If you feel that Stanford and Harvard are two sides of the same coin, the percentage of Humanities/Social Sciences students in the class is a clear differentiator.


 
Stanford’s reputation as a sanctuary for technologists and budding Entrepreneurs is justified, but the initiative of the Stanford Humanities Institute to recruits 50 high school students for a 3-week university level course, is a signal on the strong belief the University has on the power of Humanities education. Apart from the ability to think at multidisciplinary levels, write thoughtful memos and arguments, and communicate with colleagues whose first language might not be English, Humanities degree, helped Silicon Valley Founders (LinkedIn, Pinterest, Slack, Instagram, Salesforce, AOL, and Paypal) differentiate and lead.  Most career switchers from Technology and Finance prefer Consulting. Harvard clearly believes in balancing Business education with STEM to fit with this post-MBA trend.

On diversity, women candidates are finally inching closer to finding equal representation in MBA programs. The international student representation has remained 35% for most top programs, including Harvard. Stanford is a much-preferred program for International applicants, especially those with permanent residence or dual residence, who along with applicants from foreign countries added 41% representation in the latest class.


 
On entry criteria, both the programs have high barriers - GPA score of 3.7+ and average GMAT Score that is 737 for Stanford, and a 730 median for Harvard although the latter accept applicants with relatively lower GMAT Score (low 600s if the experience and leadership compensate).

International Students: Stanford > Harvard
Women: Harvard > Stanford
GMAT Score: Stanford > Harvard
GMAT Range: Harvard > Stanford

Course Structure

Business Schools have been experimenting with flexible and traditional cores. Stanford has a traditional core structure with courses in Finance, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, Strategy, Organizational Behaviour, Decision Making, Marketing, HR and Information Management incorporated into the mandatory schedule.

Harvard is strategic with Finance, Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Technology & Operations incorporated in the core while offering students hands-on experience early on in the first couple of terms itself.
 
Stanford MBA has 10 elective themes compared to Harvard’s 9. But if you watch closely, there are six overlaps:







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