Which network has been more useful to you after graduating - the network of people from during your time on campus or network of past alumni that you can contact? Is the strength of the network just mostly the alumni and not really the students you were in class with? Of course, it’s ideal to have both, but I am just wondering which network has been more useful to you.
The answer for a good program is both, but you are most likely to tap into your current colleagues network because they already know you and are more accessible.
I wonder if I have more top MBAs in my network (no MBA here) than most people from top MBAs. It’s possible. Good thing I didn’t spend $200K + two years of my time getting another piece of paper (CFA was wasteful enough although much cheaper). The weird thing is most top investors never went to business school. So strange.
I don’t think it’s strange at all. School is pure propaganda. That is why the more education you receive, the dumber you become. The longer you stay in the Matrix, the harder it is for you to break free.
that’s because of 2 rules:
work experience and performance will always >>> any degree
cost of bschool can only be justified by a) strength of network b) campus recruiting
true story
If you have zero chance of breaking in, there are sums of money that can be justified boosting your chances of getting into the industry. That is why MBA schools thrive.
If you’re the cream, you will almost always rise to the top so it’s easy to laugh at people not as capable as you.
As for the OP’s original question: both, but good alumni base is pretty important for achieving near term objectives though. They can help out in ways you couldn’t imagine.