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One of the biggest reasons why the best and brightest young people from across the world want to earn an MBA from the top Business Schools in the world – HBS, GSB, INSEAD, etc. – is because of the limitless networking opportunities it opens up. We often hear about these networks, and about how they can transform the professional life of the individuals who are lucky enough to be parts of them. But what exactly are these about, and why are they so powerful?

In our quest to discuss these with you, we put together a special feature that focuses on numbers and sizes of MBA networks, so that we can better understand how big, and how high quality, they actually are.

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Direct, very deep connections: 100

The members of a Year 1 class in any MBA program are very, very close: they take most of their compulsory courses together, they party together, they learn together, and they work on assignments together. Later in life, they all attend each other’s weddings, and everyone in a class feels like a member of a very close family. These connections are very deep, and any member of the class can call on any other member for a favour at any time.

Direct, deep connections: 500 to 1000

We talked about the deep bonds within a class, but the bonds between any two members of a cohort, or a batch, at a Business School, are very deep as well. Depending on the B-School in question, the cohort size might vary from 400 to 1000. Later in life, you just have to introduce yourself to anyone in your cohort to be met with friendliness and co-operation, no matter what the setting.

Any time access to alumni: 20,000 to 40,000

The number of living alumni of most big Business Schools in the USA is in the 10,000+ range, with larger numbers for older schools with historically larger cohort sizes. The alumni network and the framework that binds them all is so strong that you will have multiple means – online and offline – to reach out to any or all of the members of this exclusive club, and associate with them in whatever way you – and they – think fit.

Sphere of deep influence: 1,00,000+

All the members of your class will soon be working in organizations where they will be respected professionals, and exert a sphere of influence there. By association, you will be able to reach, with deep influence (indirectly), to about 1000 people for each member of your class; this is very large, especially if you’re looking at starting up and need to reach people and testers.

Sphere of indirect influence (LinkedIn Reach): 5 million to 10 million

Through your cohort alone, you will be able to reach out to many millions of high net worth individuals on LinkedIn, and build bridges to other people who want to change the world as much as you do.

(15 years down the line) Direct access to CEOs: 50 to 100

Finally, once the dust settles, you and your friends in your own cohort are all headed for greatness; all statistics show that the top Business Schools are ideal CEO crucibles, with some schools and batches seeing as many as 10% of their members making it to CEO within two decades of graduation. It feels good to be a CEO, or to have a substantial number of CEOs on speed dial!

We hope that this Jamboree special feature has given you an idea of just how great your network will be post a top US Business School MBA, in terms of both quality and quantity. In case you want to be a part of such a network, we recommend that you start off on your journey to the best B-Schools right away, by preparing for either the GMAT or GRE.

GRE-coaching

In case you require a partner on your preparation and application journey, Jamboree is the answer. We have two decades of successful GMAT preparation and coaching, and our record of high scores speaks for itself; it can be found on our website. In addition, you can also use our website to schedule a session with one of our domain experts, who can also counsel you on the best course of action to achieve a top Business School admit, customized according to your profile.

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