Yes, a lot of people don't understand that MBAs do not carry much weight anymore (if they ever did). I have family members who aggressively pursued such degrees under the assumption that they'd practically guarantee an executive position. I've also met many who've obtained MBAs in an attempt to gain some career advancement, usually to a higher managerial position. I only know of one such person for whom this ploy was successful.

I have to think that the "Harvard" name carries a lot of weight, but MBAs as a class of degrees have, at least over the last ~10 years, been accompanied with a little bit of a snicker, in my admittedly relatively shallow experience with MBA holders. At one point, I did hire a developer with an MBA, but his MBA was a point of concern rather than merit.

>What HBS does well, above all else, is act as a filter. They really do a remarkable job at admissions, putting together a group of folks who are likely (by nature or nurture) to go on to have an outsized impact on the world.

I have to ask. In your opinion, is access to this network really worth the cost of going through the program?