Why LGO?

So, it's mid-October.... a time of fall foliage, football, and first-round applications. I'm guessing that if you’re checkin out my rockin blog, it’s likely because you’re contemplating going back to school. The decision to leave my job, my friends, and my hometown and go back to school full-time was one of the biggest decisions I’ve ever made (and will probably ever make). Here’s a bit of insight about why I decided LGO was the right choice for me.

I graduated in 2003 with a ChE degree, and began working at Eli Lilly, a pretty large (40,000 employees) pharma manufacturer in Indiana. I’ve always wanted to work in healthcare, and I loved my job. I worked in a dry products finishing plant, so I got to see the finished product every day. I loved the environment, but after working for about 4 years in engineering and quality, I began to really think about what I wanted to do long term. I love manufacturing, and decided I wanted to keep my career in manufacturing. However, I wanted to be able to work at a higher level; I wanted to have opportunities to lead and effect change. I realized that I have high aspirations for myself, but needed some additional tools to reach my goals.

At this point, I began looking at MBA programs. Lilly actually has a great program in which they will fully sponsor your MBA at nights if you continue working. I seriously contemplated this; it allowed the option to get an MBA while still getting my paycheck. However, I came to the conclusion that for myself, doing a part-time MBA did not provide the complete skillset I wanted. It would give me a decent working knowledge, but wouldn’t give me the complete package that a full-time program would provide. I decided that for me, it was all or nothing.

So, I started looking into B-schools. At first, I was only looking at traditional b-schools…. HBS, Kellogg, Tuck, Stanford, etc. However, a colleague of mine at Lilly was a grad of LGO, and she encouraged me to check out the program.

For the sake of honesty, I’ll admit to you that at first, I really didn’t initially see any value in a masters of engineering. I don’t fancy myself a terribly technical person, and my long term vision for my career is much more admin-based than tech-based. However, as I began to look into the LGO program, I realized that integrated approach of Sloan MBA and MIT engineering degree does in fact build a very good base for leading in manufacturing after graduation. I was very drawn to the ESD program, which offers a supply chain focus, and seems very much in line with an ops-based MBA. (This is sorta funny now, since I wound up changing majors from ESD to ChE once I was here, but whatever). For me, I began to see LGO as sort of an “MBA-plus” type of program. Now that I’m here, I know lots of other students who see LGO as an “Engineering-plus” program… the engineering degree is flexible, and allows you to get as technical (or as un-technical) as you want. The flexibility factor was a key selling point for me.

Perhaps the most important differentiation of LGO from nearly any other program (either normal MBA or other dual-degree programs) is the financial support provided. LGO is a fellowship; the majority of our education is paid for by the industry partners who support the program. An MBA is a powerful tool… and its also an expensive tool. I didn’t have a trust fund set away for me, so preparing to pay 100K for an MBA at a top school was a pretty daunting prospect. However, the fellowship offered with LGO would basically cover my tuition, so I’d just have to cover my room and board. I knew it would be much easier to leave my job (and my paycheck) knowing that I wasn’t going to graduate drowning in debt.

In the end, I applied to HBS, Tuck, and LGO. After applying, I visited each school for interviews. During my visit to LGO, I had a blast. I felt very much at home in the urban setting, and felts that the kids currently in the program were a lot like me. It just felt right. The other schools I visited were lovely, and I am sure I would have received an amazing education if I’d gone there – they both offer amazing programs, and both locations were absolutely beautiful. However, at the other schools I went to, there was just something a little less comfortable than LGO.

In the end, LGO just felt right to me, and I subsequently decided it was where I was going to go (assuming I got in, of course… you can check out my blogs about the application process here ).

I think the decision to go back full-time is enormous, as is the decision of which program you want to attend is equally important. I’d encourage any prospective MBA student to really think about what you want to do in the future, talk to lots of people, visit lots of school to really understand what you’re getting yourself into. I’d caution any student from picking a program based solely on rankings, etc. Visit the schools, see where you are comfortable, and in the end- go with your gut.

Applications to LGO are due December 15th. You can learn more about the program and the application process at www.lgo.mit.edu.

If you have any questions about LGO, please leave me a comment and I'd be happy to give you my thoughts!