[Robbie]

[quote author=Stymie link=topic=11858.msg114531#msg114531 date=1426081333]
I find it unseemly that there is even a whiff of collusion between the Athletic Department and the GSB which seems to allow the latter to be admitted to the GSB on a free ride in the place of some other possibly more talented (GSB-wise) applicant than Mr. Scarlett.

I haven't really thought about the issue much specifically w.r.t. the GSB. So to help me out ...

Why is it unseemly for the GSB to collude with the Athletic Department to let in a student-athlete with financial aid but not so unseemly for Stanford undergrad, or other Stanford grad programs, to do so?
[/quote]

My guess is that students without work experience do not benefit from, nor do they bring as much benefit to, the class discussions and other academic experiences that are central to graduate business school education.

I went to graduate business school without any significant work experience. I went as a Ph.D. student, though, so I didn't have many classes in common with MBA students - but when I did I'm sure that I was a fish out of water. (But drop one of them into a non-linear optimization class - I'd run circles around them.)

I strongly suspect that Scarlett would end up in the Econ department, or the MS&E department, or some other program that has a different educational mission than the GSB.

[Robbie]

[quote author=Stymie link=topic=11858.msg114531#msg114531 date=1426081333]
I find it unseemly that there is even a whiff of collusion between the Athletic Department and the GSB which seems to allow the latter to be admitted to the GSB on a free ride in the place of some other possibly more talented (GSB-wise) applicant than Mr. Scarlett.

I haven't really thought about the issue much specifically w.r.t. the GSB. So to help me out ...

Why is it unseemly for the GSB to collude with the Athletic Department to let in a student-athlete with financial aid but not so unseemly for Stanford undergrad, or other Stanford grad programs, to do so?
[/quote]

My guess is that students without work experience do not benefit from, nor do they bring as much benefit to, the class discussions and other academic experiences that are central to graduate business school education.

I went to graduate business school without any significant work experience. I went as a Ph.D. student, though, so I didn't have many classes in common with MBA students - but when I did I'm sure that I was a fish out of water. (But drop one of them into a non-linear optimization class - I'd run circles around them.)

I strongly suspect that Scarlett would end up in the Econ department, or the MS&E department, or some other program that has a different educational mission than the GSB.