Is LUMS Better than IBA?

There has always been an unwritten notion that says people who get rejected from LUMS end up coming to IBA. But when I came here, there were hordes and hordes of people (or perhaps just a few really loud ones) who insisted that that was not the case.

Amongst certain gold-star dialogues, “I didn’t even apply to LUMS!” was somewhere at the top. Runner ups included: “I only applied to LUMS in case I got rejected from IBA” and “All managerial positions are secured by IBA alumni!”

Undoubtedly, it was an interesting debacle. So, standing somewhere on the side-lines, I wondered if a thousand kilometers away LUMS kids were having a similar argument. Although I will refrain from enunciating what you and I already know.

Defending and being defensiveness are two different things. And the amount of people who get defensive as soon as LUMS is mentioned is way too much to not consider it an insecurity. It is a claim that will be outwardly rejected as soon as it is put out. But for whatever it’s worth, it needed to be out.

Therefore, this was step one: Targeting the Problem.

Step Two: How To Be Better?

Step two was an interesting twist in the story that came in the form of a notification. An invitation. It was an invite to a group on Facebook that seemed to bridge that line of defense in the most entrepreneurial of ways. And the description states:

“This is a collective platform for the students and alumni of IBA and LUMS in an effort to help both universities bring out the best in each other, share job opportunities, discuss and solve problems, and expand their networks.”

And somehow it makes sense, does it not?

Amidst the One Better Than the Other fiasco, we somehow seemed to forget the (albeit inherently classist and massively annoying) boast of being among the top two business universities of Pakistan. And what we’re currently doing is giving these institutions an edge over each other, instead of giving ourselves an edge in the real world. Indeed, outside of these boundaries where we have to earn and grow on our own.

The rivalry will continue. It can’t not. Because there will always be fanboys and fangirls who revolve their entire personalities around their universities. But think to yourself: how can it benefit you?