MBA Decisions for IB (Wharton vs Booth w $ vs Ross w $$ vs Fuqua w $$$)

Monkeys,

Hoping to get help thinking through a few choices for full-time MBA. Goal is to get a bulge bracket associate IB role. My choices are as follows:

Booth with 1/3 scholarship Ross with 1/2 scholarship Fuqua with 3/4 scholarship Wharton decisions are coming up... but lets throw them in the mix with no money.

Obviously Wharton/Booth are the 2 finance schools with major presence, however my hunch is that I can land IB through Ross and Fuqua as well with not too much extra effort and with more money in the bank. I understand I should be viewing things holistically and long-term, but I'm coming into business school with considerable debt already. Money is something I'm heavily weighing. Employment reports at each school show the same IB starting salary/bonus structure. More people go into IB from Booth/Wharton... but that could also mean more competition to land those roles from those schools.

What do you think is the best choice here? Is the Wharton/Booth brand worth $60K - $100K premium over schools like Fuqua and Ross?

Thanks for the advice.

8 Comments
 
Best Response

Honestly... I think it probably is worth going to the strongest program you get into. Recruiting opportunities are going to be materially better at W/B vs. Fuqua or Ross. Not saying you can't do it, but it is just a much more established track that I think it's well worth the extra cost. I think either Wharton or Booth (which wins my vote as a biased alum) are going to give you a fairly high likelihood of landing a summer at a top BB, whereas at the other programs you are going to be hustling a lot more and odds are good you will land a summer gig at a CS/DB/JeffCo type shop or a more regional bank. I think once you land your summer offer it doesn't really matter much which program you're in...

I'd also just say the value of the b-school network extends well beyond the first job out of the gates, so keep that in mind. I don't want to bash any of these programs because they are all very strong, but just try to figure out the best 'fit' for you and your goals. Congrats!

 

Excellent insight - thank you very much.

Excuse my naivete - Can you elaborate (or point me in the right direction) on the differences of going tier 1 vs. tier 2/3? I've seen the league tables, but is the career implication significant?

Again, thanks for the thoughtful response. Much appreciated!

 

jankynoname Please, what is your view of Georgetown's MBA.

I have admits to Gtown's MBA and MSC from Columbia Business School. Family says Gtown MBA > Ms CBS

But friends and WSO say different things. Any small tips? Please

 

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