31 Comments
 

Not an MBA guy by any means but I think expanding your network is always a good thing, which in this case Columbia would do more for. Columbia is a great school and if you want to get back to the bay area or west coast, I don't feel like you'll be particularly limited in that sense. Columbia is a better school overall, will expand your network more than Berkeley (which is what an MBA program is mostly about if I'm not mistaken) and will give you a more novel/interesting experience.

 

As you probably know, Haas is a more selective school than CBS right now. I wouldn't feel like you're sacrificing much pedigree to pick Haas over Columbia. Yes, the RE focus makes Columbia more attractive (if tech was your goal, it wouldn't even be close), but Columbia's RE focus is so strong in part because of its natural proximity to all of the NYC shops and alum. If you're not interested in making a career in NYC post MBA and want to return to the Bay, I imagine that Haas makes the most sense.

Either way, you can't really go wrong. Curious to hear what you end up doing

 
I applied to both schools with an interest in real estate (I currently work in a RE-related field in the Bay Area) and become better versed in RE finance. In the very long term I anticipate being back on the west coast.

If you want to work in real estate on the west coast (especially in the Bay) you need to attend Haas. Attending CBS makes no sense at all since real estate is mostly relationship driven, so networking and knowing the local market will be critical. Nobody will care about about whatever perceived prestige difference may exist between CBS vs. Haas.

If you do attend Haas, I strongly recommend taking Bill Falik's "Art of the Deal" class which is jointly offered by the Boalt law school.

 

I was torn between haas and CBS as well. After talking to my network (I'm in REPE) the consensus was overwhelmingly "go to CBS" BUT I'm really interested in working for a mega fund in their RE group and my whole network has been institutional. If you want to work on the west coast in RE you can't go wrong with Haas. Hope to see you in RE club though in NYC!!

 

I say make up your mind. which one is more important, Money/Relationship versus incremental prestige + RE resources from Columbia?

FYI Personally, I would feel stupid to consider money in the equation above, similarly, I would be stupid to consider added prestige given a Berkeley Haas alternative.

two more to consider:

  1. how likely will you return to West coast? you could do reciprocity to apply to bay area jobs, but not oncampus of course
  2. how helpful are Columbia's RE resources - are they any good for West coast vs. an obvious edge in NYC and nearby?
 

I'm in real estate and faced a similar dilemma. The advice I got was that down the road, it's easier to take your Columbia degree out west than it is to take your Haas degree out east.

 

it doesn't feel like your resources will align well. plus you got to account for seasonal changes - you may get heated with some other industry potentially

and reciprocity is usually a day flirt thing. you wouldn't be able to exchange, you can only see some jobs for a day or few.

 
@models_and_bottles Curious if you have personal experience with Haas

Yes

I think in terms of more relationship-driven RE focuses like development, I see how Haas makes sense. However, I am also considering finance/investments or PE if possible, and for those types of roles and internships, my understanding is that CBS makes more sense.

If your plan is to stay on the west coast long term you're better off attending a west coast program and taking advantage of the local networking opportunities.

 
Best Response

Many of the points I would have made are mentioned above, one thing that would be going through my mind is, how serious is my relationship? If I know I want to be on the west coast long term and think I've found someone who I 1. Think I could feasibly marry 2. Also wants to be the west coast long term then that's a pretty big factor in going to Haas, especially given the monetary costs are mostly the same(if not in favor of Haas).

If you've only been dating for a short amount of time and CBS better aligns with your long-term goals, expands your network, and gives you a chance to live in NYC for a couple of years then CBS sounds like a pretty good deal to me. You can gamble on doing a long distance relationship and if its works then it was meant to be and if not, you can know that you pursued your career and are in a better place for it.

 

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