got into t10 east coast MBA progras, but rejected from west coast ones. want to work in SF/LA. should i go or reapply?
Hi all,
I'm a marketing professional living in LA aiming for a f500 rotational program in either SF/LA. My top choices for MBA programs were Stanford, Haas, and UCLA, but I got rejected from all three (my undergrad was UC Berkeley).
I applied and got accepted into Dartmouth-Tuck, Yale SOM, and Duke Fuqua though. I know these are all great programs, but I don't want to stay in the east coast. I love California too much. My fear is if I go to Tuck, my alumni network will mostly be for the east, and not west coast. I don't mind going East for two years of school, but couldn't definitely see myself living there.
Should I reapply next year, and try again for Stanford, Haas, and UCLA? Or should I go to, say Tuck, and work to relocate back to Cali?
Thanks.
Tuck's network is second to none. I can't speak to the quality of the network specifically in California or the west coast, but it would surprise me if the network isn't able to help you relocate back. I suggest doing a LinkedIn search and seeing how extensive the Tuck network is (specifically for your desired field) in California.
My friend - those are all great schools, congrats. Some thoughts:
What is your age and background? If you're over 28, adding extra years might be more of a pro than a con.
What will you accomplish with that extra year? When reapplying, schools will usually look at your progression since the last app cycle. If you're story hasn't significantly improved (i.e. big GMAT increase, major promotion, etc) than the odds are low that you'll just slip through the second time. Especially for Stanford/Haas.
Have you researched which rotational programs participate in OCR for each east coast school? This will be more valuable to you during school than the actual size of the network. It's obvious that Stanford/Haas/UCLA will have a lot of west coast companies recruiting on campus. There will be fewer at Yale/Tuck/Duke. There will also be a number of people at each of those schools targeting the west coast. However, you'll have a bit of a leg up if you have a story that ties you back to the west coast. Your alumni base might be smaller but you'll stand out more from the general pool and it may be easier to find people to go to bat to you. That being said, that all depends on if the right companies are present at OCR in the first place.
See if you can get a list from your program or if a friend at those schools can log in to their recruiting system with you to peruse. The recruiting system should let you filter to both rotational programs and geography recruited for.
Tuck/Yale/Duke all send 20-25% of their class to the west coast each year, it's not as much as you'll see from the west coast schools but it's enough that you should feel comfortable that your program well be well represented in the major business regions (SF/LA/Seattle).
If you enroll this year, don't place overemphasis on which of the three schools have a few % more going to the west coast. All 3 programs are very different. It really comes down to fit, and the importance of fit is not overstated when it comes to b-school. Two years in the backwoods of NH is a long time if that's not your cup of tea.
Not a ton of advice except to say that I went to a decent east coast semi target (undergrad) and now I work on the west coast. The network is smaller but more enthusiastic. If I meet someone from my undergrad they are PUMPED to help me out. As long as there's decent west coast recruiting presence, I think you'll find the networking and alumni network piece kind of works itself out.
I would only try to do the reapp thing if you think your candidacy will change significantly in the next year. I am pretty surprised you got into Tuck and Yale but not Anderson - would have thought both of those were more selective. Part of this could potentially be the b-school trying to diversify their class (i.e. Tuck bringing in west coast talent from an undergrad that's less represented whereas lots of berkeley undergrad's applying to Anderson). Just a thought.
Can you share your stats and more details on your goals?
go to tuck
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