JHU MSF Vs Vanderbilt MSF

Hello everyone,

I am a relatively new user, but have been reading the forums avidly over the past six months. I really appreciate the activity and expertise within this community and would like to share my situation with you all for your advice.

My current benchmark position would be in IB, but am open to different careers of a similar caliber. I am also from the west coast, and would be very open to careers in entertainment finance, corporate finance, and some sort of Asset Management (mutual funds, hedge funds, etc.) analyst position. With that being said, I have been accepted to both Vanderbilt MSF and Johns Hopkins MSF. I understand Vanderbilt has the more successful program with a majority of students going into IB. While Johns Hopkins may not be the most recognized program, I was offered a full ride scholarship, meaning I would only have to cover living expenses. The student debt difference between the schools is around $50k - $60k. My only concern with Johns Hopkins is that after graduation, it will be difficult to land a position in IB (or something similar) or a position on the west coast. The Carey business school is also relatively new (founded in 2007), is still working on AACSB accreditation, and has a 90% international student attendance in the MSF program. I am excellent with networking and have an excellent work ethic that can be used to make contacts in the industry, especially with alums of JHU, not just the business school. I feel that I would not be able to solely rely on the JHU network, and would need to do my own networking to break into the finance industry. I have heard plenty of success stories of people breaking into IB/PE/HF, even without any school connections, but want to know if it is worth taking the risk for $50k - $60k less in student debt.

From what I have gathered, I have no preference for either school, except that one is virtually free for me, but do not want to attend JHU if I am limiting my career opportunities significantly. If JHU is "possible" but just requires a lot of work, I am not adverse to doing that as well.

Thank you to everyone that takes the time to respond.