UC San Diego Rady MBA or Columbia MSRED ?

Hello WSO, a few words regarding my background I have a B.A and an LL.B. Certified as a lawyer and have been working in big law for a few years, specializing in real estate. I'm 27 years old so time is of the essence. I'm looking to transition out of the legal world and I'm really confused as to which degree to go after. My GMAT scores aren't good enough for a top 10 MBA and I only got accepted to the Rady full time MBA program in San Diego that starts this summer. I was basically set on doing the MBA until a colleague suggested I look into an M.S in real estate or real estate development. I looked into the programs offered at NYU, Columbia, Georgetown and Pepperdine. All these programs are in locations I would be very happy to be in and all said I would have a very good chance of being accepted with my current CV and GMAT. Basically it boils down to this question - Mid level school MBA or M.S from a top tier school? M.S means going all in on real estate. An MBA would offer a lot of flexibility. Ultimately my career goal is eventually start my own company and get in to real estate development. However who knows what can change down the line. The Columbia MS is appealing to me as it's an incredible brand name school and I would have access to an incredible alumni network. The fact that the MS is only one year compared to the two year MBA is also a consideration. However I'm concerned about the reputation of the MSRED degree in general and feel that maybe an MBA is a safer bet.

Would love to get your thoughts.

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