Vanderbilt ($$$) MBA vs Georgetown MBA

Hey -

I received an admit with full scholarship (~$100k) from Vanderbilt and an admit with no scholarship from Georgetown. I am also on the waitlist for Cornell.

Due to personal reasons I need to get a job post my MBA in NYC and thats a non negotiable. I am a finance lawyer with 6 years of experience in handling legal aspects of banking and M&A/PE deals. Considering my experience I am leaning towards investment banking but understand that consulting firms like lawyers more than the ibanking shops.

Look forward to receiving any thoughts on choosing either of the schools above in light of my post MBA constraints. Also would be great to know your thoughts on consulting vs Ibanking for experienced attorneys with a MBA.

7 Comments
 

Did you get pushed out of your firm? Vandy places almost no one in NYC IB. Georgetown is slightly better but not great. So if you didn't get pushed out of your firm, I wouldn't take either and I'd reapply. Or, if you don't care what the job is (since you seem to not know), network your way into a new job at one of your clients in NY. You may not be able to make the IB move but there are tons of regulatory and compliance jobs at financial services firms that are opening up.

 

Hey thanks for the input. No I did not get pushed out of my firm. I should have probably mentioned that I am an Indian lawyer so networking myself into a NYC job does not really work because I am not NY bar qualified and I dont have much of a client base here. I want to move out of law and move to business/finance side. You are right that I am relatively open about the kind of job I would like as long as it is in New York. Though starting out I would like to work in IB or Consulting and then look for good exit opps.

 

I think you want to do everything possible to get off the Cornell waiting list -- it's just a better name for NYC.

Having said that, the big money from Vanderbilt is serious. Is there any way to ask Georgetown nicely for some kind of award? I know that's asking the obvious, but it's certainly worth a try. In order of the New York pecking order: Cornell, Georgetown, Vanderbilt

Betsy Massar Come see me at my Q&A thread http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/b-school-qa-w-betsy-massar-of-master-admissions Ask away!
 
Best Response

Thank you everybody for your advice. A year on - I am glad I went to Georgetown. I managed to negotiate some scholarship and the school definitely punches above its weight when it comes to Wall Street recruiting. I personally got the opportunity to interview (superday/final round) with almost all major investment banks in New York and received a few offers for summer internship and had to withdraw from the process for others. I would say academically speaking the finance curriculum is particularly strong at Georgetown and the depth and variety of finance related electives is comparable to the best finance schools.

 

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