Chicago Booth $$ vs Yale SOM $ vs CBS (if admitted) for IB
Hi guys!
Just wanted to share my story to see whether you could help me making my decision.
I have been lucky enough to be admitted to Chicago Booth (w/ good scholarship money, approx. 40% of full tuition) and to Yale SOM (w/ little scholarship money, approx. 15% of full tuition). I am currently hoping to be invited for interviews at Columbia Business School as well, so including this school is an exercise of wishful thinking.
My immediate post-MBA goal is Investment Banking, specifically M&A, in a BB IB in NYC.
I visited the three schools and I liked all of them for different reasons:
- Yale SOM: I found really nice and welcoming people, amazing facilities (it's like the NASA) and great faculty (went to a class visit of a LEGEND professor and it was outstanding). Not so sure about the Integrated Curriculum because it's a new perspective but won't make a decision upon that.
- Chicago Booth: Very nice and professional people, very welcoming as well and top-notch facilities (although not as amazing as those of Yale). Amazing faculty, and a relaxed but professional vibe from the student body I really liked. The flexible curriculum is amazing and Booth reputation for finance is great.
- Columbia Business School: I liked the professional vibes and the NYC advantage they point out every time they can. I think the latter has a significant weight for me given my post-MBA goal. Facilities are not impressive at all, it's an old building, but I've read they're building new facilities. The class I attended was really good and students had very smart questions. I didn't feel the students to be as competitive among them as some forums say.
What I don't like:
- Yale SOM: I did not like the scholarship money they gave me, I thought they would give me more than Booth (got Booth call first). I am not so sure I want to spend two years in New Haven. I like to study, don't get me wrong, but MBA should be a fun experience. I am not convinced Yale SOM has a vast alumni network in BB banks and although not many students will be recruiting for IB, I think it's more up to you and how you work with the Finance Club to achieve your job offer.
- Chicago Booth: I think I like everything about Booth. The only thing I am not so sure about is Chicago (when I make my comparison with NYC), given that my girlfriend is currently living in NYC.
- Columbia Business School: They probably ding me without an interview, but let's assume I am incredibly lucky and it is a real option. Life is very expensive in NYC but I would be sharing living expenses with my girlfriend, so that should not be a deciding factor. I guess that what I do not like about CBS is that they don't give much scholarship money, and turning down Booth's good offer might make me regret that decision in the future.
So you see, my mind is leaning towards Chicago Booth over Yale SOM, but still hopeful for CBS because of networking opportunities for IB and my girlfriend. I have not discarded Yale SOM yet, so any advice you can give me here is highly appreciated.
Congrats! What was your background if you don't mind sharing?
While CBS would probably be best for NYC BB IB, it wouldn't be a problem from Booth-- I know several people who went to Booth and did BB IB in NYC directly after. For Yale, I don't have any first hand knowledge, though I would imagine it wouldn't be too bad (though not as easy as Booth or CBS)
Also, you might be able to leverage the $ Booth offered you at Yale. Maybe reach out and see if they would increase/match?
Thanks for your answer, @okay24! Right now, I believe Yale SOM is out of the game. It is lower ranked for finance compared to Booth and CBS.
I work in an IB boutique in a very convoluted LatAm country. However, the partners of my firm worked for several years in IB in NYC and keep their network and the standard of quality, which has allowed me to learn a lot. However, deal size is small and opportunities to continue learning are limited if I stay here. I also forgot to mention that in 3-5 years post-MBA I would like to make a transition to PE, for which I believe both Booth and CBS are great schools.
booth unless you get into CBS with a significantly larger scholarship
Booth with money would be my choice.
But depending on how serious your relationship is and if your GF wants to stay in NYC you can't really go wrong with CBS.
Yale SOM is a great program, but the other 2 are stronger options.
There is a significant gap between Yale and the other two schools - in your shoes with your goals, I wouldn't consider Yale unless they offered me a massive scholarship.
CBS and Booth are very different in terms of culture. I went to Booth and found that I enjoyed being in a somewhat more humble, laid back and intellectually curious environment. The student body and flexible vs cohort curriculum are the main differentiators; I found a flexible curriculum the right fit for me, as it let me choose when and where I took classes. This made recruiting much more bearable as I kept my schedule easy when I knew I would get crushed and took challenging courses when I had the time to focus on them.
For IB recruiting, there is no NYC advantage for CBS over Booth. Every major BB and boutique sends full teams out to Booth for every recruiting event; you won't even have to go to NY to recruit, they'll come to you. I have seen the list of our NYC IB placements and it would make you drool. Pretty much everyone who wants IB in NYC gets an offer at a top bank. CBS oversells the NYC piece because they don't currently stand out in many other ways against their comp set (HBS, Wharton, Booth in particular).
If it's an issue of being near the gf while you're in school, that's a tough one, and something you'll have to figure out. B-School is hard when your partner is long distance; most couples have to give up a lot of weekends to go see their partner. It can be just as hard in the same city, when they don't understand how you are always so busy with nothing to do (and see you stumbling home at 2AM after networking three weeknights in a row).
I think Columbia's Value Investing Program is a stand out, but you have to gain admission to it in a separate process.
value investing program is useless for IB
Value investing is dead. Relic of past decades.
Thanks for such an insightful answer @BreakingOutOfPWM. I really appreciate your comments, and the fact that they come from a Boothie makes it even better.
I was told the same by my Booth interviewer: that I would not have to go to NYC to recruit. My only point is that, if you want a very specific internship and job (in my case, M&A team for LatAm deals in a BB), being in NYC and having the chance to go a bit further might give you an edge. Of course, if you are in Chicago and go to NYC as an extra to the regular on-campus process, it should mean much more.
Regarding my gf, I actually intend to propose in 2018. I have been almost 8 years with the girl and am sure about this. The good thing about it is that she is a doctor and she is doing her own graduate program in Brooklyn, and as you know, doctors work a lot too. I have her full support even if I go to Chicago. We have actually been apart from each other for quite a while (almost 10 months last year and almost 6 months this year), because I live in South America and she is in the States.
I guess that the choice, as a lot of users have mentioned, should be simple: Booth unless CBS offers greater scholarship. Long term objective is to make the transition to PE, and both schools have a good reputation for it, so that's not a deciding factor either.
Honestly, I don't think you'll be at all impeded recruiting for a specific team at a bank in NYC from Chicago. There will be plenty of connections for you to get introductions. At a school like Booth or CBS, they literally assign resources full time to help you develop the network and connections you need. It won't be an issue for IB recruiting. IB and Consulting recruiting at an MBA business schools">M7 is a well worn machine. I would be surprised if you're expected to go to NYC; I think that making one trip, once, is more than enough; I believe there is a banking week where the whole recruiting class pretty much goes. That will check the box. Honestly, I don't know any classmates who recruited for banking who made extra trips out to NYC. It's really unnecessary. You're going to meet these people over and over again on campus and on the phone.
As noted, value investing program has nothing to do with IB.
PM'd you.
If you are pursuing unstructured, off-campus opportunities in NY that require you to show up to an interview at a moment's notice (usually hedge funds, luxury retail, startups) then the New York advantage is real.
For highly structured on-campus recruiting (IBD, consulting, large IM, F500, etc) it is pretty much the same for everyone going to an MBA business schools">M7.
CBS if the money is similar to Booth, unless you have some compelling reason to live in Chicago for two separate 9 month periods over the next two years. My philosophy on b-school is to keep it simple. If you want NYC IB, CBS gets you there better than any school. Compelling reason to move to Chicago include wanting to relocate to the Midwest, wanting to experience a different city than NYC, or significant other lives there.
Eliminate Yale and keep in mind you’ve already given yourself the opportunity to accomplish your goals with Booth. Congratulations as well.
Booth, no question. Especially at a 40% discount.
This should only be between Booth and CBS. I'm a CBS homer, but Booth at 40% discount is a no-brainer over full-price CBS. The NYC advantage is big in certain recruiting situations like local startups/media/luxury, but for something so structured like IB recruiting, it doesn't matter.
Man up and propose to your girlfriend before heading to Booth.
This is a no brainer. Booth is clear winner. CBS is basically for wealthy internationals looking to buy ivy league prestige.
that quite literally describes yale som..
Consectetur et qui atque nam. Sequi quia odit ipsum debitis.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...