I'm in NYC and am thinking about doing an EMBA.
Please take the following as givens:
1. Accepted into Columbia and Wharton EMBA programs
2. Almost 30 years old, somewhat senior FO role at hedge fund
3. Solid pedigree (top-tier undergrad/excellent grades/decent career progression)
4. Employer footing the bill (but still opportunity cost of time)
Here are my opinions:
A. No direct benefit to immediate position/short-term career
B. Would enjoy the program (I like this "stuff")
C. Moderate improvement to pedigree
D. Potentially significant benefit to medium-/long-term career (if I ever started a fund or whatever)
Question for you monkeys: does it make sense for me to get the EMBA, and if so, is it worth the short travel to Wharton over Columbia?
I'm assuming that you want to stay at your current fund and are receiving sponsorship? If so, an EMBA at columbia is fine, don't think going to wharton will give you that much more of an advantage.
If you have any desire to make a career transition, apply to the regular full-time programs at those schools. You seem to have a great resume, and you're not yet too old for wharton and columbia.
Right, sponsorship & stay at current fund. (Not interested in career transition/full-time programs.)
Not knowing too much about the individual MBA programs, my impression is that Wharton's rep for what I want to do (finance) is notably better than Columbia's.
Yes, wharton's rep is better, but if you want to stay at your current fund, i don't think it matters too much.
I'm a full-time regular MBA student and I dont' know much about EMBA. Is EMBA not good for switching career. Just curious. Is EMBA more for someone who wants to stay in his/her function but get a higher rank?
This is discussed elsewhere. Please don't threadjack.
Chill with that.
dabanobo, have the CBS and Wharton EMBA programs started sending out acceptance letters already? I thought that the applications for 2012 entry (J-term or A-term for CBS) don't start until August 2011.
I think it makes a lot of sense for you to get the EMBA given that it'll only take up 2 weekends per month, not to mention that it's a free ride for you. The potential benefit for you down the road could be enormous given the caliber of both schools plus the networking advantage that you'll enjoy. The rule of thumb is to go to the best MBA program that you can get into; since you are accepted into both CBS and Wharton, go to Wharton (I would pick CBS only if you can get into the Value Investing program, which is not offered to EMBA students, unfortunately).
Out of curiosity, what motivated you to do the EMBA now? I'm in a similar situation as you're in now (age, working in a HF) and am considering doing an EMBA. I would be happy to discuss further with you offline if you send me a PM.
Hypothetical acceptances... in reality, I'd be applying for next year and getting in is never a sure thing. :)
Agreed on the potential benefit front. For me, the EMBA timing is excellent: - moderately flexible life situation - stable job situation with decent track record - increasing interest in learning more about leadership/management best practices (since I'm starting to get those responsibilities)
If you can, continue the conversation here so others can benefit; if you can't (divulging info or whatev), feel free to send me a PM!
The EMBA makes sense for me because of the smaller time commitment and that I can continue to earn both an income and experience (I have no desire to switch to another industry). Have you visited either schools? Any idea on the minimum GMAT requirement? I'm not at all interested in devoting my nights studying for something as useless as the GMAT as finding the next big trade.
Columbia is in NYC, I believe whartonn has an emba in SF. DO they offer one in philly? If i was in your shoes id probably do columbia. Commuting to philly would be a pain in the ass
Wharton offers its EMBA program in both SF and Philly.
Wharton's EMBA tuition includes hotel and whatnot in it so its not that much of a pain.. also, do you have family or other considerations? From what i've seen Wharton also gives lifelong continuing education and other stuff to all its MBAs as well as allows you to access the career services, does CBS?
no family constraints. the lifelong continuing education seems like a valuable differentiator.
This seems like a no brainer to me. H/S/W are viewed to be in another level of category than other b-schools. Admissions criteria is more stringent at Wharton (minimal variance between EMBA GMAT and full time GMAT). Also, in terms of networking, Wharton's tuition includes lodging so even if a student lives in Philly or SF, they will stay in the same location as everyone else to socialize.
I think you're right about H/S/W. Thanks for the WSO cherry. :)
The forced lodging is an interesting plus, especially as one of the 24 (out of 120) that'd be coming from NYC. More interesting class statistics here:
http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/mbaexecutive/community/class-profile.cfm http://www4.gsb.columbia.edu/emba/overview/students#
Columbia's rising faster than Wharton is, and in recent years has had comparable placement.
Also, NYC is a huge advantage, especially considering you're looking to apply to EMBAs.
I don't understand; can you please explain?
Actually Columbia as a b-school is in sharp decline. It's Booth that is rising rapidly.
check the recruiting/continuing ed stuff for both schools.. i kinda would lean to going to philly.. it might be a pain in the ass to go to a diff city but i think its cool that for a couple years you get exposure to another city and get to hang out n do different things meet new people etc.. columbia is obviously much more convenient so i guess it really depends. i think wharton would be better considering you dont have family commitments and the like.. wharton+continuing education > columbia+convenience?
thanks shorttheworld, i'll look into the continuing ed; seems like there could be some value there. the recruiting is nice theoretically, but is not a factor for my personal decision. (if anything it'd help when i hire other future grads, but that's a different story entirely.)
the (in)convenience is not that big of a deal to me. first, Columbia is not particularly conveniently located. Philly is what, 75 mins by train, then another 10 mins by cab/subway to the campus? by the second trip, the cafe car of the Acela will be all your schoolmates, or you'll meet someone with a car, or alternate driving or whatever.
Can anyone tell me how is the Columbia Sat EMBA program? In terms of reputation and networking opportunities? I am in finance (derivatives pricing+risk) and want to move to buy-side. Do you think it will be difficult to make this switch (although its not too drastic) to buy-side. Think about buy-side middle office pre EMBA to buy-side client facing (or on track to managing money) kind of roles post EMBA. Thanks.
I would definitely go with Wharton. Two friends of mine were doing at the same time EMBA at Wharton and Columbia. The quality of the students at Wharton was at a different level. Columbia does not even report GMAT stats of their class (that means a lot). The below may help.. https://executivemba.wharton.upenn.edu/mba-or-emba/ Not sure if eventually from Columbia you'll get the same degree as full-time. You may need to check that
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