McCombs MSF or Olins MSF(corp track)

Tough decision. Both are really good programs. I give Wustl the NYC edge, but as you mention the TX economy is growing. Sounds like you are leaning towards Texas. Plus you'll save 10k which goes a long way towards repaying your debt.

LOL.

You talk about the need for a good job to repay your loans so cost is a factor.

Point - McCombs

You talk about wanting a good paying job in NYC, but aren't married to the city and are more interested in the position rather than where the job is.

Point - McCombs

You talk about UTA having students from a variety of backgrounds, about the nicer weather, about the Texas economy booming.

Point - McCombs

Honestly man, you made the decision already. Both programs are great, have great alumni and a respected brand. You aren't going to make a bad decision with either of these programs. Go to McCombs. It is what you want and don't look back.

TNA, do you not think that Olin's established track record of placing students gives it the edge? I am sure UT's program will have excellent placements in a few years, maybe even getting up there with MIT, but the program is in its second year, while Olin's is established and has shown that it can place students.

Just my two cents. TNA is obviously the expert here.

I mean if Harvard started an MSF would anyone care about a track record? A track record is only as good as the record it hard. Apparently Olin isn't putting a lot of people into NYC banking (which makes sense as the program is more midwest/chicago focused with some NYC).

MSF's are about OCR, school reputation, location and alumni. UT Austin has all of that.

I'll agree that having a well oiled program is a benefit, but I would think that the 2nd year is probably going to have some of the kinks worked out. From what I have heard from recently graduated students placements at UTA were very good. In about 3 months they will release the official report.

KKS:

TNA, do you not think that Olin's established track record of placing students gives it the edge? I am sure UT's program will have excellent placements in a few years, maybe even getting up there with MIT, but the program is in its second year, while Olin's is established and has shown that it can place students.

Just my two cents. TNA is obviously the expert here.

While this cannot be argued, I think the real motivation here is that OP wants to live in TX. Also, he does not really seem to be concerned with which career path he takes as long as it can pay off his loans, which most post MSF jobs will do.

I had no idea WUSTL costs 52k. I know they dont offer aid so idk how they can draw students away from the competitors, especially to St. Louis of all places.

I mean same could be said about Vanderbilt. Nashville isn't a bastion of finance. Or Ohio State which comes in much higher.

Olin has a great program and is highly selective. I suppose that is enough to draw a sizable class. I will say that as the MSF market place changes and develops I believe you will see this no financial aid policy revised.

Side note, it isn't just the MSF that doesn't get aid. It is across the specialized masters dept.

Not a Longhorn but I am a Texan - I would say think about where you want to live (far under estimated in MBA/MSF considerations on this board, it seems). If you think Texas - McCombs is obvious. If you think New York, I think McCombs is still the obvious choice because the undergrad finance program is huge and has a ton of alumni in new york.

ThirdCoastBorn:

Not a Longhorn but I am a Texan - I would say think about where you want to live (far under estimated in MBA/MSF considerations on this board, it seems). If you think Texas - McCombs is obvious. If you think New York, I think McCombs is still the obvious choice because the undergrad finance program is huge and has a ton of alumni in new york.

So you argue by saying regionality is underrated..then proceed to say disregard region because of alumni base

UT Austin is going to be strongest in Texas. There will be some in NYC and they will be probably very helpful, but if you go to UT you would be best served networking in Houston, Dallas, etc.

WUSTL will also have NYC alumni and recruiting, with the option for Chicago networking and recruiting. That is the play with that university.

Hi everyone, Thank u very much for ur responses.

I think Jss09 misunderstood that my first priority is to live in Texas. I would prefer to work in NY and other big cities like Chicago, Boston and LA. I am only going for UT Austin because it is undoubtedly the target school of banks/companies in Texas.

Talking abt employment statistics, Olin placed 92% of its students within 3 months while McCombs placed 86% of its student within a month of its first class' graduation., which I think is very decent. They have increase the size of this class to 54 students which I think shows that they are confident abt placing most of these students. One drawback of McCombs is that they don't place well in IB. While Olin do place is students in IB the number is very small. One advantage of Olin is that do place some grads in NY but they are very few approx 10%. I spoke wid the program directors of both programs. Both told me that I have very slim chances of getting into IB and Asset management will be my best option(which I like too). McCombs also decreased the % of Intl students from 50% last year to 25% this year bcoz they had some problem placing them.

TNA, I wont mind taking additional 12k of debt for Olin if they place well.

So yea guys, I am a bit leaning towards McCombs but I would prefer to get suggestions from experts b4 opting for one of them.......

jss09:

ThirdCoastBorn:

Not a Longhorn but I am a Texan - I would say think about where you want to live (far under estimated in MBA/MSF considerations on this board, it seems). If you think Texas - McCombs is obvious. If you think New York, I think McCombs is still the obvious choice because the undergrad finance program is huge and has a ton of alumni in new york.

So you argue by saying regionality is underrated..then proceed to say disregard region because of alumni base

If one is deciding between two schools, neither of which is in their desired end-region (NY), then pick the one that will best help get you to where you want to go. In this case, one school backstops him on a region he would like (TX) and comes with some possibilities to get to NY. He didnt solicit advice on which of the top 50 schools he should apply.

My comment was directed at those on this board who state, for example, that they would like to live in LA post-MBA school but think UVA is better than UCLA because of some arbitrary ranking.

Thank you for your concern.

Honestly, both are pretty different schools. This isn't a cookie cutter solution. Both programs have the brand, reputation, OCR and alumni to get you any job within the realm of finance. The rest is going to be up to you. You will succeed or fail at either university based on your performance and ability to develop and execute on opportunities.

This shouldn't be that hard of a decision.

which program did you choose? And can you offer some feedback on your expectations and what you experienced?