NYU vs Cornell MBA

Just to preface my answer, I have absolutely not experience or knowledge of the consumer fashion industry, so please take my answer with a grain of salt.

Having said that, here are my thoughts: I would think that the straight-forward answer here is NYU. As an outsider looking in, NYC seems to be one of the capitals of fashion in the world. So the networking as well as the "locational" value seem to heavily favor NYU.

If I were in your position, the NYU MBA seems like the clear choice here. Great school, great location for fashion, and great network.

I guess the downside is the 1 vs. 2 year program. A 1 year program definitely gives you way less wiggle room in terms of timing your exit. But by living in NYC I am sure you could manage to find something.

As for my good boy points, anyway you could hook up a guy with a fat deal on some new loafers? :)

Any time you're offered the slimmed down version of something, you're either getting something for nothing or nothing for something.

In other words, this 1-year fashion MBA is either a hyper-efficient value play where you get what people truly want out of their MBA (a job) in only one year. Or its the opposite: a ploy by the school to make some more money without having to deliver on much in return.

So which one is it. There are positive signs, like the fact that they only take 20 people and it's backed by a good university that's less inclined than, say, SUNY to risk devaluing their brand by offering a weak program.

But we need to be very skeptical of degree programs these days. MBA schools, even the best ones, seem to have gotten unusually aggressive lately with their willingness to commodotize the brand. More part-time/weekend/night programs, more online programs, easier admissions standards (I write recs every year for my MBA program and I've felt pretty dirty in recent years saying "Mr. So and So is awesome" . . standards seem clearly down and recent news items on decline of apps supports that).

This is all my long winded way of saying, you need to diligence that NYU program hard. It's likely either a great deal or a lousy deal, I don't see a lot of potential for a middle ground. If there's only 20 alums from last year then find out what they're doing this year and talk to them about what they got out of the degree.

Cornell's MBA is going to receive a STEM designation. This won't really mean anything to you unless you're an international student, but it could imply Cornell will rise in the rankings. Tepper and one other school have already given their MBA programs a STEM designation, and Cornell is next in line, so that is something to consider.

Stern on the other hand has a stronger brand name, but both schools are very strong in terms of finance, they are the top industries at both programs. Personally, I'd go with Stern because it is the tougher program to get accepted into, it is currently higher ranked, and you get to not be in the middle of nowhere.

Cornell does have a stronger brand name overall I'd say however, since NYU, aside from a few of it's graduate programs, are not as strong as Cornell especially undegrad, so if you have kids and want to give them legacy, Cornell could be better.

First of all, congratulations! You have two great options.

To me the key question is how committed you are to fashion/luxury goods. If you are truly convinced that's the industry for you, then I'd recommend you go with the NYU Stern program. If you value the more comprehensive management education and opportunity to explore/intern and experiment enough to take the extra year, then you should go to Cornell. The other factors are less significant or manageable.

Best, Linda

I had to make a similar decision earlier this year - I was admitted to both programs (albeit the 2-year, FT MBA at Stern), and ultimately ended up attending Stern over a full ride at Cornell. I've had a few regrets with the decision at times during the summer recruitment process for IB, but as recruiting draws to a close I am content with where I stand and am certain that Johnson wouldn't have gotten me here. I started noticing the difference in representation during closed list events, where the Johnson group would be out in force at middle market firms, but only a handful were present at top banks/ boutiques. However, your job preferences are different, then Stern's stronger recruitment in the more "popular" career paths (IB/Consulting/Tech) doesn't necessarily apply.

I think the decision comes down to how certain you are in committing to the Fashion/Lux space - if you feel that you may waver, I would personally attend Johnson instead. The versatility you have coming out of a 2 - year program is nothing to scoff at, and I think it outweighs the specialized recruitment of a 1 year program, where it would be difficult to change careers if you decide to do so.