Texas B-School: Rice-Jones ($$$) vs UT-McCombs ($$$) for Energy IB
Hi guys,
At a crossroads here on which school I should be choosing...
I have admits to both UT-McCombs and Rice-Jones with enough scholarship at each where the cost difference is negligible.
Location preference is Texas (family in Austin and Houston) after living in Chicago, NYC, and New Jersey. I initially thought of consulting/rotational programs but am now exploring Energy IB due to areas I'm currently lacking in (valuation, M&A experience, access to capital, modelling skills) and a better personality fit with the bankers vs consultants I've talked to.
Stats: T15 Public UG 740 GMAT (Q50/V41), Accounting major, 3.5 GPA Manufacturing/Corporate Finance Background (will do the research necessary to recruit O&G IB)
Rice Pros/Cons:
Smaller class (~110-120 on average) and a very responsive network.
Well-defined path towards recruiting for Houston IB with good SA placement.
Located near downtown Houston offices.
Good personality fit.
Lower rankings
UT Pros/Cons:
Larger alumni network within Houston IB.
More career opportunities outside of Consulting/IB/O&G.
Con of less student interest in IB at the MBA level/lower SA placement for the last recruiting cycle (am I wrong here?).
Higher Rankings
Roasts or Insights are equally appreciated.
you forgot a big one... SMU
True, I had SMU as a round 2 application if UT/Rice didn't pan out in round 1. I reached out to a few students and they had great jobs and sounded happy about their experience.
The two things leading me towards UT/Rice were employment outcomes and family in each city. I didn't see as good of outcomes for SMU's FT MBA program compared to UT/Rice and didn't have a family pull to Dallas.
was really expecting more MS for this :T
First, congrats on having multpile offers with scholarships!
I tell my clients that this isn't a 2-3 year decision but a 20-30 year decision. Beyond the first job you will get coming out of business school, which program will offer you the skills, knowledge and relationships to take your career to the next level in the long term?
Thanks for the criteria you use to evaluate schools. I'm seeing them in following lenses:
Skills/Knowledge - Equal schooling/knowledge bases at both. Relationships - Anecdotally, Rice has fewer relationships (smaller school) but alumni have reached out to me proactively whereas I've had to initiate all my UT conversations/networking so far. Rice would have the advantage here.
I can't speak to anything outside of Houston IB, but both placed well from everything I saw. From what I gathered, both were seen as being on the same level. I'd choose wherever you felt more comfortable.
Thanks for the insight, with minimal O&G experience do you think IB is a viable career path as long as I do the research (or will that be insufficient)?
Yes. Learn a bit about the industry before interviews and have a good reason as to why you're interested in it. After that, you'll learn what you need to know on the job.
To me, this is a no brainer for McCombs. It has much better name recognition and reputation nationally and globally and offers more diverse and better career opportunities if you decide to pursue something other than Energy IB. I am very active with MBA recruiting at my firm (albeit in consulting) and I feel strongly that McCombs has stronger overall students.
Thanks for your perspective as a recruiter, I committed to UT yesterday.
UT Austin is an awesome school, you’ll have an amazing time there for sure. Austin is one of the best cities in America, hands down.
Hello, may I ask how your experience been? I am in same boat and trying to decide between the two. Thanks
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