Duke vs. NYU for MC

Both schools are feeders for top management consulting firms. Stern has the Consulting IMI program which is great for career switchers like yourself, but I don't think I would turn down a significant scholarship if I were in your shoes. If it were equal cost or even a small scholarship for Duke, I would recommend Stern for the IMI, the location and the finance department.

Stern is often described as "not good for X" because it places a relatively small percentage in X line of business compared to other schools. Take this with a grain of salt however, because a large percentage Stern students go into finance by choice. Does that mean they couldn't get into marketing or consulting, etc. if that were their goal? Probably not. Firms from all industries recruit on campus, and because of its large class size, Stern places a lot of graduates into a lot of industries. But a poor interpretation of the data can lead you to believe that having a premier finance program is a drawback, which obviously isn't the case- particularly for management consulting, where there is quite a bit of overlap with finance and having access to Stern's program would be a big advantage, especially if you have a non-technical background.

Thanks everyone! And I do agree, that Stern's IMI program is great. Pearljam, also like your point that finance is crucial for MC.

On location - I'm not necessarily interested in living long term in the south either. I didn't think the location of either Duke or NYU would determine the fate of where I live, since they're both top programs. Do you think Duke puts me at a disadvantage if I do decide to work in NYC?

As asimov mentioned, I think Stern would be stronger if you know you want to do MC in NYC/NJ. I think Duke would be just as good, if not better than, Stern elsewhere, though. Would you be open to taking a job at MBB in the South and then transferring to your office of choice? I suspect some of Duke's strong placement may be due to people going to offices in the South, where there is presumably less competition.

That's true, and I would be willing to transfer

Even without $$$, I would pick Fuqua.