Flyte wrote:
So what a difference a few weeks makes… As you may recall I had decided on SOM as of early April. Done and dusted so to speak. A nagging feeling prevented me from declining Tuck; however, so it stayed an option. Please keep in mind, as before, the following are only my opinions and reflect my personal opinions. You may have a different view or had a different experience, but this was mine.
Without further ado, there were three primary factors that informed my change of decision:
1. Fit / Curriculum: Frankly my primary reason for choosing Yale was the curriculum and thereby fit. After visiting the school, I did not feel that same fit with my soon to be classmates at SOM like I did at Tuck. The prospective students that I most connected with at my interview day all chose other schools, so this threw me for a bit of a loop. If anyone is interested this ranged from one who is going to Fuqua, two to Kellogg, one to Cornell, and another to Tuck along with myself.
2. More digging: Despite being a target program, and after much research, it became apparent that SOM’s consulting placement lagged much further behind Tuck’s than it seemed at first. Additionally, two of the niche firms that I was interested in took students from other schools at Yale, BUT had not had anyone get an offer from SOM. Combine this with Tuck being a core school for all of the Big Three, this definitely played in. For general management a number of the top companies who I looked into (also spoke to the heads of MBA recruitment at two top Fortune 50 firms) simply didn’t recruit or take anyone from SOM, whereas Tuck was one of their top 5 targets.
3. Discussion: A discussion with a peer I met at SOM making the same decision (he ended up choosing Tuck as well) along with an even more important extended chat with my mentor pushed me over the edge to change my decision.
In sum, I do think Yale SOM is a good programme, has a very unique curriculum, an active student body, and will eventually be a perennial top ten programme. In my view it is not there yet for prospective consultants or general management students (finance is closer). While I like the curriculum at SOM better, this is a fairly expensive endeavour and I’d rather not enjoy the curriculum as much, enjoy my classmates more, and get the job I want post-MBA, rather than love the curriculum, but end up at my 4th choice firm and not connect with my class. Additionally, while much is made about SOM no longer being a primarily non-profit programme / social enterprise school, its student body still very much is (they are perhaps slightly in the minority, but it still is a major contingent). This was apparent in not only the other admitted students, but also in the SOM ‘14s and ‘15s. In the end it just wasn’t for me.
On that note I am excited beyond belief to be attending Tuck this autumn! When I first started looking at MBA programmes it was my top choice. I love Hanover, the campus, and the other admits have been fantastic and absurdly active already. Finally, I spoke to a handful of Tuck alumni in Europe and they have been every bit as lovely as their American counterparts, so cannot wait to get stuck in!
Congrats on your choice. For what its worth, I definitely think you made the right decision with Tuck. It really shocks me how many people on this site don't factor in employment reports/recruiting when deciding between schools.