Delaware - comments needed please

Hypermagnet, thank you for your response. I realize two things :

1.) Delaware/Wilmington is not Wall St and boring in the sense that there may be little fun like in NYC or Chicago or LA.
2.) Uni of Delaware is not a top ranked school.

My considerations:
I have been offered a spot in their MBA with scholarship + there is a possibility of 100% tuition waiver in 2nd year should I be successful in gaining internship (I hope I can manage that based on previous experience + good academics). So there is a possibility that I may end up with an MBA with only a couple of thousands out of pocket - I won't have a debt. I will be attending FT and won't be employer sponsored or anything.

I know Newark is a small quiet town but that I think may help with being a student. The living will be cheap + little distraction unlike say going to a school in NYC, Boston, Chicago where its going to be expensive living as a student + the "interesting" things (as opposed to boring things in DE) might just be distractions (perhaps its an individual choice).

I don't think I am aiming for a jobs with bulge bracket IBDs but a reasonably good paying job (my experience has been in commercial banking).

Philly is 1 hour drive (major financial center), NYC is 2 hour drive (not bad at all) and ofcourse operations in Wilmington. I am open to relocation to anywhere from North East to Midwest for a job post MBA.

U Delaware although is not Harvard by any means, being a state university with relatively good standing/history in educational terms, its still better than a random private university in NY/Boston or elsewhere - I am thinking Pace, Hofstra etc.

JPMorgan/ Bank of America/Wilmington Trust/HSBC are some banks that come on campus for recruiting. So if there is a job in NYC that may be suitable to my experience and future goals - I think it may well be a possibility to get that job perhaps ?

U Delaware has opened up a trading room in 2008 + it has similar course offerings in finance/economics as do some of the other schools like Baruch, BC, Brandies, Northeastern, Temple etc. So does ranking really matter when you are studying quite the same?

What do you think of my thoughts above?

Mistake many applicants make: it's not "just a couple of thousands" if you're working a job. Opportunity cost is HUGE. Even if you were not going to be working for those two years, you'd still be in the hole whatever living expenses are. Figure $600/month rent, $500/month food+expenses, $200/month utilities. And whatever else you'll need to spend on. That's easily $30-35,000 unless you're managing to live at home for free. But factor in a $40-50,000/year job for those two years, too (maybe $50,000 after taxes for two years, conservatively). You're looking at $80,000 in cost right away, with free tuition.



If you're cool with living in a small area, that's fine. I'd say that's the least of the problems you'll face here.



What is good paying? $50-60k? If so, then you might do fine. Their stated average is $65k post-grad. It all depends on your outlook. If you are making $35k as a CSR for TDBank, then maybe it's worth it? If you want $80k+ you need to look at a top 50 school.



If you're going to UDel, plan on working no more than 20 miles from Newark. It doesn't get more regional than that. Why would a firm in Chicago hire a third tier MBA grad from Delaware when they could hire one from Univ. Illinois - Chicago or Loyola or Depaul? You'd need to lean on the UDel network, most of which will be in Wilmington or Philadelphia. That leads me to my next point: Philly is NOT a major financial center. Not even close. I am a born and raised Philly guy. It's a bio/healthcare city with some law firms and PNC/Lincoln Financial with Vanguard and SEI in the burbs. NYC is probably closer to 3 hours from Newark, fwiw.



If you're comparing crappy public to crappy private, I agree. It's cheaper but that doesn't mean it's any better at getting you a job.



This type of thinking will get you killed financially. I dare you to produce the 2011 fulltime class' job placement figures. I guarantee you can't because they won't post them as they'd be laughed at. UDel is a part-time MBA program for people who live/work in DE. Just like every other middle-of-the-road university that creates an MBA program.

1) What sort of roles do those firms recruit for? 2) How many people actually get offers?



Tons of schools not only have trading rooms but allow students to invest a piece of the endowment. And those schools won't get a second look from many finance firms.

I hate to sound like the doombringer but this is a bad, bad idea.

Thanks again - you aren't alone in advising me against this proposition. Perhaps transferring in the Spring/Fall 2013 may be an idea? I was considering Baruch or Bentley although both had their Fall deadlines crossed out so Ive been left with little to choose from.

Most programs don't allow transfers, so don't go that route. PM me if you want to chat in more detail, but knowing your GMAT, your current job situation, and your ultimate goals will let me (who isn't an expert by any means) see if I can recommend anything.