riskylvrg wrote:
mbahopeful27 wrote:
I received a $45000 per year fellowship for Booth, and now I'm so confused! Do I take the Stanford offer, my top choice with no guaranteed money, or go for Booth? Gah! Any ideas about this (albeit fortunate) conundrum?
Posted from my mobile device
You should never feel lured in by $. Booth is an amazing program, true, but Stanford and Harvard are not only the two best schools in the world (hell, in the entire galaxy), but are also great brands that will keep opening doors for you.
Essentially, they all teach the same. The network, reputation and the brand is what differentiates Stanford from Booth or MIT.
P.S. There is a reason why you can't get a Ferrari or Aston Martin on sale, Brand Marketing 101
While I do agree that Stanford and HBS have a stronger brand than Booth (for the time being), I don't think that it's an automatic guarantee someone should choose H or S over B.
90% of the time Stanford and Harvard grads wind up in the same companies doing the same jobs as people from Booth, Kellogg, MIT, and even schools ranked in the lower end of the top 20. Now if mbahopeful is one of the 10% of people who wants to do something really unique or work at a HF, VC, or PE firm that only hires from H/S then that's one thing. If he/she is going for IBD, M/B/B consulting, tech (Google, Apple, etc.) then there's no difference between the two. Who knows how and if the network will come into play down the line. And actually Booth's network is more expansive than Stanford's given the larger class size.
I too think that mbahopeful should choose Stanford. However, it's simply because it's clear that Stanford is his/her first choice. That's really all that matters. I think he/she (sorry OP, I don't know if you're a guy or a girl) just wants permission to turn down such a lucrative scholarship. Personally, I wouldn't let the money sway me from my 1st choice. I know a lot of people who turned down free rides to attend their dream schools. You're just betting on yourself that you will accomplish what you set out to do from the outset. The one caveat to this is if your post MBA goal is contingent upon money. Will the debt force him/her to postpone or forego pursuing the career he/she wants immediately after school? Does that matter to the OP? If it's not an issue then Stanford it is because that's where the OP prefers.
P.S. Don't get it twisted, HBS (need based) and Stanford (need and merit based) also offer sales to many admits.