Tuck vs Darden ($$$+chance at prestigious fellowship) : Admitted

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Re: Tuck vs Darden ($$$+chance at prestigious fellowship) [#permalink]

13 Jan 2013, 19:33

Exactly what sesamemochi said. Have you visited either campuses? Tuck is one of those schools where you HAVE to visit in order to know whether you'll enjoy spending your next two years there. Most people either love it or hate it downright, mostly because of its remote location. Personally I thought the campus was beautiful and people are really nice, I simply cannot fathom living in Hanover, NH for two years of my life. It really is pretty much in the middle of the woods. If you're big into skiing / outdoorsy stuff, it might be the place for you. But if you come from a big city, this might be a very jarring change (which could be for the better but you just need to know what you're getting yourself into).

Haven't visited Darden but Charlottesville (in VA not GA as sesamemochi pointed out) is known to be a very very nice college town. In terms of immediate surroundings, Darden certainly trumps Charlottesville for the average person. Tuck may be closer to the major cities but not by much. It takes at least 4 hours to get to NYC.

Location aside, I'll still take the full scholarship at a well-regarded T15 school over being 200K in debt at a slightly more prestigious school. But it's all a matter of personal preference and differing priorities in life. Either way, you're in a good spot so congrats!

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Re: Tuck vs Darden ($$$+chance at prestigious fellowship) [#permalink]

13 Jan 2013, 19:59

joy4ol wrote:

Tuck
+ Ivy league, top-10, bigger brand (just my perception?)
+ Highly regarded alum network
+ Relatively strong connections to PE (and many students with prior IB/PE exp; I know I wouldn't get in but the network is important I suppose given my ambivalent career goals)
- No $; a longer debt repayment period
- Very cold winters (but then I dont mind the idea of skiing

)

Darden
+ Top-15 (though not THAT below Tuck in US News rankings)
+ Full tuition + chance at Jefferson Fellowship (Full cost of attendance + up to $3000/yr stipend) (My client, who is in sell-side research, says if you are getting full ride and fellowship, the school will cater special attention to see you get placed and the fellowship will help me distinguish my resume better, any idea on the validity of that opinion?)
- Top-15 is lower than top-10
- I somehow like the sound of Boston/NY better than GA (note that I have never been to the states)

I've always said money should be a tie-breaker, not the primary factor. In this case it truly is a tie-breaker - we're not talking a full-ride at a top 30 school, Darden is no slouch. Also, both Tuck and Darden have similar small student bodies with a tight knit culture. If you were deciding between Columbia and Darden the culture argument would be a factor.

I voted for Darden. For full disclosure, I'm a big fan of Tuck and if there wasn't money at either, I'd take Tuck in a heartbeat. But that full ride along with the added prestige of the Jefferson scholarship is hard to ignore. Best of luck with your decision.

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Re: Tuck vs Darden ($$$+chance at prestigious fellowship) [#permalink]

13 Jan 2013, 22:42

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Congrats on the full-ride and being nominated for Jefferson Fellowship. Being nominated alone is a pretty huge deal.

I am a first year student that interviewed for the Fellowship but did not receive it. I put being a finalist on my resume...I'm not sure if it improved my candidacy at all but one bulge bracket complemented me on it this past week.

I think culturally Tuck and Darden and pretty similar due to the fact they both are isolated tight-nit communities. I think a lot of people choose between the two schools.

I can't speak to Tuck, but would happy to discuss investment banking prospects from Darden. We are a core school for every bulge bracket, with strong alumni networks at both GS and JPM, as well as DB, CS, Citi and Barcap. I myself will be going to a bb this summer and had multiple offers. PM if you would like to speak more.

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Re: Tuck vs Darden ($$$+chance at prestigious fellowship) [#permalink]

13 Jan 2013, 23:16

Would go with the client on this one (as with a lot of other things).

too much money to be turned down and yes, as far as I've read, the scholarship/fellowship definitely builds your case for recruitment.

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Re: Tuck vs Darden ($$$+chance at prestigious fellowship) [#permalink]

13 Jan 2013, 23:54

Congratulations!

As others have suggested, try visiting both schools if possible. If not, try to talk to as many current students at both schools to see where you fit in better and ask specific questsions about career opportunities.

They are both really great institutions. You will get what you put into the business school experience, and I'm sure you will end up with a great job either way if you focus and work hard.

So I would lean toward Darden w the full tuition, and wish you luck in getting the Jefferson Fellowship!

Christine Lin
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joy4ol wrote:

If you are not already sick of such questions, please help me here with a dilemma.

First the complete application season status:
Wharton, Booth (ding w/ interview), Sloan (ding w/o interview)
Tuck (Admit)
Darden (Admit w/$$$ + chance to interview for Jefferson fellowship which would also cover living expenses +$3,000/yr stipend)
LBS, Haas (WLed)
Kellogg (Applied R2, no result out yet, of course)

I will admit Tuck was one of my first loves and till a few days back (before the Darden scholarship info) I didn't even consider not going to Tuck. But now I feel I am in a massive dilemma regarding the situation - Darden is really keen on having me and $110k+ over two years is nothing to sneeze at while Tuck refused my request for any $$.

My background is: Indian/M/CFA/Engineer with 5+ years in third-party research services (mainly fixed income). I am a bit uncertain about the direction of my career. Off the bat, I would try to get an summer internship with GS/JPM/UBS etc. and try to get a full-time offer (FTO). I plan to meet the full cost of education through loans and a FTO would be really important to get over the sinking-in-debt feeling. Assuming the said FTO materializes, I would like to explore opportunities beyond ibanking in my second year such as with IFC, WB or just plain ol' corp. finance. Investment banking is a close plan B if these options do not play out well. I would ideally like to get back to India/HK/Singapore in 7-10 years post-MBA.

Making lifelong friends and quality of life are very important considerations while at both during MBA and beyond that. Much more important than slight differences in salary. That being said, I am sensitive to career opportunities (does it open doors?) and quality of network (will people bat for me if I want to move into PE in Asia 3-4 years down the line?).

So here is how my analysis breaks down to:

Tuck
+ Ivy league, top-10, bigger brand (just my perception?)
+ Highly regarded alum network
+ Relatively strong connections to PE (and many students with prior IB/PE exp; I know I wouldn't get in but the network is important I suppose given my ambivalent career goals)
- No $; a longer debt repayment period
- Very cold winters (but then I dont mind the idea of skiing

)

Darden
+ Top-15 (though not THAT below Tuck in US News rankings)
+ Full tuition + chance at Jefferson Fellowship (Full cost of attendance + up to $3000/yr stipend) (My client, who is in sell-side research, says if you are getting full ride and fellowship, the school will cater special attention to see you get placed and the fellowship will help me distinguish my resume better, any idea on the validity of that opinion?)
- Top-15 is lower than top-10
- I somehow like the sound of Boston/NY better than GA (note that I have never been to the states)

#Not sure about either school's standing with IFC et al.

Would I be really foolish to give up on greater long-term benefits with Tuck for short-term benefits? Or is Darden here a "no-brainer" (as my client says)?

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Re: Tuck vs Darden ($$$+chance at prestigious fellowship) [#permalink]

14 Jan 2013, 00:33

This is actually a tough one, unlike the other thread where a guy was debating between booth$ and darden$$$$.

I think if you were going for banking or consulting in the U.S., i would recommend darden since it is after all an awesome b-school and tuck is just not on the same level as wharton/booth/mit/columbia. However, the main reason i'm not sure is that you want to work in finance in asia long-term. Tuck has an insanely strong alumni network, and they have a good presence in Asia and buyside finance in general. I'm just not sure if darden has anything to offer you on that front, at least with respect to the network. But if you could get a good BB job coming out of darden, you can always leverage that to try to move over to the buyside or to an international office.

But yeah, this is 50/50. I think you need to visit both and see which school makes you feel more at home. If you had gotten into wharton/mit/booth, obviously this would be a no-brainer.

Good luck.

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Re: Tuck vs Darden ($$$+chance at prestigious scholarship) [#permalink]

14 Jan 2013, 08:07

Thanks to you all for sharing your opinions. Really helpful!! I couldnt have imagined the voting would be so skewed in favor of Darden. I guess for most people it is indeed a no-brainer.

hamm0 wrote:

Awesome situation to be in.

The answer, to me, is easy. Go to Darden. If you're recruiting for IB down to corp fin., I would imagine your chances are about the same at each school; that is to say very good. The difference in terms of quality is negligible - Tuck does have great alumni, and probably a better PE connection, but if you have a Jefferson fellow scholarship on your resume and what sounds like an awesome past.. you'll be just as competitive

Thanks hamm0. I agree with the premise that the aschools are not altogether very different in terms of quality and opportunities.

sesamemochi wrote:

Congrats on the two admits that you have! Have you visited either of the schools? Asking because I didn't see any mention of the campus or students in your comparisons.

Thanks sesamemochi and you are right. My request for US visa was rejected last year (for flimsy reasnos). I am thinking of attending the Fellowship weekend at Charlottesville in February and take a few more days off to visit the Dartmouth campus. I will have to think about the ethical implications since Darden is paying for the to-and-fro flight tickets.

sesamemochi wrote:

FYI, don't know if that was a typo or not, but Darden is in VA and not GA lol.

Sorry, I should hav been more clear. My understanding is that Darden places more students ni the Atlanta, GA region compared to Tuck which has greater penetration in the NY-Boston area. Please feel free to disagree with me on this. This is just my unscientific research speaking.

MBA2ER wrote:

Location aside, I'll still take the full scholarship at a well-regarded T15 school over being 200K in debt at a slightly more prestigious school. But it's all a matter of personal preference and differing priorities in life. Either way, you're in a good spot so congrats!

CobraKai wrote:

I've always said money should be a tie-breaker, not the primary factor. In this case it truly is a tie-breaker - we're not talking a full-ride at a top 30 school, Darden is no slouch.

MarvelAdmissions wrote:

As others have suggested, try visiting both schools if possible. If not, try to talk to as many current students at both schools to see where you fit in better and ask specific questsions about career opportunities.

Thanks MBA2ER, CobraKai and Christine. I agree both schools would provide me a significant step-up from my current role and the money is too big to ignore (especially in post-tax terms). My approach right now would be to talk to as many current students at bth school as possible and try for the fellowship. While a fellowship will greatly tilt my decision in favor of Darden, I would like to do my research and then take a leap of faith. And ultimately, not look back with from my decision witgh any regret.

Consulting2Finance wrote:

I am a first year student that interviewed for the Fellowship but did not receive it. I put being a finalist on my resume...I'm not sure if it improved my candidacy at all but one bulge bracket complemented me on it this past week.

Let me get back to you over PM! You are just the person I was looking for

jumsumtak wrote:

too much money to be turned down and yes, as far as I've read, the scholarship/fellowship definitely builds your case for recruitment.

Thanks for input jumsumtak. Fellowship aside, what if its just a full ride? how do you include that in your resume? Does that still matter to recruiters?

Shawshank wrote:

But yeah, this is 50/50. I think you need to visit both and see which school makes you feel more at home. If you had gotten into wharton/mit/booth, obviously this would be a no-brainer.

Thanks for your honest assessment Shawshank. And interesting perspective that I will definitely explore more thoroughly. I am with you right now on the decision probabilities. I will likely go to both schools in Feb before making a final decision.

Since I have already made the EA deposit at Tuck (sunk cost, i suppose), I still have time to mull over Darden. The fellowship decision is out on the Feb 26 and deposit deadline is on the 28th. So right now my position is if I win the fellowship, I will likely go with Darden. If not, will go with my guts (which will be strongly influenced by my current research). I am beginning to feel it will come down to actual advantages, if any, Tuck has over Darden in the buyside in thge US and Asia. Money is, of course, very important (and more so for somebody who has been earning a paltry Indian salary for the most part) but I am sure going with one´s heart is sometimes the best policy despite the perils.

Thanks again! Please feel free to share if you have any further thoughts. I will keep updating this thread as I come to a decision!

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Re: Tuck vs Darden ($$$+chance at prestigious fellowship) [#permalink]

14 Jan 2013, 13:16

I wouldnt even think twice about this. I actually visited and interviewed at both schools. Both programs great and very simmilar (I like Tuck´s more) - both are small programs, have a strong alumni network, focused on general managent, rely heavily in the case method (moreso Darden). C-Ville is a million times nicer than Hanover. Tuck does place more stuednts in the north east but it can surely be done from Darden too.

I dont think there is a massive difference in brand name recognition between both schools abroad. At least in Latin American neither school is well known.

Even if you look inot rankings its a top 10 vs a top 15 school.

I think this is pretty straight forward, go to Darden.

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Re: Tuck vs Darden ($$$+chance at prestigious fellowship) [#permalink]

14 Jan 2013, 13:59

Sharpie wrote:

I wouldnt even think twice about this. I actually visited and interviewed at both schools. Both programs great and very simmilar (I like Tuck´s more) - both are small programs, have a strong alumni network, focused on general managent, rely heavily in the case method (moreso Darden). C-Ville is a million times nicer than Hanover. Tuck does place more stuednts in the north east but it can surely be done from Darden too.

I dont think there is a massive difference in brand name recognition between both schools abroad. At least in Latin American neither school is well known.

Even if you look inot rankings its a top 10 vs a top 15 school.

I think this is pretty straight forward, go to Darden.

Although Tuck is not well-known internationally, it does have a much stronger buyside network than Darden. I thought about applying to darden/fuqua/yale this year but decided against them because they are almost non-existent in the buyside circle (especially hedge funds and investment management). This is the only reason why I think it's a close call; if the OP were interested in general management, consulting, banking, i would say take darden and have fun in charlottesville for 2 years. But to me, this really is 50/50.

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Re: Tuck vs Darden ($$$+chance at prestigious fellowship) [#permalink]

14 Jan 2013, 14:00

Question to the other posters. If the OP were deciding between booth with no money vs darden $$$, would you guys say it's a no-brainer and go with booth? If so, it seems like people see a huge drop in prestige and opportunities between booth and tuck.

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Re: Tuck vs Darden ($$$+chance at prestigious fellowship) [#permalink]

14 Jan 2013, 14:47

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Shawshank wrote:

Question to the other posters. If the OP were deciding between booth with no money vs darden $$$, would you guys say it's a no-brainer and go with booth? If so, it seems like people see a huge drop in prestige and opportunities between booth and tuck.

I'd still vote Darden. In my (non-expert) opinion, I think the Booth, Kellogg, Sloan, Tuck, Columbia, group will get you where you want to go. I view the difference in rankings among these schools to be perception and preferences - it's tough to make the ironclad statement that one school is "better" than the other. Especially since "better" is tough to define.

Also - Booth is a larger school, Darden is smaller leading to the culture discussion. Booth only requires one class while Darden has a year-long core where you can't place out of any classes. More variables arise in a Booth vs. Darden comparison.

Tuck and Darden have similar small-student body cultures and both have general management focused core curriculums that you take with your section.

My two cents.

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Re: Tuck vs Darden ($$$+chance at prestigious fellowship) [#permalink]

14 Jan 2013, 14:54

Shawshank wrote:

Question to the other posters. If the OP were deciding between booth with no money vs darden $$$, would you guys say it's a no-brainer and go with booth? If so, it seems like people see a huge drop in prestige and opportunities between booth and tuck.

Good point. I would say Booth in that case.

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Re: Tuck vs Darden ($$$+chance at prestigious fellowship) [#permalink]

14 Jan 2013, 15:11

CobraKai wrote:

Shawshank wrote:

Question to the other posters. If the OP were deciding between booth with no money vs darden $$$, would you guys say it's a no-brainer and go with booth? If so, it seems like people see a huge drop in prestige and opportunities between booth and tuck.

I'd still vote Darden. In my (non-expert) opinion, I think the Booth, Kellogg, Sloan, Tuck, Columbia, group will get you where you want to go. I view the difference in rankings among these schools to be perception and preferences - it's tough to make the ironclad statement that one school is "better" than the other. Especially since "better" is tough to define.

Also - Booth is a larger school, Darden is smaller leading to the culture discussion. Booth only requires one class while Darden has a year-long core where you can't place out of any classes. More variables arise in a Booth vs. Darden comparison.

Tuck and Darden have similar small-student body cultures and both have general management focused core curriculums that you take with your section.

My two cents.

As a hardcore finance guy, Booth's curriculum and culture are amazing.

I applied to tuck as well and will be visiting soon for the on-campus interview. I'm looking forward to seeing what tuck is like, despite the fact that it's not ostensibly a "natural" fit. They do have a finance network though that punches way above its belt.

B

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Re: Tuck vs Darden ($$$+chance at prestigious scholarship) [#permalink]

14 Jan 2013, 19:01

joy4ol wrote:

jumsumtak wrote:

too much money to be turned down and yes, as far as I've read, the scholarship/fellowship definitely builds your case for recruitment.

Thanks for input jumsumtak. Fellowship aside, what if its just a full ride? how do you include that in your resume? Does that still matter to recruiters?

A full ride should be on your resume as well.

merit-scholarship-for-mba-on-resume-117044.html

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Re: Tuck vs Darden ($$$+chance at prestigious fellowship) [#permalink]

16 Jan 2013, 18:15

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Maybe its an omen or something, I read this in the morning (https://news.efinancialcareers.com/uk-en/131760/how-banking-can-ruin-your-body-and-mind/) and was immediately reminded why I had second thoughts about ibanking in the first place. Still can't get "moobs" out of my head. And lets not even go near ED.

So if you would like to indulge me again, any idea which of these schools would allow me to better explore a career in international/developmental finance? Read IFC, WB etc. Is distance to NY/Washington a factor here?

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Re: Tuck vs Darden ($$$+chance at prestigious fellowship) [#permalink]

16 Jan 2013, 18:19

joy4ol wrote:

Maybe its an omen or something, I read this in the morning (https://news.efinancialcareers.com/uk-en/131760/how-banking-can-ruin-your-body-and-mind/) and was immediately reminded why I had second thoughts about ibanking in the first place. Still can't get "moobs" out of my head. And lets not even go near ED.

So if you would like to indulge me again, any idea which of these schools would allow me to better explore a career in international/developmental finance? Read IFC, WB etc. Is distance to NY/Washington a factor here?

For non-traditional paths like that.. I think your best bet is talking to current students/alumni. I have to imagine, though, that both schools will do equally as well in that forum.

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Re: Tuck vs Darden ($$$+chance at prestigious fellowship) [#permalink]

16 Jan 2013, 18:20

joy4ol wrote:

Maybe its an omen or something, I read this in the morning (https://news.efinancialcareers.com/uk-en/131760/how-banking-can-ruin-your-body-and-mind/) and was immediately reminded why I had second thoughts about ibanking in the first place. Still can't get "moobs" out of my head. And lets not even go near ED.

So if you would like to indulge me again, any idea which of these schools would allow me to better explore a career in international/developmental finance? Read IFC, WB etc. Is distance to NY/Washington a factor here?

Given your career goals, Tuck is definitely better. Darden is fine for regular bulge bracket banking, but it's weak in other areas of finance; its bread and butter has always been consulting. Although Tuck is also a general management focused school, it's remarkably strong in finance, and its network is amazing despite the small size. If you're VERY confident that those are your career goals, go to Tuck.

Also, Tuck has formal joint degree programs with harvard kennedy and johns hopkins sais. Given your goals, you should look into applying to those schools during your first year at Tuck.

gmatclubot

Re: Tuck vs Darden ($$$+chance at prestigious fellowship) [#permalink]

16 Jan 2013, 18:20

Tuck vs Darden ($$$+chance at prestigious fellowship)

Tuck vs Darden ($$$ + chance at prestigious fellowship)