University of Washington Foster school

It's actually "dudette"

I'll let you know when I receive my packet. Not expecting any scholarship but I certainly wouldn't mind if they threw in another very pleasant surprise!

My bad ... do you have any other admits or have you decided on UW ?

I have a couple under my belt, 1 ding, and 3 left to go..

However, leaning towards UW although my other 2 admits are higher ranked.

Congrats Christian and fingers!!!

I got the call last week and have not recieved my packet yet. I live in Seattle. I am hoping to see it today. Adcom stated that it would be sent out early this week.

Someone PMed me about Why I picked UW Foster over UNC. I thought it might be of general interest, so for what it is worth:


Here was my basic thought process.
1) Where would I rather live (post graduation)
2) How different will my outcome be (career-wise)
3) How different will my MBA experience be
4) What is the cost difference

Roughly in that order of importance. Maybe 1 &2 are equally important.

My wife REALLY likes seattle,and her job at Microsoft and wants to return here eventually, though she is willing to move upon completion of my degree. She will live in seattle regardless of where I attend school. This last one isn't as big of a killer as it sounds - I lived in tokyo for 3 years while she was in california.

So here are my conclusions on the different points
1) I am open to pretty much any american metro area outside of california with a population > 1million (I would also accept SF bay area). Not TOO hot on NYC however.I would also move to any major "world city" globally. My wife REALLY likes seattle. So, on point #1 - advantage UW

2) I am probably not going to get into i-banking or consulting, so the advantage that UNC would have in these areas doesn't really matter to me. In most other areas I think the positions one gets fro mthe schools are ROUGHLY comparable (though UNC might have a SLIGHT advantage). Most of the differences (to my mind) are more based on geography. Being on the west coast UW has some good links to Tech-friendly companies. I have a masters in engineering, whcih could help. UNC has more east-coasty links.
UNC average salaries are(I think) slightly higher. However, consider the cost of living (and therefore inflated wages) in NYC/DC/Boston/etc and suddenly this is not a "real" wage advantage. So, on point #2 I'll call it a toss up.

3)I visited the UNC campus. It was beautiful, as was the town and the B-school. People were incredibly friendly, I would have a GREAT time.
I visited the UW campus.It was beautiful, as was the town. The b-school facilities are in disrepair. Probably won't get any diseases from them, but just be sure to keep your vaccinations up to date. (The new buildings will come AFTER i would finish my MBA) People were incredibly friendly, I would have a GREAT time.
Both are small, tight knot b-schools on the campus of large, beautiful public universities.
If I attended UNC I would be commuting cross-country to see my wife. Blah - Victory to UW.

4) Since I have chosen to disregard pay differences for the reasons listed in #2 above.... I'll look at cost of living/tuition
-Cost of living: Seattle looks ~25% higher, but since my wife is living in seattle anyhow, I save big $$$ per month by not ALSO needing to pay for an apartment at UNC. Plus no bi-weekly cross country flights. in cost of living I would personally save over $25k over 2 years.
-Tuition: Not even close. I save ~$30k over 2 years at UW
Conclusion: UW by $55k


So, there you have it. 3 UW victories and 1 tie!

Thoughts/comments?

Guys, did you get your hands on the new US news ranking ... FSB slipped 5 places to 34. I doubt the authenticity of these rankings though.

I think it is fine. Last year UW was only one rank higher. (e.g. Vandy was one rank lower which due to the ties was #34). These things jiggle around every year - so be it.

We can't brag about our rank but then disown when it goes the wrong way!

I never believed US news anyway

I've actually pinpointed the reason for the drop. Starting this year USNews bases 10% of the score on a building safety inspection of the MBA facilities. Needless to say Foster got 0/10 on this section.

I am not sure if you are kidding or not, but that is hilarious. The building is pretty bad.

I can't wait to see the new buildings. They have models of the new buildings on the website, and they look great. I only wish they had started two years ago....

Yep, thats the major down side to UW right now. Since I did my undergrad in Balmer I am familiar with its "charms." I really think they should have moved the school temporarily, torn down Balmer, and put the new building back in that place.

Its snowing like crazy in Seattle today. Weird.

Just walked to lunch in Pioneer square (from my office in china town). My jacket was COVERED. This is an absurd amount of snow to fall in seattle at any time of year - if it starts sticking this evenings trip home from work could be fun....

Wow, that is a lot of snow. It is sticking on the plants outside my window, but the weather man says it will not stick on the cement and streets.

p.s. I was making up the bit about the building safety inspections =)

I love snow! Does it snow a lot in Seattle? Looking forward to the cool/cold weather after spending most of my life in a tropical country.

And thank you to westsider and everybody else on this thread, who have provided some very informative posts. It's very likely I will be joining you guys in Seattle, and boy am I looking forward to it!

Is there a website that shows the bus routes in Seattle? I'm looking for accommodation, and would like to either walk to campus (is that possible?) or hop on a bus and take a quick ride to class.

Well I stayed in Buffalo, NY where it snowed a LOT. I got a chance to travel to Seattle for a weekend and I really loved that fact that while the flight was hosed with antifreeze in Buffalo, when I got to Seattle I was sippin' on beer sitting on the Patio !

I don't think it snows a lot in Seattle does it ?

I am constantly amazed at UW's low ranking. I feel that it is a much better school than the rankings suggest. I was just wondering whether schools in the East Coast get more of the attention because that is where most MBA's work. Can someone explain as to why UW is ranked so low. I look at the figures of many schools that are ranked higher than UW but they dont match up to that of Foster. All these schools are located in the East Coast however!!!