brentl23 wrote:
christinemmx86 wrote:
most people think of GT as a bit of an up an comer. USC hasn't been doing too hot as of lately.
That should be enough right there for you to make your decision (unless you're dead set on CA). In life, we are ALL driven by
perception. USC's perception over the last couple of years has been mixed at best and right now they are #27, fighting to stay in the top 30. Georgetown on the other hand? Nothing but positive. Read news articles about both schools' programs and you'll see the difference. For example, take a look at the comments in this latest Poets and Quants article:
https://poetsandquants.com/2014/06/04/ap ... s-schools/. Half the comments section is about Georgetown. It's pretty clear that Georgetown, currently ranked at #23, is trending up with eyes on a top 20 ranking in the near future. Can USC leapfrog them? Sure, but I've seen nothing yet to suggest they will. Maybe it's all marketing. If so, Georgetown is doing a damn good job at it and we can all learn from that. Best of luck I'm out!
I certainly won't discount the reality of what I said and you pointed out
I will add that after visiting admit events at both schools I got the distinct sense that Marshall had a sound plan of rebounding. Ultimately it was their employment statistics that brought them down. It stems from a number of things: 1. heavy entertainment placement (they don't hire on a rankings friendly schedule) 2. a transition in their career office (new dean from NYU Stern) 3. students desire to remain in California (rankings show the number of employed students, not the # of offers they had. tabling an offer and waiting equates to unemployed).
In rankings, Marshall has a higher peer assessment score (the score given to schools by deans of other business schools) reflecting a slight advantage in regards to the perceived prestige and strength of USC in the eyes of the business school community. Let's say USC returns to its typical employment numbers and then it does indeed leapfrog Georgetown. Not by a large margin though.
I share this only because I wouldn't have considered Marshall until I did the research and looked deeply into the program. Georgetown has a lot going for it and I wouldn't have applied there had I not been considering them. You can't lose with either but I thought I'd share my story from my perspective.
Best of luck!