UCLA (60% schol.) vs. Emory (60% schol.) vs. Vanderbilt (Full ride)

Thanks Mo2men. I think I'd be happier living out west, but was just at Emory's welcome weekend this past weekend and had a fantastic time. UCLA sends more grads to Amazon (8-9 vs Emory's 1-2 there), and is the clear winner in terms of proximity to my target companies, but has a worse placement rate overall (90% at 3 months post grad vs 98% for Emory). Furthermore, Emory's CMC seemed completely dedicated to seeking out and building relationships with its students' desired companies.

The way I see it right now...
Emory:
Community fit: excellent
CMC commitment: excellent
Target company placement: poor

UCLA:
Community fit: unknown, but promising based on previous interactions
CMC commitment: unknown
Target company placement: strong

Thanks merper. I agree completely in terms of target company placement. Right now I'm coming off a great visit to Emory for welcome weekend, and am curious to see how A-Days compares. I noticed you're in at both Booth and Anderson - have you made your decision yet?

I am still trying to research, but probably Booth, even though I do want to work in tech. I'd like to go into strategy, where the Booth name probably has an advantage (either directly or by getting me into MBB for a couple years so i can get the experience to move into strategy at a tech firm). Haas would have been a tougher decision, but Anderson closes some doors more than I'd like (specifically consulting).

If you are interested in Tech and/or finance, then Anderson is plenty good though. The student body is great and super helpful, and I really wouldn't worry about the 8% difference in placement rates - the big difference is tech placement is what you should care about. Anderson has a class series that's a direct pipeline to product management and marketing at Google. Also, a lot of Anderson students also work in Silicon Beach startups, so they may not be included. I can PM you an email chain I had with the Anderson technology club if you would like.

Congrats on the admission.

I think that the choice is pretty straightforward - UCLA all the way ! Anderson might be regional, but then again, what is really "regional" considering that California is the world`s 8th largest economy ?

I have visited UCLA twice while on vacation to LA and I was really impressed by the friendliness of the student body. The life in LA is also pretty appealing to me. When I was there last year, I ve heard that they reported 100% internship placement which is quite impressive.

The numerous recreational and sports activities offered on campus are also tempting. Overall the school exudes that Californian entrepreneurial spirit and while obviously its not Stanford, I think it has the edge over Emory.

Personally, I would pick only H W S C and potentially Stern over UCLA but then again thats me Let us know what have you decided

My pick is UCLA.
-It higher ranked, with equal amount of money.
-its places well in tech, including e-commerce
-its on the west coast
-bigger class
-great culture and students

Thanks merper! A friend at Anderson mentioned the Google series, and while my current coworkers would never let me live down a move to the other side (in paid search we work hand in hand with Google), I definitely see value in the opportunity. As for the 8% placement rate difference - I completely agree. It was more the 75% at graduation vs the 90% at graduation (for Emory) that I failed to mention that originally caught my eye.

As for the email chain - that would be much appreciated! Are you planning on going to A-Days?

Best of luck on your decision!

Thanks Ivan91! I'm with you on the student body from what I've seen so far - after 3 visits I'm super impressed. I'm just curious to compare A-Days to other welcome weekends, but I'm sure it'll be a blast.

As for the 100% internship placement - that's a good point. I saw that stat too, and think the list of top employers is a strong fit as well (https://www.anderson.ucla.edu/degrees/mb ... nternships)

Regarding the entrepreneurial spirit - that's something I neglected to mention as being pretty important to me. Having minored in entrepreneurship but also having worked at a start-up for my first 3 years after college (before making the switch to digital marketing), I love the entrepreneurial world. And I'm sure like a number of people, I have an idea I'd like to explore while in b school.

I see that you are admitted into Tepper. Amazons recruits heavily tepper. So why are you not considering it?

Hey get2aditya - I didn't find Tepper to be a good fit, and they didn't offer any money.

JS you do realize that Amazon is the biggest recruiter for Vanderbilt right?

Also having no debt is awesome when you think about it. You have to carry that debt and then pay it back after taxes. That 50k turns into 100k relay fast.

I am a current scholar at Owen and can tell you I am extremely happy here. Hit me up if you have any questions.

Hey thisisatestonlyatest – thanks for the message! Yeah, very aware of Owen’s ties to Amazon. I’m trying to keep as open a mind as possible until all welcome weekends are over, then assess the full picture. Hopefully we’ll run into each other this weekend.