cougarblue wrote:
IM is kind of a broad description, what specifically do you want to be doing? Curious, why are you so concerned with management classes if you want to do IM?
I wouldn't just look at placement %s, go take a look at the kinds of IM companies that recruit out of Chicago, for instance. Now compare that with Kellogg, or Yale/Cornell/Tuck for that matter, and I think you'll reach the same conclusion that I did, i.e. for IM jobs, Chicago is first class, up there with Wharton/Columbia/HBS/Stanford. I'd also definitely consider NYU if you'd like to increase the expectation of your portfolio.
As a personal example, I've been doing a lot of soul-searching and have come to the conclusion that I'd like to work in IM, specifically at a value-oriented HF would be my dream job. I'm putting Colmubia/Wharton/Chicago high on the list for those reasons, and am taking Northwestern off of my list. (I'm sorry, I just don't believe you'll get more access to a sweet IM job because there are simply less people gunning for it at a particular school.) By the way, the Value Investing program is difficult to get accepted into, and I've heard rumors that if you mention it in your app, they hold you to a higher standard than a regular Columbia applicant.
Specifically, I want to get into buyside equity research. My preference is for value investing, but I won't limit myself to that in recruiting. The type of company I'm looking to work for is a large fund company (such as Fidelity, T Rowe, Putnam, etc).
The reason I am interested in core/GM type courses is because, as I stated earlier, I already have a lot of finance in my background. I studied finance in undergrad at a well regarded undergrad Bschool, I just took level II of the CFA (and hope to have the charter by the time I start school) and I will have 5 years of finance work experience at matriculation. So, while I obviously want to beef up my finance knowlege, and more specifically my investing knowledge, it is also important to me to get a broader management education. I'm sure you're aware that as you move up the ranks in IM you are responsible for managing people (particularly as a portfolio manager), leading, motivating, communicating effectively, etc. These are the type of things that can't be learned through the CFA, they are unique to MBA programs. I think this type of coursework/experience is a great complement to my background. However, like I said, its also important to further build my finance knowlede. Columbia can obviously do that. But Cornell also has a very strong asset management immersion and student run fund. Yale has some top finance people, including Whitman, Fabbozzi and Ibbottsen (probably spelled all of those wrong) and about 50% of their grads go into finance jobs including 7-8% into IM. So, all the schools combine finance strength and core/GM strength and that's what I'm looking for.
As far as recruiting at these schools, don't discount the IM recruiting at Cornell/Yale/Tuck. The following companies hired Cornell MBAs last year: BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, Loomis Sayles, Mellon Asset Management, Putnam Investments, T Rowe Price, Wellington, Deleware Investments. And there are many more, those are just some of the bigger names I picked out. And that's for a class size of only around 250 (of which about 8% go into IM). So, like I said, don't discount the ability of these schools to place students into top IM jobs. I'm trying to think beyond the whole, I want finance so I'll apply to Wharton, Chicago, Columbia and NYU type of thinking. But, of course, I'm considering each of those schools. Columbia is already on my list and I am starting to lean heavily towards adding Chicago. I'm not a fan of NYU. One other factor is that I want to get into school this year so if I only applied to Wharton/Columbia/HBS/Stanford there is a good chance I won't get in anywhere. I'm looking to apply to 2-3 schools in the Top 10 and 2-3 schools in the 10-15 range to increase my odds of going to school somewhere next year. I think Cornell and Yale are the best matches for me in the 10-15 range for the reasosn I've discussed. Does Wharton have better IM placement? Sure. But Cornell/Yale are very solid for IM and they increase my odds of getting in somewhere next year.
Oh and one other thing. I really do prefer that tight knit collaborative type atmosphere, though it is not a dealbreaker. That also helps Cornell/Yale/Tuck sneak onto my list over similar quality schools that don't have as strong of a community. And its the reason I've given Kellogg serious consideration even though it's IM recruiting is not as strong. As of now though it looks like my 5th school will probably be Chicago.