Re: University of Washington Foster school
[#permalink]
27 Mar 2008, 12:45
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?