I have been accepted into USC Marshall and UVA Darden, WL at Duke Fuqua
I'm interested in Marketing/Brand Management, hoping to work in the Retail/Luxury Goods industry, and if not, with a top CPG like Target, Starbucks, Unilever, etc.
I know USC Marshall has a strong marketing program, but seems to be considered 1 level below Duke/Darden overall in MBA programs. USC is in L.A. which is where I was raised and aim to settle down in the future...but I know that most of the Retail/Luxury Goods positions will place me in NYC for a few years after business school.
Darden and Duke seem to be pretty much similar with regards to geographical location, smaller town--both college towns and in rankings for their overall MBA program.
But I guess as a westcoaster, I knew about Duke from sports and also knew that they had a strong undergrad program. Never heard of UVA until I moved to D.C. after college.
So was interested in hearing thoughts on the Duke vs UVA brand and the Fuqua vs Darden brand. And how recruiters from top companies view both schools.
And I know Luxury/Retail is a niche market and haven't seen many questions posted about it as compared to questions about finance/consulting/tech/healthcare, but if anyone has any knowledge about Luxury/Retail like the clubs, alumni placement, recruiting at USC vs Duke vs Darden, that would be much appreciated!
And finally--I know people would most always say Darden over USC, but would that be the case even if I'm interested in marketing/brand management (something that is strong at USC and is a large % of the USC Marshall student's focus...but less so at Darden where general management/finance is the majority % and what it's known for, with marketing to a much lesser degree)?
And if I get off the WL at Duke, would it be an easy yes over Darden given my interests?
(just worried that if I hear back from Duke, if I do, lets say in July/August, when I've pretty much settled and possibly signed contracts for renting an apt, gotten to know and planned on going to one school already...would Duke be such a stronger choice that I'd dump all my plans and switch to Duke then?)
Thanks!!!