Babson 2-year MBA ($$$) vs Bocconi 1-year (no scholarship)

Question

Hello,

I'm currently making a big decision after applying late to Babson (June 1) and Bocconi (May 14) and receiving admissions into both programs yesterday!

I had done the Forte MBA Launch program and applied to Columbia and MIT in January but was rejected from both and subsequently got caught up in work / depression related to the presidential election results (was planning on applying to Bocconi earlier but had some buggy website issues and ended up being nudged by their Director of N. Am. Admissions to send in my app and glad I did!).

I've seriously considered living in Italy for quite some time as both of my parents are of Italian descent / I studied abroad in Milan and have several cousins spread throughout Florence, Naples, and Sicily. Bocconi is a great 1-year program, highly ranked internationally/within Europe/#1 in Italy. However, I've found little to no name recognition in the US, which surprises me because i Bocconiani are super snobby in Italy about their program's prestige. I'm not sure about the long-term ROI...would probably stay in Italy for 2 years post admission to gain citizenship and then go back to the US to start my own business or work in consulting until I've established a good network to launch a business.

I applied to Babson after completing my application for Bocconi because I realized that I do want to go to business school to further myself and my skillset as an entrepreneur. I was impressed by Babson's #1 ranking for entrepreneurship and appreciate its location in/near Boston, which is a tech hub, as well as Massachusetts which is a state that just legalized cannabis (my current background is in arts + cannabis entrepreneurship). Babson has awarded me $30k/year ($60k total) + a graduate assistantship of $8k, so it would be the same price as Bocconi (possibly cheaper but I'll likely need to get a car.)

I applied to business school thinking I would do 2-3 years of consulting around digital branding / strategy at a big 4 and then start my own business in cannabis / VR/AR or tourism / VR/AR. Learning about and applying to Babson I realized that if I leverage the programs while I'm there I could graduate with my business semi-operational already.

These are two very different life paths I'm looking at ahead of me. My mother is all-in for Babson whereas my older sister is rooting for Bocconi. Personally, my gut instinct is Babson but it's always been my dream to live in Italy and who knows where this administration will take us (both economically/socially and as it relates to cannabis as they've been cracking down on the industry which could reach $25-50 billion by 2525.) However, I'm very well-connected already in the Boston cannabis scene.

Both Milan and Boston are cities, however I visited Boston a few weeks ago for Pride and it seems small. But it's by the water and Milan is inland (growing up in NY and spending summers in Sicily, coastal is my preference). I've lived in Milan. By far not my favorite city in Italy but you can fly almost anywhere in Europe, and it's where the Italian economy is located.

My stats:
Female / queer / White/Latina by way of Argentina / 26 / 5 years FT work experience
Background: non-profit arts/culture + cannabis entrepreneurship (I do digital strategy)
GMAT: 680
Undergrad GPA: 3.59 
Alma mater: Georgetown University BA in romance languages

Thoughts appreciated, please keep it positive.

Mimster · Answer

Congratulations on the offers to two great schools! I see that your final end goal is to end up in the US? If so, then I'm tipping the hat for Babson. Babson is super well known for its entrepreneurship focus and tbh you won't have to wait for the 2 - 3 consulting job after MBA to start your business. I bet by the end of two years you will already have a business up and running. As for consulting opportunities, I know for sure that Bocconi will get you through more doors (in EU) than Babson would do. You can check the employment reports on them.

Think about what you want out of your MBA and see which schools offer the best for your goals.

Think about what you want out of your MBA and see which schools offer the best for your goals.

bb · Answer

You have a great and strong profile!

Have you considered other schools? Your profile looks unique and strong enough for the Top 20 (though not sure about your work experience)
Is it a choice of Babson vs. Bocconi or is it Babson vs. Boccconi vs. Haas/Yale in 2018 potentially?

I have to run in a minute so can't comment a ton more but just wanted to get the 2017 vs. 2018 issued figured out meanwhile to see if you want/can wait another year or if the battle was too draining this year and it is not worth another shot. (I did not want to wait another year in my days... so nothing wrong with that answer).

Congrats on your admits!

and32 · Answer

thanks for your thoughts  Mimster  &  bb !

Mimster  yes, my goal is to live in the US although I would like to have dual citizenship as I already visit Italy 1x per year for family reasons and the EU is about to implement a visa requirement. I would love to start a company in Italy but it is not that easy as there are many regulatory barriers as well as cultural issues with the workforce.

bb  I was mostly aiming for schools in NYC, Boston, or Milan (Bocconi, obvi).

I did consider applying to Yale because Forte MBA Launchers receive fee waivers but I didn't like the idea of spending time in New Haven. I have a former college roommate currently doing her MBA at Yale and she loves it...but I don't know if I could live outside of a city.

I toured Darden and while it seemed like an okay fit academically it really turned me off of the idea of going to a suburban school. I had started a Consortium application but didn't finish it...honestly applying to the MBA forced me to deal with a lot of impostor syndrome and I had soft launched my cannabis consulting business this winter so I was very overwhelmed, but realized in May that applying for an MBA for Fall '17 entry made the most sense career wise as the cannabis industry is rather unstable right now and cash flow, which is making my consulting business more of a hustle, and there were high level tasks that clients are asking me to engage with financial modeling, data analysis etc. that require more training on my part. I also think that both Columbia & MIT might have been turned off by my cannabis work, but Babson already has an annual Cannabis Consortium and several alumni building companies in the space.

The more I think about it the more I am leaning towards Babson because of the scholarship and the possibility of building my own company with capital from on-campus incubators. Bocconi's Admissions team is also a little weird...they sent me an acceptance letter in a form email and then the Admissions person forwarded to me again today (with no commentary), whereas Babson called me to let me know of my decision before I ever got an email, and has been very responsive to my messages.

One thing I am considering is going to Babson and studying abroad at Bocconi in Fall '18 -- basically getting to have my cake and eat it to, but I'm not sure if studying abroad is time best spent during the course of an MBA if I could spend that time networking to raise capital.

souvik101990 · Answer

I refrained from commenting at first because I am not a "professional" but I have to say you have a very interesting background. I would seriously consider other schools and maybe reapply. If you could up your GMAT score by 20-30 points and get into the range of the median of these schools, your profile and your super-nontraditional background and a great undergrad will really help you stand out. I agree with your point about town schools but have you considered big city schools like NYU or Columbia or even others in Boston - to be honest, I absolutely think you have a great shot at the big shots like HSW if you can manage to write some really solid essays. Also to consider, California - for obvious reasons - Haas, UCLA and Stanford will all be great places for your long term goals!!

Babson 2-year MBA ($$$) vs Bocconi 1-year (no scholarship)

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