jallenmorris wrote:
riverripper - thanks for this awesome advice. I agree Yale and Tuck are further down on the list. Now that you mention it, I have heard that Kellogg is a great GM school. I'm more interested in GM simply because I'm afraid the MC life would be far more demanding than the GM in that GM is not likely to have as many days away from home throughout the year. (Correct me if I'm wrong on that view.) One reason that I do like Yale and Tuck is the smaller location and class size. I went to a small UG and really loved the small atmosphere. I had some classes with just 4 people in them! I don't expect that same level of "small-ness" but for me, Tuck is appealing in that sense. I also grew up in a town of 1,500 people. While i've been living in Oklahoma City for the past 5 years, going to a small town again for 2 years isn't going to kill me.
Yes, my wife does like Chicago because she has family in SE Wisconsin that she hasn't seen but once in the last 12 years since she moved away from there. I could also use some advice on how to persuade her that I will be able to find a job that pays very well. I have existing loans from law school and a little from UG and she wants to make sure that we can pay back all loans MBA and meet our budget. A great thing to think about, and I'm confident with looking at placement statistics that I'll be able to earn enough to cover everything, but I've not been able to calm her fears. I'm not exactly sure what would reassure her, but showing her the % of graduates with offers pre-graduation hasn't helped. The average salaries doesn't help because she says "That's average and you don't know that you'll be at or above the average." I agree, but I also don't think that's a reason to just pass on an opportunity like this. I will have to work like crazy to be one of the best in school and get the best jobs.
I'm frustrated because I can't seem to get her to come to any conclusions about her opinion with regard to me attending b-school. This spring she was fine with it, and now she seems to be having so many reservations, but can't pinpoint what signifance her concerns have. Anyone else dealing with this with their signifiance other?
I am married so I went through the convincing my wife it was a good idea. Obviously showing employment stats helps but I think what sealed it was the fact that she knew I did not enjoy my current career and really was sick of it. In my opinion having job satisfaction was more important than getting a raise. Financially this is a dumb move for us on a lot of levels. 150k worth of student loans, that and more on missed salary, the fact we are trying to sell our house in the worst real estate market in decades and are taking a hit there...it just doesnt seem logical to do. However, my wife realized that this would help me do something I would much rather do with my life and she thought it would be fun for her too. Now I dont know how other schools are but Kellogg has (I think) the highest rate of people bringing signficant others to school with them, heck during their weekly gathering most spouses seemed to show up and tons of kids were there running around. For being a large school it seems very tight knit and family oriented. One thing to realize is that while its as close to Chicago as GSB almost everyone lives in Evanston. We already know 3 other couples living in our building (only has like 40 units) and barely anyone has started to arrive...heck I think every GMATClub member going there lives within a few blocks of me.
I went to about as small an undergrad as you will find...I my class was like 200 people or so and many students went out to sea on a ship every year so thats about as tight knit as you can get when you cram 600 students on a 550ft long vessel. But even the largest MBA program is not huge, I mean HBS has what around 2000 students so that would be considered a small undergrad. The advantage over Yale and Tuck is that in a big city your wife will most likely find a better job that pays well (assuming she plans on working). Hanover and New Haven wont offer the same opportunities to her that Chicago, NYC, Boston, and even Philly will. Unless she is in healthcare (nurse/doctor), a teacher, or can telecommute Tuck really might kill her career for a few years...thats what drove me away from apply there.
Take a look at Kellogg's employment report it gives you the most detail of any schools report available. Most GM positions for the big name companies that recruit at the schools like Kellogg, Chicago, Wharton etc. are in the 100k range. Unless of course you go overseas.
https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/Programs/FullTimeMBA/Why_Kellogg_MBA/~/media/Files/FTMBA/Employment_Report_2007.ashxJust makesure you involve your wife or you could be in some trouble once you get in and she starts second guessing. Let her have a vote on schools, give her honest pros and cons of schools and how they relate to her. Check out if schools have groups for people with kids (all have spouses groups) and also see what services they provide her...I dont think any schools compete with Kellogg and Tuck in terms of what spouses are allowed but you may be surprised at just how supportive a lot of schools are of families. I mean Kellogg allows significant others to go on their GIM trips (consulting trips abroad)...they can even take part in the class part if they want to.
Kelloggs JV page (kellogg kids is there too)
https://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/student/club/joint/index.html