Welcome to GMAT Club and Congratulations on getting into 2 great MBA programs. I don't think you will be disappointed with either. If you are looking for a Finance role then Yes on both accounts. As to your first 2 goals - I am not so sure. The traditional way of vetting schools has been to check with admissions, any public school materials published or most often getting your hands dirty on Linkedin and going through the employee list of companies you are looking to get a job in. E.g. Amazon, FB, Google, MS, Dropbox, Apple, etc and looking at any hiring patterns you can notice. That's something fun to do on a weekend
In general, it is going to be a bit hard to compare and contrast the two programs but there are differences:
- Location: NYC vs. Chicago. Seemingly the same (vibrant metro center), it actually makes a difference. I feel that difference is felt across the board - Chicago Booth does have a competitor in the city - Kellogg but the two schools are able to dominate a lot of the midwest. However, NYC sees a big influx from all the Ivy league up north - MIT, Tuck, Yale, HBS, and of course Stern - they have to find a job somewhere right? And the most logical place is NYC. My guess is that is one reason that CBS stands at 75% of grads employoed at graduation and Booth stands at 87%. That's a meaningful difference that is not a sign of CBS's weakness but rather the competition if faces in its home market. Ultimately if you want to stay in Chicago, you will have a great home team advantage but probably not as much with CBS.... on the other hand if you are planning to move to LA or SF after graduation, I am not sure it matters a whole lot. But this does erode the traditional advantage you may assume exists if an MNC has an office in NYC.
- Booth is stronger in the GM or Leadership placements and interest. Both schools focus on Finance and Consulting (traditionally big areas in many schools) but Booth has 20% of all grads going into General Management/Leadership whereas CBS has 5%
- Booth's new venture challenge and incubator for startups (a lot of tech) is a noteworthy mention (does CBS have anything like that?)
Similarities:
- Both are heavy in Finance and Consulting. Booth is a Finance & Consulting School (350 or 65% of all grads went there); CBS has placed similar numbers but it works out at about 45% (323 people went into those industries)
- Experience, I think you won't be disappointed with either.
- Size: CBS is about 25% larger than Booth - it is not a major consideration (570 vs. 720)
P.S. There is nothing the two schools do differently for work permits. There are, however, different options for loans without co-signers for international applicants (I remember CBS discontinued them a while ago and got a lot of people really upset who were left hanging). Booth has a second option/deal but both schools are covered under the
Prodigy Finance program for Elite Bschools.
P.P.S. Also, thanks to those handy tags, take a look at the
existing/last year's discussions about Booth/CBS - you may learn quite a bit, just remember it is a year or two old info.
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07 Dec 2015, 20:59
