cannedmilkman wrote:
thanks for your thoughts shadowsjc. Ideally, i hope to find myself in this situation soon as I hopefully will be accepted to Columbia (good luck to you as well), and have already been accepted to Duke with a very large scholarship. I am also waiting to hear from the Consortium for Yale (like yourself) and Michigan. I doubt Columbia will offer me any money, but my career path is non-profit, so the money means more to me for reasons we've covered.
Questions for you:
1. How are you thinking about the potential admit to Columbia vs. a potential CGSM Fellowship @ Yale? /what is your intended career path since this obviously plays a big part in how you look at it.
ultimately, i'm looking towards a role in management in a healthcare/life science field (pharma, medical device, etc.). whether this comes sooner (via a general management rotational program right after my MBA) or later (after working at a top consulting firm for a few years and then switching) is still up in the air.
columbia is strong in placing candidates at top consulting firms; it's also very close geographically not only to where i live, but also to where a huge portion of the companies i'm targeting are.
YSOM, on the other hand, has a somewhat smaller representation at top consulting firms. i think it makes up for this in its general management placement (about 20% post MBA). additionally, the benefits of the CGSM membership (and ideally the fellowship) will allow me to network with an even greater amount of recruiters and alumni.
it's hard to pick which one is 'best' for me, given that these 2 paths are slightly different. i think that either one would serve me well to get towards my end goal, which is why i'm treating both of them as my #1 at the moment.
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2. You seem to be pretty well-informed about the process based on your posts here and at BW Forums. Have you seen any resources or advice on how to write a letter to an Ultra Elite school to basically say: "Hey, I got lots of money from school X, but would rather go to your school if money were no object. Can you guys help me out a bit financially?" My guess is that such letters have a low success rate, given that so many ppl would be thrilled to attend an Ultra Elite with no scholarship money.
i haven't gotten through the whole process yet, so i can't give you any firsthand advice about how to ask for more money. i've definitely seen at least 1 thread where this was discussed, and i'm trying to see if i can locate it.
from what i remember, i think the way to go was a polite letter or email to a contact within the school (usually an adcom director that emailed you regarding your acceptance) stating that you were hoping to be considered for financial aid due to school X's offer of $Y. the worst that can happen is they say no - it's not like they're going to withdraw your app because you asked them for money.
perhaps someone who has already been through this situation might have some better advice
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