Darden vs Yale

Hi everyone!

I am struggling to decide between Darden and Yale SOM. First off, let me say that this is an amazing problem to be facing and I couldn’t be happier about getting accepted to these great schools. However, I’m having a lot of trouble making a choice since there seems to be pros and cons to both. I’d appreciate any advice that anyone could provide! Thanks!

My background, goals, and stats
I’m originally from New York and currently live/work in the Boston area. I’ve also worked in Washington DC for several years. My background is in mechanical engineering (BS 2012, MS 2013), specifically in the aerospace and defense industry. Post MBA, I’m interested in consulting and I’d like to be back in the northeast, ideally in the Boston area again. My undergraduate GPA was 3.74 and my GMAT score was 770.

Pros and Cons
Darden
+ Older, more established program. Good name recognition within US business circles
+ Charlottesville is beautiful and is supposed to be a great place to live
+ Small class size (similar to Yale)
+ Known more for consulting than Yale, historically better MBB placement
+ Larger alumni network
+/- Heavy focus on the case method, it is the centerpiece of the Darden curriculum. This is good because I’d gain some really great skills that are applicable to the consulting industry, but I feel like relying entirely on the case method is too restrictive. Some topics may be better taught with a more traditional lecture, and I think I’d prefer a more diverse teaching style.
- Reputation for a very heavy workload

Yale SOM
+ World-renowned parent university
+ MBA program is on a great trajectory, quickly improving in rankings
+ Geographic location may be better for recruiting in the northeast (54% placement in northeast compared to 31% from Darden)
+ Brand new building that is enormous and beautiful
+ Small class size (similar to Darden)
+ Fiercely loyal alumni network
+/- Not as well known for consulting as Darden, but this may be a positive as well since I could stand out more from my peers. Could this also work in my favor since there will be less competition for on-campus recruiting?
- Lower job placement stats post-graduation

Scholarships
I’d like to base my decision on factors other than money, but I’ve received very different scholarship offers from these two schools. One school offered me a full-ride (named scholarship) while the other offered $10k per year. In the interest of getting some unbiased advice, I’m going to refrain from saying which school is which for now, but I had a few questions:

1) What is the etiquette for scholarship negotiations? Let’s say that I determine that I’d prefer to attend the school that offered me less money. Is it reasonable to contact them and say something like the following?

“While you are certainly my first choice of business school, I received an offer of a full scholarship from another school. It is very hard for me to turn down this offer, so I was hoping that we could work together to increase my scholarship to your school. If we raise it by X amount, I will definitely attend your school.”

2) Does a full (named) merit scholarship look good on a resume? Does it help with recruiting?

3) I did a Google search for the named scholarship that I was offered but didn’t find it anywhere. Is this a common thing? I’m interested in the history of the scholarship and would like to read more about it. Is there a list somewhere that shows information about all of the named scholarships that these universities offer?

Admitted Students Day
Both of these schools have their admitted students day on the same day!!! They are both on April 21st (with a few, small events either before or after). Does anyone have any advice regarding how to deal with this? My current thought is that I should go to Darden since it is further away, and then I can drive to Yale on another day to spend some time on campus and (hopefully) meeting with current students, admissions, etc.


Thanks again for your help, I really appreciate it!