Fuqua vs Ross vs Anderson ( with $$$ )

Question

Fuqua ($) vs Ross vs Anderson (with $$$) for Healthcare/Consulting+WestCoast

I am an Indian in healthcare sector in India and wish to get into healthcare or consulting post MBA. Also, I will prioritize finding a job in SFO/Bay Area followed by NY/NJ if that does not work out. In the long term, I wish to come back to India/SouthEast Asia in the healthcare/pharma space and so a strong alum network in those geographies and that industry become important. At the same time, the $$$$ fellowship seems very difficult to ignore. It would mean that I could come back in half the time?

I have 3 admits and here are my pros/cons for each.

1) Duke
Pros:
Very strong health sector management (second only to Wharton)
Strong top 10 ranking (give and take 1 or 2)
World renowned Duke and Fuqua brands
Known alumni network in Healthcare space and also in Asia (also partly due to Cross Continent MBA)
Focus on Leadership and Ethics
Durham may be a nice place to study, cheap!
Small scholarship amount

Cons:
Far from SFO (My wife may relocate to SFO as she works with a tech giant) and it will be tough for us to meet often - 8 hr flights to Durham?
Small scholarship - have to fund almost my entire MBA and would mean a 5-8 year payback period
Culture seems a bit formal compared to Ross/Anderson
Nothing else seems to fit in the cons for Fuqua!

Ross:
Pros:
Ann Arbor! Amazing place to be!
Highly ranked top 10 MBA program
World renowned Michigan and Ross brands, with perhaps the largest living alumni network
Very strong alumni network across the world, including India
Amazing current batch of students - most exciting set of people I've talked to during my MBA research
Improving Healthcare Management focus in recent years

Cons:
Far from SFO (My wife may relocate to SFO as she works with a tech giant) and it will be tough for us to meet often - long flights to Detroit?
No scholarship - have to fund my entire MBA and would mean a 5-8 year payback period
Alum network in India and in healthcare industry is not as strong as Fuqua, clearly

Anderson:
Pros:
Scholarship $$$$! This was unexpected and has made me re-think my priorities. Ability to come back to India in fewer years and possibly with savings!
Location, Location! Near SFO, can meet wife more often that I want

Very strong regional school for West Coast recruitment.
UCLA is a very well known brand!
Hope to see a more diverse crowd in terms of industries - Tech, Media etc + Los Angeles (:D)

Cons:
Not a preferred recruitment schools for top consulting firms (MBB, etc)
Fewer alums in Healthcare sector
Feweralums in India/Asia that I know of
Weaker healthcare concentration compared to Fuqua/Ross

==========
Had UCLA given lesser $ the decision would have been easier, I would have gone for Ross/Fuqua. Conversely, had Ross/Fuqua given me higher $, I would have gone for one of those. People I've spoken to have mixed opinions. Clearly, Fuqua and Ross are the prominent choices from a long term career perspective for me, and people say $$$$ is easy to make up for in a career. I am confused as the pros and cons for Anderson are all very strong!

What do you guys think?

Very strong regional school for West Coast recruitment. UCLA is a very well known brand! Hope to see a more diverse crowd in terms of industries - Tech, Media etc + Los Angeles (:D) Cons: Not a preferred recruitment schools for top consulting firms (MBB, etc) Fewer alums in Healthcare sector Feweralums in India/Asia that I know of Weaker healthcare concentration compared to Fuqua/Ross ========== Had UCLA given lesser $ the decision would have been easier, I would have gone for Ross/Fuqua. Conversely, had Ross/Fuqua given me higher $, I would have gone for one of those. People I've spoken to have mixed opinions. Clearly, Fuqua and Ross are the prominent choices from a long term career perspective for me, and people say $$$$ is easy to make up for in a career. I am confused as the pros and cons for Anderson are all very strong! What do you guys think?

Mo2men · Answer

Congarts for those great schools.

Can you negotiate with Duke or Ross? some students did it before and secured some money.

JackDaniels · Answer

I do not think there is a big difference in brand reputation in either school. $90k + seeing your SO often. I'd go for Anderson ...

integral · Answer

I'm still thinking about it

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Greekmythology · Answer

How much weaker is UCLA in healthcare? From an MBA as a whole I really don't think theres much of a difference between these 3. But for healthcare I've heard Fuqua is very good so you'd probably be better off talking to Duke and UCLA. I think Ross is definitely off the table. I would talk to people at Anderson and see what their thoughts are and if Anderson can get you there and how many people succeed in getting healthcare positions that you want.

It would be hard to not take UCLA unless UCLa cant get you to where you want to go, which seems hard to believe. Have you tried negotiating with Fuqua?

Also I'm from southern california and being in that 70 degree weather for 2 years on UCLA's gorgeous campus with incredible campus food and awesome sports teams would be hard to turn down . ( Cant speak for dukes campus since Ive never seen it)

Also all 3 of those schools will most likely place the majority of their students regionally. From UCLA you would either be in so cal or nor cal which would be great for your SO.

asimov · Answer

Fuqua is a better match for what you want to do. However, $90K is substantial amount of money. You should talk to the other two schools to see if they can help out financially. You should also factor in high cost of living in LA, the difference is more like $50K ($25K/year) vs. the other two schools.

drivechipputt · Answer

I'm pretty unbiased in this thread (which I can't always say), but if it were me, I would be leaning heavily toward Anderson. Brand equity of all programs is similar; they're all grouped into the non-M7 top tier. What i will say is that for consulting it is far easier to recruit in a local market than to try to go cross-country. I'm at a major HC consulting firm that sources nearly all new hires from Anderson and Haas in the west coast offices, with some one-offs from Fuqua, UNC, and Penn. I say take the money, get a great place by the beach in Santa Monica, and enjoy the next two years.

integral · Answer

So a few more things:
1. I am now debating between Fuqua and Anderson (Ross is out)
2. Fuqua has offered a small amount $ (around 1/5th of the Anderson amount)
3. Anderson ranking in FT2016 has dropped by ten points (should I worry?)

Mo2men · Answer

You should not woory about FT ranking for 2 reasons:

1- Anderson is still in the best 100 scholl worlwide.

2- Because FT consider non-USA school, clearly UCLA will pushed down or some other USa school as sure there are great schools outisde the USA. But do not pay a lot of attention to rankings.

Going to Anderson will make you save money for long term and will stabilize you family life. However, you need to work hard to network and get job offers.

good luck

integral · Answer

Thanks everyone. I have decided to take the fellowship and enroll at UCLA!

gmatBoy123456 · Answer

Hi, I am in a similar fix. I got Anderson with $$$. Reject at Haas Interview. I am confused about joining or apply at Kellogg or re-apply Haas next year.
My goals are tech PM short-term (Microsoft and tech entrepreneurship in long term). May I ask from you how your path in UCLA and afterwards has been?

Fuqua vs Ross vs Anderson ( with $$$ )

Fuqua vs Ross vs Anderson ( $$$ )

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