Help - Darden vs McCombs ($$$) for consulting

Question

Good afternoon. I've been accepted to two great schools. McCombs offered me an in state tuition waiver plus a 10k per year scholarship, so the cost of tuition would be 23k per year. Darden would be full ticket price which I believe is around 54k per year. I'd likely be able to pay for Texas' tuition and living expenses out of pocket with the money I've saved up over the last 3 years. I'd be able to pay for most of Darden I think.

I come from a non-traditional background and my goal is to move into consulting. Obviously I'd like to work for m/b/b but I know how competitive it is and I'm open to other firms such as Deloitte and Booz if that doesn't pan out.

I feel like Darden has a leg up in consulting placement, and more a more national reputation. On the other hand, I'm open to living in various places, and Texas is up one of the places that I'd like to live. Austin would also be a fantastic place to spend the two years, Charlottesville would be fine too but Austin seemed awesome. Teaching styles are different, but I think I'd like either one. I like that they are both small programs. I really thought the Darden facilities were excellent, much nicer that McCombs rather stodgy building, I also like that Darden has the facilities set off and isolated just for the MBAs whereas McCombs shares the building with the huge undergrad school.

Last thing to consider is that I'm married. I'm sure Austin would offer many more job opportunities for my wife.

EscapeGoat · Answer

Career Goals = Darden
Personal Situation/Preference = McCombs

So it really depends on your priorities. I can vouch for Austin being a great town (don't know much about C-Ville), and I know the Texas network is pretty powerful within the state.

TonyMontana896 · Answer

Yeah I'm torn. I know m/b/b recruits at Texas but the offers seem sparse. I'm not sure how competitive the m/b/b jobs are at Darden.

CobraKai · Answer

Well, this might be the clincher. Does the wife have a preference?

TonyMontana896 · Answer

She'd be fine with either. Of course Austin would be better for her job wise, but her family lives on the east coast so she'd be within driving distance of her parents and others at Darden which she would like.

crackHSW · Answer

Mccombs would be mostly Oil and Gas consulting , whereas Darden would be more of general management consulting. Also Darden has a pretty heavy workload due to the case based teaching method. Location preferences and post MBA industry might help you to make the choice. Also both are top 20 schools , so you can't go wrong completely with any of these schools. Take money and post MBA job into consideration while making the decision. Hope this helps..

MacFauz · Answer

McCombs is a great school.. Plus the scholarship would look good on the resume and being free from debt part is also really enticing... And you can play the "I picked McCombs because Austin would provide better job ops for you and your happiness is what makes me happy" card..

No points for guessing which school I voted for.

AbhiJ · Answer

Dude you have a stellar GMAT score and you will kick ass even at Darden. So you have very good chance of getting your dream job from Darden. Money wont matter in 10 years time(all the more since you have savings). The only thing to consider is are you ready to battle it out at Darden(due to tougher curriculum and competition) or you would rather breeze through MBA courses. Its all about your commitment to MBA.

kasonhills · Answer

I might do Darden if the money isn't a huge factor

Help - Darden vs McCombs ($$$) for consulting

Darden vs McCombs ($$)

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