JugsonVolkov
Hi guys!
I'm in a bit of a struggle here. Got accepted both from Booth and Stanford, and Booth offers me $50K. (Atlhough not official, should be eligible for a little bit of need-based scholarship)
A little bit of background:
- Electronic engineering undergrad, worked 4+ years in IT (Consultant and Project Manager)
- 1 year experience as Head of Marketing in a (really) small company
- Lately independent consultant on Data Analytics and getting into Big Data realms step by step
Post-grad goals:
- Work in the intersection of Marketing, IT and Data Science (either that be Product Manager with a strong focus on the Analytics and Quantitative realms, or Data Scientist serving the Marketing Area of a company)
- Potentially work for B2C data-intensive companies (think Google/Amazon/Walmart)
Considering as an option even applying for a dual degree (Computer Science, could be at UChicago or Stanford Engineering).
Haven't visited the universities yet, but my struggle comes from this:
BOOTH: Although probably best in academics and quants, worries me that Booth is not as renowned as Stanford, in particular when it comes to companies that are in IT fields. Also, UChicago may be even less renowned than Stanford Engineering (in case I apply and enter a dual degree program).
STANFORD: Although best in rankings, curriculum is not as flexible (and may lead me into getting a typical position rather than the one I'm looking for) and also I've always got the feeling of people there more focused on entrepreneurship, and maybe that could be a downside both in classes, recruiting, and what not.
Any advice? Either on which school to go or on how to approach my decision? Any comment will be more than welcome, for I'm struggling horribly with this!
If you want to access the Silicon valley like no other school can, Stanford wins hands down. Although the roles you are looking for , you need to have prior experience in related fields. The recruiters that you have mentioned hire from top 20 schools , so it should not be difficult for you to get into one of these companies.