Help please: Wharton vs LBS
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29 Apr 2014, 14:25
Watching this board has been amazing over the last year, got some great advice and shared a lot of nerve-wracking waits. I need some help in making a very tough decision.
I've been very lucky to be accepted into both Wharton and LBS full-time programs. I've also been in the US for a very long time and I want to move back somewhere closer to home like Singapore/Hong Kong/Malaysia. Most of the folks I've talked to have advised consulting, to switch industries and get some international mobility, and frankly the idea is very appealing as I'm learning more about consulting. I've been to both campuses and I get the feeling that the peer group, academics and club choices are exceptional at both places. I have some key decision factors:
1) Due to some timing issues, joining LBS would let me collect a large six-figure bonus from work before starting school. Would miss out on the bonus by joining Wharton. Haven't got financial aid so far, so the bonus would really help with the MBA cost, worried that this would take a long time to recoup after the MBA.
2) LBS campus felt really tiny compared to Wharton, though London felt really huge compared to the Rittenhouse Square area of Philly.
3) Wharton's class size seems scary, feels like I would have so much competition for anything I want to do. LBS class size seems more manageable and the atmosphere a little less intense.
4) Wharton clearly has a much bigger alumni base, LBS is very international, but I'm just not sure how either factor is going to be useful 10-15 years down the line in places like Singapore/HK/Malaysia.
Would love some opinions here, especially from anyone already in one of these programs or any alumni in my eventual destination. Thank you so much !