USAFinDenver wrote:
That’s all great advice mentioned above, and it sounds like you have a particularly difficult choice depending on the scholarship percentage because they’re all top-30’ish schools in TX (i.e., you are getting close to splitting hairs between the schools). Even though it’s a small program/city, I also wonder why more people on here don’t consider A&M’s Mays program if they want to stay in TX. By applying to those 3 programs, though, you’ve obviously thought through the relevance of geographic placement on networking efficacy.
I’ve wondered myself about the long-term effect of MBA choice because I’ve heard a lot of people say the name virtually disappears on a résumé after your initial job placement. However, here are some considerations:
- Which alumni base would you most want to be associated w/ based on their future mgmt. potential? Those people will carry more weight within their companies if you need to call them for a foot-in-the-door connection.
- Which school has the most alumni at the consulting companies you’re looking at? The greater the number, the greater likelihood you will know one of them or be able to reach out to one of them (other than LinkedIn, I know McCombs maintains the McCombs TODAY site where alumni post internships/jobs to a board). Moreover, the student bodies at both Cox and Jones are half the size of McCombs, and that will likely equate to less people at those companies.
- Which school will have you the most energized to attend, represent, and later visit? Your love for the school will play a factor in keeping you engaged w/ students and alumni via career fairs, tailgating sessions, alumni clubs, etc. I get a lot of UM grads stopping by my office because they see my memorabilia, or they stop me to chat in the airport/store w/ a “Go Blue” if I’m wearing a shirt. I definitely get that vibe w/ the “Hook ‘em” mantra.
- If you decide to leave the state, which school will be the most respected by potential employers? It may not mean much after initial placement, but it could be a tie-breaker.
- Consulting companies carry a precedent of hiring from the top MBA programs. Do you feel any of your co-workers would implicitly cast doubt on your potential by which school you attended? Yes, this is ignorantly shallow, but is sometimes reality.
As far as long-term earnings potential, Businessweek keeps stats on avg. graduate consultant salaries 5-10 yrs. post-graduation, as well as 10-20 yrs. post-graduation (feel free to apply the obligatory correlation ≠ causation argument here): Cox ($83K; $126K), Jones ($91K; no 10-20 yr. data), and McCombs ($105K; $123K).
Hope this helps.
Posted from my mobile device
Good post, and I agree with nearly all of it. I'd only add a little grain of salt to the BW salary numbers, because they don't control for the individual inputs, location of employment, or employer - the biggest problem being the first. Obviously, since McCombs is harder to get into, it's going to have relatively more accomplished and brighter individuals. That's why I mentioned that so long as you can land the interview, then you're on equal footing.