Just got offers from all schools I applied, all admitted, and all with some kind of scholarships. I am very grateful for the results, especially considering that I applied to all schools in R2 or R3, and with very limited time for preparation (BABY ON BOARD!). My background is environmental and quality assurance (certification business) with focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency. My post-MBA goal is to join top consulting firm’s sustainability consulting team and long term is to start my own consulting firm focusing on social and environmental sustainability, offering services towards governments, public and private sectors internationally. I have only chosen 4 schools in DC/MD area mainly because of my family and my newborn baby; I used to have the dream of going to top 10 business school, but that dream was gradually replaced by my daughter’s smiley face :D. Since then I have decided the location of my school. Of course, DC is also the strongest area for federal consulting. Most importantly, the schools I applied all have very well designed full-time MBA programs, and the people I have met so far are all extremely friendly and professional, at least those I had contact during my on-campus visits, information sessions, class visits, online chats, current students talks, alumni talks, and the admissions committee interviews. All that being said, I still need some advice from all the experts and experienced MBAs, since I am an international applicant and has never studied in the US before (I studied in Asia and Europe), and do not really get the methodology behind all the rankings, as they appear to be not always consistent from one another. I know if only by looking at their rankings, it should be an easy decision to go for McD (even Smith (No. 24) was ranked once higher than McD (No.30) by BusinessWeek2012), but I still have the following questions to be answered: 1. McD is almost always ranked 5-10 positions higher than Smith and 30-70 higher than the other two programs, but in terms of consulting in environmental / sustainability fields, is it still so much better than all other schools (Smith, GWU and Kogod) and can justify the $110k tuition? 2. Considering the top location of GW (surrounded by IMF and WB, only few blocks away from the White house), and ranked consistently around 50-60, is its geographical advantage surpasses Smith in any way? 3. Kogod is a very sweet small program focusing highly on consulting, only 35-40 people per annual intake, in comparison to other’s 100 -200 intakes per year, it looks very beneficial from the career office support point of view, but is small always better? 4. I believe job placements are more based on your own efforts, motivation and determination, but I was always curious about the average salary published by different schools (in general) even they have very similar employers, does it indicate that with a different school name, you will have a different salary offer even when you take the same job as the other? I am still researching and gathering information now, and may post further updates just for those who are also interested in schools between top 20 and 100. Thank you all so very much in advance for your feedback, and I will be very appreciative to any comments and suggestions you want to give me. In case you don’t want to publish your advice, please feel free to send me PM any time.

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McDonough $5k vs. Smith $95k vs. GWU $90k vs. Kogod $73k

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McDonough vs Smith vs GWU vs Kogod

McDonough $5k scholarishp (4.5%tuition)

42% [9]

Smith $95k scholarship (100%tuition)

47% [10]

GWU $90k scholarship (100%tuition)

9% [2]

Kogod $73k scholarship (100% tuition)

0% [0]

Total votes : 21

dcMBA2014

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03 Apr 2014, 12:04

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webster11

mgh234

Since you have a baby on board, I think honestly it comes down to whether you think you'll want to "lean in" or "lean out" of your career in 5-10 years (as the Yahoo CEO would say). If you plan to do to competitive jobs with longer hours, Georgetown is the best bet. If you think you'll want a 9-5 so you have more time at home, going to a school with a full scholarship covered is the best bet. Georgetown is by far the best choice for your career, and will more than make up the $110k difference....but you don't want to be in a situation in which you want to slow down, but can't, because of the high debt load.

While I agree that Georgetown is the highest rated and most respected school in the group, it looks like Smith isn't too far behind. To me that 110k seems like a lot to give up for a program that only seems slightly better.

Thanks for your comment, webster11! One part of me is telling me exactly what you just said and another part is quoting mgh234! :D Really nice to see supports from both sides and for both schools, so I guess eventually whichever school I choose, I won't waste my 2 years just regretting, only now I am having this nice yet difficult blank to fill.

This is such a debate inside my head now, and I think I should just relax a little, go to both schools' welcome weekends and finally decide before the deposit expires in 4 weeks.

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03 Apr 2014, 12:13

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Another article got me thinking about what a perfect fit is.

" Can M.B.A. Students Afford to Wait for That Perfect Job?
Prospective Graduates Take a Wait-And-See Approach to Employment Search "

Full article see here:

https://m.us.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424 ... b&mobile=y

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03 Apr 2014, 18:35

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Congratulations and thank you for this post! I'm in the same boat with these 3 schools and trying to make this difficult decision.

For me the scholarships are a huge consideration, but the career placement at GU is a unique factor. I am a career switcher looking to move away from commercial real estate and break into an automotive firm (in project finance/general management) and GU is the only school in the bunch with a proven track record of placement in the industry. Although the prospect of coming out of the program with little to no debt is amazing, accepting scholarships at the other schools would mean foregoing those networks that are already in place at GU.

I went to GW's admitted students weekend last Saturday, and I will be at the McDonough admitted students weekend this Saturday. I visited Smith last Friday as well to get a feel for the program. If all goes well this weekend I hope to be able to finalize my decision.

If you want to talk further about this (amazing, but) tough choice, I would be happy to meet up on Saturday with willettl and dcMBA2014, just PM me.
Congrats again and good luck choosing!

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01 Sep 2014, 09:36

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Update on the decision:

After a long time thinking process, I have decided to go with Smith! I don't want to write down the lengthy thinking process on how I eventually made my choice, as at the moment I can only feel the absolute engagement and overwhelmingly pumped energy from every perspective I have encountered so far.

So, to make the story short, I am diving into it now and trying to enjoy every moment of my time at Smith, and will update periodically about my experiences here.

Enjoy your time, too!

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01 Sep 2014, 19:18

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dcMBA2014

Enjoy your time, too!

Thank you for the update! Fully support your decision and wishing you the best of luck!
Good Luck. Take it seriously and do the right thing.

Keep us posted!

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