B-school's battle royale: Where will the GMATClub superstar nervousgmat go? ps, nervous, I hope I mentioned your current offers correctly.

With 0 admits in the bag here one cant help but wonder with a mix of admiration and jealousy that have resulted in a incredible 5 admits with scholarships at top schools.

I'd say go to GSB or Kellogg, we need our queen at "THE HUB" If I can recall correctly, she wants GM and Finance, right? If so, I don't even need to answer where to go...

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branson

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27 Mar 2008, 01:39

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All you Chicago GSBers:

Already armed to the teeth for your daily commute to business school? What are prices for bullet-proof vests these days?

(dodging and running)

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27 Mar 2008, 01:43

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branson

All you Chicago GSBers:

Already armed to the teeth for your daily commute to business school? What are prices for bullet-proof vests these days?

(dodging and running)

I am bringing my Remington 870 with me :twisted:

branson

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27 Mar 2008, 01:48

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Helg, I guess Ross is now removed from your top spot?

Did you get a scholarship at GSB?

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27 Mar 2008, 01:51

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Kellogg all the way, baby!!!!!!

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27 Mar 2008, 01:55

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branson

Helg, I guess Ross is now removed from your top spot?

Did you get a scholarship at GSB?

Although I am leaning towards the GSB, I like to keep my options open

Maybe, I should start another poll? :lol:

No $$$ from the GSB yet

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27 Mar 2008, 02:24

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I have a soft corner for GSB - stockholm syndrome perhaps.

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27 Mar 2008, 02:58

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I'd say go to GSB or Kellogg, we need our queen at "THE HUB" :lol:

If I can recall correctly, she wants GM and Finance, right?

If so, I don't even need to answer where to go...

riverripper

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27 Mar 2008, 03:10

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A completely unbiased answer...since she wants marketing so I say Kellogg.

I would have told her GSB if she wanted to return to finance but obviously Kellogg is THE #1 marketing school and there really is no debate there.

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27 Mar 2008, 07:07

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mNeo,

I can't believe you started this thread for me. I would have probably done the same in a few days, so your initiative is very much appreciated!!!

So here is a little background that I think is helpful in evaluating the options presented above.
I have been in Finance for almost 5 years now. Did a little of tax and human capital work at a Big 4 consulting firm, worked as an equity research analyst at an asset management firm, then as an Expense Management Analyst at the Insurance company, and finally, as an AVP in FP&A group at a large bank. After trying a little bit of everything in Finance, I concluded that it wasn't for me and that I could apply my creative mind to something more fun (no offense, finance geniuses :-)

).

I decided to switch careers and distance myself from the Financial Services industry as much as possible. I think I will be great either at Marketing (read brand management) or General Management (a rotational leadership program of some sort that would allow me to choose a function that suits my skills/needs best). Ideally I would like to end up in a CPG, manufacturing or retail company.

Since I will not be making lots of dough, I mean, let's face it, I won't be an i-banker or a consultant, I am wary about taking on a lot of debt. My starting salary will be in $90-$100K range which is not enough to pay off my debt in a couple of years. I estimate that if I want to live comfortably, it will take me 6-10 years to pay off the debt coming out of Kellogg or Chicago GSB.

I am also curious how much difference a school brand makes in GM and Marketing. I can see the argument to go to the best school you can get into for i-banking or PE/VC or consulting jobs because the most sought after big name companies tend to recruit 80% of their incoming class from the top schools. I am not so sure about GM and Marketing though. After all, these are not the "hottest" career paths that top school talent is fighting for. For example, is there really such a big difference between Duke and Kellogg for Marketing and GM? I don't know. From what I can tell by looking at the employment reports, P&G, J&J, Kraft and other big name CPGs recruit from both places in big numbers. But I might get an advantage of a smaller size/less competition for marketing jobs at Duke and graduate with debt I will pay off in 3 years.

I told my manager yesterday that I would leave in June for b-school. After having a half-hour conversation about the options I have and my future career goals, she told me that at the end of the day, a school brand would help me find my first or second job but 4 years down the road it won’t matter that much. I tend to agree with her.

So that’s where I stand now. Your insight / opinion is greatly valued and appreciated.

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27 Mar 2008, 07:13

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Your final point is very true nervous - I have heard it expressed in many ways. The most salient, I thought, was "anyone who chooses to tell you where they did their MBA (and that they have one) four years after taking it is a douchebag".

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27 Mar 2008, 07:20

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Jeepers nervous, that's one impressive list! :shock:

Based on the comments you just made above, it seems like you're leaning toward Fuqua. With your background (AVP!? Wow!) and interests (General Management/Marketing), I would think you'd have great options coming out of Duke. And the money Fuqua's providing would certainly be a big help as well.

So I'd go with Fuqua. Just my $0.02, of course. :-D

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27 Mar 2008, 07:32

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But isnt the different between GSB and Fuqua = $11k per year? or Fuqua and Kellogg = $13k per year? So you are talking about a ~$25k difference. I do agree that is a good bit of money and that the cost of living in Chicago is more but ...still...

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27 Mar 2008, 09:11

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nervous, glad I could be of service to the GMATClub queen (as kwam puts it)

I agree with dosa that although you can't go wrong with any of those options, do consider that the difference is only ~$25K over 2 years .. which isn't tiny .. but isn't too big either. We can't understand your career goals and your professional / financial background to a great degree .. so it is tough to recommend you anything (That's why I kept this as a guessing-poll .. not a recommendation poll), but I'd suggest that you keep financial considerations as only "one" of the selection criteria .. nothing more.

ps. All the best .. you've made us proud!

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27 Mar 2008, 10:30

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I've worshipped nervous for a while now, so it's very fitting that she's our queen.

I do like the comment that four years out, your school name really doesn't matter anymore. Makes the decisions less stressful.

I would pick Chicago, since it's a great program with a good scholarship and also decent at marketing (less competition), though I don't know i the culture there fits what nervous is looking for. Though with rhyme, mNeo, kwam, and others there, how can she go wrong?

Otherwise, Kellogg or Duke will get nervous to where she wants to go.

my two cents.

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27 Mar 2008, 11:54

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Wow nervous! You have an amazing selection of schools to choose from. Congratulations for being in this great position.

To me, the race is between Kellogg and Duke, given your goals. The tuition at both Kellogg and Duke is almost the same($44k approx). Apart from tuition, Kellogg costs nearly $23 a year and Duke costs $7000(includes insurance)+rent+living expenses. Overall, the costs are virtually identical.So, from the money POV, Duke comes out on top since the scholarships make it cheaper by $26K over the course of 2 years.

$26K is a lot of money. But personally, it is not significant enough to stop me from going to arguably the best marketing/brand management school in the world.

So, I vote for KELLOGG.

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27 Mar 2008, 12:01

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I voted Kellogg.

4 years out of bschool, the school may not mean much, but it will determine your first job, which in turn affects your next one and the one after that. The preceding jobs are all building blocks to increase your marketability for the next.

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27 Mar 2008, 14:04

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Alright I will go beyond my original post and explain my reasoning more since I am not really a rankings guy but I responded at 6am as I was rushing out the door...so this is my take. Only nervous knows where she "fits" better so I wont say anything about culture/community. I may be over analyzing all this stuff but thats just me. I would ignore cost since GSB w/ 15 and K with 13 is pretty much a wash in cost. Duke is going to be the cheapest but most folks I have talked to paid off school within 5 years. You may start at 100k with 20k in bonuses but dont forget you go up from there and in 5 years you could easily be making double that.

Obviously GSB and Kellogg at the two best "brands" to choose from. No one will argue that Kellogg is the #1 Marketing school but Chicago is a great name so would give plenty of opportunities there. However, beyond just its standing in the marketing world I think one thing your finance background could work against you at GSB in a way. Everyone knows that GSB is an incredible finance so, with a finance background at the school, I would worry that marketing companies could think that either you did not have success in banking recruiting (since marketing recruits after banks)...no one likes to feel like a back-up plan. I met a few students at DAK who joked the took Marketing internships just because they wanted to test something different out before returning to banking or they didnt get an internship at one of the top MC cos. A company at GSB might look at your background and the fact you are at a "finance" school and arent all that serious about marketing (obviously class selections can overcome that but not sure how many electives you can take before recruiting.

As for the thought about less competition for jobs I dont think that is much of a deal. There are going to be former marketing people that either didnt get into Kellogg, got scholarships, thought they might want IB, or just preferred GSB. So you will still face competition.

I would say for marketing that your choice really is between Duke and Kellogg. Duke is a great marketing school and many of the same companies recruit at both schools. However, Duke's employment stats would give me pause, looking at the % employed is not close to Kellogg. Also remember you may get hired by the same company but you wont necessarily make the same pay. It stands to reason that Kelloggs standing in the marketing world would give you more leverage in compensation negotiations.

It is true that the brand on your resume only is important for your first few jobs in many ways but the network you develop during school will also play a roll throughout your entire career. I think that in the marketing area, Kellogg's network is unparalleled. And for the first few jobs you have the brand will draw a little more attention in the pile. If two people apply for the exact same marketing job and all things are equal except the MBA program they went to, personally I would rather have Kellogg on my resume than Duke.

All your programs are excellent and you will go far in life no matter where you go. Consider all the angles and then just do what you think is right for you. Try not to let too many outside opinions on the quality of the schools sway you because we all bring our biases with us, and in reality they are all great schools.

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