Notre Dame (full ride) or Olin ($$$) for a financial services role!!!

Question

Before I get into the main topic, I would like to state that a scholarship is very important for me and hence it makes this decision very difficult. I have a full tuition fellowship from Notre Dame and a $75k scholarship from Olin. Since there is so little to differentiate between these 2 schools, should I base my decision on who offers me a higher scholarship? Both the schools have their pros and cons and ideally I would have liked to see the cultural fit with each school. Unfortunately I am from India and hence, it will not be possible for me to travel to US just to attend the Admission events.

I am working in a commercial bank and hence, I wish to get into Corporate Finance or a general Financial services firm. Again, both Olin and ND have a fairly strong Finance program. And the international students, I heard, face the same problems in both schools- a plethora of opportunities but few finance companies willing to sponsor the Visa. I have a week to come up with the decision and it is getting complicated with each passing day. Any insight or perspective will be appreciated.

PS: I have paid the first deposit of $1000 at ND and the second deposit of $1000 is due. Olin has a deposit of $1500 which I haven't paid yet.

bkhu · Answer

i think you should go with notre dame because of the alumni network in financial services. plus you already paid the deposit and both schools are fairly equal in terms of education/opportunities.

SkinScout · Answer

Thank for replying. Yes I am thinking along the same lines, but $1000 isn't a big amount, so if I have to forego that amount to reach the right decision, it is all right. My concern is Notre Dame's location and its falling number of applicants. Despite the rise in rankings, somehow applicants haven't taken notice of the school.

KS15 · Answer

Congrats on your admits-I have a question. Any reason you could not get through Yale and Tepper? Your GMAT is superb. What according to you led to a ding from these 2 schools?

SkinScout · Answer

My work experience is in the area of Microfinance and Retail Banking. I am not sure Tepper would want a candidate with such experience. I am WL there, though I don't think I will convert.
I was disappointed about Yale too since it does like to give an interview call to candidates with unique backgrounds especially if their work involves helping underprivileged families. My video interview was pretty ordinary and that could be the reason for the ding. The essay, in my opinion, was pretty good.

bkhu · Answer

i think notre dame will give you more opportunities. especially in the chicago area. also, i think that you should really hope to get off the waitlist at any of the schools that you were waitlisted for. that will give you a better shot at conversion into a career. imo.

SkinScout · Answer

Many students from Olin ultimately fin opportunities in Chicago as well. But I agree that ND being closer to Chicago, is better placed. But are you sure converting Cornell or Tepper without a scholarship is better than Notre Dame with full tuition? Cornell is good for finance I heard, but isn't Tepper more renowned for Consulting? With the ever changing Visa rules, I somehow get this feeling that for an international student, going for a huge scholarship is a better option than going for a higher ranked school by paying full tuition.

Mo2men · Answer

Congrats for acceptance and scholarship

Both schools are fairly close to each other from a ranking view. Both enjoy small class size. ND is smaller though. Despite difficulties for any international that exist in any school, the career service in Olin is doing great job while ND's alumni is great source of opportunities. In my opinion, if it concerns you, there is huge difference in the diversity of courses. Olin has wider electives to to study. ND is somehow limited compared to Olin. I do not know exactly but I think ND is cheaper than St Louis or maybe too close. Something interesting for some people is the balance among case method, lecture and experiential learning. I think you should contact current students to know more. How do you define the culture fit?

bkhu · Answer

its unfortunate, but getting an MBA is a lot about branding. and unfortunately the better ranked schools are the ones that have the better opportunities. that is why i say that you should hope to convert. getting into cornell will open you up to way better opportunities in the financial sector than the two schools you got into. and although money is a factor, if you get an IB job at any bulge bracket, you can pay off your tuition in a few years and continue to make more in the long run. that is why i didn't apply to schools outside top 20 knowing full well that many of them offer great scholarships to high gmat scorers.

also, say that you didn't get into finance, there are other industries that recruit heavily from cornell and tepper that don't necessarily recruit at notre dame or olin, or if they do, its not a main campus that they pull grads from. but ya, i get what you mean. it sucks to pay for school. but you pay for the opportunities not for the education. =P

but yes, i still vote for notre dame for the alumni resources =P

SkinScout · Answer

Thanks for the perspective. I was also told that in Olin there is no defined GPA system whereas ND has one (however whether you disclose it to the recruiters is upto you). I don't know what a cultural fit is :lol:

. But most people usually say that if you unable to decide which school to go to, see whose culture you fit with. I guess you are supposed to get an understanding of the culture by talking to as many people from each school as possible. I had a look at the expenses and ND is slightly cheaper. OTOH, Olin does seem to have a slight edge over ND in the rankings.

SkinScout · Answer

I agree with you (with respect to Cornell). That is why I tried to write a good WL essay for Cornell. However, my uncle who did his executive MBA from Cornell said that the kind of burden a 120k loan puts on you is difficult to assess unless you actually go through that situation and he advocated going for the full tuition. He, nonetheless added, that Cornell's brand name can be utilized very well with some luck on your side. But given the changing visa regulations, it is much more safer not to carry the burden of a big loan because you can only pay it back quickly if you stay in US.

Notre Dame (full ride) or Olin ($$$) for a financial services role!!!

Notre Dame (full ride) or Olin ($75k)

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