Georgetown - McDonough (2013) - Calling all applicants

Ouch, I knew they had low yield but that's really low! McDonough seems to be like a catch-all safety school in the NE/Mid-Atlantic region because of their name and location. I met only a few people whose first choice was Georgetown, they seem to mainly sweep up those who slip between the cracks at the likes of Fuqua, Ross and Darden.

That is pretty low. What is the yield rate at its peer schools?

Businessweek shows 41% at Marshall and 51% at Owen... Kelley, Kenan-Flagler and McCombs are all in the 40s as well.

Vanderbilt and Indiana are smaller schools and the number of applicants are fewer as well. McCombs, UNC, Marshall and McDonough are very comparable with their class sizes and the number of applicants. Since they're all in the same ball park ranking wise, cost of attending might be a factor. UNC n McCombs are cheaper to attend(both tuition and living). Other than that the lower yield is surprising to me because all 4 schools are very strong regionally, have very similar recruitment stats and solid alumni networks. (I guess there's more top 16 schools in the N.E than anywhere else so Georgetown probably loses a bulk of its admits to them)

Does anybody know of any tangible reasons besides the somewhat low rankings that suggest any problems with the program? From all other aspects (job figures, recruitment by top firms, location, program offerings, brand, connections,etc.), Georgetown seems like a solid program. I just want to know if anybody can point to any more any real issues they've heard about the program.

I've been hesitant about GTown primarily because of the less than stellar rankings, but I'm starting to suspect these things like low yield rate are just a result of people being self-conscious about not going to a top 15 school.

I'm on the wait-list for Michigan, but I'm starting to lean towards Georgetown regardless. Looking at the job figures, Georgetown has a 92% job offer rate 3 months out vs. 85% at Michigan with pretty similar salaries from top firms. I assume that Michigan grads can land jobs on the West Coast more easily b/c of a wider alum network, but besides that, I think living and D.C. and having access to the Georgetown network beat it in several ways. I met some 2nd year Gtown students recently who already had jobs at top consulting and C&R firms and they had great things to say about the program. Am I completely wrong about this or are the somewhat low rankings just a self-perpetuating phenomenon that don't have any real effect on the business school experience?

Knowledgestick:

From all the research I've done, I believe top 15 schools are looked better at than Georgetown. People at GTown have to chase recruiters down to get interviews. However, all of the people I know at Gtown have managed to get good internships. They are really happy with the program. Its location makes it easy to get the interview you want. Also, Gtown has a new dean in town. He is set on having Gtown climb through the rankings. The students and faculty are raving about it. He has improved the alumni network, making it easier to contact Gtown alumni with good positions at your target companies. Or you can contact Bill Clinton to tell him about this really funny joke you just heard.

I just got dinged from Stern. Still waiting to hear from Columbia Business School, but it is a big stretch. I am really excited about Georgetown though. I hope I get good news on March 15th.

I think this hits the nail on the head. McDonough doesn't have a big name in the business world right now but they have new facilities and a new curriculum which everyone is very excited about. The location is fantastic (in the heart of DC but not truly urban like NYU or GWU) and with a brand like Georgetown, they have the potential to break into the top 20 or 15 in the future. It's a good time to be applying to McDonough... I can foresee it only getting more competitive in the future as their new school direction gains traction.

Yea spot on. Everyone I talk to there raves about the school and the career services, but I've also heard that it can be tough to get into the top of the top firms in some industries. In consulting for instance, I have a friend who is a 2Y there who wanted McKinsey, but had a tough time getting attention from recruiters, while by comparison McKinsey hires 40-50 students from the Columbias and Kelloggs of the world each year. Nonetheless this friend ended up with a sweet gig at Deloitte, probably for more money than he would make at McKinsey, which speaks to the strength of the program.

Thanks everyone for the responses. What you say makes sense. Seems like Georgetown will lead me to any door, but maybe I have to nudge it a bit on my own to get it to open. I'm feeling more and more positive about the program and will probably be there in the fall. Thanks!

In my research, the program is very solid by all accounts -- everything from the professors to the students down to the building facilities have all been commented on favorably. As someone who lives in DC, the only knock I've heard is that you stand the risk of getting labeled as a "beltway guy," meaning that people will stereotype you as being primarily interested in poli-sci/gov oriented work. This isn't so much the school's fault as it is the stigma of the city. As you can imagine, DC is not a huge hub for private industry (beyond government-specific consulting). Thus, if you are looking for jobs in finance, marketing, or non-government consulting, you will need to work a bit harder in the recruiting process, particularly if you are looking to work outside of the DMV area.

1 more week left! Hope it goes by fast!

What's consulting recruiting like at MSB? MBB will be tough, but what about firms like Deloitte? Do you have to network like crazy, are there only a few spots for MSB students?

Deloitte seems to swallow up Fuqua students, dunno about other schools.

Yea spot on. Everyone I talk to there raves about the school and the career services, but I've also heard that it can be tough to get into the top of the top firms in some industries. In consulting for instance, I have a friend who is a 2Y there who wanted McKinsey, but had a tough time getting attention from recruiters, while by comparison McKinsey hires 40-50 students from the Columbias and Kelloggs of the world each year. Nonetheless this friend ended up with a sweet gig at Deloitte, probably for more money than he would make at McKinsey, which speaks to the strength of the program.[/quote]


What's consulting recruiting like at MSB? MBB will be tough, but what about firms like Deloitte? Do you have to network like crazy, are there only a few spots for MSB students?

Deloitte seems to swallow up Fuqua students, dunno about other schools.[/quote]

I don't know about recruiting, but here's a copy of the employment profile I found. It doesn't go into detail about the number of hires, but has some overall consulting numbers and companies.

I believe Georgetown is a big feeder for Deloitte's Federal Consulting department. Makes sense given the location. Lucrative field too and very cool if you're interested in the public sector (unfortunately I'm not haha).

Me either. Thats why I'd like a little more information. Some of the firms and companies in the employment report are so large that the roles might be different than what grads from other schools might be in. I know a few MSB grads go into IB (lets say Citi). Will these MSB folks working at Citi IBD have the same roles/positions/projects/responsibilities as the Sloan, Darden, and Yale guys?

I'm a current 1Y student at MSB and wanted to briefly respond to some of the career related comments above.

While I'm well aware of students with MBB offers (full time and intern), it is not a walk in the park nailing them down. Big 4 consulting certainly has a huge presence on campus (where I came from pre MSB) but MBB roles are the end goal for most aspiring consultants at top business schools. In terms of this track, in my personal opinion, Georgetown can get you to the most prestigious gig but we are playing catch up to some of the higher ranked schools. BCG, in particular, has increased their presence over the past few years and I'm definitely intrigued to see how that trend continues.

On the flip side, I think Georgetown is the hidden gem of the IB world (if you consider them "hidden"). I'm 3/4 through my first year here and I'm absolutely astonished by the recruiting results in IB. To my knowledge roughly 22 students have IB offers for the summer (yes, the same offers held by the CBS, Stern and Wharton folks) with many holding multiple offers. Even more impressive, only approx 25 students actually went hard after those IB positions (I'm in the finance club and some members would argue that only 22 really went the whole 9 yards of the IB recruitment/courtship process). I honestly don't think there are many better options then Georgetown if IB is what you aim for. If you want it..you will get it. Now sadly I can't say the same for PE/VC.....very few placements a year.

Personally, I'll be spending my summer at a BB bank working in their investment management division (3 offers from BB banks). I took part in IB, trading and IM recruiting and wanted to point out who my (and fellow students) competition was for these internships. Whether making the trek to NYC for informational interviews or company presentations/office visits, I kept running into the same 5-10 schools along the way. For the most part, we go head to head with Cornell, NYU, Yale, PENN, CBS, UVA with a decent showing from the likes of MICH, UCLA, CMU and UNC here and there. IB wasn't for me so I bucked the trend and went my route.

For the sake of brevity, I'll end this response and opine that MSB has surpassed my expectations on many levels (career, facilities, quality students etc.). There are many great schools out there and some applicants are concerned that Georgetown hovers anywhere from 18-30 in various rankings. I certainly feel we are at least a top 20 program and I think any applicant that visits the school, see's our new facility and reads about the visions of our new Dean will quickly feel the same.

MSB or McCombs:

**really looking forward to any current students responses**

My goal is to land a top consulting or i-banking job. I know they are two different paths, but my goal is to see a lot of companies post-graduation. I think I-banking is more that route - but I am an attorney, so I think consulting firms might be attracted to that. I know that here in Texas - that one or two years of consulting or i-banking in NYC opens up every job in the world in Texas finance. thoughts?