decisionsdecisons wrote:
Hello everyone,
I have been fortunate enough to gain admission to several different business schools. While there are others out there, it has really come down to these two schools. I have been offered the Dean's Fellowship at Kelley which includes full tuition and health insurance. I have also been offered 50% tuition at UVA Darden. The cost difference over the entirety of the MBA program would be roughly $72,000 more if I attended Darden.
My post-MBA goal is management consulting. Obviously, I would try to get into an MBB firm. I know that placement at these firms are far better at Darden, but that by no means guarantees a position at one of those firms if I attend UVA. Back-up goal is with a Deloitte/Accenture/PwC firm or a leadership development program at an industrial company.
I enjoyed both schools. For me, Bloomington and and Charlottesville would both be great places to spend two years. I was more attracted to Darden during my campus visits based on classroom environment, faculty, and caliber of student body.
Short-term post-MBA, location does not matter; I wouldn't mind some warmer weather. Long-term (~10 years out) I would like to be in the Midwest at an industrial company in a marketing/business development/strategy role.
Do you think the Dean's Fellowship at Kelley (both the tuition and the intangibles) outweigh the 50% scholarship at Darden given my career goals? Looking forward to hearing your opinions.
Are you international or domestic student? Have you found the 100% case method in Darden interesting to you? Both will give you opportunity in general. But Kelley does not have same MBB recruitment as Darden does. Kelley send students to Deloitte/Accenture/PwC or to 2nd tier firms, as director of consulting academy told me. If you target special industrial companies, it might be slightly different depending on the region. For example, Danaher recruits from Darden which runs some projects inside it. But it does recruit internationals.
I believe you won't go wrong either way. I totally agree with
bb on his last comment.