I believe the PT cohort are not allowed to participate in on campus recruitment (i.e. where the interviews are held at NYU's building). I believe there are several other premium jobs for which the PT cohort cannot apply.
The reason I say I "believe" is that I'm hearing this from the full time cohort - so they maybe painting a rosier than real picture
There have been some rumblings and concerns about the Stern's large PT program population.
A PT program is usually easier to get into and a large PT program is even easier to get into, and that has an effect on Quality of Candidates as well as exclusivity of the alumni group, and also has an effect on the public perception of the Stern degree.
MBB recruiting on campus is important as that is the best and easiest way to get in. It does not mean you will or the fact that BCG has 10 slots to fill out of 500 students helps anyone. You will have stiff competition for those slots among your classmates and chances of getting these positions are usually slim. I am not sure the odds are worth 150K
At the same time, I would not worry about finding your social circle - you will find it. Schools have very diverse student bodies and there are many circles, layers, groups, etc that you will be able to feel comfortable in. The fact that you did not run into anyone who you connected with at Admit weekend or during a school visit means almost nothing, really. Many people here acknowledged it and gave plenty of reasons why meeting a bunch of MBA candidates who are trying to impress is not how your experience will be 2 weeks into the program. It will calm down a lot and you will connect with some super impressive people how may have appeared as jerks at first but really are just a bit insecure and could be your life-long friends.
One other aspect, is that some of the best jobs are networked. You get the best chances to get in and the best options if you leverage your network, even better than BCG coming to campus. Can you leverage your NYC network from Johnson? Would you be able to tap it much more if you are in the city? (Johnson has recruiting trips that do go to NYC). I would argue that with both Stern and Johnson you will be tapping that network for internship and job search to gain an edge.