JohnnyBlaze wrote:
Wharton easily.
I just don't get this decision. OP is in his early 30s and deciding between a Tepper MBA and a Wharton eMBA.
It's a decision between being the oldest person at a T20 MBA program with low global brand recognition OR joining one of the best business schools in the world and having industry leading colleagues, but getting an eMBA. In a few years post-graduation, no one will even realize it's an eMBA vs an MBA. Has to be Wharton hands down. Also, if you want tech, W's SF campus is calling your name for networking.
Thank you for your response JohnnyBlaze! I agree with you, however, there's also other factors (from my perspective). The way I see it, this is a decision between:
- T20 vs HSW
- Low global brand recognition vs Massive global brand recognition
- Being one of the oldest vs being one of the youngest
- 100k vs 215k (and I have a feeling I might be able to negotiate more scholarship with Tepper if I leverage the EMBA admission, though I could of course be wrong)
- FT vs part-time
- Pittsburgh vs staying put (I prefer moving)
- Leave job vs stay in job
- Now vs 1 year from now
- Change careers vs stay in same career
- Have fun, take a break, have the full MBA experience vs part-time
- Have flexibility in electives vs a more structured curriculum
- Be able to take tech classes vs not being able to do so (though I understand it might not always be possible or desirable)
- Be in a tech-focused environment vs one that's not
- Better fit vs less fit
Etc, etc.
I understand that the Wharton EMBA is probably the logical choice, but I wonder if choosing Tepper instead would be totally insane. I wonder if anyone around here has ever made such a call. Graduating with as little debt as possible is important for me and if I'm going to spend that much money on a degree, I'd rather be able to have some fun, take any class that I want. Work vs no-work is dependent on the quality of my current company. Last year I was ok with doing part-time, this year things are different.
I'd have preferred to have on the plate something closer in ranking. Maybe Stern ($$) vs Wharton EMBA, or Kellogg vs Wharton EMBA. Alas this is not the current scenario... this is why I think of re-applying, although there's certainly no guarantee I could get into these other schools, or that I'd get money at them.
As a side-note, a friend of mine did the Columbia EMBA and loved it, he even took Python, C++, Databases and similar classes. Another friend took classes in Organizational Psychology. I've heard that Booth EMBA is also super international and includes trips and it's also a far friendlier environment, the Wharton EMBA one is very intense.
I understand a lot of people might not agree with my hesitations, and I agree that some of them seem petty. I wonder if I'm making a wrong move but not choosing Wharton and whether I should essentially force myself to go there, and get over some of these concerns. I understand it won't hurt me, it'll grow my career, but I'm also wary about spending close to quarter of a million dollars on something that might not necessarily feel as good over the two years that I'm there.