Poll: McDonough (No scholarship) vs Maryland R.H Smith ($$)

Thank you so much, BB. First of all, I would like to mention my background as well as the suggestions I was given by the Alumni of both the schools and several other T15 schools.

1. I worked as a Product Manager for 6 Years at an Indian startup and I would like to pursue my MBA and move into Product roles at F500 companies like Amazon and Google, in the US.

2. In terms of funding my education, I was planning on taking a student loan from Prodigy finance to cover 80% COA at both McDonough and Smith. I agree with you on the funding I've received from Smith. The additional perks I'll be getting at Smith will make an MBA basically free for me.

3. However, I was suggested by many Alumni that recruiting in the US is all about networking and that at McDonough, I'll have a greater chance to network for my job, given the large Alumni base and brand recognition McDonough has all over the US. On the other hand, Smith has a very small alumni network and lower brand recognition when compared to McDonough. (Both these colleges are in the DMV area, where most of the recruitment is with federal businesses, and as an international student I'll have to look for avenues outside DMV area)

4. McDonough is rumored to have a STEM program by the end of the year (I was told that the STEM application is in its final stage) and Smith is offering me a STEM certification with the Business Analytics Dual Degree.

5. Finally, I read that 60% of Smith's class find jobs within 1 month of graduation and that only 80% were able to find jobs within 3 months (not to mention the dearth in on-campus recruitment). On the other hand, 95% of McDonough class are able to land a job within 1 month and 98% within the next 3 months.

All these factors have confused me whether to take a safer route by going with Smith or invest in a better program like McDonough. Also, I am confused about several things for which I hope you would help me find a solution:

1. How important is brand value in the recruiting process?
2. How much value/network does Smith have in Tech industry?
3. Is it worth to invest $200,000 for an MBA from McDonough? (In terms of ROI)

McDonough and Smith have exchange program, check it out.

McDonough has connections in California as well as you must be aware, so looking for recruitment, MSB has conections in Chicago, NY, and SF bay area

Remember recession is around the corner, so what seems bad may get worse.
I would go with Georgetown

Posted from my mobile device

I think you have answered your “brand power” recruiting questions with stats

However I would definitely talk to Georgetown second-year international students. Get their perspective and get their input because statistics can be deceiving and made to look good. For example the 98% is not based on the entire class but based on the number of people reporting. I can tell you that there’s a good chance those who have not found a job aren’t reporting.

Let’s ask Gnpth - how is it going man? What do you think? How is recruiting going?

Thx
BB


Posted from my mobile device

91% int'l got jobs in MSB
And 88% were reporting
According to the latest report.

The International placement has gone down definitely as suggested by a lot of current students

Thanks, BB. It's been long I have been on the forum.

Yes, STEM is in progress for MSB. I believe it should be approved before the start of fall classes or the worst case by the end of the year. We do have a lot of companies hiring for product manager and program manager roles from MSB. Google, Amazon, Capital One, Microsoft and other tech giants.

Due to COVID-19, currently, the recruitment is slow but it should pick up in April or May.

mbaadmit8293 : PM me if you want to talk about MSB and Smith.