Poll: Stern ($$) vs. Anderson ($$) vs. Owen (Full-Ride) vs. Ross

Question

Hi Everyone!

I have been struggling with deciding which program to commit to and was hoping to source opinions from the always trustworthy GMAT Club community. I'm fortunate to be in a position where I can choose between some really great programs (see below for details).

Background: 
- 6 years W/E in corporate finance at a large insurance company located in the New England area
- Hoping to transition into an internal strategy/business development role
- Ideally would transition into the media/entertainment industry (been producing music and building a production brand for about 8 years)
- Unsure geographically where I'd like to end up long-term. Would be happy in New England (Boston roots) or Southern California or even the South East

Stern - $50k scholarship (fist year only, unsure on potential year 2 scholarship) 
+ Benefit on being top ranked of my choices
+ Excellent networking opportunities due to location 
+ Strong academics and learning opportunities related to media/entertainment industry
- Not a huge fan of how chaotic the city can feel (definitely have a more laid-back personality)

Anderson - $70k scholarship 
+ Great media/entertainment opportunities 
+ Only spent a small amount of time in LA but loved Southern California. Proximity to the beach and perfect weather
+ Felt like a good fit connecting with current students (laid-back culture)
- Many would consider Anderson a "tier" below Stern

Owen - Full-Ride 
+ Great connections with current students/faculty I spoke with 
+ Never been to Nashville, but seems like a super cool city to spend 2 years in
+ Benefit of fully paid tuition and lower cost of living
- Less prestigious than other options, smaller alumni network
- Significantly less programming geared towards media/entertainment industry

Ross - No scholarship 
+ Absolutely love the Ross program, great connections with students and faculty
- Less than ideal location given post-grad career interests

Summary: 
My initial thought is to drop Ross out of the equation based on money and my post-grad career goals better aligning with Stern/Anderson. Owen is a very tempting offer due to the full-scholarship, but unsure if it is the smart long-term decision. Anderson and Stern both offer excellent media/entertainment opportunities with similar scholarship packages. I'd probably prefer to live in LA than NYC for the 2 years of B-School, but my guess is that the added element of prestige from Stern may afford me better long-term bicoastal opportunities.

Thank you so much to anyone who has made it this far. Any advice/opinions would be greatly appreciated!

bb · Answer

Great job getting the admits and seems your hard work paid off!

Sorry for a silly question - what kind of employers would you be looking at after graduation in media and entertainment?

Is it like Universal music or HBO? Or you looking at Studios or? Have you done looking into the employers and how much they hire?

Silly question #2 - Anderson scholarship is total for 2 years or is that $70k/year?

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MrIDK · Answer

Not silly questions at all, I should have been more specific.

1. Ideally would like to end up on the music side of entertainment at one of the larger labels (Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group, etc.) Very aware it's a difficult industry to recruit in, especially directly from school, so I'd be open to getting experience in whatever entertainment/media space I can. From my time working as a music producer, I'm just excited about pivoting to an industry where I can support creatives from the business side.

2. The Anderson scholarship is split over 2 years ($35k per year). From conversations with friends at Stern, it seems likely second year scholarship will be there, but I need to speak with someone from Admissions about the details.

Thanks for the quick response by the way, you rock!

bb · Answer

Thanks! In my experience, usually whenever Schools offer a scholarship in the first year, they will provide a scholarship on the second year as long as you meet certain basic requirements such as GPA at the certain level or you don’t get like suspended or something else. So I think it would be logical and safe to assume that your Stearns scholarship will actually go up to 100,000 over two years but I would definitely clarify with admissions. They will not be able to promise it but they can tell you that it’s a pretty darn good chance that you’ll get it or they may be more upfront about chances in case it’s not guaranteed so to speak.

At the same time, it’s all cost to at least $10,000 a year more to live in New York than in LA. So ultimately the money may be the same. And I would agree with you that the stern and Andersen and Stern are not exactly in the same group or band.

One aspect to keep in mind is that Andersen is a West Coast school and hardly anyone leaves West Coast and south has a fairly weak alumni base on the East Coast. There’s also a bit of a stigma on the East Coast about the West Coast schools because they considered more lax and more laid-back. I can kind of sense it from your note as well that you’re subconsciously assuming that Anderson will be more easy-going and laid-back. Anyway, my point is that recruiting on the East Coast will be challenging. He will likely find an opportunity on the West Coast, there’s lots of media in LA but just pointing it out.

From practical standpoint, especially if Stern gives you another 50,000 in the second year, Stern is the better overall choice. From the adventure perspective, I can see the allure of LA though that wears out overtime and traffic gets old when you have to drive 45 minutes to the grocery store or to see friends. But it’s hard to resist if you can live the whole year just wearing shorts and flip-flops. It is also hard to go back to wearing a suit 😂 I lived for 7 years in LA. Great place to be single but gets tricky with family and kids.

Posted from my mobile device

Poll: Stern ($$) vs. Anderson ($$) vs. Owen (Full-Ride) vs. Ross

Which B-School Should I Attend

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