Ross (no $) vs. Wisconsin (full ride)

Question

Hey everyone,
Just wanted to hear some opinions. I was admitted into Ross with no money and Wisconsin on a full-ride (I also got into Mendoza with around a 67% scholarship but just have a gut feeling that it wouldn't be a good fit for me).

Anyways, I volunteered internationally for a few years after undergrad and have been working in marketing for a financial services company since then. I'm looking to switch into brand management with the goal of ending up at a large CPG company (P&G, Unilever, etc.) after graduation.

Any advise or insights would be appreciated. Thanks!

redfield · Answer

Exact same goal as you and also into Ross without $. Once the money component comes into it you start to realise how much you actually care about that haha but with CPG brand management the goal I think this isn't even a choice. Definitely go Ross, the ROI in salary and recruiting will makeup for the tuition difference (in my opinion and why I'm going).

Mo2men · Answer

Normally, the money could be a differentiation factor. But I'm not confidence is compared to Wisconsin in CPG. Also, I lost my trust in Wisconsin team since its decision to cancel its mba program and withdrew the decision. I feel that they won't give attention. Again, this is me. Yu can negotiate some money with Ross. Also, try to consider Mendoza again and talk with current students.

Good luck

airo · Answer

Definitely Ross -- Wisconsin is on its last legs.

bb · Answer

Congratulations, in part this will depend if you can justify the investment and have some money saved up or this will be a fully financed thing with $200K in debt

Also, if you are a woman, you have more thinking to do since you may have a break in your work and at some point may not even return to work full time or at all - this could of course be completely irrelevant. Ross is arguably a top 10 school (I would argue it is or will get there at some point soon). Madison is a 100-person class that will require a lot more leg work to find a job/internship and likely longer time until you can get employed, fewer resources, lower caliber classmates, etc. Ross is a much more global school with alums all over US and world. CPG's tend to be global and likely have a lot of Ross people embedded in them in management positions. I can see the safety of a scholarship vs. the alure of prospects of a flashier degree and career opportunities. A lot of is a personal choice/comfort level. Consider though that you are taking 2 years off your life and will lose probably 100-150K in just opportunity costs alone. Then you have 50K of living expenses. The difference between Madison and Ross is $200K vs. $300K at the end of the day - which one do you pick?

stoiczoan · Answer

Don't need to think too much. Go for Ross. Quality of classmates, recruiting, alumni network... everything will be significantly better.

sharkdd · Answer

Appreciate all the responses! After volunteering and making no money for a few years and then following that up with not the best paying of jobs, $200k of debt is a number I can't really comprehend at this point. However, once I wrap my head around it (which hearing responses on here definitely helps) I think it's an easy choice.

Just going to have to come up with some creative financing!

Just going to have to come up with some creative financing!

dailyuser123 · Answer

Have you visited both? Madison really blew me away on my visit and Brand is their strongest specialization.

Ross (no $) vs. Wisconsin (full ride)

Ross vs. Wisconsin

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