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variantguy
Joined: 03 Feb 2019
Last visit: 13 Aug 2022
Posts: 288
Given Kudos: 250
Location: India
Concentration: Technology, Entrepreneurship
Schools: Haas '23 (M$) Ross '23 (A$) Anderson '22 (A$)
GMAT 1: 750 Q49 V42
WE:Marketing (Computer Software)
Products:
21 Dec 2019, 16:46
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi everyone! I find myself in the fortunate situation where I have to choose which business school to attend - Michigan Ross or UCLA Anderson.
Background: Tech PMM, CPG marketing, and advertising
Post-MBA Goals:
ST: Want to pivot to Tech PM or Strategy roles in BigTech or at growth-stage startups
LT: Build a startup of my own, interested in various applications of tech and analytics in sports, fitness, and wellness
Things that I like about both the schools:
Throwing some pros and cons for each school into the discussion:
Ross
Pros:
Cons:
Anderson
Pros:
Cons:
I do not want to be bothered too much by rankings, and from what I understand these two are peer schools. However, the Ross/Michigan brand seems stronger globally but I could be wrong about this.
Also, I have received an almost similar scholarship from both the schools - 40k from Ross and 50k from Anderson, total. However, the cost of living in LA versus Ann Arbor will offset the 10k and then some. My major source of financing the degree would be a loan, however, I see the MBA as an investment and so I'm okay with first figuring out the best school for my goals and then working the finances out.
Appreciate thoughts and inputs from current students, alums, and forum experts!
Background: Tech PMM, CPG marketing, and advertising
Post-MBA Goals:
ST: Want to pivot to Tech PM or Strategy roles in BigTech or at growth-stage startups
LT: Build a startup of my own, interested in various applications of tech and analytics in sports, fitness, and wellness
Things that I like about both the schools:
- Ample resources for tech and entrepreneurship
- Strong track record in tech recruitment and sending students on the West Coast (I'd ideally love to be in Bay Area post-MBA)
- Emphasis on action-based learning in the curriculum
- Collaborative and supportive community
Throwing some pros and cons for each school into the discussion:
Ross
Pros:
- STEM - Guaranteed to be there for the class of 2022; OPT would be a huge plus and helps improve my post-MBA earning potential and prospects
- MAP - Students, especially career switchers, say it's a great way to get additional relevant experience and also ramp up for the summer internship. Some have also mentioned people getting jobs from their MAP projects so it's an additional opportunity in that sense.
- Go Blue. Go Anywhere - Ross and UMich seem to be a stronger brand with a larger and more widespread alumni network across the US. In India as well, the Michigan brand seems to hold more weight and has more numbers (at least from my research and experience); this could be important if I have to/decide to come back.
- I've had a fantastic experience connecting with current students and alumni and have witnessed the collaborative and supportive nature of Ross community first-hand
Cons:
- Lesser opportunities to network with startups on the west-coast (versus being in LA). Conversely, might have to spend more time and money to do so (versus meeting with folks in coffee shops in LA). This is important both for my short-term recruitment purposes as well as long-term entrepreneurial goals.
- Climate - This isn't exactly a 'make or break' but life at business school can be stressful on its own, and since I'm quite a sports/nature/outdoors kind of a person and can safely say that I hate winters, this is something I'm concerned about.
Anderson
Pros:
- Extremely strong brand on the West Coast with a huge concentration of alumni in the area and in my target companies.
- Easton and Price Centers - The tech and entrepreneurship specializations are cutting-edge and super-structured yet flexible. The BCO (business-creation option) has seen tremendous success.
- Parker - Heard great things from international students about career support.
- LA - I think this point speaks for itself (for both professional and personal considerations)
Cons:
- No STEM - Although the Associate Director mentioned at an event yesterday that this is in the works, there's no official confirmation on the timelines or applicability.
- The Anderson/UCLA alumni network doesn't seem to be as large/widespread within the US as Ross/UMich, and UCLA seems to be more of a regional brand. A similar argument for presence outside of the US and in India.
- While both schools have similar % of international students, when it comes to domestic pool it seems that Anderson has a large % of people from LA/California. I wonder how this impacts the classroom diversity and if it also adds a 'commuter culture' vibe.
I do not want to be bothered too much by rankings, and from what I understand these two are peer schools. However, the Ross/Michigan brand seems stronger globally but I could be wrong about this.
Also, I have received an almost similar scholarship from both the schools - 40k from Ross and 50k from Anderson, total. However, the cost of living in LA versus Ann Arbor will offset the 10k and then some. My major source of financing the degree would be a loan, however, I see the MBA as an investment and so I'm okay with first figuring out the best school for my goals and then working the finances out.
Appreciate thoughts and inputs from current students, alums, and forum experts!
21 Dec 2019, 17:00
Kudos
Bookmarks
Congratulations on your admits variantguy!!! Awesome job! I’m overjoyed to see this post from you 
Thank you for posting the analysis. I may steal some of it for my future replies. For now, I would say that until Anderson gets a STEM designation, it is not a contender really.
I welcome other feedback but I feel that Anderson is a regional program and Ross is a national program. Ross degree would be more portable and more potent.... I’m not sure if anyone ever use those two words to describe an MBA degree but I will
Congratulations!
Posted from my mobile device
Thank you for posting the analysis. I may steal some of it for my future replies. For now, I would say that until Anderson gets a STEM designation, it is not a contender really.
I welcome other feedback but I feel that Anderson is a regional program and Ross is a national program. Ross degree would be more portable and more potent.... I’m not sure if anyone ever use those two words to describe an MBA degree but I will
Congratulations!
Posted from my mobile device
variantguy
Joined: 03 Feb 2019
Last visit: 13 Aug 2022
Posts: 288
Given Kudos: 250
Location: India
Concentration: Technology, Entrepreneurship
Schools: Haas '23 (M$) Ross '23 (A$) Anderson '22 (A$)
GMAT 1: 750 Q49 V42
WE:Marketing (Computer Software)
Products:
19 Dec 2020, 01:41
Kudos
Bookmarks
Hi bb
I know I'm almost a year late in updating this thread, but seems like a good time as many lucky R1 admits facing a similar dilemma could find my thought process useful (to pick either of these great schools).
TL;DR - I chose Ross over Anderson. I also tried negotiating scholarships at both schools, but Ross stuck to their original offer, while Anderson added $10k more (making it $20k more than what Ross offered). Still, I felt it wasn't enough to tilt the overall equation in favor of Anderson for me, and below I've shared how I arrived at this conclusion.
I spoke to several alumni and current students at both schools, and unlike the informational interviews I did back when I was applying, I asked much more specific questions around factors that were important to me - things like tech recruiting, what kind of roles within tech, international student recruiting, recruiting opportunities in 15-20 of my wishlist companies, specific aspects of student culture, life in those cities, and even 'trivial' things like the weather. My goal was to visualize my life at each school as vividly as possible - professionally, socially, and personally - since I was not going to be attending either of the admit weekends.
Then, I also did some high-level data mining to support the anecdotal evidence above. I went through the LinkedIn pages of my target companies and tried getting a sense of the alumni numbers from each school there. I also looked at the numbers for the respective universities (your network is as small/big as you consider it to be). Similarly, I looked at alumni numbers in India as well. Given all the flux around STEM, OPT, and H1B, I wanted to see how well each school could support me in the 'worst-case scenario' of coming back to India after getting my degree.
My conclusion was that Ross came out stronger in terms of recruiting and this may seem odd to some because Anderson is a reputed Tech/Entertainment school. I thought Anderson with its West Coast location and alumni concentration in the region would win here, but Ross' tech recruitment performance was a revelation for me. Coupled with a larger and more spread out alumni network, it seemed to be able to offer wider and more diverse recruitment opportunities. On top of that, having the cushion of Ross being stronger in GM and Corp. Strategy kinda recruitment (which would be my plan B) gave this round to Ross. Full disclosure: being a very 'summer and outdoorsy person,' life in LA >>> life in AA for me. But speaking in terms of relative importance, I put professional preferences before personal. Socially, both schools have amazing communities and talented but humble folks, and I could not find any meaningful difference to put one over the other.
In terms of brand value, I did feel Ross had a stronger brand, even if not a big difference, than Anderson. It was also apparent in my conversations with current students in both schools, where some of the folks at Anderson were candid enough to admit and recommend Ross to me, as an international.
Financially, even though Anderson offered $20k more overall, the cost of living in LA versus that in AA would have easily offset that difference over the two years of MBA, or maybe even added more to my debt.
So, overall, it wasn't an easy decision until I kept evaluating generically, because honestly, these schools are in the same tier more or less. However, my specific goals and expectations from what I wanted my MBA experience to lead to, made me choose Ross over Anderson. Hope this is helpful to whoever finds themselves in a similar situation of evaluating peer schools.
PS - Due to COVID19, I eventually ended up deferring my admit at Ross and will be (hopefully) starting in Fall 2021.
I know I'm almost a year late in updating this thread, but seems like a good time as many lucky R1 admits facing a similar dilemma could find my thought process useful (to pick either of these great schools).
TL;DR - I chose Ross over Anderson. I also tried negotiating scholarships at both schools, but Ross stuck to their original offer, while Anderson added $10k more (making it $20k more than what Ross offered). Still, I felt it wasn't enough to tilt the overall equation in favor of Anderson for me, and below I've shared how I arrived at this conclusion.
I spoke to several alumni and current students at both schools, and unlike the informational interviews I did back when I was applying, I asked much more specific questions around factors that were important to me - things like tech recruiting, what kind of roles within tech, international student recruiting, recruiting opportunities in 15-20 of my wishlist companies, specific aspects of student culture, life in those cities, and even 'trivial' things like the weather. My goal was to visualize my life at each school as vividly as possible - professionally, socially, and personally - since I was not going to be attending either of the admit weekends.
Then, I also did some high-level data mining to support the anecdotal evidence above. I went through the LinkedIn pages of my target companies and tried getting a sense of the alumni numbers from each school there. I also looked at the numbers for the respective universities (your network is as small/big as you consider it to be). Similarly, I looked at alumni numbers in India as well. Given all the flux around STEM, OPT, and H1B, I wanted to see how well each school could support me in the 'worst-case scenario' of coming back to India after getting my degree.
My conclusion was that Ross came out stronger in terms of recruiting and this may seem odd to some because Anderson is a reputed Tech/Entertainment school. I thought Anderson with its West Coast location and alumni concentration in the region would win here, but Ross' tech recruitment performance was a revelation for me. Coupled with a larger and more spread out alumni network, it seemed to be able to offer wider and more diverse recruitment opportunities. On top of that, having the cushion of Ross being stronger in GM and Corp. Strategy kinda recruitment (which would be my plan B) gave this round to Ross. Full disclosure: being a very 'summer and outdoorsy person,' life in LA >>> life in AA for me. But speaking in terms of relative importance, I put professional preferences before personal. Socially, both schools have amazing communities and talented but humble folks, and I could not find any meaningful difference to put one over the other.
In terms of brand value, I did feel Ross had a stronger brand, even if not a big difference, than Anderson. It was also apparent in my conversations with current students in both schools, where some of the folks at Anderson were candid enough to admit and recommend Ross to me, as an international.
Financially, even though Anderson offered $20k more overall, the cost of living in LA versus that in AA would have easily offset that difference over the two years of MBA, or maybe even added more to my debt.
So, overall, it wasn't an easy decision until I kept evaluating generically, because honestly, these schools are in the same tier more or less. However, my specific goals and expectations from what I wanted my MBA experience to lead to, made me choose Ross over Anderson. Hope this is helpful to whoever finds themselves in a similar situation of evaluating peer schools.
PS - Due to COVID19, I eventually ended up deferring my admit at Ross and will be (hopefully) starting in Fall 2021.
