Ross vs. Stern (money not an issue)

Question

I was fortunate enough to get accepted to both these programs, and now I have to figure out which one makes the most sense. I did campus visits to both programs and really enjoyed the students I connected with. I know Ross is heavy on action-based learning, but Stern has plenty of experiential learning opportunities as well. Class sizes are about the same, NYC and Ann Arbor both get pretty cold, and I'm not dead-set on a specific location post-MBA.

My career goal is to go into management consulting. MBB would be amazing, but the second tier firms (Deloitte, LEK, Accenture, AT Kearny, etc.) are also great options.

I would love to hear what people think... please help!

My career goal is to go into management consulting. MBB would be amazing, but the second tier firms (Deloitte, LEK, Accenture, AT Kearny, etc.) are also great options.

I would love to hear what people think... please help!

stoiczoan · Answer

Congratulations! You got into two great programs.
For MBB, I'd lean a little bit more towards Ross. Honestly, both programs will provide you mostly similar opportunities for consulting, with maybe Ross having a (very) slight advantage.

I feel you should base your decision more on 2 years in NYC vs Ann Arbor (international city vs college town), and maybe around the school culture (huge sports scene at Michigan, living in NYC/kinda commuter school scene at NYU).

Mo2men · Answer

Congrats

Both schools seems great and line up with your goals. When there is tie like this between schools. I would go deeper in my decision making to other factors: 1- Which place do you prefer to live in during studying? NY or Ann Arbor? And where you want to end up working? 2- Have you seen the electives of both schools? I agree there are overlaps but also unique electives or supporting field? Maybe you want more supply chain from Ross or others from Stern? 3- Going back to your visits, which place you felt comfortable and represent your character? You want to spend great 2 years. Good luck

bb · Answer

Congratulations! Here is a great post about Ross from 2016: https://gmatclub.com/forum/ross-vs-dard ... l#p1777448 Hope it helps with your decision and getting more details about Ross.

jessepinkman · Answer

agreed with the others, no real lean here so i'd choose on fit. also see if you can get either school to give up scholarship money as a tie-breaker. all else equal, the stern name is stronger, but it's really at the margin.

MBAPrepCoach · Answer

My opinion differs from that of some of the other people on here. I actually had a client who was given the choice between these two schools....just graduated from Stern, and after talking with him about it and I kind of wish he had chosen Ross honestly.

1) don't think NYU really delivers that super tight-knit feeling that deep network that you really want. Everybody kind of has their own life going on in New York. Whereas I think with Ross, everyone's there for a pretty specific purpose and it would create tighter bonds.

2) I'm vehemently opposed to candidates choosing a program based on how sexy the location is. This is like a two-year conference actually more like 18 months and it's not a vacation. So choose the program based on how it applies to your goals and your values honestly. And of course the alumni connections, which family do you want to marry into?

3) I'm really leaning towards Ross here because just like my client who just graduated said, NYU is not really a Consulting School and I don't really see that it's going to become one, with increasing emphasis on Tech and their specialized MBA programs. If you were to go there for finance and you were sure about how you wanted Finance then I think that'd be a whole different matter.

4)Ross is great in that they are strong in every single discipline so if you end up changing your mind you have options. I think the MAP program at Ross is awesome preparation for MBB and I think honestly the brand is actually better. And more global.

5) it's going to be a lot less expensive as well... I know that doesn't top the list but just one more thing. My client who just graduated from Stern is feeling kind of panicked about having to pay Theater District rent prices, when he's traveling all week and is really inclined to move back to DC.

https://MBAPrepCoach.com

lwjustin · Answer

Thank you for all the great feedback! It has been extremely helpful and informative. At this point, I think I am leaning towards Ross. Going into the application process, I said I wanted a program that had a strong community feel that I could really immerse myself in, and that would help me build great connections with my classmates. I think some of that got lost when I started hearing back from schools, but in the end, I need to make that a big part of my decision. I will update once I make a final decision, but it's feeling like Ross right now.

lwjustin · Answer

I one last question to anybody who might have some insight... which school would be tougher academically? I feel like a more strenuous program will help push and challenge me, and I'm the type of person that prefers that. Would love to hear how the academics stack up at these two schools.

Ross vs. Stern (money not an issue)

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