Scholarship Offers v. Top School

I don't think a 20-30 ranked school would be beneficial enough to your career (assuming it's a great career, since you got into Kellogg) to merit taking the time off, moving, etc.

However, if it weren't so late in the cycle, it might be worth applying to some 10-20 ranked schools to see if they would offer significant scholarships.

Thanks. upon some thought I agree. The offers are so compelling but I am not leaving my business behind in order to go to a school I did not apply to - even if it is for free.

Kellogg is too good to give up and will def give you better opportunities for the long run.

Thanks. You guys are right. It was a moment of weakness:)

Just my $0.02 (and obviously I can't be 100% unbiased) -

You only get 1 shot at an MBA..how would you feel 5, 10, 20 years from now? Would you regret passing on the chance to go to your dream school? For me it would be a more difficult choice if the schools offering $$ were top 10-15. But a top 5 school is a totally different league than a school in the lower 20s-30s ranking. If they're offering you scholarships without you even applying to the school, it's a pretty safe bet there won't be many other students there as talented as you are. Leaving school with no or very little debt certainly is attractive, but is it attractive enough to not pursue your dream at Kellogg?

I made a similar decision, turning down a 50% tuition scholarship offer from Duke to attend Kellogg. As much as I liked Duke, Kellogg from the outset was my top choice. As I thought about it, I realized that eventually I would pay off the extra $46k I will need to borrow to attend Kellogg, but I would always have second thoughts about choosing Duke over my top choice school.

Edit: wow, 6 responses while I was typing this. I need to work on my typing skills...

if you dont mind me asking, how r u going to pay for school and life expenses? Are you considering takin loans for inter students in the US?

if ur wife is not american she wont be able to work on student-spouse visa...

also, where do u want to work after ur mba? if u r not us citizen u will need to look not only for a company who will employ u but also for a company who is ready to sponsor ur h-1b working visa.

Kellogg is really famous school so I guess you can land a nice job afterwards.

How do you know you aren't getting any scholarships at Kellogg? Did you already apply for financial aid and get the results? I am very curious about it, because now that I got into Kellogg my main concern will be scholarships. Unfortunately, I already have significant student loan debt because I have a professional degree. My worst fear is to have to borrow another 100-150K.

Thanks for all the replies! It was a moment of weakness but I quickly knocked some sense back into myself:)

I doubt I am getting a scholarship from Kellogg - I understand there are not many for internationals and I have made a relatively reasonable amount in my last job...

Thanks for sharing and these great recommendations..