School Choice

Question

Hypothetically speaking, would you accept an offer to Stanford or a full scholarship to Darden? There are many factors so I would like to hear your own personal opinion considering your own career goals, financial situation, and preferred learning method.

ebonn101 · Answer

Stanford for the win.

method · Answer

Perhaps this issue can be thought of visually. Alex's  mba = car brands thread  is a good way to do this.

Stanford = Ferrari
Darden = Ford

Except in this example, the Ferrari and Ford cost the same amount of time & money. And the Ferrari also works like an ATM.

mbarealestate · Answer

If you get into Stanford (or Harvard).. you go. That's my opinion.

smapplicant · Answer

Stanford. This is not even a fair comparison.

mattfrommorocco · Answer

Really? It's a no brainer even if Darden is free and Stanford costs over 100k?

smapplicant · Answer

Correct. Stanford is on another level of schools than Darden. Both great schools, but in my opinion, the Stanford name is worth more than the USD100K that Darden is offering you.

MYCambridge · Answer

Dumb post. Wait until you've got offers to both. Or dig deeper (use the search function) and you would find something exactly the same.

mattfrommorocco · Answer

sorry

threestripes · Answer

Dude, your posts are rude. I think people would appreciate it if you didn't call them or their posts stupid or dumb.

Consulting2Finance · Answer

I think anyone that automatically dismisses a $100,000 price tag is insane. Your hypothetical problem is a good one to have, since you really can't go wrong. Still as others have said it's hard to pass up Stanford or HBS if accepted. Even if it results in $5,000 more in salary per year, you'll make that up over the course of your career. Still there are other factors for sure (immediate financial obligations, if one school is closer to friends and family, if school choice will matter for your vocation), etc...

Yes Stanford is top notch but it's not like Darden is anything to sneeze at either. The comparison of a Ferrari to a Ford doesn't do Darden justice. It may be more a Ferrari to a nice BMW.

Yes Stanford is top notch but it's not like Darden is anything to sneeze at either. The comparison of a Ferrari to a Ford doesn't do Darden justice. It may be more a Ferrari to a nice BMW.

MIXEDin86 · Answer

I guess I’m the one to go against the grain once again. Personally, I dislike the 100% case study method, so I would go to Stanford over Darden. But, I’m assuming you like Darden a bunch since you at least showed enough interest to land a full-ride. So, for the sake of argument, I’ll use one of the schools I like that is in the same range, although a bit lower in rankings, as Darden.

I would, without a doubt, go to Cornell Johnson with a full-ride before attending Stanford, HBS, or Penn paying 100k. My personal thinking is that I know I’m going to do Investment Banking regardless of which school I end up at. Cornell offers the access to the top investment banks just like Stanford or HBS does. And, after you land that first job, I think progression is more about your work network and work performance than a name-drop b-school on your resume. Also, 100k is a ton of debt, and it’ll be even harder to swallow if, after b-school, you end up with a job that you could have gotten at any T-20 school. I know if I had to take out 100k in loans, I’d be stressed out and thinking I HAVE to land a super high-paying job or I’m screwed. Less debt adds ease to the mind and gives you the ability to explore your options and have more fun IMO.

Obviously this is a non-elitist opinion. Heck, a lot of the people applying to b-school went to name-drop undergrad schools, but they’re in the same boat as the rest of us applying except probably with more undergrad debt. Why think that history won’t repeat itself?

method · Answer

5-year post-MBA salary averages:

2010 #s:
Stanford $205,000
Darden $178,000

2008 #s:
Stanford $225,000
Darden $159,000

2006 #s:
Stanford $200,000
Darden $149,000

MIXEDin86 · Answer

Ever stop to think that maybe the "average" person at Stanford would be above-average at Darden, and therefore have closer to a $205,000 salary 5-years out?

Just a thought.

method · Answer

Are you trying to logically eliminate brand value with this? I don't think there's a question that brand carries. Especially, in the context of Stanford vs. Darden.

MIXEDin86 · Answer

Not eliminate it, just mitigate it with respect to the quality of incoming talent to the respective institutions. It's not until I add in the hypothetical extra 100K that I eliminate the brand value. lol

CheatingatSolitaire · Answer

Settle down. 4chan is that way ---->

To the thread-starter: You either pay now, or you pay far more in lower wages throughout your career. No one has a crystal ball, but Stanford will likely put you in a much stronger position.

It also depends on what you want to do. If you want to go into corporate finance, you could probably do that at any decent school.

Consulting2Finance · Answer

This is only marginally useful in quantifying the differences. It would be much more useful comparing a 5 year out investment banker or 5 year out management consultants between schools. For all we know the Darden example is made up 75% of people working in NFP work. Not every post MBA position is paid the same so unless you are comparing actual positions it's pretty worthless. I don't doubt that companies apply a premium to a Stanford MBA for many roles, but the data presented here doesn't tell anything.

threestripes · Answer

This reminds me of that awesome article that was posted to the Chinese/Indian thread. According to the article, based on studies, people who went to a lower-ranked school even if they were also accepted to the higher-ranked school ultimately ended up achieving and earning as much as their peers from the higher-ranked school. If you're good, you're good. Having a better network and brand will absolutely give you the edge as far as securing that first job, but what you do afterwards is what will help you succeed.

method · Answer

Glad I could be of worthless use to you. :roll:

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