SOM(50% scholarship) vs Tuck (90% scholarship)

Question

Hi there, I would love to pick your brain about what to do. I am very excited about getting into these two programs: I’ve visited both schools and I love both. My background is in entrepreneurship and management and I want to pivot into investment banking (m&a). I love Tuck’s close community and also love the fact that Yale has a very strong brand internationally. I would highly appreciate some advice here.

Thank you ,
Charlie

Posted from my mobile device

Thank you ,
Charlie

Posted from my mobile device

AndrewN · Answer

Hello, Charlie, and welcome to the community. First off, congratulations. Wow! I think many readers would be   green   with envy at your prospects here. I think you will have to do some soul-searching to  choose the correct program for your own preferences . Me, I would take Tuck, hands down. Pay just a sliver for a top-notch program in a pastoral setting, versus chasing a slightly more prestigious  overall  school name, paying more, and living in a city?  Nolo contendere.  I also hold a preference for many older things, and the pedigree of Tuck, as the first graduate-level business school in the U.S., cannot be matched. Nothing beats establishing such an educational precedent. Sure, the school may be resting on its laurels now, but is that not true of all Ivy institutions? To be honest, I think big money lies in your future either way. I may wax poetic about one school over the other, not that I attended either, but I just know myself. Again, I ask you to consider what the right choice may be for yourself.

Good luck, whatever you choose.

- Andrew (traditionalist extraordinaire)

zhanbo · Answer

Congratulations on receiving multiple offers from prestigious programs!

May you continue your successful journey and contribute significantly and profoundly to the betterment of this beautiful world!

kiran120680 · Answer

Wow.... Congratulation on your admission to prestigious B-Schools.

Charles777 · Answer

Thank you so much for your help and all the answers really appreciated.

Posted from my mobile device

bschoolhunter · Answer

Hi
Congrats on the brilliant admits.

Would you mind sharing your brief profile, GMAT, schools that you considered etc.

Congrats once again

AndrewN · Answer

Sure thing. I hope you will keep the community posted once you make a decision. Good luck.

- Andrew

Charles777 · Answer

Hi there,

Gpa 3.5/4 in finance, Gmat 720.

Still very undecided on what to do!! Love tuck but it bothers me that internationally people don’t know about it. Whereas Yale everyone outside the US knows about it.

Hopefully will have more clarity soon

Posted from my mobile device

AndrewN · Answer

Hello again, Charlie. You seem unable to shake this  What if?  concerning Yale. Is that the program you would look back on and regret  not  having chosen in the future? If so, then  do it ! Make the decision and do not look back. A consideration: do you intend to focus on international business, where your concern about global recognition might be borne out?

- Andrew

Charles777 · Answer

Hi everyone, I’m super thankful for your responses : here is my updated and final list of schools I’m highly considering now: getting into these amazing schools and now I’m having difficulties deciding what to do and where to go.

I got a full ride at Tuck, 90% at SOM, 50% at Booth and 20% at Sloan.

My background is entrepreneurship And startups and what I will like to do post mba is to pivot into IB in NYC.

Tuck: I love Tucks community and really enjoyed my time there. I heard the community is super collaborative and career switchers like myself won’t have issues there. The huge plus is the full ride. The minus for me and what I’m concern is the location especially for IB recruiting. Also what bothers me is that internationally isn’t so well know..

SOM: I liked campus very much and gave me a sense of a futuristic type of school and they’re going up in their rankings. It bothers me that isn’t so well known as a business program but I like the fact that Yale as a brand is world renown.

Booth: I loved visiting Chicago and the school seems the perfect fit for IB and finance in general. But I heard that there are dozens of boothies applying to IB which makes recruiting very competitive and harder to land the top firms as opposed to Tuck where they have less people applying for IB. I like Booths flexible curriculum and it’s location.

Sloan: similar to Tuck I heard less people recruiting for IB means more opportunities for the top shops. I love how futuristic the school is and it’s brand is super strong outside the US.

Would love to hear your thoughts. I must recognize that brand matters a lot to me since I plan to spend 15 years in the US but then go to EU so I would like to have a strong brand and network abroad too.

My short term is to get into a top bulge bracket in IBD doing M&A so I can later on get into a PE/VC ideally based in Miami since that’s what some immediate family live.

Thank you so much for your comments in advance

Posted from my mobile device

AndrewN · Answer

Thank you for the update, Charlie. Congratulations on four admits plus scholarships. Now that that dream is over, it is decision-making time. I may be reading too much into your earlier posts, but you seem to be more interested in  Lux et Veritas  (or  Urim and Thummim , if you prefer). I will say that with a $29B endowment, Yale will likely only grow in stature as a business school. You would be getting in at a time ahead of the curve, perhaps, but something tells me you would live with no regrets. With 90 percent off the sticker price, you would likely earn back your tuition and fees in no time. Of course, the decision still rests on your shoulders, and I wish you all the best, whatever you decide. Just be sure to post once you have locked in your decision. I, for one, want to know the outcome. (And please, if you have not already, write a debrief about your GMAT™ experience. I am sure many aspirants would love to read about someone who ended up with so many fantastic offers.)

- Andrew

Charles777 · Answer

Hi Andrew,

Thank you for your reply. My GMAT was 720. I’m not sure if Yale will every make it to the top five schools and that’s why I’m having difficulties with not choosing Sloan or Booth. In terms of banking I think SOM is probably the weakest so that’s another point that makes me think twice. Ticks incredibly strong community has surprised me big time when reaching out to alumni in top banks - super responsive and friendly so it seems that in terms of close community Tuck is by far the best.

Will definitely take two more weeks to decide before going forward. Would love to hear any other thoughts or comments

Posted from my mobile device

SOM(50% scholarship) vs Tuck (90% scholarship)

Som vs Tuck

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards