asimov wrote:
Both are very good schools. However, given your post-MBA goal of going into the high tech industry, USC makes more sense.
If you look at NYU's employment stats:
https://www.stern.nyu.edu/programs-admis ... /index.htm . NYU only places 7% of its students into "Technology/Telecommunications".
In general, Stern is a good school if you want to do finance (if you add up all the different finance categories, NYU places >70% into finance). Otherwise, it would be better to look at another school.
Of course, the data are only meaningful in comparison to USC. It's true that NYU places 7% in technology, but USC does only marginally better at 16%, and USC graduates in the tech industry report significantly lower compensation ($92k vs. $114k).
Stern's employer list includes Google, Groupon, Microsoft, Samsung, Sony and Zynga. It does have access to this industry, and a significant advantage in terms of salary. The lower technology industry placement at Stern reflects the preferences of its graduates as much if not more than the opportunities available to them.
In my opinion, ROI is the most important input in the decision process. Assuming you make the average starting salary at either school, you will recoup the additional $50k tuition investment in just over two years by attending Stern.
There are good arguments to be made for both schools here, but it's not as simple as west coast = tech.