Darden Vs. Ross

Question

Hey All,

I'm torn between these two schools. I have a less than steller GMAT, but want to get into Strategy/Mgmt Consulting upon graduation. My backup plan would preferably be Mktg - Product/Brand Mgmt, but I would be ok with Operations/Gen Mgmt as well. I'm from the west coast and have a background in Finance/Supply Chain Aerospace. Preferably, I'd like to return to the west coast, but would be ok with the NE or Mid-Atlantic. Chicago is about the only midwest city I would consider, but I would prefer to not be there either. Money is the same at both schools.

Ross:
- Seems to have the edge with Consulting recruiters. The major recruiters go to both schools, but Ross had a higher percentage of students taken, and seems to have more "second tier" consulting recruiters.
- Also has access to the MBA Exchange's "Career Days". I'm not sure how really useful this is- does anyone have any experience/input on this?
- Stronger West Coast Alumni network
- Stronger National/Global Brand Image?
- More global opportunities - A bonus, but not a determining factor

Darden:
- I feel like I would learn more with the case method (more engaged/interested)
- #1 rated Faculty and I thoroughly enjoyed the class I sat in on. 
- Nicer Facilities.
- Smaller Class size
- Better weather
- Better location
- Fit was comparable, with a slight edge going to Darden
- Stronger placement in NE and mid-Atlantic (in case I don't get the job I want back on the west coast)
- Higher placement percentage at time of graduation

In summary, I enjoyed Darden more (short term satisfaction), but Ross might be the better long term solution?

Thanks for your time!

RG0105 · Answer

I would agree that Michigan has the stronger brand and I seem to run into a lot of Michigan alums here in Cali (never really meet any UVA/Darden alums)...if the fit is pretty comparable, I would probably go with Ross. But honestly, you're in a win/win situation. Both will probably get you where you want to go career-wise. Ross probably just gives you more of a chance to return to the West coast.

It also doesn't hurt that Ann Arbor is awesome (never been to Charlottesville) and sports are better at Michigan (silly reason to pick a school, but a reason nonetheless)...

It also doesn't hurt that Ann Arbor is awesome (never been to Charlottesville) and sports are better at Michigan (silly reason to pick a school, but a reason nonetheless)...

bb · Answer

Did you get an admit by the way?

I think you are splitting hairs at this point. It may be about the impression/image and what school you would feel more pride with. You can do great or terrible with either. You will have great and bad classes in pretty much any school. You will have ahole classmates and useless ones too - again anywhere. Your outcome will depend on what you put in during the program. Would you be a better driver if you were driving a Porsche or an Audi? A better car won't make you a better driver but it will make you more attractive at the first glance.

If you need more input, I would try to reach out to as many current students on GMAT Club or alumni via the school to see if you can get any final impressions. At the end, everyone's story is different and I have know very many people who have changed their priority in the first/second semester. I would not pick a school only because of one quality as you may never use it. Create a list of items that are important to you and verify. Ask admissions to help you - they will be happy to.

You can PM AV who is in Ross right now to see if he is happy (he is but he is putting a ton of work into it) but he definitely had doors open up to him solely based on the Ross name. The same is with Darden.

P.S. I would add another option to your poss (may delete the previous results though) - "either one"

bigfish81ss · Answer

Thanks for the response guys. I have to admit, I'm still torn. In fact, my assumption about Ross being better at recruiting is not as strong as I originally thought. I looked at both schools' 2010-11 employement reports in detail. When looking for the "vault top 25 consulting firms", it turns out that they both have the same number of companies that either hire, or post there (12). Furthermore, there were a lot of other boutique type of firms at Darden that I did not even consider, or count. Of course, I'm disregarding % of students taken and going with the notion that if they like you at one school, they'll like you at the other.

woomba · Answer

I think the biggest difference would be on the cities that the programs would feed into - most of the consulting firms tend to hiring into the cities near the schools so for Ross, it will be

Chicago
Detroit (less popular than Chicago for obvious reasons)
Other (DC/NYC/LA/SF/Cleveland)

Darden is probably more long the lines of :

DC
Atlanta
Other (NYC/Chicago/LA/SF/Cleveland)

So the real question you need to ask yourself here is - "If I don't get land a consulting job in the West Coast, would I be happier in Chicago or DC?"

That is not to say that it's impossible to get the city of your choice from either Ross or Darden (in fact, I know a few people who managed the Palo Alto office of McKinsey from Ross), but 2/3rds of the consultants will probably land in an office closer to their school.

edit: I'm guessing on the cities that Darden feeds to based on its proximity...if a current student can correct me w/ the actual cities that will be great.

bigfish81ss · Answer

Thanks, you're right on. In my alumni/student contacts and research, I've heard more or less the same thing, with Bain being a bit more regional than the others. Many Darden consulting students (so I'm told) go to:

DC, Atlanta 
NY/NJ/CT, Dallas, Philly 
Houston, Seattle, Chicago and San Francisco

dzodzo85 · Answer

Have you chosen the school you will be attending for MBA yet?

bigfish81ss · Answer

Despite the slightly stronger public concensus that says Ross>Darden (which seems to be a running theme everywhere), I decided to go to Darden. I have to say it was a very tough decision as both schools' programs are fantastic. After months of countless hours of research, I have grown an attachment to both schools. I felt almost overwhelmed by the amount of Ross students that reached out to me with information and congratulations. I am very sad that I won't be able to participate in the MAP, M-Trek and WHU summer program. However, in the long run (career wise), the M-Trek and WHU program won't amount to much. On the other hand, Darden has some hands on projects in place of MAP (DBP, GBE, CCoD), but I did prefer MAP. Although I didn't have the same number of Darden students reach out to me, the ones that did were also very honest, friendly and extremely helpful.

My decision mainly hinged around two things: Career placement, and location. The rigor of the programs also played a factor.

I understand that the % of students with an offer at graduation stats are a bit off at Ross in comparison to other schools because their students graduate a month early. Unfortunately, I don't buy that argument. Even when looking at the 3 months after stat, it still seems to not be very strong (even when compared to the at graduation Darden stat). Plus, I remember speaking with Darden students in December who already had multiple quality job offers, although, I'm sure there are plenty of Ross students in the same boat. Even businessweek's placement rankings had Ross 28th out of 30, whereas Darden was 5th.

https://images.businessweek.com/slidesho ... t-of-2011/

Ross seems to have improved their placement stats recently, but when comparing the most recent recision years (2009-2010) Ross seemed to have been hit harder than Darden. Should another dip in the economy occur, I would want to be at a school less effected by that downturn (historically, at least). Company wise, I closely examined the job posting companies at both schools and they were very comparable.

Location/weather wise, I would much rather be in VA than MI.

Rigor wise, I look forward to the case method and think it will prepare/involve me better than non-case method.

I will definitely miss out on Ross' Alumni network and, particularly, its reach on the West Coast. However, I'm confident that if I truly wish to go back to the West, that I will be able to make it happen regardless of where I am. That said, I realize consulting (my objective) tends to be much more regional for hiring. If indeed I am held near my school's region, I would much rather it be in the NE or Mid-Atlantic than the mid-west.

Again, Ross is a fantastic program and I am honored to have had the opportunity to attend, but my gut instinct was telling me Darden.

markd4863 · Answer

Congratulations you made an excellent choice. I am partial to Ross as I hope to enroll in the part-time evening MBA program for the fall semester, but I also spent some time in Charlottesville during a Master's program at UVA. The town is steeped in such rich history and character. It's a spectacular location set in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains.

jessicabenson · Answer

Darden <img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/icon_smile.gif" alt=":)" title="Smile" />

mirfan2 · Answer

These two schools are quite comparable. I also had the opportunity to sample a class at Darden. I read the case before the class and the discussion was about a potential acquisition and it was an intensely engaging session to say the least. For me, the case method is the way to go where you learn from both faculty and your peers. For a given case you may have to dig deep into your management tool set and this where you learn and grow to become more comfortable with you newly acquired skills. If you plan to work in management consulting, I feel that Darden has slight edge over Ross (at Darden many boutique consulting firms also recruit students) . I would select Darden hands down. Additionally, the reason you may see fewer Darden Alumni in the West Coast also has to do with class size and overall university ranking (U Mich has a slight edge over UVA overall).

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