Columbia with Full tuition vs. Wharton

Question

I realize Wharton is ranked a bit higher generally than Columbia and the facilities are not even comparable, but for someone looking at returning to investment management post-MBA, how much of a difference is there in these schools? I don't want to let the $ be a factor, but $120k is not immaterial (even more considering fellowships are essentially post-tax income). I am pretty set on Columbia given my interest in the value investing program, but would like to see if anyone can make a case on why to choose Wharton.

CobraKai · Answer

Congrats! Not going to make a case for Wharton, here. Getting a full-ride to Columbia is quite the achievement. Recruiting at CBS is already good, and being able to slap a full-tuition fellowship on your resume is just going to help you stand out more, especially given CBS's notorious rep as being the stingiest school when it comes to fellowships.

Cheers!

Cheers!

bb · Answer

Based on rankings and data reporting about salary/etc, I see absolutely minimal difference in these two schools and CBS with Full Scholarship is by far the better value. That's purely on numbers. Now, if you can find that you will be in PHL rather than NYC or other reasons why Wharton is a better choice, then the picture will change but if your probability of working in NYC vs PHL is the same (probably plenty of both CBS and Wharton grads all over east coast) and nothing else jumps out, it is a pretty easy choice. 
See below.....

#3 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton)   
Philadelphia, PA
$57,026 per year (full-time) 1,685 718 3.60 20.0% $138,302 79.7%

#8 Columbia University   
New York, NY
$58,384 per year (full-time) 1,274 715 3.50 20.8% $134,868 77.0%

kingfalcon · Answer

I'm not going to make the case for Wharton, either. I would absolutely take the money at CBS, and even more so given that you're particularly interested in CBS's Value Investing Program.

old1442 · Answer

cbs is the easy choice. i have a friend interested in i.m. at wharton who wishes he'd gone to cbs. terrific job and congrats! enjoy the full-ride

westsidah408 · Answer

Take the money and RUN! No case for Wharton here.

MBA2ER · Answer

congrats! $120k is a lot of money and given your interest in IM, CBS seems like the easy choice! the Value Investing Program seems to be on a class of its own, though the downside is that admission to the program isn't guaranteed. but given that you already have prior experience in the field, you will probably do just fine. i'll take the money and enjoy CBS & NYC!

Mbainvestor · Answer

I have to choose between CBS and Wharton as well, though with no fellowships to either and I think it's a hard choice and am leaning toward CBS!

I'm interested in value investing as well. My understanding is that though the program is competitive, you can get almost all of the value even if you're not admitted to it. You can still take many of the classes and all the other programs are available to you. A lot of the value isn't in just the classes, but the mentorship, lectures, etc. that you can still have access to. Plus you'll still have the same network.

If CBS was offering me a full ride, it'd be a no brainer for me.

jwcardinal11 · Answer

I find this whole thing very deja vu, since I had to deal with a similar situation a few months back. Granted, I didn't get a full ride from CBS, but full tuition for the first year only, while Wharton gave me nothing. I spent over a month talking to professors, alums, current students, and people from my potential industry in order to make sure that I made the right choice for me.

In the end, I chose Wharton for two reasons - one, I ended up receiving a fellowship about a week before the decision was due (not as much as CBS gave me but still substantial); and two, the Admit Weekends were vastly different experiences. There's always a lot of talk about "fit," and Wharton really felt right to me - I felt much more at home with my potential classmates and current students at Wharton than I did at CBS. I don't know if I could really put my finger on the exact reasons, but it was a gut instinct, I guess. In terms of the post-MBA path, my impressions of Wharton real estate and what it had to offer over Columbia real estate were also stronger.

That said, financial matters are important, though I can't count the times when the words "rounding error" came up at both Admit Weekends when alums talked about their debt. Think about it based on your post-MBA field of choice - obviously, taking the plunge with debt could very well limit your flexibility in school in what you choose to pursue. But it's also important to think about your potential classmates, who will be a huge part of your network for the rest of your life.

Feel free to PM me if you want to talk more about why I made my choice. I'd be happy to chat.

MacFauz · Answer

I guess if there had been a poll it would have read CBS - 100%, Wharton - 0%. A full ride at CBS is too big to ignore Plus would look great on your resume when the recruiters come knocking..

bsklman · Answer

I love these dilemmas - this one falls into the category of "I cannot believe the good fortune; just toss a coin". Columbia! To say $120K is not immaterial is an understatement...

panama5565 · Answer

It sounds like you've already decided based on your original post, but here's what I did when choosing between Wharton (with $$) and Kellogg (with none)

Imagine that Wharton gave you an amount twice that of what Columbia gave you. Would you go there? If so, the money is making the decision. If you still wouldn't go to Wharton, then your heartstrings are telling you Columbia. Follow them. You'll do much better at the school that's a better fit for you.

Flip a coin. Heads, Columbia, tails, Wharton. If it comes up tails and you try to re-flip or think it's wrong, then you've made your decision - Columbia. If you look at the coin flip as some sort of divine intervention telling you that Wharton's right, then go there. (Nerd alert: I did this, but instead of a coin, I used an Excel model with a =rand function - further proof I'm a perfect fit for Wharton's analytical culture)

In situations like this, go with your heart. Based on your original post, it sounds like you really want Columbia but want confirmation that it's not crazy to pick #8 rather than #3. With $120K, it's definitely not! Enjoy NYC!

tashy001 · Answer

Thanks everyone...I think I had made up my mind but it definitely helps to get some outside advice. CBS it is...

maianh89 · Answer

Wow, congrats on your achievement!!!
if I were you, I would go for CBS

tring375 · Answer

Here, you made a good 'value' investment.
All the best !

massi2884 · Answer

Exactly the same situation here: accepted by both CBS and Wharton (plus accepted by LBS, and waitlisted then ding by HBS), with full tuition scholarship at CBS. 
To be honest, I had already chose CBS even before knowing about the scholarship.