MIT Sloan vs. Stern ($$$$) [vs. Kellogg vs. Booth]

Question

Hi all! Congrats to all the R2 admits announced the past couple weeks. While it sucks that we won't be able to attend preview weekends in person, be sure to still celebrate that you'll be heading to school in the fall!

As the topic name suggests, I was admitted to MIT Sloan, Stern, Kellogg and Booth. MIT Sloan has been my top top choice throughout the entire process, and was actually my dream undergrad option (shocker - didn't get in). While I was also admitted to Kellogg and Booth, I heavily lean MIT Sloan over those two options. The kicker is that I received a full-ride to Stern, so have a tough choice ahead.

Intended post-grad career goal is energy/sustainability, with a PE/VC focus. Both MIT Sloan and Stern have solid sustainability programs, alumni networks, rankings, etc. Absent the scholarship, I would hands down choose MIT Sloan, but it just seems crazy to leave that much money on the table to head to Cambridge over NYC.

Any thoughts about which way I should lean, how to approach MIT Sloan about any potential scholarships, etc.? At an impasse, and could definitely use any help you can provide. Thanks!!

FinanceMan · Answer

This is tough. With the upcoming recession, you obviously want to attend the best B-School that you can in an effort to increase your recruiting opportunities. In this case, I think Sloan is the better brand. However, are you able to secure financing for the degree through Sloan? Stern is no slouch and being in New York, you would have a plethora of recruiting opportunities still, in my opinion. It is hard to knock that full scholarship offer from Stern.

In all honesty, I do not believe you could go wrong with either program. I will be of little help but hopefully some Booth and Stern students can chime in on how each program is approaching the upcoming recession, recruiting, etc.

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In all honesty, I do not believe you could go wrong with either program. I will be of little help but hopefully some Booth and Stern students can chime in on how each program is approaching the upcoming recession, recruiting, etc.

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bb · Answer

Both programs are a solid choice. Sloan Is obviously a killer but Stern is respectable ( MBASomeTime  - any thoughts?)

Sounds like you did not get into MIT for undergrad. What if you could buy your way in for $145k? Would you have done it?

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unraveled · Answer

Keeping myself into your position, I would go for Sloan for reasons that you would go in energy/sustainability and that it is your dream choice.

But do take a factual based decision as these are tough times.

JohnJohnJ · Answer

So MIT Sloan is slightly (per employment reports) better than Stern for PE/VC, but remember a lot of these kids that go to PE/VCs (from Sloan and Stern) usually go to smaller PE/VCs. You go to bigger name PE/VC if you’re from Harvard/Stanford and sometimes Wharton.

Now is Sloan $200k better than Sloan in this market? Hell no!
If you don’t get into PE/VC straight after your MBA, the path traditionally taken by others is - work in IB for a few years and then transition to PE/VC. Example, if you go to the Blackrock website, an large number of employees are from Harvard, Wharton and then followed by Stern/Columbia - that’s partly because of their large presence in NYC

Also, NYC is always better than Boston for jobs.

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maas · Answer

I would disagree on a few things. Blackrock is the world's largest asset manager, most of it is in passive index investing. Indeed based in NYC, but not a destination where many top MBAs want to end up.
I am of the opinion that if you go to a top MBA, in a few years the money you used to pay for it will not mean as much. So I would vote for MIT Sloan here. If it is your dream school, then go with it and don't look back.

Now in terms of clean energy/sustainability investing, I'd say MIT has the edge. Look at the MIT Sloan Sustainability Initiative, Sustainability Certificate, Clean Energy Prize, etc. MIT carries weight in the field. You'll always have that badge of honor, and with a great cohort of smart people. It is incredibly hard to get into Sloan, and you finally made it. Go with it!

JohnJohnJ · Answer

A quick google search for the largest private equity companies tells me that Blakcstone is in the top 5 
OP your best bet would be to look at employment reports. 
LinkedIn is also a good evaluation method, look at the company that you would want to work in and look for the schools the alums went to.

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freedom128 · Answer

In terms of PE/VC, energy/sustainability, and entrepreneurship, Sloan definitely has an edge over Stern. Sloan is my dream school.

But with the upcoming recession, getting full ride to NYC Stern is no joke. I heard some, if not many, stories from H/S/W alumni graduating in 2008-2009 that they found difficulties in finding job 0-2 years after their graduation. A few said that they haven't even finished their study loan payment in 2019. So, it comes down to your risk appetite. Recession in 2020 onwards is inevitable and seems longer than in 2008.

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MBASomeTime · Answer

Thanks for the ping BB. If you take a look at my sidebar I might be slightly biased in my reasoning - but I opted to take Stern over the possibility of converting my Sloan WL, for less money than sloanieorsternie is currently being offered.

In spite of all that, I think you should go to Sloan here. With a caveat of course - I think that you should consider Booth. There are three factors that I think make your decision unique:

- Your career goals. Sloan (and to a greater extent, Booth) have more established PE/VC placement. Booth isn't quite as strong on the sustainability front, but I'd argue they're almost with Wharton in terms of general placement potential.
- The current economy. This is a bit interesting in that better programs (M7) will yield relatively better outcomes in times of economic distress when referenced to other programs (T15). But at the same time, your original career goals might not be feasible. In that situation, your placement into more general "energy" roles will probably be equivalent at either Stern or Sloan. 
- It sounds like your heart is already set on Sloan, and I think neglecting that would be the wrong choice here.

Congratulations on the offers!

As an aside to maas's point, plenty of MBA's want to end up at Blackrock, but only in certain groups. They're still primarily taking H/S for Equities. I went to final rounds with a different team - had a pretty positive impression overall, but my other offers expired before their decision timeframe.

souvik101990 · Answer

What a great set of schools you have gotten yourself into there, my friend.

I am a big fan of going with what your heart tells you to do. I would love to spend some time trying to convince you to go to Kellogg or Booth because that's where I would go given the choices, but it seems like you want someone to tell you that going to Sloan is the better choice.

GO TO SLOAN!

At the same time, if you really want to do the math, see how much $145K is really worth. For me, as an international student, it was worth a LOT of money and I would have trouble passing dough like that. But I did pick Ross with very little scholarship over a full ride at Austin and I don't think I regret it. Would there be people in my class (especially ones who are still recruiting) be better off making the other choice? Sure. But I know that I would always wonder if I had taken the $$$ road.

JohnJohnJ · Answer

UT Austin vs Ross is not the same as Stern vs Sloan

In 2019 the median salary for both the schools was $140k - Stern had higher signing and year end bonus than Sloan (with a large difference in average salary for consulting in favor of Sloan). But rest all was very similar.

Stern’s one year Tech MBA also had solid hiring

I respect the opinions of people here, but I don’t hear anybody providing a rationale to their recommendation. Rankings have blinded people’s ability to reason 
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souvik101990 · Answer

No ****!

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JohnJohnJ · Answer

Ha! This is the time I really want to give you credit for making a good choice, Ross is significantly better than UT Austin.

souvik101990 · Answer

Picked Ross over Stern too

Back to OP - please let us know when you decide! Posted from my mobile device

sloanieorsternie · Answer

Hi all - OP here. Thanks for all your responses! It's certainly validating to hear from others who have been in a similar situation as me (looking at you @MBASomeTime).

Since my original post, here are a few other thoughts/observations I've had:

1. Kellogg students have been much more active in reaching out. Two students reached out to chat, which turned into calls with five more students all pursuing the things I'm interested in. I also talked with an alum one year post-grad and my assigned AdCom member. In contrast, I only received one email from a Sloan student, and that's only because I'm a member of an underrepresented group. Not sure if this is typical of the campus culture for each place?

2. How common is it to graduate with $150k of debt with a $160k-ish target salary range (given my target industry)? Basically, am I the only one? I'm lucky to have worked in a decently lucrative position til now - how do folks coming from lower-paying industries/nonprofit backgrounds do it?

3. It's certainly telling that every other day or so I would come back to this page and cross my fingers that the vote tally was trending toward Sloan haha. I feel like if I chose Stern I would immediately regret it...

Given this, I've been seeking out other Sloanies and reaching out independently to get a better sense of the school and feel. The preview weekends for Kellogg and Sloan are coming up as well, which should be a fairly informative few days.

JohnJohnJ · Answer

It looks like you’ve made up your mind to go to Sloan, and I feel that all of them are a good choice. Jeff Bezos talked about a no regret framework and it doesn’t hurt following the same approach.

A forum like this usually has current MBA participants or those who want to get an MBA, with fewer alums. I would recommend talking to alums over current participants.

Schools are not equally represented here and participants on this forum may not be equally active, alums and employment reports will help you may a better decision.

Also, each person has a different risk appetite, for you $150k may mean a lot more than someone who inherited a few million $s from a dead uncle.

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freedom128 · Answer

Hi, I attended MIT Sloan info session in my city for two consecutive years (2018, 2019) and Kellogg once in 2018.

Sloanies (both panelists and non-panelists) are humble and helpful, and nobody regretted his/her choice over MIT Sloan. I can immediately sense of their analytical aptitude during informal conversation. Their communication style seemingly depends on their work/educational background (mostly engineering or econs)

On the other hand, Kellogg alumni (only panelists and their SOS come at that time) are also humble and helpful. In fact, all of them are in fact chatty and more extroverted than Sloanies. Perhaps, it is because Kellogg are strong in its marketing major.

Whether you pick up Sloan or Kellogg, I think you will benefit the school's strong network and excellent education. Now, it comes down on your risk appetite on incoming recession from 2020 onwards.

Btw. If you finally join Sloan, it would like to hear your personal story on how Sloan changes you in any way. I believe that being in Sloan is still one of the best choices on earth that a MBA aspirant could have.

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JohnJohnJ · Answer

Very interesting thought!

MBAApply2022 · Answer

While I am typically one who would ordinarily select money over slightly more prestige, go to Sloan. Your heart is clearly set on it and you would have a tinge of "What if..." for likely the rest of your life if you went to Stern. Post-MBA jobs all pay well, and you will pay off the loans quickly.

ayushkumar22941 · Answer

are you joining wharton ?

MIT Sloan vs. Stern ($$$$) [vs. Kellogg vs. Booth]

Should I go MIT Sloan or Stern??

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