Kenan-Flagler($$$$) vs Rotman($$$) vs Darden($$) for Indian

If you were single Darden would have been a no brainer. But, you have a complicated situation. With H4 under the radar you might also want to consult your wife regarding her career aspirations. I guess you already have and very well understand the Visa situation. Having said that if the end goal is to move to Canada in 4-5 years then Rotman should be your choice as I don't see any major benefit coming from Darden in such short time.

What's your post-MBA career goal (industry / function)?
For example, if you go into consulting you will earn great in US. You can do that for 2-4 years and then move to Canada at a much higher level and you will get good positions.

Once your respond, I can write more.

Thanks for the responses and the votes. Much appreciated! However, I am surprised till now that Kenan-Flagler hasn’t gotten a single vote, even though I am getting a full ride. And we won’t have to shell out as much as 60k (of after tax money) for tuition at Darden (after 50% funding).

I should also make it clear that both my wife and I are on H1B visa right now. We both plan to do our mba and she will be applying for a fall 2020 start.

I am thinking of strategy consulting after mba but might opt for general management if I like that better. I am not sure the hectic consulting lifestyle would suit me even though I find the work appealing. Hence I dont want to put too much weight on the very high consulting salaries.

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Looking at your situation I would say go for Darden. In my humble opinion it will give you a much better brand value outside U.S. As far as U.N.C is concerned it's a great school but it's not in Darden's league. 60k would have been a deciding factor for an Indian candidate who is just moving to U.S and might not get H1B. With Darden you have a much better shot at MBB and the extra money won't matter much in the long run. But it's your money after all and it's your call.

I agree with the other comments..... depending on what we know as of now ? .......Darden seems to be a better choice even if you have to shell out some bucks..........all the best.

Thanks all for your opinions. I will post a response to this post once we make a decision.

Did you make the decision? Where are you going finally, curious to know

Yes, we did. It was a very tough decision and was made even harder after seeing responses to this post contrary to our expectations but after much debate we have zeroed on UNC Kenan-Flagler since we don’t have to pay anything and I only have three years left on my h1b visa. If I had about 5 or so years left, then probably I would have considered going to Darden. We also visited the schools and found people at Kenan-Flagler and Rotman really great to talk to; Darden was also good but our experience at the other two was definitely better.

For now, the plan is to move to Canada after exhausting our H1B visa time in the US. Rotman was really great but we felt Canadian market is much smaller than US and as someone in an earlier post suggested that we can always move to Canada after US experience, so we might end up doing that.

We think Kenan-Flagler is a safe and the best decision for us; even if the economy tanks or the immigration policies are no longer conducive to working here, we won’t have to worry about a $70k-80k loan (for darden).

Thanks a lot everyone for your help!

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Aakashsharma1

I’m sorry but it just makes zero sense to me how you didn’t choose Rotman, especially if you plan to settle down in Canada in the long term!

First, in terms of earning potential, even if you earn better after graduating from US schools, you’ll be living in the US and things are more expensive there, of course you’ll need to earn more! In Canada everything is already paid for; you don’t have to pay much except for food and a house. Your health care, school for children and many other expenses are basically free in Canada!! Moreover, the fact that you received 75% tuition from Rotman (obviously you’re really smart) will mean that you have to worry even less about money in Canada!

Second, if you plan to go to Canada after a few years of working in the US, your PR process will be harder, since you’ll have to do Business Stream or Entrepreneurship stream. Entrepreneurship stream will require you to have a business of your own, which I doubt will be possible since you’re an Indian living in the US. If you hope that a Canadian company in the US will sponsor you, there are not many companies like that, and if there were, there would be more competition from all international students. Your immigration plan to Canada will be very difficult to succeed.

Third, if you plan to live in Canada in the long term, it’ll be better for you to start making connections in Canada! The network of Rotman is HUGE. They’ll be more likely to help someone from their own school (which also happens to be the top school/ one of the top schools in Canada) rather than someone from the US from some school. Moreover, I doubt if there are a lot of UNC (or even Darden, for that matter) alumni in Canada. I also doubt if people here have even heard of UNC or Darden, but University of Toronto (Rotman) is very well known.

Fourth, the H1B is also very sporadic - lottery is still lottery no matter how smart or how desirable you are to the companies, you still have to face a tough ratio. You also already have a family and might plan to have kids (schools in Canada are free by the way), so I think it’ll be tough to uproot the whole family to move somewhere/ live in uncertainty for the foreseeable future. I’m not sure what h1b is like for your spouses, but the PR process in Canada is really favorable to families - you only need one person to be employed and to sponsor the other, let alone you have two very capable smart people who are you and your wife! Your prospects for great opportunities both in terms of jobs and immigration are much better in Canada. And the thing is MBA is already the highest education that can sponsor your immigration, both in US and Canada. If you want to study again to go through another lottery again (in the US) or to be considered for PR (in Canada), then it’ll have to be PhD, or medical school, or law school, which can get heavy and cumbersome.

Anyways, it’s just baffling to me that you’d choose any one of the US schools - UNC and Darden - over Rotman, especially given your objective and circumstance....

He has already made the decision, so I am a bit surprised at your tone, which is a bit harsher than what I would expect.

Re: Canada, making a move to Canada from US schools is not as challenging and you can totally do it. You do not need a PR to work in Canada and once you move there you can start the PR process right away. Having said that, I am sure you have weighed in your options and UNC is a great school to do your MBA in!

Keep us posted about how the journey goes, and if you want to make a post on how you got those fantastic admits, it would really help out the community!

To add a bit more, I think the OP has Canadian PR - that's my guess and the reason why they are thinking of moving to CA after the MBA. I can see that move if the OP wants to stay in the US after graduation for a while longer and see what they can do by getting a job here...

shabuzen102, are you pretty familiar with Rotman?

Oh I’m sorry that I came across as harsh! I totally didn’t mean to. No I don’t know Rotman well, but I am an international student and I’ve jumped through those h1b or sponsorship hoops and they’re so random and unfair that I’d hate for other people to have to go through the same thing. And it just sounds like the OP is really smart and the schools seem to love him, and the fact that he already has a family just makes me feel related to him more than I should have probably felt (I also have a family and have to consider a lot of factors when I make any decisions) thus the urging sense of my previous post. The job market in the US Is also incredibly tough and to find a company that you like and that at the same time agrees to take risks and sponsor you (the risk is that you might not get selected through the lottery system and they’d lose an employee and waste a year training you). Thinking about all those obstacles just baffles me that he’d still choose those schools when he has Rotman as his choice!!!

But if he already has PR then it’s another story. Although I’d still argue that the networking opportunities in Canada would be better if he wants to work there long term.

Thinking back I honestly don’t know why I got so emotional in my previous post. Maybe it was because I could relate to him and thinking that he let go a good choice that could be good for his family in the long term. Maybe I want other people who have to make similar decisions will see my point of view. But I do hope the best for him and his family!

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All good. I think it’s fantastic you felt invested for this user. At this time though they have already made their choice and gone through a year of the MBA program. I’m hoping that we could perhaps hear from them about how it all turned out. I’m going to p.m. the OP.

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Yeah let us know how it goes! He does sound like he's smart from all the scholarships that he's got, may luck be on his side, too!

Erm....at the risk of sounding harsh again (I really am not and I think that it'd be helpful for others to be aware of this, not just the OP), I'd like to note that if the husband has H1B, and the wife for some reason does not have it (knock wood), then she cannot work at all. In that case, they'll either have to do long-distance relationship so she can work again somewhere else, or she'll have to wait until after he gets his green card and sponsors her so she could work. Whereas in Canada, if one has PR, the spouse can still get an open work permit and work as a temporary resident. Therefore, I think it'll be extra important that both of them keep their H1B status intact during their time in the U.S. (Also, H1B companies can choose to renew their sponsorship but if they decide to be mean, they can just end it, and it's really not a good situation).

I apologize if I sound negative but I just have to say it because if I don't I'll feel really guilty....

Thanks for clarifying! It’s great to see passionate people on the forum.

As to the H4, his wife can start working as soon as his employer files the green card so it could be as soon as 1-2 years after he gets a job.

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