Good MBA programs near Washington DC, and San Francisco

Question

My wife and I currently live in San Francisco and are considering either staying here or going to the East Coast (where she has many more job opportunities in her field, especially in Washington DC).

I know that there are great schools in NY, Boston, and a number of other cities, but have not hear of anyting in the DC area. Anyone know what the best MBA programs near our nations capitol are?

Alternatively, if we stay in the Bay Area (San Francisco), I would love to go to Stanford or Haas - but they are also some of the hardest schools in the world to get into. Anyone know more about other MBAs offered by Universities in this area (USF, Goldengate, SF State, USSF, UCSJ, UCSC?)

Thanks

aerien · Answer

This depends on what you want to get out of an MBA program. Obviously location is important, but you also have to take into account what kind of program you want (FT/PT), academic areas, placement in the industry/function you want to enter or remain in, fit, etc.

Going by ranking and my general knowledge, DC schools include Georgetown, GWU, UVA (if you want to drive a ways), Johns Hopkins (they have a DC campus as well as their MD campus), and some of the UMD schools.

SF area schools aside from Stanford and Haas include USF, SF State, and UC Davis (again, if you want to drive a bit).

Obviously not an exhaustive list and you should think about what you want to do with an mba, but hopefully this gives you a start. Take a look at the specific school threads on this site for more information on each.
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christianl · Answer

Thanks Aerien,

My primary focus is entrepreneurship and, perhaps even more, technology/energy (clean). I hear there is a fairly strong tech sector in tech sector in the Washington DC area, obviously it is very strong here in the Bay Area. 
Stanford has strong connections, entrepreneurship focus and a strong brand. Berkeley has a lot of connections, energy focus and a strong brand. Both are very difficult to get into. 
Do you know good Georgetown, GWU, Johns Hopkins, USF, Golden Gate, or SF State are in these?

Thanks

aerien · Answer

Hi christianl,
Sorry, I don't know more specifics about those schools. Please take advantage of the school-specific threads on this forum as well as the Business School Guides forum for more information. Good luck!

asimov · Answer

When you say entrepreneurship, I assume that you want to work for a startup, rather than starting your own business. If you want to start your own business, you don’t need an MBA. For working with startups, the most important thing is the network of startups in the specific industry in the area. The Bay Area is a hub for both tech and clean energy. Outside of the Bay Area, NYC and Austin also attract many tech startups/funding. I do not believe DC is particularly strong in the startup scene. Maybe it’s because government overshadows everything there.

Haas and Stanford are the obvious top options for you. As you pointed out, those are two of the most selective schools. I think your next bet is to look at the NYC/Austin (maybe Boston) schools for the location (CBS, McCombs, Wharton, Sloan, HBS) or at schools strong in environment (Fuqua, Ross, Yale) for access to similarly minded classmates.

wbelmont22 · Answer

I agree with Aerien. You may have to drive a bit if you're looking for location specific schools to attend. A University of Maryland school that is on the 2012 Businessweek B-Schools rankings page, https://www.businessweek.com/bschools/rankings, is the Smith School of Business ranked at #42. You'll find yourself traveling at least a half hour, one way, if you live in Washington D.C. and travel to UMD. There are plenty of other schools listed on here as well but I thought this would help! Good luck with your move to the east coast.

MBAbot · Answer

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Good MBA programs near Washington DC, and San Francisco

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