UCLA MBA vs. LBS MiM

Question

Hi all,
I have been stalking the forum for months (benefited a lot from the advice on preparing for the GMAT!) and decided to finally make my first post.

I have been accepted to UCLA for an MBA and to LBS for a Masters in Management (MiM) and am having a hard time deciding which to accept. Any thoughts, experiences with these programs or advice that anyone is happy to share would be very much appreciated!

A bit of background on the MiM: It is a reasonably new one-year program targeted at students with no work experience. The curriculum is similar to that of the first year of an MBA.

Career-wise I am extremely interested in consulting, however also keen on finance and completely open to banking. Keen to work in LA, NY or London. No real preference between these three.

My background is a little unusual. I am from New Zealand and just finished my undergrad at the end of last year. No work experience aside from academic research-assistant work and tutoring. Age: 21. GMAT: 760, v44, q49. GPA 4.0, top of class of 2011. Undergrad major: finance. Completed an exchange during my undergrad to UCSD in 2010 (really loved so cal!).

Antipodes · Answer

Bump. Anyone keen to share their thoughts?

jianbinger · Answer

i just turned down my LBS MiM admit for 2012 for Duke Fuqua MMS, but then again I am partially from the EU and want to start a career in the US..

asimov · Answer

Given your age and experience, I think the LBS MiM would be better suited for you. Although Anderson is a good program, you will be hard pressed to find a job without work experience. The exception would be in consulting and banking. But then again, you can get consulting and banking jobs from LBS MiM as well.

The advantage I see in the LBS MiM is that you can always go back to get an MBA at a later time. Given your stats, I'm sure you'll get into a much better school than Anderson. The downside is that the job available to MiM graduates are not on par with MBA graduates.

jianbinger · Answer

ok, here is a quick one then, for me:
although I mainly chose Duke MMS over the LBS MiM 
because I want to 
- work in the US/go to China later
- US-China related business
- do marketing/media/consulting related work
- and am an EU citizen, and got US papers to work also

what would one say for LBS over Duke Fuqua?
-better business school/more hard core business focus?
-london location? 
-better company connections?

Just curious. Thanks,

PS: i got undegrad degree in business administration from EU country, and study Chinese on the side..

Antipodes · Answer

Hi Jianbinger, I actually got admitted to the fuqua MMS and turned it down. Sounded like a great program, but the LBS MiM sounded like it would probably fit me better. The london location, and reputation and network of the school in Europe definitely appealed. Starting in September instead of July was also a plus, I would have been hard pressed to get the Visa stuff sorted for a July start at the Duke MMS.

From what I have heard though you are definitely right, if you are very keen to work in the US (at least for the first few years) you are better off with Duke over LBS. LBS just doesn't have the reputation in the US that duke does.

Hi asimov, thanks a lot for your advice. I contemplated doing the MiM and potentially doing an MBA later, but thought that may not be the best route. I know you cannot be accepted to do a second MBA, even if your first was from an unknown school and I thought that given this I would be hard pressed to make a case for an MBA to a school when I have already got a business undergrad and a post-grad management degree (an MiM). Do you think this reasoning is valid?

I realise that doing the MiM would be the more traditional route than doing the MBA now. Also, LBS has had some great banking and consulting placements from the MiM. However, I am still tempted to do the UCLA MBA now. It sounds like a more comprehensive program (chance to do electives, career treks, an exchange etc), also it presents an opportunity to potentially enter the job market at a higher level than as an MiM grad (though I realise this may not actually turn out to be the case due to my lack of experience).

asimov · Answer

I don't think BBA + MiM would disadvantage you in your future pursuit of an MBA. Schools understand that the economy isn't what it used to be, and that you may not have gotten your dream job out of college, and decided to further polish your skills with a graduate degree.

I do want to throw a word of caution, since you already have a BBA. I do not believe, MiM would have an advantage over BBA (especially a BBA from a good school) in the job market. The only reason I see of doing a MiM at LBS is that you want to work in consulting or banking in Europe and currently do not have a job offer from consulting or banking.

Although Anderson is a good business school, you will face an uphill battle in your internship and job search if you have no prior work experience (especially since you are international). Good stats is not enough when it comes to internship. You are competing against the best and the brightest from all of the country, not just Anderson. If you do not place into consulting and banking, it would be difficult to get into industry without prior work experience. Although age isn't an official issue, would you put a 22/23 year-old without work experience in charge of people much older and experienced? This isn't only true of Anderson, I bet Harvard and Stanford MBAs without work experience would be hard pressed to get a job in industry. Those more prestigious schools can accept students without work experience, because the admits stand better odds of placing into banking or consulting.

Just my two cents.

Antipodes · Answer

Asimov, thanks a lot for your reply. Great to hear that a BBA and MiM combo probably would not preclude a later mba. 
I have a lot of pride in my undergrad institution (victoria university of wellington), but I realise that its doesn't have much of a reputation internationally. Hence, the MiM from LBS hopefully would give me a meaningful leg up in the job search. 
Thanks a lot for your comments re. the challenges of getting an internship and searching for a job post-mba without work experience. I'd much rather be aware of these than to jump into an mba thinking the job search will be easy!

Antipodes · Answer

I definitely realise that placing into industry would be very hard. However, what do you think my chances of placing into banking or consulting from an Anderson MBA (at a lower entry level than other MBAs with work experience) would be?

asimov · Answer

If you were to get a job in consulting or banking from Anderson, it would be for an MBA level job, not undergraduate level. I think the issue is it would be more difficult to get one without any experience. For international it is even more difficult, because some companies do not sponsor international work authorization. I think your best bet would be going for one of the international offices, maybe in Australia, where the competition is less fierce. If you do go to Anderson, I would suggest you start the conversation with the career counselor early.

Antipodes · Answer

Hi asimov, thanks for the quick reply, and thanks again for offering an honest assessment.

jianbinger · Answer

Thanks for the input. I hear this everywhere, that location matters. 
As we are talking about a pre-experience degree, I just am afraid it may be even more true as the person coming out of it has only the network of the school..as an MBA has already some clout from the company...

I am an EU citizen, but can also work in the US (thus my dilemma). 
1) Correct me if I am wrong, but in that case a Duke degree in the US would carry me even better, as I am considered international in the US and companies don't have to worry about sponsoring me..

At LBS tho, I'd be the interesting link who studies at London, is not fully american and tries to get back to the US (New York).. Or we can look at from LBS being the top business school in Europe like H/S in the US....

However, I just don't want to make a mistake if I go Duke way:
yes, LBS is elite, but Duke Fuqua should also be quite elite no??
yes, LBS is pure business, but I am mainly interested in US-China related business. Really, had enough of 20+ years of EU..
yes, if I go to LBS I may jeopardize my green card application for the US.
(and I don't even know how the exchange rate and loans would work out in the UK...)

Am I not missing out on all the top 4 consulting, major IB stunts and all that London has to offer? Wouldn't I be considered a #1 instead of a #3 global MiM and more hats would go off after the LBS name?

OVERALL:
Does the Fuqua clout compare to the same opportunities in terms of company reach/alumni network strength as an LBS one? 
Is it REALLY not so advisable to go to LBS for the sake of the brand and then try with every effort to get back to the US after graduation??

Antipodes · Answer

Hi jianbinger,
I don't think I am the most informed person on your queries, maybe someone else will be able to chime in? 
What I will say is that the Duke MMS program looks awesome! It also sounds to me like you have put a lot of though into it and is a great choice.

UCLA MBA vs. LBS MiM

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