Anderson or Marshall?

Question

I'm fortunate to have been accepted to Anderson with a 60% fellowship offer and Marshall with a full tuition offer. What should I do? I know this question has been getting asked quite a bit, but I'm interested in hearing what decision you would make.

If it's helpful, I'd like to go into non-profit management and work in urban education. I already live in LA and want to stay local so focused my efforts on these schools.

Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

-B

Thoughts? Thanks in advance!

-B

rgupta83 · Answer

In all honesty, I am not sure what those jobs place outside of school. If you think paying 40% of the tuition at UCLA might be an issue then choose Marshal. Anderson is definitely a better program overall.

I think if the money is not an issue. I would see what school has better place and alumni in that specific field you are interested in. That will be the key in 2 years as you are looking for a job.

RG0105 · Answer

Do you have a preference in terms of fit? I've visited both and definitely had a stronger connection to one over the other. But if class size, culture of students, program characteristics, etc. don't really matter, I would choose the higher ranked school, which in this case would be UCLA. If money is a factor, go with USC.

method · Answer

Not sure if it's still going, but USC has a EdD/MBA dual degree, which is insanely uncommon. I also remember Marshall offering a concentration in education, again: insanely uncommon (https://classic.marshall.usc.edu/ecg/con ... cation.htm) Given you have more money at USC too, I would go with Marshall.

tctc33 · Answer

Based on your interests, I would go with Marshall. The fact is, those aren't fields that large numbers of MBA grads go into, so your job search is going to be much more self-facilitated than if you were going into something like consulting where the companies come to campus. Furthermore, any rankings difference (a whopping 5 spots or whatever it is) only really matters for stuff like banking or consulting recruitment. Finally, those aren't the most lucrative fields, so you'll probably appreciate having the extra dough saved (or having less debt, as the case may be).

If you really loved Anderson and money really isn't an issue (i.e. you have a whole lot of it in the bank or someone else is paying) then you could consider it, but based on what you've said and the above info on Marshall's education concentrations, I would go with USC.

If you really loved Anderson and money really isn't an issue (i.e. you have a whole lot of it in the bank or someone else is paying) then you could consider it, but based on what you've said and the above info on Marshall's education concentrations, I would go with USC.

GMATLA · Answer

I think if it is truly a toss up for you, and I would go with USC to save the money. USC and UCLA are both excellent schools, with a great local reputations. In the industry you are going into, school reputation isn't as important, and as someone else said, it might make sense for you to save the money. If you plan on staying in SoCal USC will look great on the resume too. If you don't plan on staying in SoCal, then UCLA tends to have a better reputation around the state and country. Both are excellent school's, with excellent career centers, excellent alumni/resources, and some great students.

Plus, if you are looking to do Urban Education then you will already have a great start living next to USC

. It's a lot more "urban" than UCLA in Westwood. Just realize that UCLA is usually #1 over USC in the MBA decision, so the caliber of students you are surrounded by will be slightly lower.... although still extremely high compared to normal population.

Good luck with this exciting (and fortunate) decision.

. It's a lot more "urban" than UCLA in Westwood. Just realize that UCLA is usually #1 over USC in the MBA decision, so the caliber of students you are surrounded by will be slightly lower.... although still extremely high compared to normal population. Good luck with this exciting (and fortunate) decision.

bschoolprofile · Answer

Thanks for all your replies.

I mentioned in a prior post my interest in non-profit management. That hasn't changed, but after talking to some students with similar long-term career interests as me, it seems like a detour into consulting or finance could be ultimately beneficial down the line.

Given this, would your decision between Marshall (w/$$$) and Anderson (w/$$) change?

Anderson or Marshall?

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards