Fuqua, Ross, LBS vs Stern for Management Consulting

Question

Greetings GMAT club members, I am having some trouble determining where I am going to attend B school next year. I was admitted into a few good schools (Stern, Fuqua, Ross, LBS, Cornell, Yale) and rejected from others (Berkley, Kellogg, Darden). I have successful start up experience and want to work in Management Consulting for a MBB type firm after my MBA (prefer NYC/Boston/ east coast).Yes, I have reached out to consulting clubs and many give me conflicting answers about placement. Now all schools seem to say that they provide access to recruiters (which is for the most part true). Here is my issue: I have no real consulting experience and I have a lower than average GMAT (think slightly below 700). I am trying to figure out which program is best suited to help me break into top tier Management Consulting and provides the best support and least judgment.

I read on Beatthegmat that someone actually retook their GMAT to get an interview for management consulting and that thought terrified me...do a lot of people actually do this to break into management consulting after getting accepted? Which school, out the options afforded to me do you think provides the best support to aspirants looking to break into management consulting for the big Three. I think I have it narrowed down to

Fuqua
Ross
London Business School (for europe MC placement, would strongly prefer US- and would 100% want to come back within 2-3 years maximum)

Any thoughts?

Retaking my GMAT is not an option and reapplying is not a consideration at this point.

scorpionz · Answer

Stern. But it's not separated from the others by a huge margin.

Ross is a close second because I do know Ross folks who got into MBB. However, given Stern's proximity to the geographic area you are targeting, Stern would be way more helpful from a networking perspective during your MBA. From what I understand, Ross folks tend to end up more in the Midwest or the Bay area rather than East Coast.

LBS is an excellent choice and if I were in your shoes, I would have taken LBS any day. But then that's because I don't have any qualms regarding working in Europe vs NA..Given your preference of working in the NE side, I'm not sure what kind of opportunities you would have down the line. Stern on the other hand is a much surer way of ensuring that you work in the region of your choice..

Just my two cents..Hope it helps!

scorpionz · Answer

And regarding retaking the GMAT, I wouldn't worry about it too much at this stage. What you could do is reach out to the Management Consulting Club & the Career Services of the school you finally decide on and check with them regarding your concern. Take a call based on what they have to say...

Yankee121 · Answer

Thank you for your detailed response. It is greatly appreciated. To be honest, Stern was not my top choice, just because I did not want to attend a "commuter school" and justified or not, that is what my interactions with the Stern community felt like like. I just picture myself attending Fuqua or Ross more, or maybe LBS. I will look into NYU Stern more and see how their MC placement is (I heard it was not very good though from current students)

shorttheworld · Answer

stern is a finance and banking school, not an MC school. ross will give you mostly midwest and some northeast exposure while fuqua will give you southern/east coast exposure for main offices... id pick between those two and for me id be horribly biased at fuqua since im going there. warmer weather among other things > cold weather in the d

why are people voting for lbs? lol

why are people voting for lbs? lol

Yankee121 · Answer

LBS is considered a core for top tier MC firms and is sometimes (unjustifiably) compared to Whartan/Kellogg/Chicago in terms of reputation. I am not sure if I believe this claim but perhaps that is the reason why people think MC will be easier for LBS. It just seems that the brand name dos not carry much weight in the US and the alumni base in MC in NYC/Northeast is VERY limited. Linked in shows, for example, that the only consultants from LBS at some top consulting firms are those students who studied abroad at LBS (from schools like Kellogg, Ross, Whartan etc), not students who attend LBS full time

I am still open to exploring either one of these options and I appreciate, shorttheworld, your response. Good luck at Fuqua and maybe ill join you there!

scorpionz · Answer

Good points batman28.

I wonder why people harp on the fact that Stern is a finance school and hence not the right school for consulting. As per Stern's employment report, a good 21% students get into Consulting. Wouldn't you think that the school will have a good career services support structure in place for a function/industry that takes in 1/5th of the class? Besides it might not be a stretch to say that it is slightly easier to get interview face time with your top recruiter in Consulting at Stern v/s some other school which has traditionally been a hotspot for Consulting since you would be competing with fewer people...

Every recommendation has to be made in light of several personal factors as well rather than purely on school reputations. Given the OP's focus on North East, Stern is definitely a strong contender and not a school to be considered lightly...

SalesGuy4MBA · Answer

Here is Fuqua's most recent employment report. Hopefully it helps with the decision. https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/documents/mba ... ats2010-11

asimov · Answer

Based on your descriptions I would say:
Fuqua = Ross > Stern > LBS

Fuqua and Ross both have strong placement in management consulting, due to the more team oriented classroom training. Consultants work on teams, and appreciate good team skills. I would say both are equal as far as placement into the NE offices. Although Stern is in a good location, I feel that Stern is a strong finance focused school. It may have a very slight advantage when it comes to networking for the NYC office, but the NYC office is one of the most competitive offices in the world – no school has dominance in here.

For LBS, your chance of working in the US is slim, at least initially. I heard transfer to the US offices is very difficult, since the offices here are the most in demand. Also, MC world really depend on the economic cycle. In strong economic environment, firms have the money to pay $$$ to MC to consult. Europe is going through a lot of trouble right now. I heard the placement in Europe is not great right now. I’m not sure how much that would change in 1.5 years.

ke18sb · Answer

Just look at employment reports. Duke and Ross have basically the same sent to the MBB - only difference is Ross has a slightly larger class size so on a percentage basis Duke has a minor edge. More importantly Ross probably sends people to midwest offices where as Duke sends people to East/Southern offices. So its also where you want to be.

SalesGuy4MBA · Answer

Agree with above. Below is the link to Ross career stats. However, i will add that there are lots of students that go to the northeast for consulting from Fuqua. I'm actually doing a strategy consulting internship in Boston this summer. Our Fuqua 2013 class is comprised 24% from the Northeast and many of us are going to go back north after graduation. https://www.bus.umich.edu/EmploymentData ... panies.htm

JeremyLin · Answer

For consulting in the US, I would eliminate LBS from the picture.

Out of the US schools, Fuqua > Ross > Stern.

Yankee121 · Answer

There is a lot of love for Fuqua and not Ross. I thought Ross, with the MAP program, would be ideal for those switching into management consulting and the school seems to be more friendly to those with less traditional backgrounds looking to switch to top tier MC ...it seems, and again, this could be off, that Fuqua appears to have an elitist vibe that I dont sense at Ross (e.g, students pressing the importance of GMAT scores for MC recruiting, more emphasis on pedigree/brand names). Again, I could not attend Fuqua (or Ross's) admitted student weekend this weekend, so I could be very wrong about making judgements about the community based on my limited interactions. My gut tells me Ross, but I am going to look into Fuqua more. I appreciate that so many people voted and are providing great advice. If anybody has anything else to add to help make my decision, please do let me know, but I eliminated LBS and now it's mostly between Ross and Fuqua! Big decision in the next few weeks

Also pardon typos, on iPad.

Also pardon typos, on iPad.

ArmanS · Answer

I am also considering MC as one of the possible career paths. And frankly, for me among the listed schools LBS - is a no brainer. However (taking into account your goal to return to the US) the US schools may be a better choice for you.

Anyway, some statistics that may be helpful
Which MBA Will Open The Door to McKinsey, BCG and Bain?
 https://news.top-consultant.com/UK/Which-MBA-Will-Open-The-Door-to-McKinsey-BCG-and-Bain-8295.html

Some statistics from employment reports 2011
 LBS

Class size 403
Mckinsey 39
BCG 21
Bain 10

Base salary $121 206
Sing-on bonus $27 853
Year end bonus $35 601

Ross

Class size 496
Mckinsey 19
BCG 13
Bain 8

Base salary $103,000
Sing-on bonus $24,186
Other Guaranteed Compensation (includes year-end performance bonus, tuition reimbursement and guaranteed overtime) $26,574

Fuqua

Class size 453
Mckinsey 15
BCG 14
Bain 7

Base salary $107,833
Sing-on bonus $25,946
Other guaranteed compensation $15,135

Yankee121 · Answer

I have some personal reasons why I would prefer to stay in the east coast post MBA. When I applied, I was very excited about the prospect of leaving the United States and working in Europe, but unfortunately, right now, its not a preferable route for me. Yes, I understand your point that I should have applied to Harvard, Whartan & Tuck...but Tuck was not a good fit for me and Harvard/Whartan, to be honest, I did not think I had a reasonable shot. I applied to wide range of top tier schools to ensure that I have better options.

Yankee121 · Answer

Thanks for pointing that out. Retaking is not an option for me (I have a 690)- If MBB does not work out, I am sure that I will be happy at other company. I just wanted to gauge an idea of which school would provide me the most access given that I have a lower GMAT score.

Yankee121 · Answer

Another question: Does the fact that I was awarded a full tuition fellowship make me a more competitive applicant for MBB recruiting at a Ross/Fuqua/Stern level school.

In college, for example, I had a full tuition scholarship and it was very helpful in my career search on campus (I decided not to ultimately accept any on campus opportunities, but the presidential scholar award helped). Do you feel that my fellowship awards will helpful in having MBB firms look past my 690 GMAT score? I assume it is just "one part" of their consideration, just like the MBA application process.

I wasn't awarded a full tuition fellowship at Fuqua, but my fellowship offers from many schools (excluding LBS) were very competitive. Also, I am very fortunate to be in the position to pay for my education wherever I attend, so I wanted to make the decision solely based on recruiting potential and geographic preferences.

Yankee121 · Answer

this decision is really difficult

I appreciate all your assistance though. I will be sure to post my final decision.

thugly921 · Answer

It is a difficult decision but don't stress too much about it. You will be successful wherever you end up. This isn't as crucial as you think it may be.

aalba005 · Answer

I like the employment report analysis.

I would be careful with LBS if your ultimate goal is in the U.S. as an international transfer between MBB offices can take a while and the decision comes down to the U.S office willingness to take you on as a transfer and is not guaranteed.

You can't go wrong between Duke or Ross but Duke has had a MAJOR upswing with MC recruiting and MBB is looking to continue their recruiting goals with Duke.

You can do a search on Poets & Quants for "McKinsey Doubles MBA Hires At Duke" and you can see the analysis.

good luck with your decision.

Fuqua, Ross, LBS vs Stern for Management Consulting

Stern vs Ross vs Fuqua vs LBS

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