Booth ($) vs. Darden ($$$)

Question

First, I've been a long time lurker on this site, and I wanted to thank everyone who has been contributing to the site for their insights and experiences. Second, I wanted to reach out to the community to get different perspectives on my situation. I recognize that this is a good situation to be in -- a first world problem, really -- but any insights would be helpful.

I am choosing between Booth ($20k/yr scholarship) and Darden (full tuition scholarship). While my post MBA goals are to enter into consulting (management consulting), I am also keeping an open mind towards other opportunities. My academic and work background is in engineering, though I have worked in various parts of an engineering company (R&D, business development, integration testing). As much as I can shape my coursework (depending on where I go), I plan on studying strategy and also finance, though again, I recognize that my major/class preferences can change as I learn more and get exposed to other functions/topics/ideas.

I visited Darden when I interviewed and I was extremely impressed with the school and the students. They really put forth the effort towards prospective students, and I really got a sense for the tight knit student community. I have yet to visit Booth, but I plan on attending the admit weekend.

Along with the general question of which school you would choose in this situation, I was also wondering:
1) Most would argue that Chicago offers a lot more than Charlottesville can in the social life/atmosphere and entertainment options categories. However, given how busy MBA students are, how much is one able to take advantage of the lifestyle perks of the school's location? Or is the answer to this as obvious as, 'dude, every weekend :lol:

'?

2) At Booth, even though there is a lot of flexibility in the curriculum, do the majority of the first years still take the same fundamental classes? Basically, even though there isn't a cohort/learning team is it mostly the same students in the foundation courses?

Thanks!

'? 2) At Booth, even though there is a lot of flexibility in the curriculum, do the majority of the first years still take the same fundamental classes? Basically, even though there isn't a cohort/learning team is it mostly the same students in the foundation courses? Thanks!

cheetarah1980 · Answer

1) Yes, you do get to take full advantage of the lifestyle perks of the school's location. You simply do so with your classmates. I have experienced a whole lot of Chicago's night life because of parties, TNDC, and other social events. The city is our playground.

2) Yes and no. At Booth you have to cover the foundations: micro, accounting, and stats. There are various classes that fill these requirements. Also you can take these classes when you want. In my first quarter I took micro and stats. Most of the people in my classes were also first year students. However, since there are so many sections of the basic level classes I didn't necessarily have the same people in my micro and stats classes. There were a few people I had multiple classes with. I liked having different study group members for each class. It gave me a chance to get to know more people.

I hope this helps somewhat and to see you at admit weekend. That's the best way to get a fuller picture of what Booth is like.

OptimisticApplicant · Answer

First step is obviously to go to Booth's admit weekend and see how you feel. That weekend could be a real game changer.

If you feel that you fit well at both schools, I'd recommend heading to Booth. If you were positive that you wanted to go into consulting post-MBA, I would have voted for Darden. However, since you seem unsure about your post-MBA plans (completely normal), I voted for Booth. The stronger brand name should open more doors / expose you to a wider variety of opportunities.

Best of luck. You really can't go wrong.

OA

Dbalks · Answer

Its really just one big NPV problem. It will take you a good amount of money over a good amount of time to make up the 60k difference you are facing. If you make an extra 10k a year, roughly it will take you 10 years to make the money back discounted at 10%.

But if money is no object to you and you get some sort of satisfaction and gratification from attending a more prestigous brand name, that weighs in too. And of course, the brand name is a brand name for a reason, and is one of the great schools in the country. Your experience there may be worth more than money.

Im looping around here cause I really dont think you can make a bad choice. Both are tremendous schools. Best of luck, keep us updated on your decision and how admit weekend at Booth goes.

CobraKai · Answer

If this was a 20K scholarship at Booth vs. a full-ride at a school ranked outside of the top-15, I would hands-down vote Booth. A full-ride from a school of Darden's caliber, however, is hard to ignore, especially since it sounds like you enjoyed your visit there.

If you absolutely love Booth when you visit, then you should go there. If you're torn because you love Darden but you want to go to Booth for the brand recognition, I'd go with Darden. You only get to do an MBA once and I'm putting a lot of stock into the experience vice the end result because the hardest part is over: you got admitted to two top schools, both will set you up for success. The question is how you want to spend the next two years of your life.

Good luck, and congrats!

Bigblue1010 · Answer

Agreed that you should visit Booth first before you make your decision. You're in a great situation where you really can't go wrong, but I would tend to agree with the post above. If your goal is MC, Darden is a highly respected institution that places well into MC, although Booth has a slightly stronger brand name. But if you can get the same job (MBB/Booz/Deloitte) regardless of the school you choose, then it would be tough to turn down a full ride.

kingfalcon · Answer

Agreed, but the problem here (and for all of us) is the uncertainty. Based on the employment reports, it *seems* he may have less access to MBB, but who knows if that is true in his case? Personally, if I was deciding between two schools and knew I'd get the same job coming out, I'd be heavily leaning towards the cheaper one (assuming all else is equal). That said, unfortunately nobody can know that :lol:

. I think everyone is giving very sound advice, honestly. Go to the Booth admit weekend and see if it's worth the extra $70K when you factor in fit, prestige, location, and employment opportunities.

kingfalcon · Answer

Also, here's more food for thought based on recent employment reports:

At Booth, of the 142 students who went into consulting, 73 went to McKinsey, Bain, or BCG (51%). (source: https://www.chicagobooth.edu/employmentr ... Report.pdf)

At Darden, of the 100* students who went into consulting, no more than 35 went to McKinsey, Bain, or BCG** (35%).

*(29.3% in Consulting)(class size of 340) = 99.62; sources: https://www.darden.virginia.edu/web/recr ... t-reports/ and https://www.darden.virginia.edu/web/uplo ... rt1112.pdf
**Based on Darden data submitted to Businessweek and assuming BCG acceptances are less than 7 (source: https://www.businessweek.com/bschools/ra ... arden.html)

cheetarah1980 · Answer

Consulting is EXTREMELY strong at Booth. The class is larger so there are obviously more people competing for those consulting gigs. However, MBB/Deloitte/Booz/etc. hire a crap ton of Boothies for internships and full-time positions. If consulting is your plan A then Booth is definitely a school that can get you there. Heck, if you're resume is really good some consulting companies will even reach out to you. 
If you get to school and the suits w/ no tie crew isn't for you there are still a ton of other recruiting options ranging from i-banking, asset management, marketing, general management, operations, social impact with companies like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, PIMCO, P&G, Dow Chemical, Apple, Education Pioneers, Nike, Google, and more. Or you can use the great resources at the Polsky center to start your own business (or glom onto someone else's team). Options are endless and I can personally attest to how supportive and helpful the career services team is when you choose to include them in your job search. 
I can't speak to what's available at Darden because I never researched the school nor applied. It wouldn't be right for me to make that comparison. I can only tell you where Booth stands in terms of your interest in consulting and/or exploring your options.

OptimisticApplicant · Answer

I'm not entirely convinced that this data is really relevant...

I'm not an expert, but I'd argue that the lower % of MBBers is likely to be an artifact of there being a higher proportion of highly qualified applicants at (the higher ranked) Booth than Darden. My guess is that this lower % is  not  driven by MBBs believing that having a degree from Booth makes you more qualified than having a degree from Darden...There's a reason they recruit at both schools...

Basically, I think that this applicant + a Darden MBA has the same chance of landing a MBB job as this applicant + a Booth MBA.

kingfalcon · Answer

Great point. I guess it comes down to a question of access. In other words, does a higher-ranked school offer a better chance to get that first interview? I don't know, but I would think so. I'd love to hear others' thoughts on this.

Edit: I've actually done a fair amount of research on this since I'm also targeting consulting and have applied to a Booth as well as a Duke, which many would agree is a peer to Darden. Anyways, I found this interesting tidbit on WSO:

Show Spoiler

"I'm at one of MBB, and for our MBA recruiting we don't really differentiate between the M7 and Tuck. Those are our 8 core schools in the US. All of them receive the same level of recruiting effort, meaning that we'll hold multiple presentations, multiple coffee chats/office hours/diversity events, and a full on campus interview schedule. Harvard and Wharton probably get a bit more attention, but that's just a function of the number of alums in our system not any conscious choice on the part of HR. I'd say 80% of our hires come from these 8 schools.

After Tuck we also interview on campus at about another 10 schools. These are our regional schools, and list changes from year to year based on the hiring needs of the offices near these schools. Generally we'll run a presentation, one office hours, and a limited on campus interview schedule at each of these schools. In the last couple of years we've hired at least a handful of people from each of Haas, Darden, Stern, Yale, Ross, McCombs, Tepper, Johnson, Kenan-Flagler, Fuqua, and Anderson. This is the other 20% of our hires

We'll also do resume drops at a few other places like Georgetown, Vanderbuilt, WUSTL, Indiana and a few others, but its rare that we'll hire more than a couple people from all those put together."

https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/w ... the-top-10

Take this with a grain of salt, of course, but it's interesting nonetheless.

Consulting2Finance · Answer

Shazbot,

First of all congrats on two great admits..honestly you'll do well wherever you choose. Last year I chose Darden with a half ride over Booth with no money so I had a similar cost differential between the schools as you.

I chose Darden for a variety of reasons that I would be happy to discuss with you but think Booth is an awesome program as well. I will say one thing: a generic poll is helpful but keep in mind that many people voting on here simply will click on the higher ranked school without giving much thought.

I am recruiting for investment banking but have many friends doing the consulting route. The big 3 each are interviewing about 40 candidates this year....how many offers that results in time will tell, but Darden is a core school for all of these firms and they each have been down for informational sessions, networking, dinners, and mock case workshops multiple times this fall.

From my experience, going into finance, I shared your concern that not going to a "finance factory" like Booth would limit my options. I have my interview schedule for next week and can say from my standpoint that hasn't been the case at all. I am fully confident I would have not received as many interviews going to Booth, for a variety of reasons I would love to discuss. I frankly was shocked by how well Darden is perceived by employers after I got here.

I lived in Chicago for 10 years before moving to Charlottesville so I can comment on both cities. Chicago is my favorite city in the world but there is also something to be said for going to school in a tight college town community. I also went to U of C for undergrad, and enjoyed it a lot, and can comment on the differences in the schools.

Bottom line, though, my best advice is unless it's HBS or Stanford, when choosing between two top 15 schools, go with the school you feel you fit best at and want to spend 2 years at. If money plays a roll due to personal circumstances, great, but for me it was a sweetener, not the be all and end all. Once you get a job, no one cares about your MBA program, and as long as the company you want to recruit at treats your school as a core school (meaning they have a target number of sports per year, they recruit on campus, etc...) and employs a critical mass of alumni, then you won't be limited by your choice. Booth has some advantages over Darden and Darden has some advantages over Booth.

I'd be happy to discuss if you would like. Send me a PM if you would like me to provide a bit more detail or would like to schedule a call.

codytravers · Answer

Excellent post C2F.

To OP, outside of H S, it's truly all about fit!! Good luck.

Shawshank · Answer

I have a different view from some of the posters. The way I see it, an MBA is a form of insurance, downside protection or hedging, if you will. It does NOT guarantee success, but a top MBA does protect you from much of the vagaries of the business/economic cycle in that you don't have to worry too much about finding a decent job even during a recession. Again, it does not mean that you will get your first choice job or that you will be happy in your career, but it does sort of ensure that you will have a comfortable white-collar life. More importantly though, an MBA provides career mobility and expands your options. Even if you're totally confident you want to do, say consulting, there's a good chance that 5-10 years down the road you want to make a drastic switch and do startups or long-short equity hedge fund. In that scenario you want to have a strong network and as many options as possible. This is why I think for MBA, you should go to the best school you get into regardless of money. It's presumably your last degree and thus the one that matters the most in the professional world. For MBA, the name brand matters a lot more than it does in say medicine or even law. Also, $60K is not that much in the grand scheme of things. Take the long view, and don't be short sighted. And you will need to look beyond the quantifiable and visit booth to see if you can see yourself there for 2 years, whether you like the culture/people/ambience, etc. I personally love booth but would be miserable at say darden or fuqua, so you really need to take the intangibles into account.

CurrentDardenStudent · Answer

As a 2nd year student, I would echo the earlier post from C2F.

In terms of the case method, it is definitely the most engaging classroom experience I have ever had - and challenges you to be a better communicator and also highly analytical about the case material. My favorite course in the first year core curriculum was Accounting, which I never would have predicted. But it was very interesting, strategic, and even philosophical at times - again, things I never thought I would say about accounting but it was all about the format and style of the course. So, I have gotten a great deal out of the case method and think overall it has lived up to the hype.

On the recruiting front, management consulting is a very popular track at Darden and I have been very impressed with the caliber and depth of firms recruiting on campus. Certainly, the Big 3 are represented and recruit heavily, as do others such as Deloitte, Booz, AT Kearney, and smaller boutique shops. I consider consulting one of Darden's strong suits, although I didn't personally pursue this path.

And in terms of location, I understand the draw of a great city like Chicago - and I can't speak to that experience personally since I have only visited - but being in Charlottesville, for me, has been great. I consciously chose to attend school in a small city because it supports Darden's strong community; everyone is here for the student experience and you go through the experience together. You won't have the variety of bars and restaurants and cultural venues like you would in a big city, but I've really enjoyed being in a college town with nice places to go out, and lots of outlets in the outdoors - like wine tasting, golf, any sport you'd want to play, hikes, all within a couple of miles of the school. Admittedly, I lived in NYC for 6 years prior so maybe I was looking for a bit of fresh air but I haven't looked back.

Hope this helps.

Booth ($) vs. Darden ($$$)

Booth ($) vs. Darden ($$$)

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