Wharton-Lauder vs MIT vs Yale vs Duke

Question

Hello Guys! Thanks for taking the time to read my post. I have a little problem here! I feel fortunate to have been accepted at four Business Schools for the full-time MBA program. Let me share with you my background, I am an engineer from Latin America looking to make a transition from IT Consulting to Management Consulting (hopefully MBB in Latin America or Spain). I want to work in strategy projects. I have been accepted at Wharton-Lauder (starts in early may), MIT Sloan, Yale (with almost half tuition scholarship) and Duke (with a little scholarship). Also, I have been put in Chicago Booth waitlist... I dont know why because I think there is a lot of cross-admit from Wharton and Chicago

So far I really like the professional opportunities of Wharton-Lauder and the "fit" of MIT Sloan. From talking to current students and alumni I feel more comfortable speaking with Sloanies

... I dont know why, maybe because we are engineers? I think Booth is the middle point: great location, similar opportunites to Wharton and similar "fit" of Sloan.... I really want to wait for the waitlist decision but by the time they release the decision with Round 2 (March 27) I will already have the visa, paperwork, even a roommate if I choose Wharton Lauder (starts in the first week of May). Please could you share some light about the difference of MBB recruitment in Wharton-Lauder vs MIT? Is there a big gap between those 2 top schools? I tried looking at employment reports but they are not detailed enough :!:

Another point to consider is financial aid, do you know if I can get a scholarship/fellowship from Booth if accepted from the waitlist? Or can I negotiate it?. Wharton covers 80% of student budget (international student loan) but since I will be in the Lauder program I have to bring like 50k from my pocket (I will have only like 30k by the time school starts), I dont want to have my MBA experience limited due to money. MIT Sloan covers almost 100%. Also, I am really interested in the LGBT life during the 2 years of the MBA. Maybe a LGBT gmatclubber can share with me his/her experience in those schools :wink:

? I know Wharton has a big LGBT club but they are too party-oriented I think (I dont drink alcoholic beverages, I dont dance either!). I will try to visit Wharton for the admit weekend, unfortunately MIT holds its admit weekend in April but will visit campus and attend a class anyways. PS: I may have a second short-term goal to break into the Videogames industry for a Management/Marketing position (only if MBB doesnt work out for me). Thanks a lot again for your support! Best Regards, Latam Consultant

domotron · Answer

I voted for Sloan. It sounds like you feel like it's the best fit + the loan situation is more favourable. For more information about MBB recruitment at Sloan and Wharton, have you tried reaching out to their respective consulting clubs? Usually they will have pretty detailed stats.

Unless you are totally in love with Booth I would probably not wait just because you already have some fantastic choices available to you!

Unless you are totally in love with Booth I would probably not wait just because you already have some fantastic choices available to you!

gentlejack · Answer

I voted for Wharton. i would not wait for Chicago, too. Chances are there to make it in, but as long as that has not happened, I would just ignore the fact that it was not a straight ding. MIT - hm, if you want to move from IT consulting into strategy consulting, less techies around you might be a good thing. I have an IT background, too, and decided against MIT / Berkeley etc. and applied at CMU only after long consideration. The danger is there that you stick to the tech people, which, I guess, is your comfort zone. For the other three, I would personally prefer the smaller sizes of Yale and Duke, but as you already decided that that you are ok with Wharton - and that the Lauder program supports your goals in some ways - I would pick that, the brand name and the international focus supports your goal of working in consulting in Spain or Latin America perfectly. If you changed your mind on that, or it is financially difficult to attend the program and you end up having to decide between Fuke and Yale - there are pros and cons for both, I would give Yale a small edge.

aerien · Answer

1. Don't count on the Booth WL at this point

2. It sounds like you've already narrowed down this to Wharton vs MIT. If that's the case, you like MIT more based on fit and I would go that way. Both schools will give you huge job opportunities into strategy consulting (MBB or otherwise), and I'm sure have strong alumni presence in Latin America/Spain

3. On the $$ side, you're giving up money from two schools to pay full at others. If money is a factor, give Yale/Duke another look. Both have Latam consulting reach as well. If you're set on Wharton vs MIT and money is the deciding factor, see if they'll match the scholarship you have from other places

4. Visit! Visit! Visit! You'll see schools in a different light when you have the admit, since the question changes from "Can I get in? This place looks great!" to "Can I really spend 2 years here? Do I like these people?". Admitted student weekends can help a lot with that, and you'll get a chance to meet other admits who may have similar decisions to make as you do.

Good luck with your decision. This is not a bad spot to be in, and you'll come out well in whichever path you choose.

sebby05 · Answer

Wharton all the way

Latam · Answer

Hello Aerien, Thanks for your time to read my post and for your reply. You are right, I am going to visit both school to make my final decision (unfortunately MIT sloan will hold its admit weekend for both rounds in April

) I am in a situation where my head tells me to go to Wharton-Lauder and my heart tells me to go to MIT. I have tried to reach to current students and alumni from Wharton and they were eager to help me and set up a meeting but then I really felt the conversation didnt flow, I felt them so distant that probably they left wondering how the hell was I admitted to Wharton. Another story is MIT Sloan, the students and alumni were eager to help me too and I definitely felt more comfortable talking to them, they were so approachable and down-to-earth like me! However, If Wharton (and specially Lauder) gives me a significant advantage in MBB recruitment I would choose that school despite fit. From my research, the Wharton alumni network in my country and most of Latin America is 4 to 5 times bigger than MIT Sloan (probably due to class size). Is it important that certain business school has more or less presence in a specific MBB office? I mean if for example Wharton has more alumni working for the MBB office I want would it be easier for me to get in that office? I will attend the Wharton Welcome Weekend, hopefully among the big class of 800+ I will find some people similar to me! Thanks for your help! Best Regards, Latam Consultant

gentlejack · Answer

If you still feel so uncomfortable with Wharton after the visit - don't ignore that. You spend two years at the school you choose, and networking is a big part of that time.

aerien · Answer

Go for fit!! Gentlejack said it well: you'll be at a school for two years. If you don't like the people there, you're not going to get as much out of the experience as you could.

phlaym39 · Answer

Have you met with any Lauder Alumni?

I've worked with 1 and I've been told that it provides a very different experience than the general MBA intake. Since you start earlier, its much easier to bond with your group. In that case I would reconsider fit at MIT vs fit at Wharton-Lauder.

Regarding stats of MBB hiring out of Wharton-Lauder vs MIT, I don't think stats will help. Its a fact that MBB hires strongly from both Wharton and MIT (as with any other top school) and I think the Lauder program will give you an edge over many other applicants. Although not directly business related, I think the MBBs will appreciate that you're expanding your international experience, and that would be a plus.

Oh, and congrats on getting some amazing choices!

machichi · Answer

Hey - I'm an LGBT student at Yale, and while I'd love to increase the number of LGBT people here, it sounds like SOM is out of the running.

Normally I would emphatically say don't go to Wharton because of your concerns about the culture, but you were accepted to the Lauder program, which is such a cool specialty option. A friend of mine who is gay did the program and really liked the people there. It's intimate and really connected and Wharton definitely places super well within MBB (he ended up at Bain).

That said, a ton of your time will be with the regular Wharton folks who don't sound like your type of people. The MIT people I've met have been really friendly and great, but I don't know much about the LGBT environment. Feel free to PM me if you want to talk more about the homo-thing.

kmc123 · Answer

Hi Latam - congrats on getting into such amazing programs! I just saw this thread while researching on the Lauder program. I'm applying to Sloan and Wharton (Lauder) R2, so I thought I'd share my thoughts. I initially did not want to apply to Wharton because of "fit" (I'm not a big party person, I prefer to have a small close group of friends, I have an engineering background and feel more comfortable around people who are similar), but after speaking with a few recent Wharton graduates at my company, I realized that I judged the school too quickly. Wharton is a big school, and I have no doubt that you'll be able to find a group of people you identify with at Wharton. The alums I talked to are down-to-earth and extremely helpful. The Lauder program, specifically, can be a very different experience.

Having said that, the Sloan alums I talked to are also great

. I don't think you can go wrong with either choice.

Latam · Answer

/bump Need help with my decision

Thanks for your support! Latam

zurichs · Answer

I was admitted by Columbia and Wharton and I chose Columbia because of the culture. I found personally from my visits to Wharton that the students are a bit entitled, compared to Columbia where people are very humble and passionate. I can't really say anything about MIT though. I can't believe with the same resume that you will have an advantage at either school for mgmt consulting recruiting, I think it's about what you've achieved in the 2 years.

kingfalcon · Answer

Like I said on WSO, shoot me a PM if you want to hop on a call about Sloan. I also successfully recruited for consulting, so hopefully I can provide you some thoughts on the process at Sloan.

overmind1632 · Answer

I think Wharton Lauder is clearly the best choice, I too was thinking about applying to Wharton Lauder (Chinese)

Latam · Answer

Hello guys! Thanks for your replies so far! I think it would be useful to share my school visits with you and the big surprises of my after-trip

Wharton-Lauder: I had the opportunity to visit Wharton (not for Welcome Weekend though)and it was a great visit! I have to admit there were a lot of douchebags between first and second years. However, since the class size is so big I definitely found great people too. The Latin American club is amazing (very down to earth too). I would put it this way: 50% shallow | 20% mix of shallow and down to earth | 20% down to earth | 10% amazing classmates. But hey, since it is a big class 30% of 800 = 240, almost the class size of Berkeley! MIT Sloan: To put it simple, amazing student body and dissapointing Adcom members. Boston is a nice city but most international students live on-campus in Cambridge. Also, most of Latin americans were married so it definitely changes the social atmosphere (I dont care too much about this point because I usually dont go to parties anyway). I want to elaborate a little bit more why I think some members of the Adcom of MIT Sloan really dissapointed me: First, after mi vist I kindly asked for a fellowship reconsideration explaining the offers from the other schools. I did not receive any reply (not even an acknowledgment of receipt). A week later I send this lady another e-mail to ask for a confirmation of receipt of my first message, I got no response either. Later I call her and left her a voicemail about it, no response either. Since MIT Sloan deposit deadline is March 3rd I e-mailed another Adcom to ask for a deposit extension (I have read in many forums last year that MIT did extend the acceptance offer up to 6 weeks in some cases without problem). I received a quick reply with a "we cannot extend your offer but call us to talk about your doubts". Then today I call the admission office to ask about the deposit and my fellowship reconsideration petition: no one available to talk. I explained my situation to the secretary and she told me to write the financial aid lady again copying the admission team general e-mail. Result: I wrote her an e-mail (CCing the admit email address) asking if she could offer me an answer prior to paying the deposit or if the decision would take more time I was willing to pay the deposit and wait for a final decision on my petition. I got an answer within 2 minutes................ YES, 2 MINUTES..... after waiting for a reply for 15 days. The answer was: "Thanks for your emails. Unfortunately we will not be abel to offer you a fellowship award at this time" (typo included, she could not type it faster I guess...). What a total deception MIT Sloan. I am not dissapointed of not receiving a fellowship, I was expecting that outcome already (given Sloan reputation of giving very few scholarships). I am dissapointed of the way you treated me, was it too difficult to write a quick "thanks for your e-mail, we will consider your petition and get back to you"?. Yale: Unfortunately could not visit

Duke: Unfortunately could not visit

Berkeley: I got accepted to Haas! (got the answer after creating this topic). I visited the campus

Great student body but very small campus and most students live on Berkeley and not San Francisco (best city in US by far). The Berkeley Adcom is hands down the best team ever. I applied to scholarships in wave 1 and I did not receive any help

However, I still think the Haas Adcom is great and the most welcoming and sincere of all the schools I visited. Final decision: I have not taken it yet, I paid the Wharton deposit to have more time to think. MIT Sloan was my top choice as noted in my previous posts but the interactions with the Adcom definitely decreased my interest in that school.

domotron · Answer

Wow your interactions with the Sloan admissions team really didn't sound good. I would add one thing. As an accepted student they will not play a big part in your experience at Sloan so if don't discount them just on that. Focus more on the classmates, other administrators, faculty, etc

Latam · Answer

Hello Guys! I wanted to update you about my b-school decision. I have not taken a decision yet!! I paid Wharton-Lauder deposit and even got the F-1 visa already, classes start in 3 weeks. However, after doing some calculations (I should have done that before) the total cost of attending Wharton Lauder is 225,000 USD including a small fellowship!! I would have to take 80% Wharton Maximum Loan (180,000 USD) + local bank loan (30,000 USD with 12% interest rate) and 15,000 USD from my pocket (which I do not have)! = 210,000 USD in Loans

... and that is living frugally and not doing any treks or events... From what I have been reading Wharton students usually spend a lot more than the student budget stated in the webpage so I could easily graduate with 220k-240K in student loans.... In comparison, MIT Sloan total cost is around 180,000 USD and they lend you up to 170,000 USD. From what I have heard, If I live on-campus at MIT I could spend what the official webpage states during my two years and the TA/RA assistantships are easy to get so I could even graduate with less debt (maybe a current Sloanie can comment about this). I have been talking to alumni from Kellogg/Stanford/Wharton/etc and they told me that If I want to do MBB consulting the difference is zero between the schools (even taking on account the Lauder part) but If I change my mind during the MBA and pursue other path then the 50k-70k difference in debt is worth due to the "brand" of Wharton. I was thinking about that and If I dont get MBB then I would like to pursue a Marketing career or maybe participate in Marketing-related projects in MBB, from my research Wharton Marketing electives are vastly superior to Sloan. Wharton is also a top player in the Marketing field along with Kellogg and Stanford. My head hurts everyday thinking about this, If I had the money right now I would go to Wharton but graduating with 210k USD+ debt TERRIFIES me. Greetings, Latam

jlgdr · Answer

So what was the outcome finally?

Wharton-Lauder vs MIT vs Yale vs Duke

What school would you recommend me to attend?

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