Tuck vs Darden?

Question

Tuck vs Darden (full-tuition scholarship)? Discuss.

MacFauz · Answer

Have you tried leveraging your Darden scholarship for some money from Tuck... I would think that they would be willing to reconsider given that you got a named scholarship for full tuition from an "almost peer" school.... If you've already tried and they've refused, I would say go to Darden.. The difference is too minimal to warrant incurring an expense of an additional 130k....

RustyR · Answer

$0 from Tuck.

Psyched · Answer

First off, congratulations on the awesome acceptances! I'm totally envious.

Like you, I'm a very hard-core Tuck fan, but this is very clear cut in my mind. I work with a large contingent of Tuck and Darden alums, and can comment that the network for both schools within consulting is very strong.

Three reasons for Darden:
1) The opportunity (i.e. firms that recruit at these schools) is essentially the same. MBB does not care whether you are from Tuck or Darden; they care that you can make some logical/structural leaps to crush the case. Period.
2) $130K and a named scholarship is a significant benefit that cannot be weighted lightly; the scholarship differentiates you for potential employers.
3) Pride and prestige are interesting concepts that I am also currently hooked on. However, at the end of the day saying "I went to Tuck" is definitely not worth $130K. The goal should be "I went to X school and achieved my career goal of Y".

Hope this helps. Again, totally jealous!

PTK · Answer

One of IB rules is "Cash is the King". So take cash.
Although I like Tuck much for its stronger network and older students body, I would choose ~~Darden~~, $130k cash. Both schools are at the same top-16 league. Difference in starting salaries and opportunities they give you have pretty marginal difference. After graduation you will have either Darden or Tuck on you resume, which counts less than having or not debt equal to $130k, which you will need to repay next 7-10 years.

I really liked this in you post "Darden really wants me and that makes me feel good about the school." -
For example: imagine you picked-up too girls, one of them is very beautiful, another one is beautiful, both of them are in the same top league, but the second girl really wants you "and that makes you feel good about her". Guess with which one you will have a better sex? :-D

addefta · Answer

First of all : congrats. Saving 130k is awesome, for a "normal" person. If you don't have some 10M+ in your bank account, then saving 130k can give you so much freedom in and immediately after the MBA. So my vote would go for Darden.
Let me share a little bit of my experience : last year, in the final round, I had to chose between Warwick(full scholarship) and IE(40% scholarship). I compared those two schools against three criteria: academic classes, soft skills training and career events/support, and alumni network. IE seemed a lot better for soft skills and I inclined for it. But I talked with two Warwick alumni who described most of the soft skills activities they experienced. And I was impressed. The other two criteria being more or less the same, I went to Warwick and I don't regret my decision. At the end of the day, the diploma is only a qualifying factor, not a winning a job one. You need it to be able to compete with the rest of the guys/girls. But for actually wining the job, you need a lot more: your previous experience, your academic performance, your personality, etc.

One last thing : if still in doubt, I can give you a scientific method of deciding between the two : tossing a coin. Don't laugh. This method is proved to be the best, with a little twist. So... toss the coin and pay really close attention to your thoughts while the coin is flipping in the air. What did you prayed for? This should be your decision, no matter what the coin told you. If you want to read the science behind this method, let me know

.

Take care and good luck,
Adrian

. Take care and good luck, Adrian

DefyingGravity · Answer

5-10 years out, people are not "limited" to their b-school network, but it will always be something that you can take advantage of.

I absolutely adore Tuck, but I would probably go with the $$$ from Darden. There's not enough of a difference to justify the extra $130K in debt.

I would only choose Tuck if location matters or if you really just want the Ivy League brand name. If you want to work in Boston/New York post-MBA, then I would go with Tuck.

mgg234 · Answer

I'd definitely choose Darden. Tuck isn't $130k+ better than Darden. The named scholarship at Darden will help you more than just being another small fish in the big sea at Tuck anyways.

domotron · Answer

Wow first of all this is a great place to be in. You can't go wrong one way or the other. It just sucks (a little bit) that you were so set on Tuck in some ways.

1. MBA recruitment/Short-term career (MOST IMPORTANT CONSIDERATION):
- I agree that the Batten scholarship will help you stand out at least initially. It will certaintly help when trying to get that first interview. I think when it comes down to actually securing an internship/job, it's still about acing the interview process though.
- I'm not familiar with IB but I imagine the top BB banks will recruit at Darden as well as Tuck so access into these firms shouldn't be an issue. 
- Currently you are looking at traditional MBA careers like IB or consulting. But imagine if you stepped foot onto campus and suddenly had a great idea for a startup or found an amazing (yet lower paid) non-traditional role. You won't be bound by your student loans. You can go ahead and make the most of the opportunities.

2. Long-term career:
- This has been reiterated a few times but an MBA will only help you get your first job. No one will look at your resume 10 years later and not hire you because you have a Darden MBA rather than a Tuck MBA or any other school for that matter.
- Sure you can compare the networks between Tuck and Darden but after a while your own network will become so much more than just the alum network for you b-school. I wouldn't give this too much thought.

3. Lack of financial-stress/easier 2 years/more fun:
- There is a huge difference between the two but I would add though if you end up choosing Tuck, I really don't think you will be thinking about the "what ifs". Chances are you will have already made peace with your decision and you can have a blast over the next 2 years.
- Undeniably having a full tuition does reduce the future financial burden but I don't think it would hinder your recruiting efforts. I think you will have bigger problems than recruiting if you ended up at Tuck but couldn't get over turning down the full tuition scholarship at Darden!

4. Intangibles (least important factor):
- Sounds like you are coming round to the idea of Darden. At the end of the day b-school is not a goal but merely a stepping stone to hopefully something even better!

Overall, I concur with everyone else and favour Darden w/ $$$ even though I am nuts about Tuck.

kingfalcon · Answer

Despite the fact that I got into Tuck and nearly matriculated, I'd take Darden here. The debt load of business school is nothing to scoff at: $130K is really like $200K pre-tax, which will take either a very long time or a very significant lifestyle sacrifice to pay back.

I'm not sure I buy the whole "big fish in a small pond" versus "small fish in a big pond" argument, but I'm sure you'll have a great shot at either IBD or MBB out of Darden if you want to do either.

nnamdi · Answer

Hi Rusty R, What exactly made you pick Tuck, I am in the same dilenma at the moment 30k from Tuck or Full tuition from Darden

Tuck vs Darden?

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