Yale SOM vs NYU Stern

Question

I was surprised to see that there hasn't been a Stern vs Yale poll or question yet, thus my attempt.

I've got accepted at both and although I have a preference, which I don't mind sharing after hearing from you, any input is welcome to check if there's something I haven't thought about yet.
Both schools without any $$.

Background: International experience in Operations & Supply Chain Management
Goal: Consulting - Operations in Emerging Markets
At the same time I'd also like to take more strategy and finance courses as I'm interested in the exposure.

Yale SOM
+ (Raw) Case Study approach, giving me practice for consulting cases
+ Integrated Curriculum, is unique and something I believe I'll definitely enjoy
+ Brand name is important here as I'll be overseas longterm and in some countries the amount of "face" you get depends on something like this
+ Global Network Weeks and courses to expand international network
+ Greater mix of backgrounds / students
- It appears that the choice of SOM electives is rather limited
- No specialization/concentrations available

NYU Stern
+ Huge selection of courses, with many different available specialization
+ New York location
+ Many experiential learning possibilities, such as Stern Consulting Crops, Signature Projects
+ Possibility to do an exchange semester at one of many host schools (Yale's got that too but their partner universities don't appeal to me)
+ Student club focusing on emerging markets, something that Yale doesn't have
- New York location ($$)
- Not well known outside the U.S.

Anything you can add to make it a little more difficult for me?

razordude1717 · Answer

Hi @cosmopolitian! Congratulations for the two great admits! I remember the time when we were wait-listed at Sloan and were wondering what can be done. Seems like ages ago. Anyway, I'm sure you're relaxed now.

From what you've written, it seems to me you've already made your choice (SOM). But as far as consulting is considered, my vote would go for Stern. I'm pretty confident that NYU is a decent brand outside of North America too. The stats for consulting seem to be better at Stern rather than at Yale, and I don't think the incremental value of the brand abroad will be that significant. Just my 2 cents though.

Good luck making a decision!

geneams · Answer

I am making this decision as well. My background is in tech and my post-MBA goal is strategy or tech consulting. I'd love to hear more thoughts on deciding between these two schools.

EuroEng · Answer

talk to people at both schools to see where you'd be happier (i.e. fit is probably the best deciding factor since the rest seems pretty minute)

8088 · Answer

Hey there Cosmopolitan,

Congratulations on being accepted to two great schools! That’s amazing and I hope you feel proud.

I’m currently a student at SOM and am having such an amazing time. I’m really excited about the trajectory of the school and am happy to chat if you have any questions about the SOM, Yale University, recruiting, or student life.

Just to address some of your existing concerns – I’d say that if you’re concerned about having no limited classes, you don’t have to fret. Unlike any other business school (to my knowledge), SOM allows you to take as many classes as you’d like outside of SOM – so you can take classes at Yale Law School, the School of Engineering, the other SOM (The School of Medicine), the Jackson Institute, or even Yale College classes.

While yes, we don’t have specializations, this is designed so there are no requirements for a particular “major” or concentration. A number of departments have informal tracks that they recommend for students going into, say, IB or Marketing/Brand Management.

One final point – SOM continues to be very strong in consulting, and has among the highest number of consulting jobs for each class. Source: https://blog.accepted.com/2014/04/24/man ... -programs/

Let me know if you have any questions! I hope you make it to Admitted Student weekend - it's absolutely the factor that sealed the deal for me.

Dan

cosmopolitan · Answer

Razordude, thank you!
Indeed, it's been ages - that chapter was finally closed yesterday. I've seen you've made your decision as well, congratulations to you, too!

--

The poll results - so far - are 50/50, which indicates that both programs are really held in high regards.

cosmopolitan · Answer

Hi Dan, Cheers! I really appreciate you reaching out to me and offering help with any questions. I'll PM you with some

I have to correct my concern about the electives: When browsing them on the website it only gave me a limited list of electives while I had "all" selected as categories. After I started going through the categories one by one, I got to see them all. Electives is thus not an issue anymore. How could I get more information about the informal tracks you've mentioned?

holadmi · Answer

Check out "M.B.A. Programs That Get You Where You Want to Go" in New York Times. Yale's mentioned in this article. I truly hope that Stern is working on improving its reputation since the only mentions it gets relate to either Finance (yes, we all know that Stern is a top school for Finance) or exorbitant tuition costs.

8088 · Answer

Here's the link:

https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/12/education/edlife/mba-programs-that-get-you-where-you-want-to-go.html?smid=fb-share

cosmopolitan · Answer

Just read the article. Fun to read but it doesn't really disqualify Stern if it mentions schools I've never heard of at the same time --> Presidio Graduate School?

8088 · Answer

Yeah, the Presidio Graduate School is pretty off the beaten path for most MBAs - it's really well known in the sustainability community though:

https://www.bloomberg.com/bschools/content/jan2009/bs20090119_936863.htm

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:chnW7IV_tekJ:www.huffingtonpost.com/karin-kloosterman/http/www.huffingtonpost.com/karin-kloosterman/the-top-green-mba-program_b_779325.html+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

holadmi · Answer

Another shocking fact - Stern isn't on BCG's pre-MBA program list - careers.bcg.c om/join/mba_fellows.aspx

kartelite · Answer

I think it's hard to go wrong with these choices, but if you don't mind living in New Haven (for some people that could be a big deal), I think Yale SOM will get you where you want to go just as easily and if you're concerned at all with international prestige (largely piggy-backing off the parent university) then you can't beat the Yale brand. I had a really good vibe from the students and administrators I spoke with, and I think the program is underrated and on the rise.

joyyoj · Answer

Both schools are target schools, with Stern perhaps with a slighter edge, since it is a more established program with a very strong alumni network in finance NYC. With that been said, Yale is Yale. I will pick Yale over Stern. Just my two cents.

Posted from my mobile device

Posted from my mobile device

cosmopolitan · Answer

Thank you all for your input! joyyoj, you're somewhat summarizing it all "x, y, z, but Yale is Yale"

GoBlue007 · Answer

Stern!

anna126m · Answer

check out some articles on poets and quants - 
it looks like NYU Stern is a MUCH better school for a career in consulting!

number of graduates working at MBB per poets and quants 2014 article:

M B B Deloitte
New York 123 35 73 327
Yale 35 9 25 107

cosmopolitan · Answer

Hi Anna,

Interesting numbers!
I think this has to do with the general alumni size of both schools, SOM having a much smaller pool, being a smaller and younger program.
Currently it seems both send about the same number of students into consulting each year.

cosmopolitan · Answer

Here's my update:
I've decided to attend SOM over Stern.

It wasn't an easy decision, especially since Stern offered good money.
However, so far nobody from Stern has really been in touch with me, whereas there's been multiple Yale alumni and current students getting in touch with me to talk about the program and any questions I've got. The alumni body is awesome - there's been welcome receptions all over the world and alumni working in target companies are already offering time out of their schedules for phone calls.

geneams · Answer

This was my experience as well and I've also decided to go with Yale SOM! I'm very excited and can't wait to start in the fall.

Yale SOM vs NYU Stern

Yale SOM vs NYU Stern

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