Cornell Johnson vs NYU Stern

Question

Got accepted but no scholarships at both schools. I have lived in NYC for the last 10 years and wouldn't mind moving away from New York City for the duration of the MBA program.

I am open to a variety of careers afterwards, as long its at a large well-known firm in a big city (i'd like a big firm experience after working for a tiny firm pre-mba). Ideally consulting such as MBB or tech such as google/amazon.

Cornell Johnson: 
pros:
love the beautiful campus
love the atmosphere - great for making friends
cons:
travel for recruiting activities is 5 hours to NYC
Ithaca rents are surprisingly expensive

NYU Stern: 
pros: 
convenience of being in the city
support from family in the city - no living expenses
cons:
no campus building comparable to Cornell's Sage Hall - i am afraid that people will disappear into the city an i will not get to meet classmates as much

Is NYU brand as well-known as Cornell?
What does everyone think of career options after these programs? 
What about the quality of the education itself?

wmay · Answer

Stern's the better school and has the better reputation imo

dtse86 · Answer

It seems like you've highlighted the major points for either school. You can almost compare the schools in a few different aspects. Size Stern is around 400 students per class (800 full-times enrolled at one time) and Cornell is around 280 (around 560 2Y MBA's enrolled at one time). So Cornell is about 30% smaller than Stern. Do you like having a larger class or a smaller one? A larger class will yield more classmates to draw information from and produce a much larger network after graduation. However the downside to that is that you might not get to know all of your classmates as intimately (although 280 is still a lot of people!) and it may be more difficult to stand out among your peers (if that's something that matters to you). Location Being in NYC gives Stern several advantages in convenience (especially for you it seems), accessibility for recruiting, and general appeal (some people just want to be in NYC). However as you mentioned, being in NYC reduces the "cohesiveness" of the class in comparison to Ithaca because people will tend to "disappear" into the city with other groups of non/pre-MBA friends and social networks. It sounds like for you, there's an advantage with staying in the city in regards to housing because you already have an existing support network for that there and Ithaca's rents are surprisingly high. Although, you do need to keep in mind that food, beverage, and entertainment costs may be lower in Ithaca. I'd suggest working out a realistic budget for both scenarios and see what the real difference is for you. It may be a large factor, however it may be negligible. Brand/Reputation Both have strong brands although Stern is consistently ranked a few places higher than Cornell. However, IMO they are very comparable and can be considered peer schools in most circles. Both have extremely strong reputations in finance however due to Stern's proximity to Wall Street, I believe Stern probably has a little bit more pull in NYC finance. Education I believe most MBA programs have very similar and equally robust cores, which are essential for consulting, finance, and general business. As far as I can tell, Stern has more options in fields such as media/entertainment and luxury brand management but both have extremely comprehensive courses in finance and Stern's faculty (in general) leans further away from traditional academics compared to Cornell. I think one of Cornell's best draws is the access to courses and people outside of Johnson and IMO Cornell has better offerings outside of it's business school than NYU. Career Prospects/Recruiting When it comes to finance, although Cornell is strong in finance, I believe Stern has the strong advantage here. Just being in the city gives students easier access to employers and helps the school build good relations with employers and alumni in the city, which allows the process to start all over again. However for consulting, I don't think Stern has much of an advantage. Both schools aren't known for considerably strong consulting placement in MBB, however both have comparable placements in consulting in general (23% Johnson vs 28% Stern). Consulting recruiting has a very different process than finance and starts later. First rounds will typically occur on campus and so Stern's location will not factor much in regards to your prospects in consulting. Making Friends Although I previously mentioned that because of Stern's location in the city the class may be less cohesive than Cornell's, if you fit in particularly well at Stern, you can make a group a close knit friends there. It all depends on you personally and your fit with the people around you. I'd say that in general it will be "easier" to form a good group of friends at Cornell, because there's isn't much to do in Ithaca outside of class and therefore it is more likely that the opportunities to form those "lifelong" bonds with your classmates will be more prevalent (bonding through mutual misery). However, if you just don't get along with the people there you'll never really get that "connection". The nice thing about having those strong bonds during the MBA, is that it makes networking with your fellow alumni easier post-MBA which can be helpful years later. I suspect that Johnson has a much "stronger" alumni network compared to Stern's network (albeit a smaller one). Ultimately, I think the choice comes down to your personal preferences and which factors you deem more important. It would also be good to figure out which career you intend to pursue over the summer before you start. I'd suggest reaching out to alumni from both schools in various career fields to see why they enjoy or don't enjoy their current positions. That all being said, if you had a poll here I'd vote Cornell Johnson (because I'm biased :wink:

)

anna126m · Answer

Thanks everyone!

dtse86 · Answer

Let us know what you end up deciding! :-D

naiveteblg · Answer

Hi anna126m,

I got accepted at Stern, Cornell, Yale and Kellogg, and frankly, the fact that "people will disappear into the city" is exactly what made my choice so easy. Living near/on campus and hanging out with my classmates all the time is not how I picture my ideal MBA experience. I want to meet as many people in the city as I can and experience as many things as I can. I definitely don't want to spend all my free time around campus.
If the atmosphere of a uni in the countryside is important for you, I don't think Stern is your best choice, to be honest. Rankings and your first post-MBA job aren't everything. If you fail to truly connect with people you'll be studying with, you'll waste 2 years - and lots of money.

Cornell Johnson vs NYU Stern

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