McDonough or Re-Apply Next Year?

Question

I hate to admit it, but I applied to several top schools and got dinged at most but was wait listed at Booth after Round 1. I remained on the wait list at Booth up until recently but then finally got the dreaded rejection letter. One of my recommendations was from a Booth alum and I had someone relatively senior at the university pulling for me. I did receive an admission to McDonough though (no scholarship) and I'm wondering if I should go to McDonough or wait another year and re-try Booth? I can't stand the thought of staying another year at my current job but I'm also not thrilled that McDonough seems to be my only option right now.

Stats:
27-year old white male
3.43 GPA from a top 40-50 private university
Work experience: Political experience working for two very prominent politicians in DC + comms/marketing experience at a very well-known financial media company
317 GRE (162 V 155 Q)
311 GRE (157 V 154 Q)

Should I just swallow that bitter pill and restart my studying for the GRE? Or should I go to Georgetown?

justbequiet · Answer

If you don't mind me asking, whats so bad about going to McDonough? Its a very good & reputable school particularly in the startup, finance & public sector which seems to fit your profile very well. Alot of people would love to be in your position.

BSchoolOnMyMind · Answer

Congrats on getting admitted to Georgetown. If u r pursuing a career in finance or consulting, McDonough is a GREAT school. The Georgetown brand is very strong across the country especially in the DC area. So go for it. If u r reapplying, you will have to retake a GRE and score at least around 323 or 324 (that translates to 670 or 680 on the GMAT which is the lower end of the GMAT range for top schools). If u r retaking the test again, do consider using magoosh.com for test prep. I used them and improved dramatically. They also have tons of free resources such as flash cards. Finally, if u reapplying hire a good admission consultant. I highly recommend essay snark.

RedSox711 · Answer

I think my fear relates to that Georgetown is not top a "top tier" program and that the recruiting opportunities could be better elsewhere. What I'm struggling with is investing 2 years and $160k to get a degree that isn't worth as much. Maybe I'm totally looking at this wrong and need a reality check.

jz4analytics · Answer

I'm guessing your GRE score is a major reason why you got dinged from top 20 programs (that converts to about 600 on the GMAT). Did you prepare for the exam well? Have you considered studying for the GMAT and taking it? If you got a GMAT closer to 700 your chances would be better at Booth. If that sounds like too much hassle, and you really hate the idea of staying another year at your current job... just accept at Georgetown. It's a fine program and hits above it's weight-class for finance. Look at Georgetown's employment report to get an idea of what companies recruit there and what starting salaries are like.

drivechipputt · Answer

Really, it depends on what you want to do (I may have missed it if you already mentioned). Look, Georgetown (once you're out of the MBA bubble people don't care much about the named school) carries a great brand with it and recruiting is strong at every top-25 program right now. I decided to decline other higher ranked programs for Vanderbilt and wake up every day so thankful that I did.

I also don't mean this in a disparaging way at all, but recognize that sometimes the admissions teams help you make the choice for where you really belong. If the GMAT and GRE were much more of a struggle than your classmates at Booth, I don't think you would enjoy that atmosphere. I met many Boothies, whether in my internship last summer or during interviews this past academic year, and while I liked them I recognize that they were very different from my classmates and I prefer the environment I was in.

Whatever you choose, your attitude will be key. If you go to Georgetown, I hope you embrace it and love it. Best of luck!

RedSox711 · Answer

Thank you all for your comments and support.

What's really killing me right now are the differences in recruiting opportunities and pay between a school like Booth and Georgetown. According to all the websites Boothies start out making somewhere in the range of 120k while Georgetown grads make something around 102k. Meanwhile, MBB took about 80 Booth graduates last year, which is just an astounding total, while it doesn't appear that they took any McDonough grads or perhaps took only a couple. I realize that MBB isn't the be all and the end all but I do want to probably head into consulting and I'm having a tough time swallowing that difference.

In terms of the test score, that has and likely will always be my most significant weakness. I started studying for the GMAT two summers ago in a class and really didn't do that well. After taking a few months off from the GMAT I decided to pick up the GRE and had a private tutor for a handful of sessions. My score improved from a 311 to 317 but again the math is what killed me.

I suppose if I took the next 4-5 months to really buckle down and focus on the quant section of the GRE my score would improve. I'm unsure though if it's worth sticking around at a job where I'm not growing at all in order to do that with the hope of breaking into a school like Booth. It would probably be a lost year but the short-term downside could present a long-term upside. One of my recommendations was from a Booth alum and I had the support of someone with some relative power within the school so I'm not sure if it's worth throwing that away.

Thank you all again for your comments and insight.

gcb09173 · Answer

Go to Georgetown - still a decent brand name for an MBA, and MBB will not pick you up just because you went to Booth rather than McDonough - it will be down to your CV and then how you perform in case interviews (Political experience working for two very prominent politicians in DC + comms/marketing experience at a very well-known financial media company will get you an interview at minimum I would predict).

However be aware that MBB will likely ask for your GMAT/GRE scores on applications so spending some time improving the quant may not be a bad idea.

However be aware that MBB will likely ask for your GMAT/GRE scores on applications so spending some time improving the quant may not be a bad idea.

revul · Answer

I personally wouldn't go anywhere I wasn't 'excited' about unless staying the course for another year was not possible. The trick to picking safety schools is to only pick ones you'll attend if they're your only option.

If you can stay at work another year, and maybe even get a promo or something, I'd do that and take the GMAT in the interim and try again next year

If you can't stay at work another year (you hate it, or they'll give you the boot as they knew you were thinking of jumping ship), then take Georgetown. It's not at all a bad program, and no one would think "...why did you go there..?", it's just a few rungs down from top 10 and has a bit less clout.

drivechipputt · Answer

Just 2 quick things:

1. If you're recruiting for MBB your resume will get tossed without a 700+ (bare minimum) GMAT. Maybe you can sneak through at Booth with something around there, but at Georgetown you'd realistically need something 720+ to turn a recruiter's head. That being said, I think the MBB obsession is completely absurd at B-school. You'll get a similar experience at the Big 4 (Deloitte, PWC, E&Y, KPMG), highly regarded specialty shops (Oliver Wyman, L.E.K., ZS Associates, A.T. Kearney) and plenty of others without having to kill yourself in the process. I just think everyone is so wrapped around the axle with MBB that it creates this feedback loop and people forget why they're fixated on those shops in the first place.

2. The mean salary for graduates is a terribly misleading stat. I'll be working for an aforementioned consulting firm with a higher salary than my classmates working for a MBB firm (and their offer is a 'class offer' so it's the same for the folks at HBS as it is at Vanderbilt). All median salary tells you is that: more students are going into banking and consulting than marketing, HR, and non-profit; and they're accepting positions in more lucrative markets. Georgetown may have a significant number of students going to government positions, which would bring the average down. Vanderbilt (just an example of something I know) is a leading health care program in the health care capital, and those jobs tend to bring down the average since hospital administration pays less and Nashville is a cheaper city.

Just my perspective as someone who just finished the whole process.

jz4analytics · Answer

I agree with others, go to Georgetown. Sorry to say, but if you spent another year struggling to get a 700+ GMAT then you probably wouldn't even be happy at Booth. The curriculum is very independent and math-heavy. And while you probably won't get a job at MBB, you could still get a job at a place like Deloitte, which is also a great company and pays in the same range ($120+k starting) as the consulting firms. Deloitte has an office in Arlington, near DC, so internships would be easy.

And anyway, "Georgetown" is still a pretty good brand name, even outside of the business world.

And anyway, "Georgetown" is still a pretty good brand name, even outside of the business world.

teleste · Answer

Love DC. Love Georgetown. McDonough is a solid program and is housed in an absolutely gorgeous building.

That said, it is a   HUGE   price to pay (the high tuition + really high cost of living) to attend. Unless you have your heart set on living in the Beltway and/or have other compelling reasons to attend, I would go against what others have said and recommend a different path. Spending that much money (or taking on tons of debt) for an option you're unsure about is too risky of a move IMO to just go ahead with.

The GMAT and GRE are both conquerable. If you buckle down, put your mind to it, and have a good day in the testing center you might come out with a great score. And with a good score in your pocket who knows what other opportunities might present themselves.

Good luck with the decision!

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