Yale v. Cornell ($$$)

Question

Thank you all for your advice. I am fairly young applicant with a few years work experience presented with two great options. My post-MBA goal is to transition into some form of impact finance with a large institution (i.e. Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group) or consulting with a focus on the social and public sector (preferably at MBB).

Cornell has been kind enough to offer me enough money that will allow me to cover approximately 80% of the 2 year MBA cost. Yale so far has offered nothing. Based on my goals, is the Cornell MBA a no-brainer?

alphabeta1234 · Answer

Go with Cornell. Yale's MBA is still not very strong. Not to mention your being offered money

dbrown · Answer

How are you deciding that Yale's MBA isn't very strong?!?!?!

To the OP - Definitely go with Cornell in my opinion because of the $ being offered!

alphabeta1234 · Answer

Yale SOM is really sub 30. If it were not for the Yale name it wouldn't be as highly ranked. I think Indiana Kelly is a better b-school than SOM. I work on Wall street in NYC, I have never seen a Yale SOM grad in my life.

nicholasbentham · Answer

What is the main in regards to SOM? How are Johnson grads viewed on the Street?

someone1 · Answer

take the money and run....

having no debt (or close to it) makes it an easy decision for me.

gbout3 · Answer

Cornell's IB track is considered very strong and is at least as good as Yale's, if not better. If you're set on finance Johnson is the way to go. Now, if you are more interested in consulting, specifically MBB, there could be an argument for Yale over Johnson

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Kellogg797 · Answer

Well said.

I'd go with Cornell over Yale for banking. For consulting I don't think the difference is big enough to warrant the price difference. Keep in mind the odds are against you at either school for MBB. Neither school places as well at MBB as Darden/Fuqua/Ross.

Izzy767 · Answer

I'm making a similar choice as you in that my post-MBA finance goal is very similar. But I'm deciding between NYU (full ride) and SOM (almost full ride).

I don't think the previous comments give SOM enough credit. First, Yale is genuinely a top-15 program (arguably top-10), and no, not just because of its name (rankings don't use "reputation of parent university" as a ranking criteria). Second, yes, there are fewer SOM alumni on the street but contributing to that is the school's size and because SOM's student body and alumni are really diversified (i.e. with a wide range of career interests, not heavily focused on IB). More importantly, SOM's IB placements are great and the school has made pushes towards improving this in recent years. I am personally considering Yale for a range of reasons (I particularly like the program's holistic approach and global focus), but the IB placements are definitely good enough for me to give it a shot when I am comparing it with Stern.

I can't offer much insight with regards to the consulting aspect, but "a focus on social and public sector" seems to be right up SOM's alley..

It's a hard call though with the $$ that Johnson is offering you. Since it is also a great program (with comparable IB placements) I personally wouldn't want to take out the debt...

VeritasPrepDozie · Answer

Cornell no question, you're a business man, follow the money here. Better MBA brand, also IVY, and strong recruiting in your desired areas, plus the money this is a no-brainer

integral · Answer

I saw a separate thread where you asked for Booth vs Cornell. I would continue the same comment here, Between Cornell and Yale, pick the one that gives scholarship. Both are same tier (a few ranks here and there do not matter). As long as both schools can lead you to similar success in your personal+professional goals, take the money and graduate without debt.

nicholasbentham · Answer

Just sent you a pm

VeritasPrepDozie · Answer

I would take the full ride at cornell over the money at booth and certainly over Yale as well even giving Yale's rising rep

illi · Answer

It would be stupid to turn down Cornell for Yale SOM. Cornell is offering you money and the two schools are peers. If you're set on banking, Cornell probably has the edge there too.

IgboRobinHood · Answer

If you are thinking of working outside the US at some point in the future though, you may prefer Yale for its more global brand recognition

aerien · Answer

I find this thread especially interesting given that all posters except for  IgboRobinHood  have not openly stated that they've applied to either Johnson or Yale, but that's beside the point.

For finance, Yale has a good reputation. All the major banks + boutique firms are on-campus. We've consistently placed people everywhere, including US opportunities and abroad. Someone ranked us #1 for finance recently as well (I've linked to it in other threads).

I cannot compare Yale's finance recruiting to Cornell's as I don't know the stats. But you should look into placement numbers at both schools to see where would be the best fit for your interests. If you're set on a particular group within IB, for example, also take a look through LinkedIn to look at placement in those particular sectors or industries.

I have always been a proponent of fit in these discussions in the end though. Cornell and Yale are pretty similar in terms of school size and community but have pretty different university cultures and locations IMO. Do you want to be up in Ithaca? Do you want to be closer to NYC / Boston (potentially helpful with face time for banking recruiting)? For me, Ithaca was not where I wanted to spend 2 years of my life; I have friends at Johnson who love that the more rural setting. You need to weigh what you're looking for in a program and if you can envision yourself on that campus with your classmates. Attend the admitted student weekends if you can.

If it comes down to money being a final decision factor (which is certainly no small thing), see if Yale will match what Cornell has offered. You don't know what they'll do if you don't ask.

Best of luck with your decision. If you want to chat finance and Yale, happy to connect you to a current student or an alum.

Wilch · Answer

Sub 30? Pretty much every single publicly available ranking disagrees with your expert opinion.

nurik · Answer

Yale is probably slightly better, but Cornell more than makes it up with $$. Plus, Cornell has generally placed well into IB.
I'd go with Cornell. Having little or no debt also makes you very flexible when it comes to post-mba career.

8088 · Answer

Hey there  nicholasbentham ,

Congrats on acceptances from two amazing schools!

Johnson and SOM are schools that have inverse stats for IB and Consulting - SOM 25% Finance and 30% Consulting - Johnson is 25% consulting and 35% finance.

Looking at salary data, it's a little hard to compare because Johnson reports means, whereas SOM reports medians - so a couple high numbers can distort the Johnson figures, as can low numbers.

Finance/IB is not my wheelhouse, but my understanding is that particularly the large banks, just like the major consulting companies - offer similar compensation salaries for all candidates.

SOM Finance Industry salary is $125K, Consulting is $135K.

Johnson Finance is $119K, and Consulting is $126K.

Two things that you might want to add to your calculus:

1) I'd investigate what the ramifications are of the merger with the Hospitality School - It appears that there are a significant number of unhappy folks and I wouldn't want that to impact your time in B-School:  https://cornellsun.com/2016/01/24/alumni-faculty-raise-concerns-over-proposed-college-of-business/

2) B-School is an investment and just like any other investment, you want to make sure you have the highest ROI. Take a close look at each school's trajectory and what that might mean for your degree 5-10 years out. Tuition and Scholarships are an important factor, but might best be considered a short-run factor, as opposed to a metric for the long-run.

If you'd like to chat to a current student, I'm happy to jump on the phone! Just shoot me a PM!

Yale v. Cornell ($$$)

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