Duke (50%) vs Wisconsin (100%)

Question

Hello all,

I have narrowed my offers down to two schools, Duke with roughly a 50% scholarship and Wisconsin with a 100% scholarship. I applied and got into UNC and IU both with 50% but basically if I shell out any money its going to be for Duke since its the highest ranked. So that leaves me with either taking out 60-70k for Duke or going to Wisconsin for free. Is the Duke name worth the debt trade off? I want to go into brand management in the CPG industry. Duke is great for marketing and Wisconsin has a specialized program for brand management. They both share similar brand management recruiters however obviously Duke has more recruiters over all. Duke's average brand management starting salary was published at $110k vs. $103k at Wisconsin, but considering I'd be paying back substantial loans after Duke, is Duke worth the debt?

bb · Answer

There is quite a bit of difference between the 2 schools - Duke has 420 people per class and Wisconsin in 92. When you said that Wisconsin brand management average salary was 103, how many people was that based on? probably 4 or 8? (Those are top of the class guys) vs. Duke that probably had a larger number go in.

However, it sounds like you have done your homework and talked to a few of the current first year students. This reviewer https://gmatclub.com/reviews/business_school/madison-59 claimed that they had a better deal with recruiters as a small school, but their placement numbers don't really prove it though salary at 95-100K is quite decent.

To me, Duke (currently rated #13 and ranked within top 10, a number of years) would be worth the trade off vs. Madison that is rated #33. 20 notches below is a meaningful enough difference to be felt in terms of recruiting, peers, and professors. Also with only 92 students per year, you are likely have a pretty limited selection of courses and limited scheduling options too.

Hope this helps!
BB

PugLyfe · Answer

Yes, it   is absolutely worth it. You should not hesitate imho.

Flyte · Answer

Not even close, go to Duke.

dbrown · Answer

No brainer. Have a Fuqua Future!

VeritasPrepDozie · Answer

I would recommend going to Duke. Great program that is actually on the rise from an already high perch. It is a perfect fit for you career wise as the program has great access to CPG companies in the south like Coke. Wisconsin is a nice program but not on the tier with Duke or as apt to allow you to reach your career goals

nachobioteck · Answer

I wouldn't be so fast to dismiss Madison. Its a small program and even smaller if you consider that you'll be part of the brand management center. You essentially get private tutoring through your MBA. Also, those averages reported are a bit skewed, remember that there are specializations that don't pull much money like the Arts Management program.

The other thing that Madison has going for it is that is very generous about giving assitanships which will actually put money in your pocket as you study (and they don't take a lot of time).

Finally recruiting, I'm not familiar with the placements of Fuqua, but Madison places mostly locally (Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Chicago, Madison) and the cost of living in most of this cities isn't very high, 100k goes a long way.

bb · Answer

I would say that whatever you can rent/buy in Milwaukee for 100K, you will never be able to get even with $250K in Bay Area. However, there is a reason people prefer Bay Area or East Coast. The opportunities, the overall culture, and lifestyle. I agree about the money going a lot further, but I don't know that it's a win per se.

On the rankings side, which we all just witnessed how flawed they are with Stern dropping 8 spots, Madison went up 6 (or dropped if you are looking at it mathematically) from 33 to 27 - that's an impressive jump. Also, their WE average stands at 5.5 years - that's a positive in my book (they are not dragging in guys with 2-3 years to fill in seats with high GMAT scores). It is looking more promising based on pure numbers (sorry, I don't know any grads personally).

I am not sure I would take the small size as a positive (getting tutored through the program) - I like a small class and the safety that offers but I am not sure that's attractive enough for employers to make a trip/bother with the school. I think you can easily alleviate it with a good personal network within the industry or connections to a company you are looking to intern/work for. This is a great example when you can make a professional network be an investment and have an ROI.

revul · Answer

Duke, hands down.

Duke (50%) vs Wisconsin (100%)

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