Yale SOM $$$$ vs Tuck $$$

Question

Hi GMAT Clubbers!

I'm having a really tough time deciding between two awesome schools. I'm active duty military and I'm being sponsored so most of my tuition will be covered, but I'll be paying back the government with several years more if service after I'm done. For that reason, I won't be participating in recruiting, but I may be looking for a job 5-10 years after I graduate, ideally in general management in the aerospace/aviation/defense industry. I received a scholarship from Yale, so my total cost for Yale would be about 10k out of pocket vs 30k out of pocket for Tuck.

I love the Tuck community and I think I would be very happy there. Tuck has a great alumni network that I know would be beneficial if I'm looking for a job even 5-10 years out. I think I'd really enjoy my two years in Hanover.

All of my family lives in New Haven, so I'd be close to home and my wife would have much better job prospects there. Since I'm going into government work initially Yale SOM curriculum is more in line with my short term goals. In the military, the Yale brand seems to carry more weight, but I'm not sure about the aerospace industry, Yale is tied with Tuck so my decision just got harder.

I love both schools, what do you guys think?

bb · Answer

Congratulations on the admits, sponsorship, and scholarship!

What does your wife think? I am sure as a military spouse, she is used to be going where you are assigned to, and used to moving around, but this is one of those rare moments she does have some control. Do you know which way she is leaning?

Would your $30K for Tuck potentially come out of savings or loans?

bb · Answer

P.S. Would also suggest taking a look at some of the discussions here as Yale is brought up quite a few times in light of the new rankings: us-news-2017-rankigs-are-out-yale-and-stern-move-215142.html

akca · Answer

Thanks for the reply bb!

I can't believe I'm in this position in the first place! My wife is excited about both, ultimately we want to find a place where we can both enjoy our two years. I think she is slightly more interested in Yale because of the job prospects and proximity to family/New York/major airports. However, she is also very excited about the community at Tuck and how included Tuck partners are. As much as I like Yale, it has of course only recently moved up in rankings and the concern expressed at it's rankings climb is valid. If Dean Snyder were to leave it could backslide. Tuck has been a solidly top ten school for a long time. It's a bit of a gamble choosing Yale in my opinion, one that could backfire or payoff really well 10 years from now. I'm not gunning for MBB or most traditional paths so it's difficult to measure the benefit of either school in the traditional ways. I think in most cases Tuck is the obvious choice, but in non business circles (military included) there does seem to be more clout with the Yale brand. I wish I could look into the future and see what the playing field is like 10 years from now. As far as finances go, unless my wife gets a killer job at Dartmouth, I'll be using my car fund and I'll keep driving the same old 19 year old jeep for a few more years to pay for the difference.

bb · Answer

Yes, Yale is definitely softer. It has a specialty as a place for Bankers and Consultants but mostly it stands out as a non-profit focused BSchool.
Does not seem like you splurge a lot (good choice on the Jeep - it has a timeless design so as long as it is not rusted out, it will look good), so Yale would seem a natural choice.

Planning for 10 years out is good but there is so much uncertainty that you may be better off looking the next 3-5 years and it is a win with Yale, esp if you choose to hang around the Military or teach at one of the Academies. The immediate goals would have better ROI... time value of money.

Ultimately I can't think of a strong reason not to take Yale's money, only circumstantial/indirect stuff. E.g. if you have family around New Haven and your wife could be happier than working as a Starbucks barista. Hometown feel, best school in town, Yale would be easier; fewer distractions and less crap to deal with - are you looking for a bit more comfort or challenge? Perhaps a bit of comfort to smooth out the ride in a 19-year old Jeep ;-)

P.S. I drive a 17 year old Lexus and planning to keep it for a while longer but I only drive it 3K miles a year so not a fair comparison perhaps.

P.S. I drive a 17 year old Lexus and planning to keep it for a while longer but I only drive it 3K miles a year so not a fair comparison perhaps.

Wilch · Answer

I think if you're dead set on going into a certain industry or company, you should do a bit of due diligence on LinkedIn.

E.g. if you want to go to LMT's corporate development, look for people in that department and check their credentials.

If the difference in presence is negligible, then you should consider the difference in scholarship dollar value, proximity to family, personal preference, etc.

akca · Answer

From what I can tell, both seem to be equally represented. I'm not necessarily dead set on a certain company, right now I'm just focusing on my military finance career and I may potentially stay much longer, but my background is aerospace/defense so it's where I think I'm potentially most marketable if I decide to retire after the payback. I think a visit to both campuses with the wife is in order (I've been but she hasn't). Thanks guys for the insight!

Flyte · Answer

Current Tuckie here with a background in aerospace, I also got into Yale SOM.

Obviously I am biased, but Tuck is much deeper in the aerospace and defense community than SOM. Further, while SOM has some momentum right now, Tuck has a broader alumni base and is stronger in traditional industries like A&D, namely at Boeing and Lockheed. Keep in mind a lot of the older alumni from schools don't have active LinkedIn accounts in old guard industries like A&D; however, from our internal database here I can tell you we have loads throughout the sector.

Happy to chat offline if you want some more granularity.

8088 · Answer

Hey there Koz , I’m Dan, a second year MBA at SOM! Congrats on your admittance to two incredible schools! I don’t envy the difficult choice that you must make. First of all, thank you for your military service. What branch did you serve in? My Dad served in the Air Force and after flying, he was in military finance as well. While I’m a little biased just like Flyte , allow me to throw my two cents in. bb said SOM is the “nonprofit” school; I do want to clarify that while yes, SOM is recognized as being a leader in the public sector, including the government, our placement rates for the nonprofit sector is twice as much as our peer intuitions (which fluctuates from 4-6%) – though it’s sort of hard to compare to Tuck, because they don’t break down nonprofit/public/government. Have you had the opportunity to visit campus yet? If you haven’t, I hope you can make it to welcome weekend or one of the visit days because what really stood out to me was the social conscious that all SOM students have – so while many of us might go into Banking, or Media and Entertainment, all SOMers are concerned not just about the bottom line, but the double and triple bottom lines (Profit, People, and Planet). See below for a comparison of FT placement: SOM Tuck Consulting 29.3 34 Finance 24.5 24 Technology 14.2 18 Retail & CPG 8.9 10 Healthcare/Pharma 4.9 6 Nonprofit 4.4 (In Other) Manufacturing 4 2 Media/Entertainment 3.6 (In Other) Energy 3.1 2 Real Estate 1.8 (In Other) Other 1.3 4 https://som.yale.edu/programs/mba/career ... ent-report https://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/mba/caree ... e-salaries In this regard, while both schools are similar you’ll see that SOM has a longer tail in terms of diversity of industry interest – and that’s definitely something that drew me to SOM. I was in my International Real Estate Class taught by Professor Gray (SOM ’81) who were looking at our classroom concepts from totally different perspectives – me as a complete newcomer, others who were going into Real Estate, some folks form the PE/IB side, still others from the Energy and Retail perspective. I think one of the greatest things about SOM is our joint-degree students (nearly 20% and among the highest of any B-school) and number of other Yale Grad and Undergrad Students who are in our classes – I was in a group for my Int’l Real Estate project with a Student at the Divinity School, and a founder of oVote, one of our student startups. We have our integrated curriculum that stresses theory and praxis, but are also excited that we have niche praxis classes, like this one that I’m TA’ing this quarter: https://www.innovatelaw.org , a law class cross-listed with YLS. With United Technologies right down the street and lots of SOM engagement with new companies like SpaceX, if you’re interested in aerospace, I think there’s definitely an exciting fit for you here. There’s the Center for Engineering and Innovation and Design to help prototype if you want to take that route (I love studying there – in fact, SOM has the highest number of Graduate or Professional Students who are part of the center), and you can join Yale Aerospace Association. Regarding our veterans – we have a very active veterans club at SOM – and I’d be happy to put you in touch with some of my friends – James who served in the Air Force and is now headed to McKinsey, and Mo, who served in the Navy and is heading back to duty, among others. Likewise, I’d be happy to put you and your wife in touch with our partner’s club – I’m positive Laura and Perla would love to chat - more than 1/3 of SOM students come to campus with families and partners and they are closely integrated into our community. SOM does have a smaller alumni community than Tuck – Tuck’s been around for 70 more years than SOM, but I think both schools definitely have their merits in regards to alumni engagement – SOM has the second highest alumni gift participation rate, behind Tuck, but SOM’s average gift size is larger. Nearly two thirds of SOM’s alumni are part of our active LinkedIn group and we have active SOM and Yale communities all over the world. We’re also really excited about SOM’s trajectory – Dean Snyder and the administration have done a fantastic job integrating SOM better with Yale, and making SOM the most global US business school with initiatives like the Global Network for Advanced Management, which includes 27 other B-schools from around the world. I’d be happy to show you and your wife around if you can’t make it to one of our student visit days – just feel free to shoot me a note at Daniel.kent yale.edu. Hope to hear from you soon! Dan ‘16

VeritasPrepDozie · Answer

I would go with Tuck, it is historically and currently a better program with an awesome alumni community that would be great for a military family making the transition. Still in close proximity to NYC as well. Yale is on the rise but I would go with the established brand here, especially as you may need to tap in their responsive alumni network after you complete your military obligations

nachobioteck · Answer

This post makes me wish I had considered Yale as well LOL

aerien · Answer

Hey  Koz ! Thanks for posting.

At the end of the day, you have two great business school options, both with great recruiting prospects for you as well as partners clubs / communities for your family. Similar to  bb , my first inclination here is to ask your wife's opinion on where she would be happier for the next two years. Partners at SOM have run the gamut in terms of job seeking and/or keeping existing roles (read: you don't have to be a barista just because it's the only option in town). I've seen partners keep their jobs in NYC/Boston and commute on the weekends to New Haven; I've also seen partners get roles at major firms in CT (Hartford/Stamford as you know have lots of options, among others) or get roles on campus across the university. The SOM Partners Club is great at helping with placement opportunities and providing a place for the partners to have their own community within the greater SOM community.

In terms of your own recruiting prospects for staying in the military and potentially exiting longer term, happy to connect you with someone in the Veterans Club at SOM who's in a similar situation. Also can connect you or your wife with the Partners Club too. PM me.

Yale SOM $$$$ vs Tuck $$$

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