Cornell vs Carlson (full ride) vs GW (full ride) vs Kenan Flagler $$

Question

I am international from Europe wanting to study consulting-strategy with some classes in marketing and on post mba would want to go back to my own businesses. If I fail on entrepreneurship would want to have an option to go to states for a consulting job. Which on would you pick? If I chose Cornell I will have to just land a job and work in US. Won't have the capital for the businesses.

VeritasPrepDozie · Answer

I would say Cornell and KF are the best schools of the bunch and your decisions really depends on how clearly you want to do your own business, KF would probably be the best hedge given you are receiving some money so could potentially still do your own business but will also give you the opportunity to pursue consulting. The other programs although providing funding will limit your back up plan opportunities if your venture is unsuccessful

d5321 · Answer

THanks. On between UMN Carlson and GWU what do you think is better?

bb · Answer

If you are starting a business, you want to have as little debt as possible so Cornell is out of question then. It makes no sense to borrow 120K only to borrow more money right after it. 
I am not sure about your plan to to the US for a consulting job - I did not fully understand it. As an FYI - it would probably be tricky to recruit remotely and getting a work permit figured out in the US unless you take a job right after bschool.

d5321 · Answer

Yes, I have been hearing that about getting jobs remotely. On a skype call with alumni I learned that you have to go through several interview rounds to land a job. Pretty tricky when living away. But is it still do-able? Can I land a management consulting job?

If, it comes down to choosing between Carlson and GWU, which one should I pick?

If, it comes down to choosing between Carlson and GWU, which one should I pick?

Hubris2015 · Answer

Carlson > GW for sure if between those two.

However if you got around half funding at Kenan Flag I would think that should be a definite choice!

d5321 · Answer

Thanks Hubris. I was just reading your post/question on which school to go to.

Hubris2015 · Answer

haha nice

Well you have far better choices than me =P.
Cornell was one my dream schools heh I would probably pay the sticker to go. But for you Kenan Flag isn't too far back from it and with decent funding i believe its your most solid choice. Carlson is solid too, I just dont like the location and half tuition more to goto Kenan would be a no brainer to me. GWU is just on a whole different level imo and I think you should only consider it if theres something really specific you need to be in DC for. That being said, Kenan is right by DC too so yeeaaa back to my original choice =).

alphabeta1234 · Answer

#1 Harvard University 
#2Tie Stanford University 
#2Tie University of Chicago (Booth) 
#4 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) 
#5Tie Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan) 
#5Tie Northwestern University (Kellogg) 
#7 University of California—​Berkeley (Haas) 
#8Tie Dartmouth College (Tuck) 
#8Tie Yale University 
#10 Columbia University 
#11 University of Virginia (Darden) 
#12Tie Duke University (Fuqua) 
#12Tie University of Michigan—​Ann Arbor (Ross) 
#14 Cornell University (Johnson) 
#15 University of California—​Los Angeles (Anderson) 
#16Tie University of North Carolina—​Chapel Hill (Kenan-​Flagler)

Jonhnson≈Kenan-Flagler
The employment reports between Johnson and Kenan-Flagler are identically similar.
Also UNC-CH is better in consulting than Johnson. Places more grads in consulting jobs and at tops firms like Mckinsey/BCG.

exodus267 · Answer

I like Carlson a lot and thought about applying there so a full ride is great. However, I think you should go with UNC if you are able to afford whatever is left to pay after the scholarship award you received. How I would order them for you is:

1. UNC 
2. Carlson
3.Cornell

Notice no 4th option. GW is a great school but with a full ride at Carlson, it wouldn't make any sense to choose GW unless for location reasons. So with process of elimination we have it down to 3 schools. The choice between Carlson and Cornell at the 2 spot really depends on how you view taking on debt at this point in your life. Either way it may be a moot point as I believe UNC is your best bet, and if paying for the remainder after funding is too much then we can assume paying full for Cornell is also too much leaving Carlson as the only option. Again this is only if you don't want to pay the remainder for UNC.

d5321 · Answer

Thanks you so much guys. Really appreciate it.

Updates: 
- UNC is out. I was pretty sure I had it, but it doesn't seem so. Will know for sure on the decision day April 25. 
- Carlson decision day is tomorrow April 15.

So, tomorrow I have to decide between Cornell, Carlson full ride or leave it for next year (improve GMAT more and apply early rounds in great schools). What should I do? Please help.

If I go to Carlson, what would be the chances to get a US consulting job two years after school? probably 0.1%. Please help.

VeritasPrepDozie · Answer

Your chances at a top consulting firm will be much higher at Cornell than Carlson

mfprado1073 · Answer

Your last post was a bit confusing for me:
 - Were you accepted to these schools or not?
 - Are you certain that you'll have the scholarship that you mentioned for each of those schools?

If you want to land a consulting job in the US, it has to be done just after graduation. Most consulting firms have offices all over the world and applying from your home country they will definitely offer you a place in the closest office. Why would they hire remotely when there is thousands of fresh new candidates graduating each year from top BSchools?

Additionally, if you want to go MBB, Carlson will give you much lesser chances of landing a job than Cornell and it will limit you to the Midwest. Why don't you directly ask admissions how many students of the last class went to MBB, instead of local consulting firms? That might give you some clarity.

But if what you really want is entrepreneurship in your home country, just go for it and save yourself the time and the money.

alphabeta1234 · Answer

I am not going to lie, when I saw our GMAT score I was confused as to why UNC would offer you money, the average applicant UNC admitts is a 700. So unless you had some other extraordinary story about your application, you were likely to receive little or no aid. I would go with Johnson w/ no money.

It seems like OP didn't know his full package at these schools (assuming he was admitted) but was weighing his potential options.

Carlson is a great school but its not in the same tier as Kennan-Flagler/Johnson. Not the same opportunities, nor does it have the same national brand school name or business program.

d5321 · Answer

Thank you all for very good comments and suggestions. I have been accepted and received the scholarships stated on those schools. Sorry for the confusion. I do not have a great GMAT, but I think I have a good story and a well developed application, which might have helped out on receiving scholarship money. With decision day I wanted to say the last day to reply to the offers.

Having said that, I wanted to let you know what I have decided. After thinking this through well, I have decided to decline all offers, re-take GMAT soon, apply first rounds to schools and try out entrepreneurship before MBA. It was a very hard decision, but the right one to be made as I am confident that with more work this year I should be able to get to where I want to end up, while use the pre-mba time to try out on entrepreneurship.

Again, thank you.

Cornell vs Carlson (full ride) vs GW (full ride) vs Kenan Flagler $$

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