Babson College ($$$) vs. CMU Tepper vs. IU Kelley (30% scholarship)

Question

I am stuck deciding between a couple of offers after having narrowed it down from about 5 options to 3.

I am currently working in production management and would like to transition to consulting for a couple of years post MBA before ultimately going into entrepreneurship. I have been working in production for the past 3.5 years and have gotten a solid taste of general management, product management, sales and marketings as well as production focused operations management. Since consulting is a very competitive field post-mba I would ultimately like to narrow it down in order to work in a tech company on the operations consulting side.

I currently am between Babson (full scholarship plus 8k stipend per year), IU Kelley with 30% scholarship aid and CMU Tepper without scholarship...

My profile is as follows: UGPA 2.6 GMAT 680 WE 6 Years

bb · Answer

In every question, there is always the chicken and the egg issue - did a highly-ranked school A really help people get into consulting because it is a great school or would those people get into consulting anyway if they had gone to School B that costs much less but is ranked lower too? Few have been able to offer exact answers.

While I am not going to argue that Babson is going to preclude you from getting a great job, logic, some research, and common sense, suggest you have better probabilities and chances in Kelley. Consistently a top 20-23 ranked program really surpasses Babson in terms of stats - % of folks employed, average GMAT, consulting jobs, and salary in consulting ($85 vs. $125). You also get the benefit of better professors, alums, and most important - classmates. You need good and supportive classmates and Kelley attracts a higher caliber of folks.

So while I hate leaving a lot of money on the table going for a top 22 vs. top 60 is a big difference. Yes, Babson is famous for Entrepreneurship and has had a strong name, it has been struggling to find strong appeal among the traditional applicants looking to enter traditional post-mba job fields.

Congratulations on getting into schools with your GPA - getting a scholarship with a sub-3.0 says volumes about you - your resume must be stellar - fantastic job!

jonnnnnix · Answer

Thanks for your help BB... what about between IU with small scholarship vs. CMU without any scholarship?

What is all worlds were equal and i had full scholarship and Kelley and Tepper. Which do you choose then for someone pursuing consulting post-mba?

PugLyfe · Answer

If money was not a Factor, I think Tepper is a better program. However, IU does reasonably well with consulting. I like their program very much. Only reason I did not apply was because of lack of job availability in the immediate area for my S.O. Side note - the other day you had 80%, then 50% tuition schol offered from IU. Now it is 30%. Which one is it!?! :lol:

Keep in mind at IU, COL is low. Tuition + Fees ~93k w/o schol. CMU 120k. As far as the debt burden goes, IU will certainly help you come out ahead. As long as you're happy working in the midwest post grad, I think that IU is the play with a scholarship. For what its worth, I made a similar a decision choosing Owen with a partial scholarship vs CMU w/ no money. Being able to save 65-70k was meaningful enough for me to choose the "slightly lesser" program. I'm perfectly content with my decision.

bkhu · Answer

would have to agree with the people who commented before. IU is definitely on top if your immediate goals are consulting right after B-school. Scholarship and low cost of living will help you as well. IU classmates/professors will help you in the long run for your entrepreneur goals.

good luck with your decision!

good luck with your decision!

jonnnnnix · Answer

Well that is my issue now.... i most likely would like to return to work on the West Coast / Preferably in California.... I think IUs brand is strong for the Midwest but outside of that area they become a bit weaker than what CMU could potentially afford me. Not sure what your opinions are on this...

I am also waiting on my company to advise if they will provide any sponsorship towards the MBA as I try to get the financial offers from IU and CMU to be similar in order to make a decision strictly based on quality of education and post-mba opportunities.

ThisSideofParadise · Answer

How strong is your undergrad? For example, If someone went to MIT undergrad and their resume had MIT/Babson Full-Tuition scholarship - you will likely do well with recruiting. However, if you went to a directional state university and don't already have an established network - it may be worth to pay depending on your career goals.

I would try to negiotate with both schools by leveraging your other offers. See if Tepper will give you 30% and if Indiana will give you half.

I would try to negiotate with both schools by leveraging your other offers. See if Tepper will give you 30% and if Indiana will give you half.

jonnnnnix · Answer

I went to UC: Santa Barbara for undergrad....

not 100% sure what I want to do post mba but am attracted to the tech connections that Tepper has...
I have already sent letters trying to leverage my other offers and see if I can get any money from Tepper.

VeritasPrepDozie · Answer

I would go with IU here better brand and opportunities in consulting and tepper with no money would leave it out of the running for me. Kelley is a good program where the alums all really love the program and will probably set you up best for your career. Only thing I will also say is that consulting firms tend to still care about UGPA and GMAT so make sure you perform well in your first quarter in b-school to try and assuage any concerns

jonnnnnix · Answer

I now was able to leverage my other offers to get 30% scholarship from Tepper, and IU offered an graduate assistantship worth another 15% of tuition costs so that brings up their scholarship total to around 50%....

I am leaning toward Tepper now since I think it has more connections with west coast companies due to its connections with the tech giants on the west coast.

Would love to hear your thoughts on deciding now between IU and CMU? Tepper with 30% scholarship and IU with close to 50%..... where to goo? Any help would be very appreciated!

ThisSideofParadise · Answer

Indiana is probably the right decision, but it sounds like your heart is with Tepper and with 30% scholarship you can make it work.

VeritasPrepDozie · Answer

With the money being this close and it looking like you're leaning Tepper I would go with your gut here!

aerien · Answer

Any decision yet,  jonnnnnix ?

Babson College ($$$) vs. CMU Tepper vs. IU Kelley (30% scholarship)

Which program to attend?

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