UNC (full scholarship) VS Haas (~15% scholarship)

Question

Hello. I want to work in healthcare/biotech and am an international student with a technical background. I really like the culture in both schools. Normally I would choose Haas because I love the Bay Area (lived there for a while) but I am afraid of going into debt. I also visited Chapel Hill and liked it as well, but its hard to compete with the Bay Area in my mind. The fact that UNC is obviously very interested in me is something I like, as well as the fact that it will be a little bit easier for me to stand-out there. Companies I am interested in recruit at both schools. Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

bb · Answer

Congratulations! Great job!

Taking your career goals and plans (and background), UNC would be a great match/fit for Healthcare and Biotech. Duke and UNC are the two healthcare-heavy schools due to their close connections and research they are doing in that sphere rather than the MBA programs per se, but still, I would take that benefit any time of the day.

Taking into consideration a potential sensitivity around H1B, money at hand makes a lot safer bet, even though it is not as sexy as Berkeley.

P.S. if you were into tech/startup then maybe Haas would make sense but in this case UNC is a very good match and the scholarship is a great benefit on top of that. I would not be shy about some rankings differences in this situation.... my 2 cents.

Mo2men · Answer

If both schools translate your dream job into reality, I will choose the free ride with UNC. Taking into consideration the uncertainties for international students, it is great to graduate without loans. UNC is a great university with lovely place to live. It is known for healthcare. Other advantage is that you can attend some classes in Duke. The Triangle/Durham is famous to begin a startup, if you wish. You can find https://openmaps.raleighnc.gov/startup-map/#

Good luck

jessepinkman · Answer

Haas - UNC is two tiers below and not worth taking over Haas despite the full ride

keats · Answer

Although I see that you have a full ride from UNC, I'd still recommend Berkeley! You do MBA only once and the the name of the institute will stay on your resume forever. Berkeley' brand power can any day overshadow UNC'. If you don't have a problem working out your finances, pick Haas.

Over the top, the peer quality would be way better at Haas than at UNC, a pointer that I'd value a lot.

Over the top, the peer quality would be way better at Haas than at UNC, a pointer that I'd value a lot.

stonecold · Answer

Congratulations.
Both are great schools so you cannot be wrong in choosing either.

Personally,I would tap that HASS offer.
Although UNC full ride is pretty tempting but i don't think UNC is in the same bracket as HASS.
The HASS brand could potentially get you to a lot of places,opening a lot of doors.

If you are an international student, then most definitely HASS.
Location of a business school is as important as its ranking(if not more).

Regards
Stone Cold

VeritasPrepDozie · Answer

I would go with UNC here, great program in a great part of the country that will allow you to reach your career goals for FREE. Take the offer!

bschool2021 · Answer

What was your gmat ?

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Regenerate · Answer

UNC gets you your goal for $0 tuition ... yes do that.

Substantially lower risk. Same outcome.

That's a much better ROI.

And, as discussed elsewhere in these forums, the name on the resume fades in value after 5-10 years as you accomplishments rise to the top.

And, the networking opportunities in the research triangle will be awesome.

And lastly, I think NC is absolutely beautiful, the people are nicer than CA and the taxes are lower than CA.

Would you rather make 150k under North Carolina taxes or California taxes?

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woody93 · Answer

For healthcare, UNC is a no brainier. They are an absolute powerhouse in Healthcare. All the top pharma, payer, and healthcare consulting firms recruit out of there and proximity to Research Triangle is a healthcare hotbed. You can certainly get almost any healthcare job out of UNC and that too with no debt.

bigge2win · Answer

I'm a bit surprised by the answers in here. Let's debunk some of the comments. First off, you're not making $150K in NC for your first post-MBA job. UNC employment report says $115K is median for healthcare. PM is a common path for Tech with Berkeley, which usually starts at $140K (plus the $30-$50K sign-on/relocation bonuses, up to 20% annual bonuses, and the $150K-$200K RSUs that'll grow based on what the stock does at Amazon, Microsoft, Google, etc.). Compensation packages in tech are absolutely no joke. Your income growth potential and exit opps in Bay Area after Haas is massive. Promotion in 2 years gets you a salary in the $180-$190K range. How long would it take you to get to that in NC?

Now, you're getting your MBA to maximize your long-term income potential, not just to minimize your short-term financial downside. If you stick to a niche industry in one small locale, you've pigeonholed yourself with an inferior alumni network to branch out. Go to a thriving industry in either SF or NYC and you can go anywhere with the superior school's alumni network. Based on the compensation numbers I gave above, you can pay off that difference of debt ($100-110K) in a fairly reasonable time.

Also, no one has raised how the Bay Area has both traditional healthcare and healthcare tech. You've got Kaiser, Blue Shield, along with big tech companies (Google, Apple, Microsoft, Amazon) and a plethora of healthcare tech startups working on innovative solutions to disrupt the healthcare space with Big Data, AI, superior supply-chain/logistics, etc. VC's in the Bay Area are heavily funding biotech and healthcare startups in the area and around the country.

And if you wanted innovation in the biotech space, Boston/Cambridge and San Diego are the spots. Guess which MBA program will provide more contacts and open up more doors with a better looking resume - UC Berkeley Haas or UNC Kenan-Flagler? It's no accident that Haas vaulted up the MBA rankings in the past 15-20 years. It's a reflection of how strong the program has gotten since the tech boom and everyone recognizes the Berkeley brand long before the MBA program was highly ranked.

mcwalcott · Answer

Congratulations with offers! The answer is pretty obvious to me - Haas. With all due respect to Kenan-Flagler, Haas is a significantly stronger program with a strong MPH dual degree option. MBA is done once, with Haas STEM designated MBA you should be good to get employed with no problem. DM me if you want to speak to a current student on the MBA/MPH program although I know that you can reach out to pretty much anyone and they'll connect you with the right people. Congratulations again!

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UNC (full scholarship) VS Haas (~15% scholarship)

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