Tuck ($$$$) vs SOM ($$$) vs Fuqua ($$$)

Question

Hi everyone,

I'm really fortunate to have received three great offers from Dartmouth, Yale, and Duke. All three schools have substantial scholarships, and Tuck is offering a full ride. I'm also currently on the MIT Sloan waitlist.

I'm a software engineer with a little less than 6 years experience working for startups and have two interests post-MBA:

- Product Management at a big tech company (Google, Amazon, etc.), eventually leading to my own tech business
- Immediately go into entrepreneurship via search fund

As an engineer, I'm definitely hoping to get some real business training during my MBA, and I'm confident that each of the programs I'm considering will do so. Additionally, I'm looking to join a strong community, and I'm hoping to build relationships that I can call back on throughout my career and life.

Tuck 
I really loved the family-like nature of Tuck, and the small size is a plus for me. Hanover isn't for everyone, but I genuinely feel excited about the opportunity to spend two years in rural New Hampshire and going through a real college-like experience, building genuine relationships with peers and professors. The scholarship offer is, of course, incredible, as well. My main concern with Tuck -- does it align well enough with my career goals. Tech is growing at Dartmouth (like everywhere), but that's by no means what Tuck is known for. Will my highly-technical background help ease that a bit? Will I feel more well-rounded at the end of an MBA by completing a more general management curriculum vs something more specialized, or will I feel like I missed a chance to really focus on building skills that are directly related to my expected career path?

SOM 
I connected well with everyone I met at SOM. The spirit of the school is likewise great, and the program's mission definitely resonates with me. The integrated curriculum seems great and taking courses throughout the University would be fun and interesting. YEI and entrepreneurship at SOM seem pretty strong, and while SOM itself might not be a super-elite MBA program, the Yale name carries a lot of weight.

Concerns about SOM: with Dean Snyder stepping down, so I wonder how much SOM will change. The Yale network is great, but SOM's is pretty small and doesn't seem to have the best reputation. While all schools are providing large scholarships, SOM offered the least. And finally, though it's not a major concern, I didn't really like New Haven, and it doesn't feel like a nice place to live (for me).

Fuqua 
I initially wasn't going to apply to Fuqua, but I had the opportunity to visit the school last year and my mind immediately changed. All of the students have been incredibly nice and helpful, and they all seem to have thoroughly enjoyed their time at Fuqua. The scholarship is quite generous and close to Tuck's. Minor point, but after living in the Northeast for a long time, North Carolina's weather would be very welcome.

On to the things that concern me about Duke: has a great reputation, but not as strong as Tuck or SOM (probably even here, but I'm giving SOM the edge because of Yale). Some entrepreneurship and tech here, but still not super strong. Durham seemed ok to me (not as nice as Hanover, but better than New Haven), but I am concerned about building a network that is strong in the South/Mid-Atlantic, and I don't plan to live/work in either of these regions post-MBA.

Now, if I'm lucky enough to get into Sloan as well, that'll make this even more difficult.

Hoping for some feedback and advice!

bb · Answer

Congratulations!

To add to your considerations:
1. All schools seem to be in a non-urban setting or even non-close to a metro area to recruit at. SOM seems to be the most "connected", which I never thought I would use those two words together in one sentence

2. Tuck is a consulting machine. They provide a solid feed to consulting companies. Other types of recruiting are there but not as mainstream.

3. Tuck will be the only Top 10 school on your list as of tomorrow: https://gmatclub.com/forum/us-news-2019 ... 61204.html

4. Fuqua, which is not the top 10, has the largest class size, which usually acts as a good employer draw

I am old fashioned and would probably go for the good-old-Top 10 option, which again, would be an easy out with Tuck. You can't go wrong there, unless you have issues with setting.

P.S. Congrats again and have fun making the decision! If you make it into Sloan, I think that would be the perfect fit on paper but paper and life have a funny tendency to disagree, so I try to go with my gut in these very complex situations. Sometimes it is just right.

jessepinkman · Answer

tuck is the best school and offered you the most money so seems like the easy call here

Maupassant9 · Answer

Tuck should be the call here.

bb10 · Answer

Tuck all the way mate - its the best school outside the M7

souvik101990 · Answer

One more Tuck vote for me, but I am going to offer a slightly different perspective here. While they survey recruitment numbers, people often consider the number of offers made. They often forget the number of people who actually apply for certain industry/functions etc. I know from a very close source that while Tuck is great for consulting recruitment, it is also more competitive there as opposed to, for example, Fuqua, because fewer people aspire to join MBB in Fuqua than Tuck. If you apply the same logic for tech, Tuck actually may be a more strategic fit for you than other schools.

Oh BTW, ditch Yale

Mo2men · Answer

Wow schools and magnificent scholarships as well

I agree with souvik101990 in his view. I would add that Tuck would be happy to work with you closely as you will be a successful applicant for them. Your experience and Tuck's will would support you. Although you might find few in tech graduated from Tuck, you will find them willing to help and spread your resume. Two years ago, a graduate from Tuck talked with me about the one aspect of loyalty in Tuck means. You can send resume to Tuck's alumni who take the resume to the HR or mangers and follow up. I think it will work for you. Good luck

magnaton · Answer

Why?

It's interesting -- SOM seems to be a super polarizing school. Hoping to learn more

souvik101990 · Answer

PM-ed you!

Wilch · Answer

It really depends on what "big tech" is to you.

If it's limited to FAANG, you're looking mostly at one of Google or Amazon for product management since neither Apple nor Facebook hire a ton of PMs. With a SWE background, I don't think your school choice will really affect your chances at Google - as far as I know, with relevant background, they will look at you regardless of your school's ranking (unless it's way out there). You will want to reach out to students from Tuck and Fuqua to ask if Amazon hires Technical PMs from their schools - I can tell you Amazon certainly hires PMT from Yale SOM.

If your definition of "big tech" is any firm with $10B+ market cap, then you're looking at Intuit, Adobe, PayPal, VMware, and eBay. A lot of these firms are relatively ranking agnostic, but all have their core target schools. Yale is gaining traction with a number of these firms because tech hiring for class of '17 and '18 has spiked up, and they're seeing a great ROI with us.

In terms of starting a business, it's hard to comment in depth because I didn't go that route. I can say we have a lot of resources dedicated to entrepreneurship right now, as we have at least a few handful of students looking to start their own businesses. Search fund is ramping up at Yale SOM in a big way. We have a couple of fantastic faculty members teaching Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition - which is hands down my favorite course at Yale. Our leading professor, AJ Wasserstein, is well connected in the search fund world, he brings in 1~2 search fund entrepreneurs/investors once every week to speak at his class. I think you'll have an absolute blast taking that class at Yale SOM.

Deciding between schools & benchmarking is often difficult, as rankings and anecdotes from people who either attended one or none of the schools are the only available information. I also understand Tuck has offered you a full scholarship. Regardless of which school you're leaning towards at the moment, I suggest speaking to the admission's office to see if they can up their scholarship offer.

I hope this was helpful. Feel free to reach out if there's anything else I can clarify for you.

I'd be curious to hear why as well. If you don't feel comfortable sharing it here, PM me.

okaysoanyway · Answer

souvik101990  I'm also curious. Mind PMing me your thoughts as well?

Bellerin · Answer

souvik101990  are you still consistent with what you thought after 2 years? Please PM me, would love the know the reason!~ thanks

bb · Answer

I agree about some polarizing views. I think there is also some rivalry with Ross 😂 though Souvik is usually above that.

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Tuck ($$$$) vs SOM ($$$) vs Fuqua ($$$)

SOM

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