Rice (with $$$) Vs Georgetown

Question

Hi All,

I have been admitted to the  Rice MBA with $$  and also to  the Georgetown MBA with no scholarship . I am  international candidate . 
My post-MBA goal is to end up in Technology sector.

What do you think is a better option considering job market, Visa situation, brand value of an MBA, class size and scholarship?
If you could list out your reasons and any other factor to consider.

Much Thanks!!

bb · Answer

Congrats! Depending on the scholarship amount, it may be a very attractive proposition to go to Rice and graduate without any debt.
However, if you are choosing between Rice with 100k Debt or Georgetown with $150K of debt, then Georgetown will be much better. Lots of Tech presence in Reston on the freeway leading on to the Dulles IAD Airport.

mk19 · Answer

Thank you for the reply  bb

The scholarship amount from Rice is $58k which is near to what you compared.
But I read in your post somewhere that Georgetown is quite heavily related to federal things and hence, difficult for internationals to get job. Is that an ongoing concern?

Also, is Georgetown brand better known than Rice?

bb · Answer

It is McDonough and Jones, not Georgetown and Rice, technically and I don't know almost anything about Rice or Jones except that it has a lot of people from Oil&Gas background and caters to that industry.

spiderml · Answer

If I had this same choice I'd probably go Rice. COL will be lower in Houston vs DC, and with current rankings they are more or less peer schools. I think Rice would also give you a more access to the growing tech scene in Texas, though McCombs probably has more pull there. Both send about 15% of their class into Tech, so I'd either try to get a sense of which companies you might want to work for and see where they recruit, or take the money.

Mo2men · Answer

I have to differ with  bb  and give another perspective about Georgetown and Rice.

In my region, almost all people judge your education of the university name (except few). Georgetown (parent university) is more famous because a lot of social professors, Economist, political figures studied there. So, they consider it better in anything. They do not recognize Rice or McDonough.

mk19 · Answer

Thank you for your insights. 
I have to agree with  Mo2men  on the recognition of the universities. That is the reason I asked this question.

Also, spiderml has a point about the tech hub coming up in Austin. 
So I guess it is equal chance of both right now.

What else people?

stonecold · Answer

First off, Georgetown is a much sexier brand than Rice in terms of overall education. But my vote still goes to RICE due to the reasons mentioned below ->

Recruiting -> As you said, both schools send equal proportion of students into your desired industry. And by going to Rice, you will save $58,000.
Rankings-> Rice(#23) currently ranks higher than Georgetown(#25). So are getting money + A school which is ranked higher. Sounds like a win-win to me.
Salary Statistics -> Their isn't much of a difference w.r.t salary statistics(these are the latest 2018 numbers) ->

Break up of salary statistics for Georgetown(McDonough) ->
Average salary -> $112,501
Average Bonus + Stocks options -> $28,516
Total compensation/year=> $141,017

Break up of salary statistics for Rice (Jones) ->
Average salary -> $ 113,349
Average Bonus + Stocks options -> $37,926
Total compensation/year=> $ 151,275

NOTE-> As an international, your average salary might be lower than the overall class average( because of the banged up immigration system)
Location -> As someone who went to GWU, which is in DC, said ( I don't know if this is true) ->
A piece of advise for internationals give last priority to schools based in Washington DC. 99% jobs and internships are in federal sector and internationals are not eligible for them (even in companies like E&Y, BAH, PWC, Deloitte, TCS, etc.) , and I hope nobody would be interested in unpaid internships. Ground reality is quite different; contact current international students to understand the challenges they are meeting. As per my knowledge story is just opposite in schools located in commercial hubs such as Chicago, Boston, North California and New York, so keep your focus on such similar commercial locations.
(Source -> https://gmatclub.com/forum/calling-all- ... l#p1663705 )

This can be an issue but again -> Georgetown is NO GWU. The career centre is much more efficient and the alumni network is much stronger. So I think its brand and rep will make up for the less-desirable location. However, the living cost in DC is exorbitant which makes Houston (with cheaper cost of living) a great option for you.

My final thoughts on Georgetown's MSB-> McDonough is such an amazing school with a potential to break into Top-15! But its yield is the lowest amongst the Top 55 schools. That means that only about 33 percent of the admitted students end up enrolling for the program. Which is Super Low. I honestly think that this is due to the fact that Georgetown is one of those schools which DOES NOT offer money (i.e fellowships and aids) to most of its students. And given its tuition combined with DC's cost of living, it can make a decision much more harder(given the arduous loan repayment).I hope this changes in the coming years

mk19 · Answer

stonecold , that's hell of an analysis. Thank you!

I agree to most of your points here. You covered rankings, scholarship and salary statistics.
I did hear the same kind of points on the location of Georgetown but some people had varied opinions(maybe because they got a job in Washington).

Rice (with $$$) Vs Georgetown

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