Yale SOM ($$) vs. Ross ($)

Question

Hi all,

I am currently deciding between Yale SOM and Ross for B school next year. I'm from the West Coast, and have no preference for where I end up post-MBA.

To make it even more difficult, I don't have a strong grasp on what I want to do post-MBA. I'm going to recruit into management consulting, but I'm also going to explore tech and working on a new venture (probably in the healthcare/big data/analytics space) during my time at school. I fully see myself recruiting into a large consulting or tech firm post MBA (MBB, Amazon). I don't want to go into the financial or non-profit industries. I am open to general management. Long term, I would like to move up in a large company to a VP/director/C-suite/partner role, so the development of leadership and general management skills is very important to me. Coming from a startup, I have a bit of entrepreneurial drive and want to experiment with starting a company. For this reason, the alumni network is important to me.

I enjoy socializing and drinking, but also don't want to get into the habit of having foggy nights every Thursday - Saturday.

I went to both admit weekends and felt that both programs had reasons to attend as well as students that I would get along with. I had more fun at Ross's admit weekend, but I feel that was due to the fact that the weekend was longer, that I stayed in a large house with other admits, and that there was way more drinking

. The pull of Yale to me is the diversity, the brand name to people from non-traditional backgrounds (people at my startup give me way more credit for Yale than Ross), and the connection with the general Yale network and classes. The pull of Ross was the experiential learning opportunities, the general professionalism of the program, the passion of the current students/alum for the program, the strength of tech recruiting, and the size of the Ross/UMich network. I think entrepreneurship and consulting were about even between the two schools, but I could be mistaken. Ross placed a stronger emphasis on leadership development, which is important to me.

The difference in scholarships is negligible and isn't really a factor.

I am torn and will likely flip a coin.

Any ideas?

Thanks
A

. The pull of Yale to me is the diversity, the brand name to people from non-traditional backgrounds (people at my startup give me way more credit for Yale than Ross), and the connection with the general Yale network and classes. The pull of Ross was the experiential learning opportunities, the general professionalism of the program, the passion of the current students/alum for the program, the strength of tech recruiting, and the size of the Ross/UMich network. I think entrepreneurship and consulting were about even between the two schools, but I could be mistaken. Ross placed a stronger emphasis on leadership development, which is important to me. The difference in scholarships is negligible and isn't really a factor. I am torn and will likely flip a coin. Any ideas? Thanks A

Wilch · Answer

SOM is a strong MBB and Amazon feeder. If you're interested in Amazon, we send a ton of students there to their RLD, FLDP, and PM/PMT program. Those who are interested in Pathways and Operations also get in.

If you'd like to learn more about recruiting for consulting or new venture, I'd be happy to connect you with classmates who has relevant experience. I can speak to tech, so if you're curious about that, feel free to reply here or PM me.

bb · Answer

Congrats on your admits! Yale is a big consulting school. 
Ross is a new found Top 10 this year (back after a long 20-year hiatus but seems like good things are happening there.)
Agree that Yale has a stronger name than U Mich or Ross in general circles kind of like Notre Dame that is not ranked well in BSchool.

I am glad you did not bring up climate and other things as there would be even more confusion and noise in the evaluation process. I would say go where you would not regret going and what your mind is telling you (ignore the admit weekend; that's not real).

Good Luck in your choice!

8088 · Answer

Hey There! Super congrats on getting into two amazing B-schools - I know wherever you attend, you'll have an incredible experience and learn a bunch!

I was in a very similar position as you - I came from a startup background and was very keen on working in tech post-MBA. When I was considering all the schools, particularly if you are interested in getting into Tech and maybe starting your own venture one day, the network is very, very important.

SOM's alumni network has exceeded my expectations - The alumni network is extraordinarily close-knit (I know it's but one metric, but perhaps an appropriate proxy is that over 50% of all alumni from SOM contribute each year to the school). Further, the fact that SOM strives to be the business school that is most closely integrated with our parent university means that we are able to very easily tap into the Greater Yale Network - not only during school (since you can take an unlimited number of classes outside of SOM after you complete the integrated core curriculum), so you mean many folks from the college, and all of the other graduate and professional schools but you are also able to easily connect with all Yale Alumni - that's actually how I got my internship in between my first and second year - through a Yale College Grad who founded a tech company. There are bunch of SOM and Yale grads in VC, and it's been extraordinarily helpful as my startup is getting ready to raise our seed. If you're looking to work in New York or SF - these are the cities with the two highest concentrations of SOM grads - so you'll be in good company and can expect a bunch of support.

Wilch  already noted that SOM is a huge feeder into MBB, so if that's a possibility for you, SOM will definitely prepare you well for that and give you the access to the recruiters - I recall hearing that there might be the largest class of students going into them this year for the internship.

Definitely would +1 your comments about the diversity, as that was also  very  important to me and you'll definitely get that in spades at SOM. The Leadership Development Program was also fantastic at SOM - SOM provides professional coaches for you to meet with 1-on-1 on top of the curriculum, and I was able to take advantage of that nearly a dozen times.

Like  Wilch , I'm also happy to chat if you have any questions or connect you with current students or alums in a particular function or industry.

Best of luck! You have a hard decision ahead of you!

Dan SOM '16

Yale SOM ($$) vs. Ross ($)

Yale SOM or Ross?

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