Darden vs McCombs ($$) vs Rice ($$$$)

Question

First off, I want to say thank you to all who contribute their advice and insights on this forum, it has been a huge resource for me thus far. Currently, I am deciding between my options and am looking to gather as much info and insight as I can about my decisions. I applied in R2 to Darden, McCombs, Kenan-Flagler, and Jones (Rice). I was blessed to be accepted to all of them with scholarship $. The only one I did not receive any $ from was Darden. 
Quick Profile:
- 31 yo
- Currently live in the Austin area (25 miles north of UT)
- Undergrad degree in Business
- WE: Military veteran with six years in numerous leadership positions. I transitioned out as a Captain and have been running my own small business operation for the last two years. 
- Goals: Primary goal is to break into consulting or corporate strategy role in the tech industry but I know it can be pretty industry agnostic post-MBA so I am flexible. Contingency goal is Corporate Finance, again ideally in the tech industry given the expected future growth and opportunities but open to others. My wife and I are originally from Virginia but love it in Texas and would like to stay here in the immediate future. We're also open to the West Coast. We're not too keen on moving back to the NE and dealing with the cold weather right now but understand that may have to be an option in the future.
- I am blessed to be in a unique situation where my tuition will be completely covered and all scholarship money offered from the schools will be distributed to me in the form of stipends.

Thanks for the help!

To summarize, my choices are as follows:

Darden 
Pros
- Best program for consulting and general management
- Highest ranked program - Would likely provide better (if not best) consulting career opportunities
- Case-method and learning experience - Both are very appealing to me
- International studies are fully covered for all students (thankfully to a generous donation of an alum)
Cons
- Small town - my wife will most likely stay in TX to keep her income and we live separate, no point of us both moving when we won't be in Cville after graduation. Cville is also a pretty quite city
- Increase expenses due to separate living and no additional $ via stipend
- Tech scene not as strong
- 90%+ chance I'll be in DC or NY post graduation

McCombs 
Pros
- Partial scholarship (~$20K stipend per year, ~$40K total) - I have begun the process of asking for more funding, but I will not know more until I speak with the Admissions Directors who I am scheduled to speak with in the next few days. I received more scholarship $ and fellowships from both Rice and Kenan-Flagler so I am hoping they will increase their offer to be more competitive
- Austin - already live here, lively area, great weather, and wife already has established income stream here (we'll most likely move closer to downtown for the program). 
- Better tech scene and Austin is ranked as the #1 place for job growth
- Strongest brand and network in Texas
- Strongest areas of placement of ATX, HTX, Dallas, and San Francisco
- Program offers great flexiblilty and options into other areas of focus
Cons
- Not as strong of a program as Darden and consulting recruitment is not a strong as Darden
- Mckinsey does not recruit on campus (only major consulting company that doesn't) 
- Was offered less than half the $$ as offered by Rice

Jones (Rice) 
Pros
- Full Scholarship Fellowship (~$45K stipend per year, ~$90K total) - this is an amazing incentive
- Houston - also a great place to live, very lively, slightly lower cost of living than Austin, my wife could easily find work there and would like living there as well
- Rice is strong in Houston, especially when it comes to finance positions (and IB in O&G)
- Small class which offers more one-on-one with the CDC and professors and potentially stronger bond with classmates
Cons
- Lowest ranked program
- Falls second to McCombs it seems when it comes to alumni network and brand
- Outside of Houston, they seem to have a pretty weak presence in Austin and Dallas
- Less flexibility, they're strong in Houston but majority of the alum seem to be in O&G and outside of that it gets pretty sparse
- During my visit, it seemed to have fairly weak international study opportunities (I think a lot of this has to do with the young age of the program)

pd2pmm · Answer

If your higher priority is better career prospects across tech firms that offer corp strategy roles and consulting, then darden is the better school. If your are prioritizing location (Tx) and generally getting into tech in southwest and maybe west coast, then McCombs can suffice. Rice is out, would not pick that over McCombs, and never over Darden

bb · Answer

Congrats on your admits and great to see awesome results!

Did you go to WP? Or you have used up your gov funding for education?
If McCombs allows you to stay local and be with your wife, I would pick Texas and stay there because of you, her, and overall logistics. Jones is only good for energy and similar positions based out of Houston and is not really a contender for your goals. McCombs is a good balance of brand and value as long as you don't mind being in Austin.

Not sure who runs your family or how decisions are made but you definitely want to get your wife's opinion and educate her about all the options but not let her just leave it up to you. You want to make the decision together so that when it is tough, you are in together and there is no snide remarks. You will be very busy and stressed during the school and having her support will be helpful. You will also be changing and becoming a different person through stress, sleep deprivation, (though not tear gas), and education and if you come on breaks she won't recognize you and you will be pretty disconnected though I guess if you have done any tours, you know how it feels and maybe it is OK.

I think McCombs makes the most sense and of course if you can ask for a bit more money, it won't hurt

ket310 · Answer

First of all, congrats as a fellow veteran. Here are my thoughts:

1. If you are super serious about consulting, I'd give Darden a shot as long as your wife is ok with it. You can definitely recruit for Dallas office from Darden, especially if you have lived in TX (I have few friends who had absolutely no tie to few cities being successful, and if you already have strong ties, more likely). If you look at MBB partners in Dallas office, a lot of them are from HBS (and other M7s). Consulting firms recruit nationally and internationally.

2. Do you not have any GI Bill? I guess you would've told us if you did...

3. I agree that Rice is out, no reason to choose Rice over McCombs. If you are more focused on local recruitment, I'd take McCombs over Darden.

I think it really comes down to do you want to try consulting (think about the lifestyle too) for 2-3 years, then Darden is definitely a better place. However, married with a wife and being with her is also very important. McCombs is not far behind when you factor that in. I think it's really a personal choice with no clear winner here. Good luck!

twash017 · Answer

bb  Thanks for your insight! And that's for starting this amazing forum!

What exactly does WP stand for? And as far as government funding, I still have the GI Bill available to me.

bb · Answer

Thank you. I meant West Point - I thought perhaps you have used your GI money on that.

Posted from my mobile device

twash017 · Answer

ket310 Thank you for your advice and service.

As far as the GI Bill, that's what I was referencing when I mentioned my tuition would be covered. I will be using that benefit. Consulting life is definitely a grind! Could be exciting too, though. But given the lifestyle of the profession, that why I am still very open to Corporate Strategy.

twash017 · Answer

bb  Gotcha. Negativo, I went through ROTC and have 100% GI.

twash017 · Answer

I figured I’d give an Update to this thread. I talked to both McCombs and Darden for scholarship reconsideration. McCombs has doubled their scholarship offer. Darden I have not heard back from.

Posted from my mobile device

bb · Answer

Congrats on the McCombs offer! If Darden does not budge, so you feel you will lean towards McCombs?

Posted from my mobile device

twash017 · Answer

I really like Darden and the interactions I’ve had with current students and alumni but it’d be really hard to justify a difference of ~$80K. Essentially, the question is: is the better ranking (+7), prestige/brand, slightly higher access to MBB, and reported higher avg salaries ($125k v $118k) at Darden worth (or valued at) more than $80k and a relocation.

There’s roughly a $7K delta in the reported average salaries between the two schools from the most recent reports and based on that math, and assuming raises happen linearly, the break-even point of that $80k if I attended Darden would be 11 years.

Interesting enough the 3-yr post MBA salaries that the Financial Times reports for the two schools are: 
Darden - $170K
McCombs - $156K
Delta - $14K

But the 5-yr post MBA salaries that Forbes reports are:
Darden - $185K
McCombs - $184K
Delta - $1K

Very different ratios..

Posted from my mobile device

bb · Answer

It seems odd esp since Darden has a number of people going into iBanking which traditionally has a high comp... .. my guess is that these may be different samples since it really depends on people answering questions. I wonder what % really does respond to the survey? My other guess about those numbers may be that while they give an accurate picture of the salary compensation, they miss the magnitude of the bonus, LTI, and stock purchase plans. For example my salary is only $30K higher than the person who reports to me and my boss is likely $30 above my pay level. But on the overall Comp, I make $80K more and my boss likely makes $100K more than I do but it is driven by the higher bonus and LTI %. Also geographically speaking, making $180K in Austin is a lot diff than making $180K in DC or New York.... I am Ok making 14K less in Austin

P.S. Interesting enough MBB offers the same salary to all incoming MBA's - HBS or McCombs, they would be paid the same.

ket310 · Answer

If you have full GI-Bill, Darden is practically free. I guess you don't have 100% or don't have 16 months left? Yeah if your calculated difference is 80K and you are not serious about consulting, take McCombs. I'm married, and being with your spouse is very important, too (I mainly applied to CBS and Stern only, and the others just in case to negotiate scholarships). Unless there is a strong reason you are forgoeing that for a while, I'd side with staying with your wife. Unless you are targeting banking/consulting, the post MBA salary you would get from either program will be practically same (not enough to justify 80K difference). For ex), if you end up at AT&T, they would pay you same whether you went to Darden or McCombs. Same for any other big companies. The only difference is whether the company you want is coming to the campus? Given that you are in Austin/TX, this won't be a drawback anyways.

OH I read your posts very carefully, and it seems your tuition is all covered and the scholarship will be in stipend. MAKE SURE that is the case. I've seen few people who just had to give up scholarship because GI-Bill pays less of scholarship. So, you need to MAKE SURE to the SCHOOL that the scholarship must be in the form of stipend. Otherwise, you will give that scholarship up because the VA would pay less of that scholarship amount. That happened to me... so definitely maek sure. Otherwise, your calculation will be all off and you just get the E-5 BAH of your school location. But, even then, unless you are serious about external consulting (MBB and other strategy consulting), I'd choose McCombs over Darden.

twash017 · Answer

I'm a little confused by the last two comments. bb you mentioned that MBB offers the same salaries to all MBAs regardless of school....however, ket310, your statement sounds like consulting & IB are the two tracks where salaries do vary base on school.

Could you two elaborate more.

<break>

I will say this, which is interesting, I spoke with a Darden alum who is a Principle at Bain and a part of the recruiting (in Texas). He informed me that Bain considers Darden Tier 1 and McCombs Tier 2. He actually said they had more Darden alums than McCombs alums in his TX office and typically hires more Darden than McCombs students. He flat out told me they hold Darden at a higher level.
On the other hand, I spoke with a Deloitte Manager and he told me that Deloitte considers both schools Tier 1 at they're the biggest consulting hirer at McCombs.

Furthermore, below are internship reports I gathered from students at both schools, which is also insightful (all self-reported).
Darden (TX MBB internships):
McKinsey - 1
BCG - 2
Bain - 2

McCombs (nationally):
McKinsey - 0
BCG - 4
Bain - 2
All other consulting internships - 29

I guess it all depends on how valuable one feels the specific MBB opportunities are..

souvik101990 · Answer

The offers may be one thing but you may also want to look at (by talking to current students of course) how many students at Darden interviewed at MBB vs McCombs.

For consulting, I would have to vote Darden, but at the same time know that lots of Darden folks would interview outside of TX so that's some variation as well.

Re: comp - consulting comps are standard and you will make the same money regardless of which school you go to and which location you are in.

Just FYI, most MBB would pay a $160K base - about $35K sign-on and about 10%-25% in year end bonuses. 
Deloitte pays similar and would also reimburse your tuition (or a part of it) if you are an incoming intern for full time.

EY/Accenture may pay a slightly higher base ($170K) but will take some (or many) points off on the sign on bonuses.

LMK if you have any other questions!

ket310 · Answer

As far as I know, consulting salaries are standardized (unless you have prior experience and can negotiate). I didn't give any hint that the salary would differ by school. If you interpreted that way, sorry. The chance of getting an interview would definitely be higher at Darden for any consulting. However, once you go to 1st Round interview, your school doesn't matter all that much. It's reall YOU at that point. However, you probably will have more interviews to start with at Darden than McCombs. That's really why many people argue for higher ranked school despite the big cost (not for you though, but in most cases)

Darden vs McCombs ($$) vs Rice ($$$$)

Darden vs McCombs ($$) vs Rice ($$$$)

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