UNC (NO $) Vs WashUSTL Olin ($$)

Question

Hi, wonderful people at Gmatclub!

I assume everyone is safe!

I have a tough decision to make. I have been fortunate enough to be admitted to UNC Kenan-Flagler and Washington University - Olin. Olin has been very generous in their scholarships.
I intend to work in Healthcare consulting space post MBA. Both programs are great names in the Healthcare space. I know ranking wise WashU might be lower ranked than UNC, but WashUSTL is a great program in the midwest. Also, WashU has a great global experience program. I have networked with a few admitted candidates in both schools, and the batchmates at both the schools have been very kind and helpful.
Any insights on the above would be very helpful!

Regenerate · Answer

What's your all in cost (after scholarship) at each place?

How old are you? In other words, how long do you have to generate your payback?

Where do you want to try to settle after the MBA is over?

Posted from my mobile device

ANALysis · Answer

where's the vote function?

anyway UNC is only a few spots better than WashU. take washU

alvinmo · Answer

Is financing the MBA an issue for you?

If not, I would go with UNC. Bigger class size, wider network, consulting OCR. I know a few people who got MBB internships from UNC. Don't think WashU offers the same. Both universities are STEM certified. UNC is great for healthcare and clearly ranked a tier higher than WashU. Remember, with a consulting offer post-MBA, you'll be able to pay back the student loans real quick.

Someone from my program put it nicely when it comes to why they didn't accept a WashU offer. If you tell anyone outside of the US that you went to WashU St Louis, the first question they'll ask is if it's in Washington State or Washington DC. When you reply no to both. How are you going to explain St Louis? UNC, on the other hand, is more well-known & straight forward to explain

Also, if money is a concern, I would go with WashU.

Hatakekakashi · Answer

Hi,

I'm a first year International MBA student at WashU and I will try to answer without any bias (I was in a similar situation last year with different schools). I'm from India as well so I will consider this also while answering your query

There's no doubt that UNC>WashU, but you need to understand what is it that you are doing an MBA for. If you are doing it for a brand then choose UNC but you will start your career with a huge debt

WashU has recently been awarded Poets & Quants MBA Program of the year, we went on a global immersion to barcelona and china during our first year and that global immersion has enhanced our perspectives, for you guys it is going to France and Peru. Also, WashU MBA has a STEM option now, so you will get 3 years of OPT and as an International student it would be quite helpful for you to get your H1B. Next the dollar is @75~76, so take that into account as you take a loan and begin repaying your loan in case you ever go back to india. I'm only stating facts and not biased towards WashU but it is any day better to have a $50K loan vs a $100k loan.

Above mentioned are the facts that in my opinion are great as to why you should choose WashU, but it is located in St. Louis and is not a 100% safe city, it is a small city and the career center at WashU is not the best, things can still be improved here. I haven't lived in NC, so I can't compare it in terms of safety but

Now let's take into account cost of living - https://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-livi ... l-nc/28500

Clearly STL is cheaper than NC and there are lot of indian restaurants and stores here and WashU provides free Metro pass to all students so you can easily commute between campus, apartment and to get groceries. I'm sure there would be something similar at UNC too

Given the current economic situation, there is a slowdown in terms of hiring for internships and it will hopefully get better by next year so in terms of potential job opportunities at either school, you won't lack behind by choosing either, but some companies do consider UNC as a core school vs Washu and vice-versa. Health care consulting is a great career choice at either schools and you need to understand that it is a niche and not all companies sponsor International students i.e you can be studying at harvard but since you are on F1 visa you simply cannot apply, so you need to expand your horizon on what you want to pursue after an MBA

So to summarize, UNC is a great program much better than WashU and there could be more potential opportunities in terms of career (Agree with alvinmo here) but you need to realize it comes at a huge opportunity cost and WashU is catching up in terms of brand as well and you are going to start with a smaller loan. Focus on what you want after an MBA, have not only plan A but also plan B and see if it makes sense for either plans to happen with the school you plan to attend.

I would say don't rely on me or anyone else to make that decision for you, because you end up living with it so definitely take each of their point of views into consideration but decide solely based on what you want to do

I made a decision to choose WashU and haven't regretted it yet and hope you make a decision you won't regret. Good luck!

Regards,
HK

PS - PM if you want

Thanks bb for bringing this to my notice

fitzpratik · Answer

Thank you all for your replies and sincere apologies for the delay!

I am a bit preoccupied with work and hence the delay.

alvinmo  Financing is not an issue for me right now. I have a lucrative deal for loans from my home country (India). I am planning to get loans in INR. which kind of works out for me. But WUSTL Olin is offering almost 50% off on tuition for me. That's a sizeable dollar amount. However, as I intend to work in Healthcare consulting, UNC provides better networking opportunities. I am looking at an MBA as an investment. I am a mid-career applicant, so I do have a few dollars saved for my MBA. Also, many companies I am interested in do sponsor Internationals at UNC. I am not confident about the same at WUSTL as the career team is pretty new at WUSTL (From what I have gathered).

Hatakekakashi  
Thank you for your insights. I am an Indian candidate and I intend to fund my education through SBI, who are offering very interesting rates for the loan - so funding is not an issue for me, at least right now. Also, global immersion has been postponed this year, can you shed light on how that may impact the MBA experience?
However, the team at WUSTL has been wonderful! I had an opportunity to meet Prof Gupta in Mumbai, and also a few batchmates.  ALL  of them have been great and welcoming and I feel as though I will genuinely enjoy my time at WUSTL. Its this experience, more than the scholarship amount, that has forced me to still compare UNC vs WUSTL.

Hatakekakashi · Answer

If funding is not an issue for you then what other factors are important for you? Brand or network or post mba opportunities, cost of living?

Global Immersion last year was in Summer so we started in June 2019 and now you guys will travel in March 2021. We barely knew anyone before we travelled to 3 countries and we bonded over that experience and by fall we had friends. For you guys, you will have time from Fall 2020 to March 2021 to bond and become friends, so the experience will better as you know who to hangout with and what to do etc etc. In the overall terms of MBA experience, expect the same quality as WashU worked very hard with multiple stakeholders to provide us with great experience and it would be the same for you.

If you have met potential batchmates and you genuinely feel you will enjoy your time at WUSTL then go for it. Your experience at either schools will be great but it is the ones around you that actually make the experience matter.

One thing I can tell you that is, we were the first batch at WUSTL to have a travel experience with classmates and it's one in a lifetime opportunity. I would do the MBA program again if i get to experience it again and that's why even though there are some things I don't like here, I don't regret choosing WashU

Regards,
HK

Mo2men · Answer

Hi  Hatakekakashi

I hope you are safe those days and enjoying your MBA.

I have never encountered an Olin student in forum. I'm curious to know what you do not like in the program? city, program, electives....etc.

Hatakekakashi · Answer

Hey  Mo2men ,

Long time no see. I am just done with my first year of MBA. Time flies man

As far as what I don't like - WashU is located in St. Louis, not a great city in terms of safety. Only Busch, Emerson and Mastercard recruit on campus, so it not yet a core school for most firms. People ask Washington University? Is it in Washington state or city? Overall WashU is yet to be popular across the country. It has some name in the midwest. Also STL is a small city so after a while you may feel like you're doings things on repeat. I don't mind that but as a group some people don't like it

The electives, curriculum, professors are good. I have no complaints. There are only + and - to any course but I am not missing out on anything academically, just in terms of opportunities maybe?

The career center of WashU is better than what is was from what I heard but still not the best. I had a resume review where my coach made grammatical changes which I didn't need an appointment for I could have done it myself, so a couple of experiences like these have made me lose faith in them. They are good but not the best.

A lot of scope for improvement on that end but otherwise recent STEM MBA option makes me forget such experiences.

Hope things are going fine at your end and stay safe!

regards,
HK

Mo2men · Answer

Hi my friend,

Ya long time since we have been in contact. I'm happy that you made. I wish you success and enjoyably journey.

UNC (NO $) Vs WashUSTL Olin ($$)

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