WashU (Olin) vs Rice (Jones) vs Indiana (Kelley)

Question

Hi All,

mihir0710  ,  bb  ,  Mo2men

I have to decide among the below 3 schools :

1. Olin (100% scholarship)
2. Rice (100% scholarship)
3. Kelley (80% scholarship)

I am mainly confused between Rice and Kelley. Olin I have kind of dropped due to the lower ranking and less scope in technology and overall job prospects.
Rice has the major city advantage and Kelley has better brand recognition with wider alumni base. 
I found the course structure to be better at Kelley. But its location and the competition from colleges like Ross, Kellogg, Booth etc is one concern.

I am an International student (from India) and have been working as a software engineer for around 7+ years. I want to get into consulting or technology, depending on the future prospects.

Since for Kelley, the living expense is comparatively lesser than other 2 options, the overall expense for me will be similar for all 3 schools. Better career prospect and job assurance is my major concern.

Please provide your valuable inputs with pros & cons for each option asap and suggest me which will be the best option among theses 3 schools.

Looking forward for your replies.

Mo2men · Answer

Hi  MBAaspirant87

congrats for all those schools. Before commenting, what are the plan for each school in next fall? online or in-class lectures?

madgmat2019 · Answer

my vote to kelley

MBAaspirant87 · Answer

Thanks  Mo2men ,

Mostly they are starting with dual mode, online as well as in-class, for initial few months. Depending on individual situation one can opt for either of these 2.

Also Olin and Kelley have a STEM designated MBA, while Rice is still to get the STEM designation. Though there is news that it will get STEM within a few months.

Regenerate · Answer

Kelley ... less expensive and, per your comment, the classes appear a better fit for what you're looking for ... AND ... a better alumni network.

I'm not sure what you're concerned about with competition from Booth, Ross, etc.

Posted from my mobile device

MBAaspirant87 · Answer

Thanks  Regenerate  for the suggestions.

With competition I mean to say that for similar jobs companies will prefer the candidates from Kellogg/Booth/Ross etc. over Kelley graduates.

Mo2men · Answer

Hi MBAaspirant87

Congrats for those schools. It is really tough call.

In the beginning, it seems there is problem this year in recruiting internationals for strategy and management consulting. You can review mihir0710 replies in previous posts about this issue. I hope he can reply soon to you. It is a general problem not Kelley's only. Both school share same 2nd tier consulting recruiters.

For Tech, both schools are not known for tech. but I reviewed both reports and I see almost dame percent go to tech. But I do not know where they are recruited.

Ignoring all the above,I prefer Kelley over Rice. The structure or curriculum and the idea of academy are perfect.

If you wish to hear for Olin, the Hatakekakashi can help you. You can search his recent posts as well.

I just wan to brought this topic to your attention. I do not mean to scare you but you must be knowledgeable.

https://monitor.icef.com/2020/05/us-imm ... rogrammes/

Regenerate · Answer

You're also going to be competing against students from Emory, Vanderbilt, Rice, Berkeley, UCLA, Darden, Cornell, Yale, etc...

Many of the companies hiring MBAs are recruiting all over the country.

Then again, many of the companies are only shopping for talent at one or two.

Regenerate · Answer

Oh ... also ... Rice (Jones) is my very close second choice.

Posted from my mobile device

Hatakekakashi · Answer

Hey,

Congrats on your offers (Y)

I'm also from india.. I'll try to unbiased but since I'm an olin mba student, I know more about the program in specific

Rankings

FT - https://rankings.ft.com/businessschoolra ... nking-2020
Kelley > olin > rice

US News - https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-sc ... a-rankings
Kelley = Rice > Olin

so def, Kelley has the advantage in terms of ranking (go for Kelley if you want a good brand)

cost of living - bloomington and st louis are cheaper than houston

location - houston is the best (big city) - more oppurtunities to connect

oppurtunities -

Rice tech & consulting - 35% of class in consulting (https://business.rice.edu/hire-rice-bus ... statistics)

Kelley tech & consulting - 30% consulting (https://kelley.iu.edu/recruiters-compan ... dex.cshtml)

Olin tech& consulting - 25% consulting (https://olincareers.wustl.edu/SiteColle ... Report.pdf)

So in terms of career opportunities - Rice looks like it's the best option

But I would say take stem into consideration - Olin and Kelley have stem so it comes to the brand that you want to choose since having STEM is good for an international student

WashU Olin has a International Immersion - semester in 3 countries and it's a great experience, since I've been a part of it and have thoroughly enjoyed it

So here's what I would do if I were you

If you want a brand - KELLEY since you are an indian you will understand it is good to go to NIT over some local college

if you want lot of career opportunities - Rice , since it is houston and it is well connected with many firms

if you want some international travel and a semester with some fun come here, let's have a drink (Y)

hope this help

Regards,
HK

PS - also covid-19 has made many things unpredictable so go for Rice - Houston has so many oppurtunities to connect as a city

WashU (Olin) vs Rice (Jones) vs Indiana (Kelley)

Olin vs Rice vs Kelley

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