Tepper($$) vs KF($$) vs McDonough ($$$) vs McCombs($) vs Marshall

Question

In a great situation but also one that has me unsure what to do. Got a little less than half tuition at Tepper, a little more than half at UNC KF, and about 3/4 of the total cost at McDonough. McCombs gave me only a little money and Marshall gave me none.

Should I play the negotiation game here? Should I reapply to higher-ranked schools R2? I have high stats but weak work experience.

My goal is consulting and I would like to stay in the northeastern United States after I graduate - preferably Washington, DC. I will be living with my partner, so while rent costs matter, they're halved.

bb · Answer

Congrats on your admits! The fact that you got scholarships at most of your placements is an indicator that you would be able to get admitns at higher-ranked schools albeit without a scholarship. I am not saying you should apply to Ross, Anderson, Tuck and others however. I would only apply if you think one of those programs without a scholarship would be a good option for you. The rule of thum is - only apply to the schools you are actually willing to attend. Many will cast a wide net only to realize when they have an admit that they don't want to go there

Do you know which consulting companies you are targetting? MBB, Accenture, Government? etc? it is helpful to see which schools feed more into these employers. Many schools will have recruiting events with alums coming to recruit for internships and FT positions. These are usually very competitive as many want a chance at the action of the employer coming on campus. While Tepper and UNC tend to get the spotlight of the MBB job placements in this group, it is actually McDongough that ends up outplacing into consulting though many of these jobs likely have to do something with the government or tech consulting on the Dulles corridor. McDonough 69 out of 270 Tepper: 60 out of 231 UNC: 58 out of 287 Gnpth - how do you feel about consulting at McDonough for a US person?

MBA2021sus · Answer

I'm not MBB or bust at all. Fine with tier 2 and I would hope to do something in clean energy since I come from an energy background.

fitzpratik · Answer

Hi, Congrats on your admit!!

If I may add my opinion.

You aim to stay in DC and McDonough has offered you a good stash ($$$). For you, it's not MBB or Bust - EY, PwC, Deloitte, Rios Partners do routinely recruit at McDonough. Also, Consulting is a target for you, preferably focussing on energy. If I am not wrong, McDonough sends close to 34% of its class to consulting (??). Don't know much about energy focus. Superficially McDonough does sound great.

One thing many candidates miss out on is the cost of living - and how it affects the scholarship amount. You might want to compare the cost of living in all the cities, which can be done at https://www.bestplaces.net/cost-of-living/, and then decide whether the scholarship amount is good enough for you to attend that particular school.

just my 0.02$. Others may correct me.

MBA2021sus · Answer

Pittsburgh had the cheapest cost of living by far.

Also, the $$$ at McDonough was technically just $$ because I was assuming I would be living with my parents who live right near Gtown. This would avoid the rent issue, but I may be less happy living with them.

Regenerate · Answer

... maybe less happy, but wealthier!

............

Separately, can you give us your rough guess as to your after-scholarship costs at each place?

That'll probably help me formulate my opinion better.

Posted from my mobile device

MBA2021sus · Answer

90k @ UNC
100k @ gtown if I don't stay with parents, 70K if I do
110k @ CMU
117k @ McCombs

No love for some apps to T15? I could apply R2 with no issue, the apps are pretty easy. If I get apps in with a deposit down on one of the above schools, I do think I could wait and see what happens in terms of acceptance. At this point, I could also look at switching companies and entering a manager role. I'd have no issue holding back on attending school a year in order to work and continue volunteering locally (I enjoy this) if it gets me T15 or M7.

woody93 · Answer

If you are interested in energy too, I'd look more into the Energy program at UNC. Really strong stuff going on there plus you get the added benefit of MBB. Even better is the access to the tier 2 consulting firms too. Cost of living cheap and quality of life is high in Chapel Hill. Goodluck!

Gnpth · Answer

Thanks,  bb , for adding me to the thread.  MBA2021sus  Congrats on the admit and scholarships.

Adding to BB Advice - Try applying for top-15 programs in R2. You don't pay the deposit for these schools until Feb. So I would suggest definitely try applying to the top-15 programs.

If you want to stay in the DC area - McDonough might be a good choice. BCG and Bain recruit at MSB and Deloitte, EY, PwC, KPMG, Alix Partners, Gartner, and a few other firms. As a US citizen, getting interviews with these companies shouldn't be a problem. Most of my classmates ended up either in the DMV area or New York.

But again, I would suggest the following.
1. Negotiate more scholarship with McDonough. They might give you an extra 10K or so if you show you have been admitted to these schools and have scholarships - only if your goal is to stay in DC or DMV area. 
2. Apply for R2 at Top-15 programs. Your profile sounds great, so you might get admits, although you might not get the scholarship in R2. Check your luck!

All the best!

Regenerate · Answer

My signature contains a link to the GMATClub's ranking of FT MBA programs in the US ... and ... a link to the Financial Aid Consideration Curve, which might help assess the relative amount of scholarship you should be looking for from a school in a lower tier in order to make it reasonably competitive with a school in a higher tier. It looks like McCombs is your highest rated school, and so your relative scholarships would be: 40% -- McDonough (if living at home) 15% -- McDonough (if not living at home) 6% -- Tepper To me, the options seem to be two ... McDonough (and live at home) or go to McCombs. LMK your thoughts.

Good luck to you!

Tepper($$) vs KF($$) vs McDonough ($$$) vs McCombs($) vs Marshall

Which School for Consulting?

Prep Toolkit

Top 5 GMAT Debrief Videos

615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

More than Quant/Verbal Abilities: Speed vs. Accuracy

745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards