FISHER ($$$) vs W.P CAREY($$$) Which one to choose?

Question

1. FISHER: FULL Scholarship + 20 hrs. GA
2. W.P. CAREY: FULL Scholarship + 10 hrs. GA

Financially, both offers are equally placed for me.

Indian Candidate (male 32), with an experience of 11 years in Supply Chain/Operations in the Oil & Gas Sector. 
Wants to continue in the same domain in E-commerce or Tech, hence opted for these schools as they are known for their SCOM (supply chain & operations management). I am also considering Supply Chain/Operations consultancy as a backup option (Plan B)

I have to make a decision between the two by 2nd Jan'2022 as I will making my deposit towards one. 
Would appreciate any insight that would allow me to make a wise choice between the 2 offers.

Fisher's MBA has some experiential opportunities such as Global Applied Project, Pre-term Case competition, Capstone Case competition, Max problem solving, and Business Lab. It also has Integrated Core where co-teaching is employed for core subjects.

Carey's MBA has Interdisciplinary Applied Learning Labs, and Executive Connections and lays a strong focus on Business Analytics.

As far as rankings are concerned, both B-schools have been rated differently by different rankings and are very confusing.

US NEWS: FISHER (39)/ CAREY (29)
FT Rankings: FISHER (37)/ CAREY (76)
Bloomberg US Schools: FISHER (46)/ CAREY (32)

I have talked to a few current students and Alumni from both schools and each of them has good things to say about their career management services.

I am really confused regarding which one to choose ????? 
Please help.  bb   Nikhil 
 Mo2men

bb · Answer

Congratulations! Sorry, admit took me a couple days to get through the backlog of all the posts in this sub forum 😇

Fantastic job with the admits! 
I would check which of these programs has better placement on the West Coast. My guess Carrie since it’s based in Arizona… ?

I feel that supply chain management and operations is a big thing for companies like Amazon and other retailers. It has become even bigger area of focus during the pandemic. However, this isn’t usually very elite job sector as the result, hours tend to be longer, and the pay is not as high as in the product management groups for example, even with Amazon.

It seems to very good options. I couldn’t really say that one will be much better than the other. FYI- Usually, GA is almost free money because you never have to work the full 20 hours, but you get paid for the full amount.

Posted from my mobile device

Neverbackdown25 · Answer

Thanks,

I guess I got your point about recruitment opportunities on the West Coast. 
I am in touch with students of each school and will make sure that I get the data as you suggested to arrive at a informed decision

Mo2men · Answer

Hi  Neverbackdown25

Congrats for both great offers. Both are great schools in terms of your aspirations. I would not pay that attention to any particular ranking because both in SCM field are well known in the US and both provide high quality educational experience and career resources but each in their regions. In the supply chain, there is another ranking for schools (not for MBA but SCM learning) called Gartner. Both are recognized in this ranking.

You really did your due diligence and found the point of strengths. Therefore, I will take it from there. I will be very focused, which is "what do you need to complement your experience and how to achieve that?

You need to build other business acumen in other fields such marketing, finance.....etc. The vast array of electives in Fisher is much richer than Carey. In the last 2-3 years, Fisher overhauled its MBA program to deliver more experiences learning. Although Carey has business analytics level higher than Fisher, I still find Fisher does not miss that much. Moreover, a closer look for SCM courses, I find Fisher covers different perspectives and current trends in the whole supply chain. I can't deny that they did a great job through (Global Applied Project, Pre-term Case competition, Capstone Case competition,....etc). Those will teach you great skills needed in your job in the future. I miss that in Carey or at east I can't see them. Therefore, I'm leaning to Fisher. I do not take any particular companies that you may target in each school.

The above is my 2 cents and how I approach both schools IMHO.

Best of luck

Neverbackdown25 · Answer

Thanks a lot  Mo2men  for such a detailed response, which got me thinking.

I agree what you have pointed about Fisher's curriculum. It has lot of experiential components which is missing in Carey. Also, Carey doesnt participate in any case competition however Fisher participates and organizes as well.
Also, Fisher is very much transparent regarding its Employment report, however Carey has a very compact report that doesnt tell much about compensation industry wise and lists only 7-8 major recruiters. They dont have their report for 2021-22 ready yet.

I was just wondering whether Columbus would be too cold to handle during winters:-P

Posted from my mobile device

Mo2men · Answer

Unfortunately, it is too cold. I totally understand your point. I saw some friends who couldn't withstand this type of weather for a while but got used to it later in the year. If you have any health restrictions, then you can avoid it or consult you doctor.

FISHER ($$$) vs W.P CAREY($$$) Which one to choose?

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