Cornell Vs Duke

Question

Hi Hjort,

I would like to understand how Cornell and Duke stand against each other. I visited both the schools and per my impression I would say thet more or less at the same level. I am not sure on how they stand when compared on placement side,
While doing MBA I would like to concentrate in the area of General management, Strategy, Marketing, and Entreprenuership. I would prefer the one that offers lot of hands-on experience.
Post MBA in short term I would like to work as a strategy consultant or like a business developer and in long term I would like to open my own venture. 

Of-course anyone else with a different view-point can also post his/her comments,

Thanks

Hjort · Answer

Cornell and Duke are similar schools in many ways, including overall prestige. The difference in yield tends to be small with no clear leader in terms of yield. The placements also tend to be very similar, with a large number of placements at both schools with consumer products companies and finanical services firms. They are both strong in intl. business, marketing, and general management and there does not appear to be much difference in their placement strength with major consulting firms. In each field Duke usually ranks a little higher but there the two schools are so close that this does not constitute a meaningful difference. 

I am curious to hear other insights into these two schools.

just4fun · Answer

Thanks Hjort,

I would also like to hear comments on the following points:

1. Quality of strategy department in both these schools

2. Quality of admitted applicants in both these schools

3. Which of these two is more well known at international level?

Hjort · Answer

As might be expexted from two schools in the same cluster, your decision will probably be based on fit instead of large differences in quality. Duke does seem to have the advantage in the overall placement rate.

1. Both schools have high quality offerings in strategy/consulting. It is difficult to say which is better in this regard or which has the better strategy department per se.

Cornell https://www.johnson.cornell.edu/academic ... nsult.html
Duke: https://faculty.fuqua.duke.edu/courses/mba/strategy.htm

2. Quality of Admitted Students. I suppose quality is a latent trait but based on what we can tell from the admissions stat.s, the two schools are quite similar. Cornell has the lower GMAT average but the difference is pretty small. The acceptance rate and yield of the two schools are pretty much the same.

3. Reputations differ across the globe, but there does seem to be a distinction between the repuation of the business school and the institution as a whole. Fuqua seems the better known business school relative to Johnson while Cornell University probably has more brand strength than Duke University. The percentage of international placements appears to be similar for Fuqua and Johnson as well.

Cornell Vs Duke

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