Wharton vs Yale SOM ($$) vs UNC Kenan-Flagler ($$$$)

Hey OP,

I think you've got a pretty wide interest and a lot going on as factors (goals/money), which makes this a much harder decision. My background was similar to yours:
- East and West Coast boutique healthcare consulting
- Thought I was interested in generalist consulting, staying on the East Coast, and no long-term ties
- Ivy League Undergrad (HYP), so probably no major need for a resume boost

I'll say this, your decision with money is something only you can decide. To me, I placed emphasis on a great experience with money as a small factor, and really wanted to treat b-school as a reset/growth experience. I only applied to Wharton on your list, so can't really comment too much on the other programs (only you can decide what 'experience' you'd get out of the three schools and how the money factors in).

These are my thoughts on your goals:
- All three schools will be great at placing you on the East Coast
- Business school in general is good at allowing you to explore and placing you in different areas
- Tech recruiting is actually not the easiest out of b-school (consulting, banking, and product management of non-tech are much easier), although I know the big companies (Google, Microsoft, etc.) come to Wharton and I'm sure they go to Yale / UNC (you should verify on your own)
- Which city do you want to spend two years in? Chapel Hill, New Haven, or Philadelphia?
- Which program offers good growth / social opportunities for your two years outside of your primary interests? I've had a great time at Wharton finding different friend groups that fit my interests, as well as growth-oriented programs like P3 and the Executive Coaching & Feedback Program. Also, as a queer person, the Out4Business community has been amazing, and serving on the board has been very rewarding.
- What is the final dollar amount business school will cost you (INCLUDING OPPORTUNITY COST). So if you're foregoing $100k a year, plus spending $100k tuition and $50k living/travel a year, business school costs you $500k. What is the difference in programs when you compare the full costs? How will debt affect you (if you have to take it)? Do you think there will be a difference in compensation or long-term earnings when you graduate?
- Wharton probably has the most diverse offerings from an academic perspective (owing to being one of the largest campus-based programs and having undergrad/exec programs), so there are plenty of majors, courses, clubs, etc. to explore
- Specifically for recruiting, I'd consider getting in touch with current students on how the school does for hiring in your target area (seems like you're a product manager/business development type looking at the east coast, so have you considered google NYC, facebook, NYC, microsoft Boston, Salesforce NYC, or what it is you're targeting?) Wharton has some great tech options I'd look at, like the Semester in San Francisco, tech focused entrepreneurship / marketing courses, and the Wharton Tech Club. For your 'back-up recruiting options', what does consulting recruiting look like out of the schools? Are you interested in MBB-level or perhaps a boutique? At Wharton, at least three MBAs were hired last year at the following relevant companies (the numbers are higher in my careers dashboard, but I'm not sure I can release them publicly): MBB, AirBnB, Amazon, Apple, Google, IBM, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Spotify.
- Lastly, while optionality is great, you've also got to consider where you're headed. I decided early to recruit for consulting and will be at MBB next year. What is it that you think you'll focus on for next fall/spring recruiting? Consulting? Tech? Start-ups? I think the breadth at Wharton is phenomenal, but you should narrow down (probably by next summer) how you'll target that.

Overall, Wharton has a ton of breadth and depth. I'm happy to answer more questions, but I think you'll need to do some more narrowing down on what you want out of the programs when you decide (especially in difference of total costs vs compensation, recruiting opportunities, growth opportunities, social life, etc.). Feel free to pm me if you prefer

Fantastic job on your admits!

There is no doubt that Yale is the dominant name on the list. Also, Unless you still have undergrad debt or cannot afford to borrow, I feel you should not be tempted by UNC and focus on Yale vs Wharton. In part, I feel you should be able to get a similar scholarship at a better ranked school.

I have pinged few Yale current students to see if they could offer their perspective. Tech has been a growing element in many business schools. In part because tech has been growing like crazy in the last five years and especially during the pandemic.

One element to point out based on your post, while business school is the perfect time to explore new options and try new things and discover yourself, as a later found out, It’s actually helps to be focused if you want to get a job. I personally cast a very wide net of anything and everything thinking that I would get the benefit of multiple offers. Instead it made me spread too thin and lacking specifics hurt my chances. While not a must by any means, you will be quite a bit more successful if you do as much research for career and employers as possible before you start the your MBA.

This is probably somethings so basic that you’re very well aware of and I don’t need to tell you but I figured I would mention anyway. You do want to have a plan A and a Plan B because it’s better to plan ahead but you don’t want to be everything and anything just as I realized, it only hurts to chase too many things. I can also tell you that thinking that I will figure out what I want to do when I start business school because things will be so much clearer, is also not something you should count on. This was my other faulty strategy. Don’t fall for it 😂

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Wow! Thank you for such detailed and amazing post! 👍

PS. I would say this is why you want to go to Wharton. You can see the helpfulness and pride of students in alums and the power of that community.




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voted wharton

if you're not sure what you wanna do, keep your options open

This is a very tough spot to be but I want to congratulate you on your admits! Very impressive to get into Wharton, Yale SOM and Kenan-Flagler. Scholarship money on the last two make this dilemma even more difficult.

Having said that, you have to put into perspective your undergraduate debt load (if any) and what path you want to take post-MBA. If you want to go into finance, there is not a school that you were admitted to that would rival Wharton. It really does depend on your post-MBA admirations.

I love Wharton. If they had an online program, I would not hesitate to apply to the school (husband and father to 3 young kiddos do not make for an easy move/transition...especially when we need income). I would be hard pressed to pass up Wharton but it is easier to spend other people’s money.

Good luck and let us know what you decide!



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Voted Yale, you mentioned you were planning to get to a tech company so it's your best option out of the three. Good luck!

For OP, I would debate that Yale School of Management is the best option for tech. Obviously, note my bias, but I would be surprised if you could find an empirical method showing one school clearly better than the other in tech.

If you look at the hiring stats from Wharton vs. Yale SOM, you'll see that:
- % of 2021 class taking a tech internship looks stronger at Wharton (16.9% @ Wharton vs. 9.9% @ Yale SOM)
- % of 2020 class taking a tech full-time role was similar across schools (16.2% @ Wharton vs. 12.7% @ Yale SOM)
- Tech full-time salaries for 2020 class were similar across schools ($139K median @ Wharton vs. $131K median @ Yale SOM)
- Tech full-time signing bonus for 2019 class were similar across schools ($35K median @ Wharton vs. $30K median @ Yale SOM)
- Employers for class of 2020 look similar (mutual include: Google, Apple, Microsoft, IBM, TikTok, Facebook)

Yale has over 35% of it's class go into consulting, which reduces the diversity of industries. I would argue the data above shows Wharton places similarly, if not better, in Tech. Additionally, Wharton being a larger program the raw number of tech alumni would be much greater beyond these class percentages. Wharton's San Francisco campus and semester in San Francisco offer great opportunities to explore tech term-time and on-site in the Bay.

Sources:
https://statistics.mbacareers.wharton.u ... port-1.pdf
https://som.yale.edu/programs/mba/caree ... ent-report

If you have decided, please let us know.

If you're still thinking, maybe the two links in my signature block below will help.

Good luck!