Wisconsin Madison or Notre Dame?

Question

Admitted to Wisconsin Madison and Notre Dame full time MBA programs. UW is quite cheaper with the possibility of free tuition for the second year. ND has an advantage with brand and network, but Madison is likely a better college town/environment. ND is around 50k/year for tuition minus a 20k/year fellowship. UW is around 17k for instate. Employment percentages and average salaries out of school are approx the same. Is the ND brand worth the extra cost?

Mo2men · Answer

What is you short and long term goals? Are you international student?

wshs1234 · Answer

I am not an international student. I am leaning toward a career in Corp Finance.

Mo2men · Answer

I would choose Mendoza over Wisconsin. Its reputation is known and its specialization in finance is great. Your will need to network and contact alumni in your jobs search. Mendoza alumni is loyal to their school.

wshs1234 · Answer

You think the network and slight rep of ND is worth spending an extra 30-50k? Even when the salaries out of school are approx the same?

Mo2men · Answer

Hi,

I can argue that it is the same situation in even some higher ranking schools i.e. you will find the same salaries like Mendoza and Wisconsin. If you were international, I would advice o take money. But, you are not so you can enjoy high quality learning and reputation and education and opportunities. I believe that Mendoza opens more doors and could lead to wider areas (I speak here as compared to Wisconsin). You can get a loan, unless you have burden from undergrad study and could not bear more. Again, This is me.

Good luck

bb · Answer

Sorry, I don't see much difference between Madisson and Mendoza. I think the two pretty similar. 
Yes, I get the ND and Rudy but they have similar numbers and the two are ranked closely. I can't see how one experience would trump the other.... Nobody comes to recruit on either Grad campus (most likely) since schools have only 100-120 students and they are both known for their strong undergrad names/reputation/sports programs.

I have met one person who has gone to Mendoza and she said "I got my MBA from Notre Dame"... which tells me the MBA is weak. 
I guess it does sound better than I got it from "Wisconsin" but i think some more looking around would be appropriate to compare the two programs and I would focus more on non-job related aspects since I don't believe you will find a difference there.

EDIT: The funny thing is that Notre Dame is a very competitive and expensive Undergrad Program - Ranked as #18 nationally, which in college is equivalent of Top 5/10 in the MBA world. 
You will be around some very amazingly smart 18 and 20 year-olds who would not consider going to their Almamater for the MBA and instead would choose HBS/Stanford/Booth/Kellogg. It creates a bit of an odd environment as you will see Goldman, BCG, and Google all coming on campus to recruit undergrads, but they won't want anything to do with the BSchool students.

wshs1234 · Answer

I would say that though you will not get recruited like those from HBS or Wharton(or any top 10 schools obviously), its probably inaccurate to say that "nobody" recruits from Wisconsin or ND. I mean, grads are getting hired, they get internships etc. I agree though, they are so close in terms or rankings/employment/etc that one really has to break it down to environment, fit, and the like. Thanks for the advice!

bb · Answer

You're right, I was likely inaccurate and overly harsh.

Likely there are some employers that do come to campus but not in the numbers or with the quantity of positions. The career services at all schools get some dibs from alums and other source for jobs, and grads definitely get hired. However, I would guess the best jobs are found through networking and career services has a fairly limited pull. Therefore, I would have the expectation of having to find a job on your own and if the Career Services does find you one, it will be a pleasant surprise.

bb · Answer

Just remembered one thing - one item that does somewhat seems out of ordinary is that the Madison wanted to shut down their FT MBA program last year but then the alums forced it otherwise. While, it seems concerning and potentially a big mistake on the school's side, it does show that the alum base cares about the school and is strongly active at the moment. This can be a plus.

https://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/ ... e0088.html

Similarly disturbing article about Foster:

kgfball88 · Answer

I am going to Madison in the fall (so, class of 2020). I also considered applying to Mendoza, but once I was accepted to Madison I decided not to, for various reasons. I can't speak directly to the Corporate Finance specialty at Madison (or compared to Mendoza), but I will say that from my perspective, the alumni have already been very engaging and supportive. I attended an event as a prospective student last year that was with current students & alums of my specialization and I left very impressed. I was the only one there not directly affiliated with Madison (at the time). Several alumni came up to me, introduced themselves, answered my questions, gave me their business cards, exchanged emails afterwards, etc. So if alumni network is something you are worried about, hopefully my anecdotes help.

Also, in regards to the proposal to shut down the FT MBA last fall. I was very worried about that as well since it was during the time I was doing my application. It seemed like it was just a very short-sighted idea from the Dean (who has since resigned). I don't think she anticipated the backlash from students and alums. The alumni base was very engaged and that showed with how quickly she decided to shut the proposal down. The fact that it happened is a bit alarming, but with how quickly it was shut down and the fact that she already resigned says a lot. I believe the MBA program is here to stay.

Also,  bb  I think that you need to realize that not everyone on these forums is going to an M7. "Nobody comes to recruit on either grad campus" is a bit of a stretch. Sure, the MBBs and Goldman Sachs of the world may not be coming, but as  wshs1234  said students are getting internships and jobs in their field (as evidenced by the similar employment stats compared to Mendoza). A school like Madison is an excellent opportunity for someone like me. I want to go to b-school, but am not a Top 25 candidate. I also don't want to be up to my ears in debt after graduating. It is definitely more affordable than many similarly ranked schools. I was offered some scholarship money and there are many TA opportunities to earn more aid. It all comes down to what you make of it. Madison is a wonderful city. Come check it out if you've never been.

bb · Answer

Thx. My only point is that companies are not coming on campus. However I was not saying that graduates cannot find a job or will never be employed.

Getting on campus recruiting is a very helpful component of the MBA program. If it is not there, you will be relying on off campus recruiting.

Posted from my mobile device

kgfball88 · Answer

It is definitely Midwest regional recruiting, but companies like Target, General Mills, & Deloitte do come to campus every year. The big banks and major consulting firms? Not so much. But there are still opportunities.

https://wsb.wisc.edu/programs-degrees/m ... management

Wisconsin Madison or Notre Dame?

Wisconsin-Madison or Notre Dame

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