Hey There,
Congrats on getting into two great schools! You have a tough decision ahead of you!
I want to jump in on this conversation and give you my thoughts!
First of all, I'm having trouble with
Flyte says as they don't give any specific data or details to backup their opinion. (Separately, I am having a hard time finding a time when they have been pro-SOM in any thread, so you might want to take that with a grain of salt).
bb has taken a swing at this, but allow me to finish up where he started.
It's a real shame that you won't be able to visit the campuses, as I am sure that you'll find them to be fairly different in regards to culture. I've only spoken to folks who have visited and applied, but I can't speak to Darden since I have not gone there, but at SOM we emphasize several things that are different form Darden:
First off, we have an integrated core curriculum, and as a result, you will not be learning all of your classes based on the case-methodology. This methodology has its time and place, but the professors at SOM feel that certain topics are best learned in different teaching styles - for example, our Operations Engine class should be taught differently from our Customer Class, which should be taught differently from our Modeling Managerial Decisions.
Secondly, as it sounds like you come from a non-profit background, you might fit in a bit better here. SOM has been known for it's focus in nonprofits in the past, and while we do lead our peers in regards to the percentage of students who enter this sector, it remains in the single digits percentage-wise. While this is the case, anyone you meet at SOM is socially conscious - and in this regard, I think that SOM students are very self-selecting. While many of us will not go into fields that not in the government or in the nonprofit sector, we believe strongly that we must be good stewards of our communities - and this is reflected in our coursework, events, and dialogues that take place on campus.
Thirdly, SOM is really emphasizes diversity - we have 40% international students in our MBA class, as well as 40% women MBAs, compared to Darden's 29% and 32% respectively - and when you add the Masters of Advanced Management Candidates, our international student percentage approaches 50%. Further, together with 27 other business schools from around the world, SOM is part of the Global Network for Advanced Management, where students can take classes with other students from GNAM schools, visit peer schools, and participate in masters classes. Finally, SOM has among the highest number of joint-degree candidates of any business school, approaching 20% of the MBA class, and MBAs can take classes anywhere throughout the entire Yale University - for example, I'm taking CS courses this Spring.
Fourthly, New Haven. Location entirely depends on what you're looking for. New Haven sometimes gets a bad reputation for it's post-industrial history, but recently has been undergoing a significant amount of revitalization with new projects, many Yale-based, in and around our community. If you're looking just for an isolated college town, you can go with Charlottesville. If you're looking for a mid-sized city (with all the benefits (Among the highest restaurants-per-capita) and drawbacks (some crime etc), within a train ride of both New York and Boston (which helps tremendously for recruiting), consider New Haven.
Fifth - Reputation, Trajectory, and Community - as
bb noted, we're really proud of SOM's trajectory. B-school is sometimes compared to an investment and in this regard, you should look for a school that will provide you with a good ROI. I think SOM provides a unique value proposition in this regard, particularly with the Stewardship of Dean Snyder. SOM is fortunate to be associated very closely with Yale University and we are all very tightly-knit. Anyone whom I have reached out to - from SOM and from the greater University has always gotten back to me and been tremendously helpful. SOM, while a younger school, has an extraordinary alumni base - with the second highest alumni annual contribution rate (over 50%) and this year the class of 2016 reached a 100% participation rate for our class gift.
Alright, now on to consulting.
I had a tough time, just like
bb finding specifics in regards to MBB placement. I'm not involved in Consulting (I'm a Tech Club Co-leader, and Technology is my wheelhouse), but if we do look at P&Q's aggregate analysis, I see there being very little differentiation between the two schools with regards to Consulting placement:
http://poetsandquants.com/2016/01/11/where-consulting-firms-scoop-up-mba-talent/2/Industry:
Darden 29.4%
SOM 29.3%
Function:
Darden 31.6%
SOM 37.1%
While I don't know about this for Darden, I do know that SOM is one of the 10 core schools for all MBB. Looking at the percentages above, I'd say that SOM is at least as good as Darden, if not better if you're looking for consulting.
When it comes down to it, I think
bb is on the money - it would be imprudent for companies to hire just based on a school's reputation. Rather, it should be the individual candidate who is evaluated for a specific position.
Happy to jump on the phone if you'd like to chat - or if you'd like to also chat with friends in Consulting, I'm happy to put you in touch too! Just shoot me a note at daniel.kent[at]yale.edu
Best of luck,
Dan '16