Yale SOM vs Columbia Business School for Deferred Applicant

Question

Hi everyone!

Scenario 
I have the great (and difficult) choice between Yale and Columbia. For context, I am an applicant straight out of college, so I am admitted to Yale Silver Scholars and the Deferred Enrollment Program at CBS. I just graduated with a BS in Business/ Economics, but for COVID-related reasons I will stay at my current university for one more year to get an MS in Applied Economics. For those of you familiar with the programs, Yale technically requires you to enroll right away without work experience, but in order to get my MS next ear, I was able to negotiate a deferral with the school.

Background 
A little bit about me: 23-y/o recent graduate from a Top10 public school in the US. White male European citizen. My short-term career goal is to go into strategy/ turnaround consulting (MBB), and then eventually pivot into a managerial role. In terms of where I want to work, I am pretty flexible, even though I think that I might have to stay in the US for a few years after graduation to make US money to pay off my debt. I was not able to visit any of the schools in question yet. Columbia is a regular deferred program (entry 2023-2025), while I would attend Yale for one year (core classes), then do a one-year internship, and then go back to school for another year (electives).

Yale 
 Pros : super super nice recruiting process, cost of living would not be incredibly high, good for consulting, Silver Scholar Program sets you apart from others (only 20 or so of us each class), networking with two separate classes, reputation of the brand name in Europe, gave me a deferral (shows interest?)
 Cons : not sure if too focused on social impact, MBB recruiting with only one year of full-time experience (internship) might be more difficult, no money
 Columbia 
 Pros : brand name in the US bigger, greater alumni network, MBB recruiting might be more established, NYC seems like a great place to be, might get a scholarship (who knows?)
 Cons : did not really get that "feel" that I get from Yale, might be more difficult to form meaningful relationships due to big city and bigger class, have to recruit out of my school (non-target for sure) during a pandemic (2022) after I graduate from my MS to work for 2-4 years.

Questions 
What should I do?? Haha, no, but seriously, I definitely need help. 
-Is the possibility of getting company sponsorship for CBS even something I should consider? How common is that? And as I said, I have no idea how good my chances to get into MBB are out of my school.
-I know that CBS is ranked higher, but I also know that Yale's social focus skews their grads' salary down a lot (looking into employment reports, consultants out of each school make nearly the same). Also - do rankings really matter in the Top 10?
-Speaking about employment reports: Yale does not publish numbers about where their grads go. How good is MBB placement out of SOM?

Sorry for the long post! I greatly appreciate any and every response!

applicant123456 · Answer

TL:DR (sorry - short attention span)

But here’s my 2 cents.

Would do Columbia. Get some experience then go back to business school. I think it helps to work a few years to crystallize your thoughts on what it means to be a leader, to learn your weaknesses, and to start a career path you know is right for you. You only get to do an MBA once (generally) so I would rather get full time work experience.

Additionally if your resume improves aim for HSW while knowing you are in at Columbia

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FinanceMan · Answer

I highly recommend gaining experience before pursuing an MBA. The whole purpose of the MBA is to draw from the experiences of classmates and you want to be able to understand how the course material applies to the business world. Therefore, I would go with Columbia.

In the end though, you should be able to achieve your career goals with either school. Congrats on your admits and good luck!

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In the end though, you should be able to achieve your career goals with either school. Congrats on your admits and good luck!

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FinanceMan · Answer

Also, I edited to add a poll.

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Regenerate · Answer

Is check with the placement office at Yale to ask all your MBB questions ... I'd be particularly interested in learning if you could spend your one year of work in MBB ... because, if you could, I'd be off to Yale.

Working at high end strategy consulting could serve as a whole other MBA. The only think that'd be better would be to spend a year in a corporate turnaround private equity.

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MBAPursuit123 · Answer

Imho if you're able to work for 2 years, do that.

Consulting recruiting is very competitive. You'll be up against aspiring MBB applicants from Harvard, Wharton, Columbia, Booth and Kellogg. You'll want interesting war stories that unfortunately doesn't come from being in school.

Also from what I understand, Columbia places generally pretty well in MBB (like 40ish per year). As long as you practice casing early, you'll be at a decent starting point if you go to CBS.

jessepinkman · Answer

Another vote for CBS - a lot stronger for MBB and I think you'll get more out of the MBA/be able to contribute more in the classroom after working for a few years

ANALysis · Answer

voted for CBS

BankerBroski · Answer

I'm going to go a bit against the grain here.

I strongly recommend you take Silver Scholars. First, you don't have a job lined up. Do your MS and then Silver Scholars - it will set you up nicely when we get out of this economic mess. The Silver Scholars program is an exceptional cohort of students - you not only get the Yale brand, which at least in consulting circles is equivalent to Columbia, but the SS designation will open up unique doors and opportunities. They are heavily invested in making sure their Silver Scholars succeed and the program is literally specifically designed to take in students without work experience. I know plenty of SS alum who made it to MBB on an accelerated career path.

Among T10, Columbia is definitely on the weaker side for consulting recruiting. You recruit for the Northeast offices, which are also the most competitive offices and will likely mean you have be better than average than your class to have a fighting chance. Keep in mind CBS's entering age is higher than its peers, 29 or 30 which also means they have significantly longer work experiences that you will be competing with for those MBB spots. The post-MBA MBBers I knew at CBS had an average of 5-6 years of work exp.

If you're tryna get your foot in the door and get into MBB earlier in your career progression, Yale SS is the clear way to go.

schoolguy1 · Answer

What were your stats? Also I would say Columbia as work experience will be valuable prior to matriculating.

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Yale SOM vs Columbia Business School for Deferred Applicant

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