Ranked school with no money vs a lower ranked school with money...

So you are all set with your applications and interviews. You get two offers: One from a top 20-school with no money and the other from a lower ranked school with 80% or more off. Lets say you got an offer from UNC (I know its 21st now but you get the point) with no money, and lets say Boston University with 80% scholarship. Which one to choose?

2 years back, I would have chosen UNC in a heartbeat. THis would be my reasonsing:

1. Well its a top school, so will get better employers.
2. Look at the placement stats, McKinsey hired X number of people.
3. RTP is a technology hot bed, that's gotta mean something.
4. I will make up for the "lost" scholarship money in 5 years. No big deal!

NOW I know that all of these justifications were wrong....

1. Frankly, the list of employers grows more because of location NOT ranking. UNless of course you are HSW.
2. Look at the competition... everyone wanted to work for McKinsey.... If you get hired great but what if you don't? What other companies, smaller ones, come to campus? How many hire internationals? You will find better options in Boston than NC for almost any industry.
3. RTP is a bio-tech hot bed NOT IT. There are companies like Cisco, IBM but they do NOT hire internationals.
4. Why lose any money at all? YOu can invest the "saved" money or blow it away. Either option is better than paying the premium for ranking.

Today, I would choose Boston in a heart beat. Don't make my word for it. Talk to students at both schools and compare the satisfaction levels. Talk to students with and without jobs to get a clear picture.

MBA and $100K of debt

First of all let me start my apologizing for not posting for so long. I was just busy (and lazy).

So now that my MBA is over... I get a letter from my bank saying I owe them $100K+ in loans. That comes out to about $1280 per month for 10 years with my interest rate. This is one of the many things I had never thought about before starting my MBA. When I started my MBA all I used to think about a six figure salary and how good my life will be because of the extra money.

Now, lets assume I get a six figure salary. This $1280 a month is a big big big hit for my bank account. Its about $15,500 a year. So you can drop your $100,000 salary to $84.5K right away. This is not a problem for folks who manage to get jobs in consulting and i-banking (no don't just assume you will be one of these guys. From my batch of 14-17 desis, only 2-3 ended up with such offers). For others, its an even bigger hit. You will be making something around 80-90K but your loan amount will be the same.

No, I am NOT saying don't pursue your dreams of becoming an MBA because of this. The point is that please make sure you incorporate this into your planning when thinking about an MBA.

What's the solution?

Well, firstly make sure you are making an informed decision. Secondly, enroll in schools that are giving you some kind of scholarship, even if they are lower ranked. Unless you are going to HSW... ranking doesn't matter a lot, but your loan does.

Ask Me A Question

Please post any questions regarding the MBA admissions process here. You can check out the old post with many questions that I have answered here - Ask Me A Question (old).

These questions can be about profile evaluations, general MBA experience, pretty much anything and everything regarding an MBA in the US.

Post your questions as comments and leave your name so I can address my replies to you. Thanks :)