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Current m7 student. AMA
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Subject Expert
No no no no no no no - always go with the higher ranked program, no matter what.
Coach
This is not right. Depends on target industry as well. Schools have strengths to consider
Mentor
Undisputed tiers:
1 HS
2 W
3 M7, INSEAD
4 T15
5 T20
Of course other things matter such as geographical location, specialties, placement in desired industries. But if looking at purely on rankings if it was like 15 vs 25, I’d definitely go with 15, but if you’re debating between like 4 and 8, I would highly consider taking the ranked 8 school if I got a good scholarship. In my opinion, there’s smaller differences between schools as you increase rank.
PS wife went to Darden so I’m bias
MBA program is all about the network you get after and huge income lift 10-15 years after (and you should have a bump in between).
Higher rank schools = higher likelihood you’ll have a peer who is a business leader and can help you in a significant way in the future
I gave up a 2/3rds scholarship at a ~15th ranked school in my home town where I also could have lived at home for $0 rent to attend a top 5 school with no scholarship.
I did this based on short term and long term career options (and FOMO, honestly).
Unless your lower ranked scholarship school gets you equal opportunity in a niche or regional market (ex: Haas over Wharton for Bay Area tech or Anderson over Kellogg for LA entertainment), I'd go for the school that's a tier or two higher.