Skeptical hippo is skeptical

Fuqua over Wharton?

Ridge14 said:

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Skeptical hippo is skeptical

Fuqua over Wharton?

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Have you interacted with recent grads from either school? Pretty similar in my experience. Only difference is a slight alumni network advantage to Wharton. Could go either way.

The US News B School rankings have more reliability and validity than Bloomberg's. In the US News rankings Wharton is #4 and Duke is #12. The Bloomberg rankings are flawed but I'll take the good publicity for A&M's MBA program nevertheless.

The average GMAT for Texas A&M's Mays MBA program is around 650 versus 700 for the University of Texas- McCombs program. As with most of these MBA programs I'm sure the educational quality is similar but as someone currently applying to MBA programs I'm more inclined to trust the US News rankings which have shown more yearly consistency and correlate highly with GMAT scores, job placement and high level recruiting, and salaries and bonuses for graduates.

I agree 100% with your assessment. The only wild card is if you were to get a scholarship offer at Rice or A&M which totally covers the cost of your education, I would consider going to one of those schools over UT. I chose the MBA program at A&M over some other schools ranked higher in the US News ratings, but only because I received a scholarship which covered my tuition and living costs to go there.

So to be a strategic applicant, you should apply to all three programs and see if one of them throws some scholarship $ your way.

hangman said:

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The average GMAT for Texas A&M's Mays MBA program is around 650 versus 700 for the University of Texas- McCombs program. As with most of these MBA programs I'm sure the educational quality is similar but as someone currently applying to MBA programs I'm more inclined to trust the US News rankings which have shown more yearly consistency and correlate highly with GMAT scores, job placement and high level recruiting, and salaries and bonuses for graduates.

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Bingo. This is how i approached my applying to schools. I am in the midst of applying for fall '17 and i would say that BW rankings are like the Coaches Poll in college. It's there, but people don't use it much beyond starting arguments for arguments sake. A&M has made some big time strides over the past few years, and I'm glad they and rice are starting to get recognition.

One thing to keep in mind is If you have a certain company or a certain development program that you want to work for, you have to check to make sure they recruit from what ever school/program you are considering.

For example if you want to go in management consulting with a BBM level company, you pretty much have to go to a full time program at a fairly short list of schools.

Same thing If you want to go into a talent development program for a major finance, oil or manufacturing company.

Your recruitment process starts the day you decided that an MBA might be a good idea.

I get a handful of my R1 decisions either next week or the week after, the wait is killing me.

Question for y'all (I have a path I'd like to pursue post MBA graduation but still want some insight). How important is the industry you go into immediately after your MBA in regards to potentially switching down the road? For example, as a current O&G engineer, I think I would have a decent shot at landing in a good finance development program at one of the majors. However, O&G has me kind of worried about long term employment in 20 to 30 years down the road. How difficult is it to transition from O&G finance to something like Technology finance? Part of the reason why I ask is because months ago when I thought I may be laid off, I didn't feel like my engineering experience applied all that well to other industries, though I imagine certain areas of finance are more transferable between industries.

Ridge14 said:

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I get a handful of my R1 decisions either next week or the week after, the wait is killing me.

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You're Class of '14 and already applying to business schools?

Buck Compton said:

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Ridge14 said:

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I get a handful of my R1 decisions either next week or the week after, the wait is killing me.

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You're Class of '14 and already applying to business schools?

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Yeah, I'd be almost 26 with a bit over 3 years of work experience at matriculation, below average at every school I applied to (highest ranked being Ross), but I don't think of it as being necessarily unheard of. My GMAT and GPA are above average, hopefully my essays and interviews were as well.

Ridge14 said:

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Buck Compton said:

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Ridge14 said:

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I get a handful of my R1 decisions either next week or the week after, the wait is killing me.

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You're Class of '14 and already applying to business schools?

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Yeah, I'd be almost 26 with a bit over 3 years of work experience at matriculation, below average at every school I applied to (highest ranked being Ross), but I don't think of it as being necessarily unheard of. My GMAT and GPA are above average, hopefully my essays and interviews were as well.

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Fair. If I was in admissions, length and quality of work experience would be my number one factor though.

Mind me asking which schools you applied to?

Buck Compton said:

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Ridge14 said:

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Buck Compton said:

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Ridge14 said:

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I get a handful of my R1 decisions either next week or the week after, the wait is killing me.

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You're Class of '14 and already applying to business schools?

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Yeah, I'd be almost 26 with a bit over 3 years of work experience at matriculation, below average at every school I applied to (highest ranked being Ross), but I don't think of it as being necessarily unheard of. My GMAT and GPA are above average, hopefully my essays and interviews were as well.

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Fair. If I was in admissions, length and quality of work experience would be my number one factor though.

Mind me asking which schools you applied to?

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Agreed. Unfortunately, I don't think any adcom would think of my company as prestigious (probably many will have never heard of it), but I did have a decent amount of leadership on a variety of projects.

Ross, McCombs, Kenan-Flagler, Jones.

Whether I get accepted or denied, hopefully I'll have a better idea of where I fall and I can either put in a R2 app or hold off for another year or two.

Ridge14 said:

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Buck Compton said:

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Ridge14 said:

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Buck Compton said:

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Ridge14 said:

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I get a handful of my R1 decisions either next week or the week after, the wait is killing me.

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You're Class of '14 and already applying to business schools?

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Yeah, I'd be almost 26 with a bit over 3 years of work experience at matriculation, below average at every school I applied to (highest ranked being Ross), but I don't think of it as being necessarily unheard of. My GMAT and GPA are above average, hopefully my essays and interviews were as well.

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Fair. If I was in admissions, length and quality of work experience would be my number one factor though.

Mind me asking which schools you applied to?

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Agreed. Unfortunately, I don't think any adcom would think of my company as prestigious (probably many will have never heard of it), but I did have a decent amount of leadership on a variety of projects.

Ross, McCombs, Kenan-Flagler, Jones.

Whether I get accepted or denied, hopefully I'll have a better idea of where I fall and I can either put in a R2 app or hold off for another year or two.

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Best of luck this next week with decisions! I am applying to R2. I would tell you that switching industries is quite easy in business school, you just need to have a cohesive story that makes sense, even if you don't end up doing what you write in your essay. I write about wanting to go into leadership development rotational programs in my essays yet I want to go into entertainment. But it's easier to explain the former.

I am also applying to Ross and Jones but I'm surprised you didn't aim at any of the top 10 schools. I'm applying to HBS and while my gmat is slightly below their average, I'd rather make them tell me no. If you end up not getting your top choice (I assume Ross due to ranking), then maybe apply HBS, Fuqua, Kellogg R2, but that gives you like 3 weeks to complete the apps. The top schools love people from the south because they don't get enough of us applying.

I may have additionally applied to one or two of Booth, Fuqua, Owen in R1 if I didn't feel bad for burdening my recommenders.

I hear you. I'm applying to 8 schools and had to get an additional recommender to cover them all so I wasn't burdening any of them more than I should've. Getting them bottles of wine really helped speed up their process of competing all of the recommendations before my deadline of thanksgiving

Token said:

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I hear you. I'm applying to 8 schools and had to get an additional recommender to cover them all so I wasn't burdening any of them more than I should've. Getting them bottles of wine really helped speed up their process of competing all of the recommendations before my deadline of thanksgiving

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A bottle of wine? That sounds like a great way to get a outstanding recommendation. After you get in HBS, please let us know the great news!

Damn i hope they take you off the Ross Waitlist.

Ridge14 said:

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Last update, accepted to McCombs today

Kenan-Flagler - $48,000/yr scholarship (OOS tuition)
Jones - $33,000/yr scholarship
McCombs - $10,000/yr scholarship (In state tuition)
Ross - Wait listed


I think I'm headed to McCombs

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Congrats my man! I'm proud of you! Don't ever wear burnt orange, please

I couldn't apply there because of the burnt orange

Congrats on McCombs! I will be applying there next year for fall '18 matriculation. The new facility looks incredible. If you don't mind me asking, since you are doing finance and are interested in O&G, will you be doing the energy finance track?

Token said:

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Ridge14 said:

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Last update, accepted to McCombs today

Kenan-Flagler - $48,000/yr scholarship (OOS tuition)
Jones - $33,000/yr scholarship
McCombs - $10,000/yr scholarship (In state tuition)
Ross - Wait listed


I think I'm headed to McCombs

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Congrats my man! I'm proud of you! Don't ever wear burnt orange, please

I couldn't apply there because of the burnt orange

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I already feel like a traitor just thinking about it. I have also thought about all of the **** I have talked over the past six years about Texas to everyone (mainly athletics related).

Good luck to you Token, update us with where you're headed after round 2.

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Congrats on McCombs! I will be applying there next year for fall '18 matriculation. The new facility looks incredible. If you don't mind me asking, since you are doing finance and are interested in O&G, will you be doing the energy finance track?

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I'm considering it, do you have any insight into that concentration? I think I'd be well positioned to land a decent O&G gig, but I am also considering broadly concentrating in finance and exploring another industry.

Congrats! Have fun and make the most of it

Ridge14 said:

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Token said:

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Ridge14 said:

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Last update, accepted to McCombs today

Kenan-Flagler - $48,000/yr scholarship (OOS tuition)
Jones - $33,000/yr scholarship
McCombs - $10,000/yr scholarship (In state tuition)
Ross - Wait listed


I think I'm headed to McCombs

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Congrats my man! I'm proud of you! Don't ever wear burnt orange, please

I couldn't apply there because of the burnt orange

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I already feel like a traitor just thinking about it. I have also thought about all of the **** I have talked over the past six years about Texas to everyone (mainly athletics related).

Good luck to you Token, update us with where you're headed after round 2.

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Congrats on McCombs! I will be applying there next year for fall '18 matriculation. The new facility looks incredible. If you don't mind me asking, since you are doing finance and are interested in O&G, will you be doing the energy finance track?

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I'm considering it, do you have any insight into that concentration? I think I'd be well positioned to land a decent O&G gig, but I am also considering broadly concentrating in finance and exploring another industry.

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As an MBA employer and someone who was in your shoes a few short years ago, if you have ANY experience at all in an industry, don't lock that industry in with a specialization. About half of you will change your mind on what you want to do anyway.

As we hire, it still comes down to the story and finding a good match, much like the admissions process to schools. It's far less scientific than students try to make it. I tell you this not as a hiring lead for either of the schools you're considering, so YMMV, but I found the same thing to be true in my interviews and in the interviews I lead back at certain campuses each year.

Also, being directly related to O&G, consider the current environment as you choose a specialization. Hiring has largely slowed down. We always need new people at certain levels, but a target of 5-6 new hires at an office might become a target of 1-2 merely to keep a relationship with that school. "Energy Finance" doesn't say anything more than "Finance" if you already have industry experience.

Just my $.02

Well I guess that answers the question I was going to ask since I am an O&G engineer as well. I want to do finance, but want to get back to the energy industry afterwards, but I guess general finance would be just as beneficial?

dallasag12 said:

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Well I guess that answers the question I was going to ask since I am an O&G engineer as well. I want to do finance, but want to get back to the energy industry afterwards, but I guess general finance would be just as beneficial?

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I would do general finance to make yourself more marketable as a utility knife. No need to specialize, as an industry can be taught quite easily, but the skill of being a multi-faceted finance guy will come in handy in case you ever switch industries, IMO

Yep, Token nailed it. Anything specific to Energy in that track you should already know from your operational background.

Probably only 3-4 classes difference in a general finance degree, but as an employer I'd much prefer you get a more well-rounded experience with fixed income or something like that. Even an extra strategy class, etc.

Like I said earlier too, if the price stays depressed, hiring directly into O&G will be tight. You may join a bank or a firm that does O&G but also died other industries and they'll want you to be ranging. Finance is pretty similar across different industries anyway.

Best of luck to everyone going in this fall! While you stay busy with classes, it's basically a college atmosphere again for two years when you aren't dirt poor anymore. Enjoy it!

Token said:

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Finished Applications to: MIT, HBS, Wharton, Duke, Kellogg, UCLA, Tuck, Rice and Michigan. I'll let y'all know in March/April how it goes

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Good luck

Token said:

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Finished Applications to: MIT, HBS, Wharton, Duke, Kellogg, UCLA, Tuck, Rice and Michigan. I'll let y'all know in March/April how it goes

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Do you mind sharing your GPA and GMAT?