Cornell or Yale

These two schools have some similarities: Ivy league education, small size class, east coast, etc.  

Cornell ranks higher in Business Week and Yale ranks higher in Financial Times

What would you prefer, Cornell or Yale?

Check the location of the university and job opportunitites and then decide

hi bluemunich-

Have you had a chance to visit both schools? (I maybe wrong, but I thought you interviewed on campus at Cornell). Anyway, I think there are couple of things you can consider: 1) postMBA career plan 2) culture/fit at both schools, 3) brand and 4) location. That's the order I'm looking at my choices, not just these two, but all of the schools I've been accepted. Now here are a few of my own thoughts...

I visited Cornell in Feb, in the midst of the bitterly cold winter, so my impression of Ithaca may be biased. (weather-wise, I believe New Haven isn't that much better either). The student body and the administration both seemed very nice and tried very hard to impress us. I do like the school and wouldn't mind spending 2 years there. The only thing that bothered me the most is its location. Ithaca is not accessible by major airlines so it took me a long time to get there (longer I had anticipated).  I wondered if this will impact recruiting. The admin folks I talked to repeatly said that it hasn't in the past and it won't. But they also admit that it's a downside of Cornell comparing with other programs. I figured Yale is 2 hours away from NYC, whereas Cornell is 2 hrs away from Syracuse.

I haven't visited Yale but probably will during the admit weekend. Right now between these two, I'm sold on Yale. Both offered me exactly same amount of $$, and I do believe they compete for students. Though I won't list brand name as the biggest factor in my decision, Yale is still Yale. I have to admit that I applied to Yale at the last minute after my Mom yelled at me for wasting my time on no-name schools. She doesn't know the whole ranking of B-schools and therefore, thinks that the schools worthy considering are Harvard, Yale, and Princeton Neverless, I did lots of research on Yale after submitting my application and was utterly impressed w/ its curriculum and the alums I spoke to. If I finally opt for a small program, Yale would be the top choice. As far as ranking goes, neither is a M7 and both I believe are about the same caliber.

Sorry for a long winded message. I'm not downplaying Cornell in any way, just stating what mattered to ME the most. It comes down to personal preferences. Good luck with your decisions. I don't think you, me, or anyone can go wrong with either school. If you can, talk to as many alum as possible from both schools. They are of great help!

I try to have a shot here too. I faced the same problem choosing Yale or Cornell when I started to apply schools. I talked to a lady who did undergraduate at Cornell. She told me that although she had spent great four years at Cornell, she wouldn't suggest I apply for the MBA at Cornell. Why?  No.1 reason, as Jane stated in her post, is the isolated location. Although Cornell has tried its best to lure recruiters to come over the campus by flying them to Ithica for free, I still can't help wondering whether its location will discourage recruiters coming to campus. Not intending to offend Cornell students. just my two cents.

by the way, congratualtions for both Jane and bluemunich!

I should point out that, although Cornell has been flying in company representatives for recruiting (they did it for the past few years when the economy was really bad), it's unclear whether they will continue. While I was on campus, I specifically asked about it and my interviewer said that they haven't decided for this year, and will do other things as well to boost recruiting. I don't think the location per se will impact the recruiting too much. But it's a factor to consider.

My primary reason for applying to Cornell is the possibility of a full-scholarship. I didn't get it. Though they still give me a very sizeable scholarship, it's not convincing enough at this point. It's a great school and like I said earlier, I wouldn't mind spending 2 years there. But given the choices I have right now, it's not all that enticing.

Jane and ruiyu, thanks for the warm and thoughtful messages.

I did visit both schools for campus interviews since I am currently located in NYC. I agree that from the location point of view, New Haven is better and closer to NYC. Location might be important but is the last concern on my list. I talked with some people at Columbia and they think the location of NYC give some but not big advantage to them.

I like the Yale campus, especially the architecture of SOM admission office, although lots of people heavily attack the old facilities of SOM. As for Cornell,  Ithaca is a beautiful town and Johnson's facilities are state of the art. The Sage Hall is very impressive.

I attended classes in both schools as well. The folks are all very friendly but honestly speaking, the quality of class discussion at Johnson was more impressive than at SOM.  Students at Johnson also seems more professional and down-to-the earth.

As for alumni, both schools have very responsive alumnis, which I believe is due to the small size class. 1) I talked and emailed with current students.  The students at Johnson seem satisfied and proud of the school a lot, while the students at SOM seem kind of skeptical.  It was in Feb when most students were seeking summer internships.  A student whos has biomedicial background at SOM complained about the few opportunties and said few big biopharma comapnies come to the campus (I am interested in this area. Jane might be too). I think either students have high expectation at SOM or it really misses something.  2) I also joined events of both Cornell and Yale clubs at NYC.  Both clubs are nice and Yale club has definetely amazing  environment. The good side of Cornell is that they have huge alumni at NYC, about 10,000, which makes networking kind of easy.

As for brandname, I understand how Jane's Mum responses to Yale. My Dad does the same. I explained him what Ivy league universities are.  

As for culture, Johnson seems more professional and tough while SOM seems more relaxing. I love both schools actually because they are the only two I applied.  So far, my research tells that for professional reason, I am sold for Cornell, and for personal fun, I might go to SOM. That's hard and sweet dilema.

Jane, haven't you also got admisson from Duke?   

hi bluemunich,

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed your visits at Cornell and Yale. Like I said, you cannot go wrong with either one. Both are great programs and it's all about personal fit. One minus I gave to Yale SOM is its "relatively" short school history. Adding to the small class size, the SOM alum network may not be optimal. Cornell definitely has a big network especially in the NYC area. I hope my "negative" comments haven't influenced you much. I do like Cornell, it's just that I like Yale better between the two, especially now Yale has matched with sweat $$.

I also came from a biotech background. (so is ruiyu, who is now heading to the finance powerhouse at Chicago) Duke is another option because of its healthcare concentration. Neither Yale nor Cornell has such offering. But Yale med school  & pub health schools are on campus (which I can potentially take classes).

In any case, the agony of decision has just begun. I thought the application process was stressful enough. Now deciding where to spend the next 2 year of my life is even more so

Will you be attending the Admit Weekend at Yale? I think it's Apr 15-16.

hi, janechen,

congratulations on your offers!

i once heard that SOM does not provide scholarship to international students. maybe it is outdated. how much do you get? would you mind sharing your background?

thanks a lot

zdcgy-

I haven't heard Yale being stingy with scholarship to internationals. But I do know at least 1 person (European) having received $$ from SOM this year. As for background, I'm not a believer of pure stat. Mine is average if you look at Yale's profile. 5yr WE in biotech. Honestly, people with my stat get in, people with my stat get dinged. It's about the overall package & luck. Essays and interviews are the key. I spent a lot more time writing essays than studying for GMAT.

Good luck!

Hi bluemich-

A couple of points:

1. The workload at Yale is heavy because the school is focusing on providing student a top-notch business education ( as you can read from brochure). Therefore, I would say the community as a whole is relaxing b/c people are friendly, but the studying part is definitely rigorous.

2. IB/MC like MBAs but Bio firms may not.    As you can see from previous statistics (see the post "top employers for MBA students" from BW), Bio/health care is not a feeder industry for MBA students.   This means there will be fewer companies coming to recruit and the number of students they recruited will be limited. You need strong background and extra efforts to get a good job in the field.

So what does Yale has to offer?

The top pharm. companies recruits Yale students on campus include Pfizer, J&J international, P&G pharmaceutical, and Roche. This might not be the complete list as I am not pursuing a career in the industry.  

Yale offers an executive MBA specialized in health care industry. This could mean potential networking opportunities.

We have relative large number of MDs as MBA students. They have the knowledge and connections in the field.

3. There are good class discussions and not so good ones. It depends on the subject, professor, timing, student energy, and etc.  I can not speak of other schools but I think this is not abnormal.

Hope that helps and wish you best luck in your decision process.