求助选校－Cornell vs Yale vs Duke for asset management or consulting

38383388

BUYSIDE靠的是经验，这3所任何一所学校都只能是锦上添花，起不到太大作用。

考虑到楼主要回国，YALE比较好。

reachkevinwang

First of all, Congratulations on your admission to three great programs!

Disclosure on my background: I graduated from Cornell Johnson in 2013, and I am currently working in NYC in management consulting.  While I was on campus I was an officer in the consulting club, and after I started my full time job I got involved with our group's hiring and interviewing process.

While it is natural for school alums to "chime in" on these posts, I am hoping to provide some unbiased perspectives from a recent grad who went through the US recruiting process.  My thoughts are based on your post MBA career goals that you have mentioned below:

Target industry:                buy side asset management or strategic consulting (not decided)
Target location:                US for 2-5 years immediately post MBA, long term back in Asia

Points of consideration:

1. IF you are a non-US passport holder, you will most likely have to petition for an H1B visa post MBA if you want to work in the US.  All MBA graduates are considered under the "Advanced Degree" cap, which for this year was 20K.  For two consecutives years, the US government has had received significantly more petitions than available slots, and has conducted randomized lottery process to determine which petitioners would get the H1B.  That means if a foreign MBA graduate is not selected, the individual can not work in the US beyond the 1 year OPT period, even if the individual went to HBS.  Basically, there are no preferential treatments during the H1B process based on where you went to school.

2. Employement decision makers in the US make clear distinctions between MBA programs and Undergraduate programs.  I don't want to get into a debate on which MBA programs are "better" or "worse", however an employer will not automatically elevate his/her perception of one's MBA program, based on the performance of the undergraduate program of the same university, and vice versa.  Hiring decision makers know that undergraduate programs and professional schools are administered separately, and the profiles of the people within the two programs under the same university umbrella be will different, and therefore not comparable in a hiring decision process.  Therefore, I encourage you to focus on learning the specifics about the MBA program, as those are the most relevant factors for you in the next two fast-paced years.

3. If you are seeking jobs at buy-side asset management firms based in the US, be prepared to do a significant amount of off-campus job search regardless of which school you go to.  In MBA career search, my personal belief based on what I have observed, is that ~50% of where you ultimately end up is determined by your pre-MBA background (Work exp, undergrad, Visa, etc.).  ~30% is determined by your will power, persistance, and ability to handle setbacks. Only about 10% is determined by the resources of the school.  This is not to say that schools are insignificant. It simply means that you are already in an elite circle, and all these programs are top notch in terms of reputation and resources, that the most meaningful differentials in career search will come from your individual effort, and not from external factors.  Unlike MC or IB, asset management firms do not have structured recruiting programs, which means the onus is on the student to seek out the job, not the other way around.

I wish you the best in your decision process.  From what I have noticed among my fellow graduates from a number of schools, regardless of where you go, there are always unique aspects of a school that you will learn to appreciate once you graduate.  I am sure you will have a fantastic two years ahead, whether it will be in Ithaca, New Haven, or Durham.

yuyeerlli

reachkevinwang 发表于 2014-4-21 12:12
First of all, Congratulations on your admission to three great programs!

Disclosure on my backgroun ...

thanks soo much

hollywood911

Vote for Yale since it's Yale.

JonFrank

Hey there,
Congratulations! You have a tough choice here. But a good one. Because really whatever you choose, you can't really go wrong! Now overall, Duke probably has the better general management reputation. For finance, less so. The other two schools would be stronger in placements. Cornell has a really great Finance program, but Yale has a better overall prestige and is also within a decent train ride of NYC. There is much nicer weather in Duke. So as you see I can't tell you WHICH to choose, but I hope I have pointed out some of the major perceptions about these schools. Ultimately I think you can succeed at any of the schools you go to, and since they are all on comparative levels, and there is no obvious winner as to which to go to, I'd say that your personal feeling and fit at the school and the city should count for a lot as well.
Hope this helps

@JonFrank
HBS2005

danzzz

JonFrank 发表于 2014-4-22 16:44
Hey there,
Congratulations! You have a tough choice here. But a good one. Because really whatever yo ...

"Cornell has a really great Finance program"

That comment made my day! Lol

deardee

How about nyu vs yale? If the focus in finance?

reachkevinwang

deardee 发表于 2014-4-26 09:07
How about nyu vs yale? If the focus in finance?

Purely based on personal observation - NYU Stern has long been a finance focused MBA school.  The location advantage and reputable professors such as Damodaran make it a natural recruiting spot for Wall Street banks.  I personally know a number of my friends at CS, DB, Evercore, and Nomura.  Also Stern's undergrad program is strong in Finance, and because both the undergrad program and the MBA program are housed under the same School, it is easier for a Stern MBA to reach out to a Stern undergrad alum.  Yale SOM is also strong in finance, featuring world class profs like Robert Shiller.  Perception is more theoretical like Chicago.  My recommendation is to talk to the alums of both schools, and recruiters at your target banks.  Hope this helps.

sm0421

among the 3, I would pick Yale for the tight community, best location and top reputation in China. It's a pretty easy choice.

chengmingzhao1

楼主，能给个联系方式吗？超想申yale！QQ928680179.