Undecided - 03-23-2023 | Clear Admit DecisionWire

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March 23, 2023 11:45am ET

Enrolled: Undecided

Admitted: NYU Stern , UCLA Anderson $

$80000

, UT Austin / McCombs $

$80000

Applied: NYU Stern, UCLA Anderson, UPenn / Wharton, UT Austin / McCombs, Yale SOM

Entering Year: 2023

Post MBA Career: Media

GRE: 326

GPA: 3.4

Location: Austin, TX

Notes:

Still waiting on Yale's decision, but I'm honestly trying to decide if I should pursue an MBA at all. A recent promotion brought my salary + bonus to ~150K. Looking at the even the best incomes in the industries I'd pursue, I think I'd be doing well to break even. I'm also a 32yo female, so starting my family is part of the ROI equation.

Like (2)

Show Comments (9) Last: April 8, 2023

anon10646 Likes Earned: 783 I think the key thing would be to determine how your 5-10 year trajectory would be without the MBA versus the base case you'd have via an MBA. The opportunity cost of 2 years out of the workforce makes most MBAs a long-term proposition. Would an MBA be required to progress in your industry? Does it have to be a FT MBA or would a PT/Online/EMBA program down the road also work? (1)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1696 Agree. Focus on the long term ROI, and whether there are other non-financial benefits, etc. best of luck, it can be a very hard decision. (1)

lacey22 Likes Earned: 36 OP here -- thank you both! Still working through the fear and exploring every option, but I got into Yale today which has helped with my cold feet for sure. Lots of tough but exciting decisions to make! (2)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1696 Well done with Yale!! Tough and exciting, all rolled together!! (1)

eliot Verified User. Likes Earned: 1919 Congrats on your acceptances to Yale SOM, Stern, Anderson ($80k) and McCombs ($80k). Well done. I agree that doing an MBA is a long term ROI decision. Do you have any personal or geographic preferences? For example, would you prefer to be located in NYC area, LA area or Austin? Also, is the type of media career you are seeking more prevalent in NYC or LA? (1)

lacey22 Likes Earned: 36 Thank you, both, for the thoughtful responses and questions. I think some of the anxiety came from the realization that media/entertainment jobs are traditionally lower paying and my partner and I would like to come back to Austin once school is done. After taking more time to think through all goals for the future (personal + professional) I think it makes most sense to attend a school that has a strong consulting pipeline and name more universal name recognition, or at least name recognition in the south. I am leaning pretty strongly towards Yale for these reasons, but 80k at McCombs is nothing to sniff at with these goals considered! Would love your thoughts. Thank you! (1)

lacey22 Likes Earned: 36 Also worth mentioning I am a UT Austin undergrad alum, so am drawn to diversifying my educational pedigree. Also interested in taking classes in the Yale School For the Environment and eventually working at an Austin-based company such as Whole Foods or Yeti. (2)

eliot Verified User. Likes Earned: 1919 Hi Lacey - Thanks for your follow up note. Yale SOM is a great MBA program with a great brand and solid consulting job placement. In addition, you can cover the student loans with a consulting career. So feel free to select Yale SOM if that is the best option for you. Having said this, if your goal is to return to Texas, the McCombs scholarship is quite attractive. Meaning you would have more flexibility in your post MBA career because you would have less pressure to take a high paying job to repay the loans. In addition, your goal is to return to Texas and obviously McCombs has a great brand and network there. You really can't go wrong either way. If you would prefer to go to Yale SOM but the scholarship is the big stumbling block, then contact Yale SOM. Explain that Yale SOM is your top choice program but that you have this $80k scholarship at both Anderson and McCombs and you were wondering if Yale SOM would offer you a scholarship to match (or partially match) the $80k scholarships. Best of luck. (1)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1696 More details on this decision in this episode of Wire Taps: https://www.clearadmit.com/2023/04/mba-wire-taps-285/ (0)