Undecided - 04-23-2025 | Clear Admit DecisionWire

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April 23, 2025 8:43am ET

Enrolled: Undecided

Admitted: U. Chicago Booth , Cornell / Johnson $

$40,000

, Duke / Fuqua $

$30,000

, Indiana / Kelley $

$166,516

, UCLA Anderson

Applied: U. Chicago Booth, Cornell / Johnson, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, Indiana / Kelley, UCLA Anderson, UPenn / Wharton, Yale SOM

Entering Year: 2025

Post MBA Career: Consulting Companies: Bain, BCG, Deloitte

GRE: 323

GPA: 3.66

Location: Salt Lake City

Notes:

Aiming for BCG or Bain, but would be open to Big 4 firms as well. Job location not a huge priority at the moment.

Really considering Booth and Fuqua. Going to school with spouse and baby, so living costs is a factor. Fuqua would be a little cheaper, but wondering if the extra cost for Booth (no scholarship) would be worth it in the long run.

Like (2)

Show Comments (3) Last: April 28, 2025

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1834 The $30k difference is quite small, relative to the long term opportunities a program from a higher tier might provide. Booth should also provide more access to MBB, but Fuqua will also provide access, so I wouldn’t completely discount them. Tricky decision. (0)

eliot Verified User. Likes Earned: 2003 Congrats on your acceptances. Both Booth and Fuqua are great MBA programs with solid MBB placement. Given that you have a young family with you, Fuqua might be the best all around option given the scholarship and lower cost of living in NC. I do encourage you to visit both campuses and chat with current students to help you decide. (0)

anon10646 Likes Earned: 857 I might at least map out the cost factors and what the total delta may be on total costs. Durham will be cheaper, but places like South Loop - Printers row (if trying to be closer to downtown where other classmates may be) or Hyde Park (if looking for more space and close to campus) can be value-priced. Don't need to be in amenity-full buildings in River North / Streeterville / Eastside. Both programs place well with MBB, but there is a placement bump at Booth over Fuqua. A candidate who gets MBB from Booth probably also likely to get it from Fuqua, but greater margin of safety from a higher rank. You are okay with non-MBB placement and I know some of those firms get close to same base pay, but a couple years of MBB v alternative and you've covered the funding gap. Other less weighted factors may favor Booth like larger network size and more optionality (with your eye to post-consulting) or potentially better placement odds into certain MBB offices, even if you're location agnostic short-term. Going to Fuqua isn't the wrong choice given your circumstances, but since the $ gap isn't huge the choice should be based on it being just a good a fit for your situation and still being able to achieve your goals, than just about saving ~$40k. Flip-side, you should not choose Booth solely for rank and FOMO. If you're serious about Fuqua I might see if they'd increase based on Booth's admit. (1)