Undecided - 12-26-2018 | Clear Admit DecisionWire

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December 26, 2018 6:57am ET

Enrolled: Undecided

Admitted: U. Chicago Booth , Columbia

Applied: U. Chicago Booth, Columbia, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, UPenn / Wharton

Entering Year: 2019

Post MBA Career: Investment Banking

GMAT: 710

GPA: 3.8

Location: Chicago

Notes:

Challenging decision given I have lived in/around Chicago my whole life and see MBA as an opportunity to try something new. Ultimately see myself in NYC near-term post-MBA but am aware that both schools provide ample opportunity for this.

Is there a perceived difference in these schools despite the clear advantage to Booth in rankings?

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Show Comments (6) Last: February 28, 2019

grichmond Verified User. Likes Earned: 1302 Congrats on your offers! This is indeed a tough call. Booth certainly gets the rankings nod - pretty much hands down. The school also wins in the campus facilities domain. On the other hand, if you want to relocate to NYC and work in IB, it's hard not to give CBS a bit of an edge in that category (especially if you aren't from NYC and want a jump on building a future network there). At the end of the day there's no wrong decision here...but I'd recommend getting some up-close experience with the schools; have you spent time on both campuses, attended class, etc.? Best of luck!
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anon17117 Likes Earned: 0 Op here, thank you! I have spent some time on both campuses and honestly enjoy both. I have a strong Booth network already and the experience feels much more familiar so far vs. CBS (which could be a good or bad thing). The one thing that is troubling me is that the Booth decision is due a few days before the CBS admit weekend, so I will be unable to make the decision after visiting both without putting down a deposit. (0)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1693 While I agree that Booth is often ranked higher than Columbia, I don't think there is much in it, overall. There will be plenty of candidates picking Columbia over Booth, and visa versa. You can do a search here on cross admits, see the outcomes/considerations. (0)

anon11276 Likes Earned: 0 Fully agree with Alexbr4 below. For Investment Banking both schools will get you interviews on every bulge bracket firm, provided that you have a compatible background. After the interviews, the only names that could sway the decision in your favor are Harvard and Stanford. Other than that, it's about how you perform individually. Regardless of recruiting, if you intend to spend a few years in NYC after the MBA, it might be a good option to start building your network there. (0)

anon32276 Likes Earned: 6 I really don't think the rankings mean much. It's H/S then W then the other 4 are really just more about where you want to live and what industry you're interested in. For IB in NYC, I would give CBS the edge, but Booth is strong as well and sends plenty of people to NY. If you want to be in NYC post-MBA though, CBS definitely has the edge as most of your CBS classmates will end up in NYC as well, so you will have a really solid network in the city after graduation whereas most of Booth's class will end up in the Chicago area. Both schools will get you where you want post-MBA career-wise, but if you want to get the most out of your MBA experience and try out a new city with new friends, I would recommend CBS. (0)

anon12752 Likes Earned: 0 Booth graduate here who works in IB. It's a personal choice but I would strongly suggest you look at placement reports. 90% of those who recruit in IB at Booth end up in NYC and Booth has the strongest placement of all the schools (typically 70/75 land offers) - that is higher than Wharton, Columbia, and NYU. I have friends at all of those school so I know how the offers shake out. Just giving you insight, all of the firms go to Chicago numerous times throughout the recruiting cycle. I work at JPM (Booth has largest presence of any school). If you want to get out of Chicago, totally get it. But a lot of people on this site dont even attend a M7 school and are making ridiculous assumptions. Good luck! (0)