Ask Stacy Blackman

I am an Indian, retired armed forces officer, successful entrepreneur with a couple of hotels of my own. I am 28 years old, with a GMAT of 750, GPA of 3.4. I am on the waitlist of Cornell and Tepper and have been selected for INSEAD Singapore campus and Weatherhead, at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio. INSEAD will probably not offer any scholarship but I will receive financing from Prodigy Finance at very minimal rates without any collateral. On the other hand Weatherhead offers me a 75% scholarship, a part time job and rather low living expenses. Consequently, Weatherhead will turn out to be the cheaper investment as I will probably be able to complete my education quite within my means without accruing any debt. On the other hand, INSEAD will mean that I will spend most of the first two years of my career post MBA paying off the loan that I will incur for the education. However, the long term benefits of studying at INSEAD might outweigh the short term advantages of studying at Weatherhead. The name recognition that INSEAD enjoys, the high respect factor, potential assistance from the alumni network and the advantage of being branded with INSEAD during promotions. On the other hand I might top Weatherhead, get a job at a top consulting firm and develop a similar network and let my work speak for itself. In any case my plans for the future are that i would only like to work for a consulting firm for five years, gain experience and start off my own venture. In such case, would the INSEAD name matter as much?