Iowa Tippie (full ride) vs SMU Cox (half ride)
Hello,
Total work ex : About 6 years at matriculation
My work-ex : 1.5 years in large tech consulting company (think IBM, Accenture etc. )
Remaining 4.5 years : worked as a first-generation entrepreneur; B2B Marketing, supply chain etc. as channel partner for Fortune 500 energy-efficiency companies (think Siemens, Eaton etc.)
I am an international; got two offers as mentioned in the subject.
My post-MBA preferred location is either California or Texas. Any other US region with an entrepreneurial spirit and good high-tech employers (Seattle..?) would also be okay. If possible, I would like to avoid extremely harsh winters. I am also trying to avoid excessive student loan debt.
Immediate Post-MBA goals are somewhat flexible : would love to work in Operations & Supply Chain for a tech company (Amazon, Apple, or even some slightly less prestigious but interesting ones). Alternatively, won't mind slogging for some time in management consulting ( non M/B/B consulting - Deloitte, PWC, AT Kearney etc. )
My research :
Tippie (Iowa) : Big 10 public Univ., higher ranked than SMU. Probably, more people are aware of it. I like the business school overall but location ain't great. However, most students join the program with much less debt and those who manage to network well are able to go anywhere for post-MBA jobs. Otherwise, recruiting stats at Tippie for internationals are fantastic. Perhaps, less financial burden can be liberating! Is it worth to turn down Tippie only because of its location ? How easy or difficult will it be to land roles in California (or Texas) after studying from Tippie ?
SMU Cox : Private University with a superb location and networking opportunities but extremely expensive. Brand is highly restricted to Dallas. I've had mixed reviews about the quality of the business school and international recruiting. Is it worth all the money ?
Opportunity cost at Tippie will be about less than half that of Cox.
Note : I am interviewing at some higher ranked schools too; but they are not top 10-15 schools. So, the current offers are pretty good.
Please help !!
Request you to avoid discussing/suggesting other business schools.
Thank You