The Application Process

Hello Beat the GMAT Community,

I am in a quandary. I applied to a number of top MBA programs via the Consortium and got rejected from all except the University of Rochester. However, I got the full-tuition Consortium Fellowship from Simon as well as it's highest named fellowship, the Simon Leadership Fellowship. Should I take the offer from Simon now or hold out for a higher-ranked program in the future? With regards to Rochester, I'm most worried about recruiting and career prospects considering the school's recent fall in the US News rankings (27th to 45th) and Rochester's location. The alternative plan is to complete a one-year MSF at Boston College and work for two years prior to reapplying to top-tier MBA programs. I am 25 now and would be 28 when I enter an MBA program if I declined Simon and followed through with this alternative plan. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Here's some background information:

Education: Economics and Math major from large, private east coast university
Experience: 2 years as a ninth grade algebra teacher in a fellowship program like TFA
GMAT: 690 (46Q, 39V, 5.5AWA) (If I re-took it, I'm confident I could break 700)

BXTeacher wrote:Hello Beat the GMAT Community,

I am in a quandary. I applied to a number of top MBA programs via the Consortium and got rejected from all except the University of Rochester. However, I got the full-tuition Consortium Fellowship from Simon as well as it's highest named fellowship, the Simon Leadership Fellowship. Should I take the offer from Simon now or hold out for a higher-ranked program in the future? With regards to Rochester, I'm most worried about recruiting and career prospects considering the school's recent fall in the US News rankings (27th to 45th) and Rochester's location. The alternative plan is to complete a one-year MSF at Boston College and work for two years prior to reapplying to top-tier MBA programs. I am 25 now and would be 28 when I enter an MBA program if I declined Simon and followed through with this alternative plan. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Here's some background information:

Education: Economics and Math major from large, private east coast university
Experience: 2 years as a ninth grade algebra teacher in a fellowship program like TFA
GMAT: 690 (46Q, 39V, 5.5AWA) (If I re-took it, I'm confident I could break 700)

Definitely a tough situation! I think you should talk to the Career Center to inquire further because I think you make a valid point re: the rankings. When comparing schools in the Top 10 or 15 ranks it may not be that much of an issue but a 27-45 drop is definitely worth investigating!

Just some thoughts...
I believe top schools did not accept you because of your lack of (relevant) work experience.
To enhance your chances, you should work on that...I am not sure if you need another degree per se

Another determinant is what you want to do after your MBA. If your dream is I'banking or top strategy consultant, you need a top MBA (and probably work experience, see above). If you want to switch from education to business in general, maybe a well ranked MBA like Rochester is alright...

Thanks for the thoughts guys. I queried the admissions office regarding the fall in the rankings and they forwarded me official responses from both the Dean and the Executive Director of the Career Management Center. I was impressed with how open and proactive their approaches were. bln123, you're definitely right regarding the key weakness in my application: work experience. I am indeed interested in finance and consulting. From what I can gather from their employment reports, a handful of the top Simon grads end up at top i-banks and consulting firms each year. That's definitely a far cry from the large numbers recruited from the best MBA programs. However, I'm thinking I might still have a shot considering that by giving me the Simon Leadership Fellowship, they're indicating that I would be one of the top 10-12 students in the incoming class. I have a few days left to decide but I'm leaning toward taking my chances at Rochester.

I think you're leaning in the right direction! Go where the money is! I just turned down a much better ranked program to take a named scholarship at a school in the 30's. I think having the scholarship on your resume is not as good as a top school, but it certainly helps! And just imagine how good it's going to feel to graduate and watch your friends paying a $100k loan (perhaps $1000 a month for 10 years) and you are leasing a new Porsche with the money (or doing something more sensible). Congratulations!

Hi BXTeacher,
I am in exactly same situation as you. Applied to Simon for Fall '11 through Consortium & got admit into Simon with the Consortium fellowship (GMAT 690, undergrad in chemical engineering. currently decent job in a chemical company).
Torn between taking 100K fellowship & doing from so-so ranked school or rejecting admission this year & reapplying again next year to consortium's other better ranked school. Simon gave me deadline of April 15th, i am still debating. What decision are you gonna take?

Thanks hman768, when you put it in that perspective ($1,000 a month for 10 years), it really does seem like a no-brainer. I went where the money was for undergrad and I decided to go in that direction for B-school as well; I sent my deposit to Simon a couple days ago. Here's to drag-racing our Porsches while everyone else is paying down debt!

boolean_521, it's great to find someone in almost the exact same situation as me. If you decide to take the offer from Simon, we'll be seeing plenty of each other. I believe there are only 7 or 8 Simon Consortium Fellows. I went back and forth quite a bit before coming to my decision. If you're as concerned as I was regarding Simon's fall in the rankings, ask your admissions contact to forward you the official response emails from the Dean and the Director of the CMC. As far as I can gather, Simon has been ranked in the Top-30 for the majority of years that the US News has ranked MBA programs. In accepting, I'm betting that the slip is temporary and Simon will return to the Top-30 within a year or two.

Good luck! I'm sure you made the right decision. I too was following the rankings and noticed Simon's slip. I was an applicant to Simon and I was invited to their scholarship weekend but did not end up attending. I have already been to school in western NY and I really felt like it wasn't for me this time around. If you ask me Simon's biggest weakness is its starting salary - significantly lower than many other similarly ranked schools. (Every other school in the ranking dropped $10k this year but somehow Rochester stayed pretty stagnant) I actually wrote that straight up to an admissions official at the school and their excuses made no sense to me. I think it's because most of the graduates stay in western NY which just has lower salaries. In a way though, that's almost a good thing because I'm sure that outside of that area its graduate are still demanding market level salaries. Anyways, good luck. Also, I posted a lot of my thoughts when I went through your situation in case you want to read them here:

https://www.beatthegmat.com/application- ... tml#350094

Actually I am feeling very positive about Simon. Faculty & students seem very helpful. However, due to family financial constraints, need to decide if I can attend or I need to continue working