Tepper or Kelley - Commentary Appreciated

Dear MBA2010-2012,

Congratulations! Your decision is a difficult one, but what a luxury to have. I think there are certainly some factors you should consider based on your personal preferences. For example, do you want to live in a certain geographical area when you graduate from business school? All schools place predominantly in their local regions, so it might be easier to land a job in Chicago from Kelley, for instance, or land a job in New York from Tepper. That is not to say you can't get to New York from Kelley because you absolutely can, but your job search is a little easier if you are already in/close to the geographic area you want to be in when you finish. You might want to look at the firms or companies of most interest to you and see if they recruit at either of these schools; if you find there is already an established relationship there, that can sometimes make your search a little easier, but does not guarantee anything. You should also review the curriculum, particularly elective offerings--are the electives of most interest to you always offered or will there be a chance the course is not offered as it is taught by an adjunct or not heavily subscribed to? Do you find one school has more electives of interest to you? Does one school offer more resources/extra programs that match your career goals than the other?

Basically, you need to delve a little deeper than rankings when making this type of decision. Not only to ensure you get the coursework and other resources to facilitate your career goals, but also that you feel the school's culture is a good match for your personality. I think Kelley and Tepper are both quite collaborative and tend to attract students that are team-oriented, but there are differences. Perhaps chat with current students at both if you haven't already to try to get a sense of the environment?

Good luck and enjoy the journey!
Lisa