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After more than 10 years of international experience at a large multi-national I am returning to school to step-change my capability, thinking and connections. My goal post school is to have a large impact on a small and fast growing organization with purpose. It does not have to be a start-up, but I am also not closed to this either.

I am lucky to have been offered places at both the 1 year MIT Sloan MBA and the 1 year Stanford Sloan MS. I was impressed with both programs, faculty & current classes on my visits. MIT gives access to HBS & Kennedy classes in addition to their own and their class is slightly more experienced (14 yrs avg) and larger (120). Stanford appears to allow a larger percentage of electives and have more entrepreneurial opportunities (inside & nearby outside).

I would greatly appreciate any perspective or advice.

Thanks in advance.

Wow jah - we're impressed with you for landing both these admits!! The Sloan Fellows programs at each school are out-and-out amazing - you can't go wrong with either decision. It's unlikely anyone around here will be able to offer a whole lot of input into this process for you (those going for the Sloan programs are rather few and far between compared to the hordes interested in the standard 2-year MBA) however we'll say what we've been saying to a few others lately: Go with your gut.

These schools are very very different in many ways. The education you'll get at either would be outstanding, but the 'flavor', so to speak, of MIT vs Stanford is rather differentiated. Did you get a better sense that you fit in at one or the other? You mention that the MIT cohort is older, are you saying that you're younger? Or older? Would you be more comfortable with people closer to your age?

In trying to read the between the lines of what you wrote, it feels like you may have an (unrecognized?) preference for Stanford, just based on how you phrased some things. We say this based on your stated desire to "have a large impact" on an "organization with a purpose" comments - this is right in line with Stanford's mission. Plus, the fact that you called out the greater number of entrepreneurial opportunities at Stanford.

The larger class size at MIT, does that really matter so much? It depends - for some people it might. EssaySnark doesn't see that as a deciding factor though.

The other very obvious point is simply culture, not just of the school but of its environs. Palo Alto and Boston are very different. Are you up for a cold winter or do you want to go to class in your flip flops in December?

(Sloan Fellows probably aren't doing that so much but you can bet that plenty of other Stanford students do!)

Let us know what you decide - we're envious for sure!
EssaySnark

Hi Jah,

I am selected in both Stanford MSx and MIT sloan fellows as well similar to you. While searching for these programs I found this thread.
I hope by now you might have completed one of these programs. I wanted to know about your perspective regarding these programs based on your research and first hand experience. Which program you choose and why? How did you find the program experience and career opportunity after the program etc?

Would really appreciate if you can share some thought.

Thanks!