Undecided - 02-11-2022 | Clear Admit DecisionWire

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February 11, 2022 4:09pm ET

Enrolled: Undecided

Admitted: Berkeley / Haas $

$180000

, Duke / Fuqua $

$140000

, Michigan / Ross , UVA / Darden $

$180000

, Vanderbilt / Owen , Yale SOM $

$100000

Applied: Berkeley / Haas, Columbia, Duke / Fuqua, Michigan / Ross, Stanford GSB, UVA / Darden, Vanderbilt / Owen, Yale SOM

Entering Year: 2022

Post MBA Career: Entrepreneurship, Non Profit/SI

GMAT: 790

GPA: 3.9

Location: Memphis, TN

Notes:

Interested to get feedback on the value of reputation vs regional alumni networks. I want to launch an education non-profit after business school, and my target post-grad regions are TN, NC, and VA. Yale/Haas/Stanford have more of a nonprofit and entrepreneurial reputation, but only 3% of grads move South, so do UVA/Duke make more sense?

Like (4)

Show Comments (7) Last: February 22, 2022

anon10646 Likes Earned: 763 Just to clarify (don't mean to make you to re-live a reject), as you didn't list GSB as one of the admits, but mention it in the notes; was that an admit? Some of the geographic placement of schools are going to be self-selection (where people want to be to begin with or need to be for family reasons) and proximity of companies (until recently a lot of recruiting 'required' in-person events and interviews). Not my area, so I could be completely off-base, but I would not think if you really wanted to set-up this out of a program like Haas that you're going to hit a roadblock. Obviously there will likely to be more Darden or Fuqua alumni in your target region than Haas or SOM, but I'm not sure how much that'll matter for your entrepreneurial set-up of an education non-profit. Network can help for recruiting in a lot of sectors when alumni either answer your cold-emails or fight for seats from their schools (really odd/illogical when you think about it), but I'd guess for you it's going to be funding and regulation support out of SF, DC, NYC and networks in any of those gov't/investment centers that would help most. What I'd think are more important here are the opportunities and resources at each program which can help you gain experience and prep to launch the effort and what culture you click with the most. I.e if Haas/SOM feels like the best culture and resource fit, I wouldn't let a regional breakdown stop you, nor if Fuqua or Darden make sense and have 'good-enough' opportunities, but aren't 'non-profit' repped, stop you from attending those. (3)

teachbeast_fromthe_southeast Likes Earned: 5 Thank you for the thoughtful response! To clarify, I applied to GSB in Round 2, after learning in Round 1 that I was a more competitive candidate than I initially thought. I'm coming from a background where top-ranked schools feel about as close as Mars, which is also a major factor in my career goals. I appreciate your point about network and cultural fit. As you said, I'll be reaching out to alumni to ask for investments and advice, not for job opportunities. With that in mind, I think it comes down to SOM and the Broad Center vs Darden and the Partnership for Leaders in Education (and the chance to graduate without debt). (2)

anon10646 Likes Earned: 763 Also, just a thought as it's a less common post-MBA route, but could also try reaching out to some leaders in the education space and see what they feel are important factors to succeed and then weight that into your decision making. (2)

mnemonicthehedgehog Likes Earned: 21 Great recommendations and points made already, but I also wanted to mention for OP a surprising fact I learned about UVA/Duke concerning their graduate placements for the South region. I just checked the employment reports for 2021 and noticed that Duke placed 21% of grads in the South and UVA only 11%. Just to put in perspective that, while 11% and 21% are still much higher than Yale SOM and Stanford's placements (~2%), it's by no means a vast majority of their graduates so you'll likely have to do some legwork on your own for networking/internships(?) no matter where you go. Also worth noting is Duke's rising Health Care placements so you may very well find a good number of folks who are "nonprofit-minded" within their community. (1)

eliot Verified User. Likes Earned: 1857 Congrats on your acceptances and scholarship offers. Given that you have the luxury of choice, let's review. 1) Scholarship. Since you mentioned that cost is a factor, then Haas ($180k) and Darden ($180k) provide the highest scholarship, followed by Duke ($140k). Of course, since living expenses are higher in the Bay Area, I suspect that the lowest net tuition cost is likely Darden then Haas then Fuqua. I assume that you are not considering Ross or Owen due to the lack of scholarship. 2) Geographic location. You mentioned a preference for launching a venture in the South. If this is a key variable for you, then Darden and Fuqua would have a geographic advantage in these locations compared to Haas or Yale SOM. In summary, it sounds like Darden seems to be a leading contender. Of course, I encourage you to do your due diligence so that you can see which program is the best fit for you. Of course, you really have several great options to choose from. Good luck. (2)

teachbeast_fromthe_southeast Likes Earned: 5 Thanks for the feedback Eliot. You're right, Darden was the leading contender and as of yesterday I have have accepted my offer for UVA! At the end of the day, it just made sense for me and my family. I had great conversations with alumni who confirmed my belief that Darden would equip me with both the skills and connections I need to start a business. Major bonus: my partner (who works in a VERY niche field, ~25 open roles nationwide) landed a role right outside Charlottesville. One more fun data point to add - I just received an invite to interview with Stanford. I'm pursuing the opportunity, because I couldn't live with the curiosity of "what if", but even if I get in, today I'm 75% sure I'd still pick Darden. Just thought I'd put that out there as food for thought for other applicants applying as a couple and/or are working towards very specific goals. (1)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1577 More details on this decision in this episode of Wire Taps: https://www.clearadmit.com/2022/02/wire-taps-217/ (0)