Undecided - 12-19-2024 | Clear Admit DecisionWire

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December 19, 2024 7:26am ET

Enrolled: Undecided

Admitted: Columbia Business School , Duke / Fuqua $

$70000

, NYU Stern

Applied: Columbia Business School, Duke / Fuqua, NYU Stern

Entering Year: 2025

Post MBA Career: Investment Banking

GPA: 3.52

Location: New York

Notes:

Strong preference to be in NYC for IB networking and recruitment. Currently live here as well and don't want to move. Top choice is Columbia. Didn't receive a scholarship, but received scholarship at Duke with Forte fellowship. Am I able to email CBS or Stern to negotiate merit scholarship and ask to match offer? What info should I send to schools?

Like (2)

Show Comments (9) Last: January 25, 2025

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1842 It’s possible to negotiate, perhaps more so with Stern (similar tier with Darden) than Columbia. Did you take the GMAT or GRE?

Even with the Darden scholarship, it might make sense to remain in NYC, for IB recruiting, with Columbia in the higher tier.

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anon17334 Likes Earned: 9 Thanks. I took the executive assessment. The scholarship I received is from duke fuqua not darden but think same tier. What do you recommend sending to schools to negotiate? (0)

eliot Verified User. Likes Earned: 2021 Congrats on your acceptances to CBS, Stern and Fuqua. Given your desire to stay in NYC, it sounds like either CBS or Stern is the right option for you. In terms of negotiating, you would contact the school, explain that you would really like to their school, but mention that you have this scholarship from Fuqua and then ask if they can offer some scholarship to help bridge the gap. The worst that would happen is they say no. (0)

anon10646 Likes Earned: 863 Given Forte, assuming you're female? Nearly every bank will have an MBA diversity scholarship which you can apply for with your summer associate application (~ +35k addtl summer signing bonus, +40k addtl FT offer signing bonus). If you're domestic, female, can hurdle the basic technicals, and personable enough to pass an airport test in networking chats and at in-person events you should have no problem with IB recruitment at Fuqua, Stern, or CBS. I would consider taking a visit to Durham/Duke to at least get an idea how living there may be. If you're in NYC now and intend to be in IB then MBA may be only period to live elsewhere for the foreseeable. If NYC dead set, then I'd write to Stern/CBS and explain you have a preference to remain in NYC and the positive impact being in the city will have for your IB recruitment (indications you'd deposit if outcome is favorable), but there is still a large financial impact in school choice and the Fuqua award, along with lower COL, presents a large gap in cost which is a concern (tougher MBA hiring market last couple classes, gov't changeover on business landscape, rate impact on borrowing costs, etc), so if you may be considered for any awards which would help bridge the difference it would provide a clearer choice. Highlighting things at Stern/CBS you're particularly interested in or positive conversations/references with people within the letter certainly wouldn't hurt. (2)

anon17334 Likes Earned: 9 @anon10646 thanks for the advice! Yes I am female and domestic. Good to know on the diversity scholarships! Saw one at Goldman but good to know most banks offer it. I did visit Fuqua and liked it, but prefer NYC and city life despite the much lower COL in Durham. Also learned about their IB recruiting and how they travel to NYC/have less networking opportunities than the access NYC schools provides to the banks. I emailed CBS, but haven't heard back yet. Looking likely I will enroll there regardless although would be great if they can match a little of scholarship. (2)

anon10646 Likes Earned: 863 Re: fellowship, yeah searching IB MBA fellowship should bring many up. If there is not one officially, I wouldn't be surprised if HR get approval for such if you had competing offers with one. Some may not be posted until summer alongside diversity/vet specific recruiting registration/programs. I'd just bookmark or have list of URLs for bank university recruiting pages and register once they get posted. If for just general reader benefit as you're clear in NYC/CBS focus. Not sure on Fuqua official OCR bank-count but based on a similar program you're looking at mid-teens versus mid/high 20s at Stern/CBS. The higher count due to proximity/convenience for banks, the higher % of IB interested candidates at Stern/CBS, and tier of banks which only recruit CBS/Wharton etc. But OCR & access aren't always the end-all-be-all, especially if you're diversity/vet. We had some banks which did OCR at my program, but the silent part was you had no shot if not diversity/vet, and banks which were interested in OCR if only they knew at the potential of these candidates. There were banks which did not OCR our program, but people did get invited to their diversity/vet events and interviews or got prioritized in general recruiting despite non-core program because of profile. Also, can have OCR by a bank, but program is still not 'core' in pecking order and you're vying for the non-earmarked seats. Or not have OCR since there hasn't been a pipeline from your program, but you make your own connections. Recruiting may creep to include more in-person requirement now banks are 5-days in-office, but I don't see it going back to pre-pandemic where everyone has to travel to NYC every weekend for chats. A few trips will benefit in showing how you are in-person versus phone/video calls, but it's not as critical to always be in-person. Being in NYC you have no excuse not to get on 1/2/3 downtown, versus scheduling a call, and there are potentially more touchpoints where something gets you dinged. Also, you can get invited to some in-person events simply because you're local versus non-NYC which get invited as bank is interested in them. If it helps at ease your CBS choice, you'd be as likely to get IB from Fuqua as domestic female, but CBS has more core seats at more banks and some shot at tier of banks Fuqua may not, even as diversity. A couple better bonuses from a higher tier group or bank placement and you've cleared the $ difference. (1)

alexbr4 Verified User. Likes Earned: 1842 More details on this decision in this episode of Wire Taps: https://www.clearadmit.com/2025/01/mba-wire-taps-405/ (0)

mjcs2908 Likes Earned: 23 Hi! Can you share with us your final decision? And also your EA Score? Thank you in advance ! (0)

anon17334 Likes Earned: 9 Thanks for featuring me on your podcast! The advice is very helpful. I have decided to enroll at Columbia. I submitted a form to ask to match scholarship and still haven't heard back. My EA score was 156. (1)