Help direct my life...

[malakito]

OK, here's two choices:

A) Get an MBA from Boise State University.
B) Get an MBA from Notre Dame University.

Which should I do? Purposefully brief because I want to see what you think I should think of, not what I've already thought of. The two programs are real programs and are the two real options I'm considering at the moment.

malakito

 

[REWahoo]

A) Get an MBA from Boise State University.
B) Get an MBA from Notre Dame University.

Which should I do?

This is one of those adult diaper questions: Depends...on what you plan on doing once you have your MBA. If you want to work for a Fortune 500 company, then ND is the way to go. If you just want to improve your skills by gaining additional education, then it's BS for you.

REW

 

[peggy]

There is also the option NOT to get an MBA and put the money you would have spent on the MBA toward your FIRE stash.  (Just thought I'd point that out   )

Since both are accredited universities and (presumably) respectable MBA programs, I'd go with whichever one is cheaper, unless you're dealing with people for whom a high-profile school will matter more than a good, solid state university.  

 

[HFWR]

Boise is more scenic than South Bend...

Former Hoosier

 

[Nords]

Not enough info!

Let's see, you've already determined that this is a worthwhile endeavor regardless of its necessity, its value, or the pain-- kinda like deciding which part of your body you'd most like to have tatooed/pierced.

Do you have a choice?  Has either school accepted you?

There must be some difference between the programs.  One is certainly cheaper, but are you able to figure out which one has more value?

As I recall they both have winter.  Are you doing this over the Internet or in person?

Are you doing this around your day job?  Which one is more flexible with assignments & class time?  Do either of them offer programs abroad or internships with industry?

Are you Catholic or do you bleed green?  Or are you LDS?

You must be concentrating on a particular field, but can you tell which one interests you more regardless of its location?

It's hard to imagine Boise being bigger than Notre Dame.  ND is much more likely to be crowded, to have more competition for its limited resources, and to attract an all-star crowd of absolutely unbelievable people who'd eat Donald Trump and his apprentices for lunch.  All else being equal I'd go for the opportunity to be a bigger fish in a smaller pond.

As for the Fortune 500 crowd, I can imagine the reaction now-- "Oh, great, another ND cookie-cutter MBA with his rabid football mania."  Contrast that with Boise:  "Hey, cool, fresh meat for our cowboy jokes!"

 

[treypar]

Given those two choices I would expect ND to be the better school if you intend to work in the east. If you stay in Idaho, Boise State would be fine. My son lives in Boise and I really like the city. It really depends on your life goals and where you want to go with your career.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

Boise is more scenic than South Bend...

Former Hoosier

Amen brother!

 

[kat]

Every Notre Dame alum I've met can't wait to tell me how wonderful it was/is there.

I have a cousin there now, she and her DH working on PhDs.

 

[Mr._johngalt]

Every Notre Dame alum I've met can't wait to tell me how wonderful it was/is there.

I have a cousin there now, she and her DH working on PhDs.

It's like the Marines. Once a Marine, always a Marine..............
Semper Fi and all that. I think it's cool.

JG

 

[malakito]

A collected reply to all:

REW -- Thanks; what you said is pretty much what my family has said. Interestingly enough, I've spent 11 years working for a Fortune 500 company. Actually a Fortune 100 company. To answer the implied question, I'm not sure yet, but I'll probably want to end up (back) in Boise.

Peggy -- Adding the $ to the FIRE stash doesn't exactly apply in my case. BSU would cost about $15K, and the sticker price for ND is ~$62K, but they're suggesting that I'll probably maybe get a fellowship to knock the price down a bit.

HFWR -- True. Also the summer weather is better in Idaho than Indiana. As an old high school friend pointed out tonight, BSU also has a better football team lately

Nords -- BSU has accepted me; ND sent me a letter inviting me to apply based on my GMAT score and implied I'm the kind of student they want. The big difference right now is that I live in Boise and we have "roots" here -- mortgage, house, extended family, etc. Either program I'd do in person. I just severanced myself from my day job and my last day is 10/31 (but I think I can get them to move it up if I went to ND). Both have trips abroad and internships. I'm neither Catholic nor LDS, and last time I bled it was the normal red color. The thing about ND that appeals to me is that it is a "Top 50" school. (They're #24 in the latest BW rankings).

MRGALT2U and kat -- ND touts their alumni network and really tries to create a sense of "belonging" that comes across pretty strong in their materials.

Thanks to all,

malakito

 

[BristolBane]

From what I've read and heard, one of the important aspects of attending an MBA program is networking. It seems to me that a more prestigious program like Notre Dame would have more graduates in high places (eventually) and thus be more valuable as contacts for getting jobs/contracts/deals whatever.

However, because they are more sought after they may also be more dispersed across the entire country and even world. So you might not realize those benfits unless you live in a high power city like New York, Chicago, DC. If you go to Boise and want to stay out west in the future your new network might actually be stronger because they probably live in that region?

Just a theory. Good luck

 

[Caroline]

I am completely prejudiced on this but in my experience... you go for the best school you can get into.

In my case it was an MBA from UC Berkeley. I've had a prospective employer tell me, more than a few times since then, that "you're from one of the (three, four, whatever) schools we hire from."

If you know exactly what you want, Boise may be the place. If you want to keep your options open, the better the ranking, the wider your range of choices.

This still begs the question as to why you'd want the MBA in the first place, but that's a different thread entirely!

IMHO,
Caroline

 

[Mr._johngalt]

I am completely prejudiced on this but in my experience...  you go for the best school you can get into. 

In my case it was an MBA from UC Berkeley.  I've had a prospective employer tell me, more than a few times since then, that "you're from one of the (three, four, whatever) schools we hire from."

If you know exactly what you want, Boise may be the place.  If you want to keep your options open, the better the ranking, the wider your range of choices.

This still begs the question as to why you'd want the MBA in the first place, but that's a different thread entirely!

IMHO,
Caroline

Nothing wrong with going for "the best school" which no one would ever
agree on anyway. Just don't ask your retired daddy to pay for it.

JG

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Well if you play football, the choice is pretty obvious.

 

[saluki9]

I would add that if your intent is to go into banking, finance, etc it's not even close. I have a brother in law who works for a very large investment bank and does a lot of interviews of B school students

Not having a degree from U of C, Kellogg, MIT, Mich, Harvard, or ND means you don't even get a chance at an interview, period.

if your intent is simply to learn more about business and possibly start your own, then save your money and go with the cheaper option

 

[Nords]

Not having a degree from U of C, Kellogg, MIT, Mich, Harvard, or ND means you don't even get a chance at an interview, period.

How the heck do they know?

It's hiring policies like this that make me want to study the "success" (a definition subject to controversy) of their hires against those they wouldn't even interview.

Besides, if ND is in such darn high demand, why are they cold-calling guys like Malakito?

 

[charlie]

GE and TI both had a minimum GPA requirement for interviews
in 1957 ...... and I did not qualify. TI hired me later via contacts
with engineers on a missile development program. I went on
to become one of the youngest branch managers on record and
ER'd after a 30 year successful career at TI. Needless to say,
I looked at a lot more than GPA when hiring engineers.

Cheers,

Charlie

 

[Whakamole]

What part of the country do you want to live in?

You'd do better in the midwest with a ND degree.

 

[malakito]

Nords: "Besides, if ND is in such darn high demand, why are they cold-calling guys like Malakito?"

My theory: ND was ranked 24th in the nation by BW in 2004 and being in the top 25 versus the top 50 seems to be the difference between "top tier" and "second tier". Also, I wasn't exactly cold-called. I took the GMAT and signed up to let schools contact me if I fit their profile. I happened to do really well on my undergrad GPA and on his GMAT, so I think they're hoping I'll go there and raise the average GMAT score or somesuch stat that BW uses in their rankings. Top rankings tend to self perpetuate. Coincidentally (or not so), the other school that contacted me was Purdue, which is 21st I think. Also both schools are located where there are horrid summers, IMHO.

Whakamole: "What part of the country do you want to live in?"

Me, I'd probably go anywhere, but my wife and kids want to remain in Boise.

malakito

 

[saluki9]

How the heck do they know?

It's hiring policies like this that make me want to study the "success" (a definition subject to controversy) of their hires against those they wouldn't even interview.

Besides, if ND is in such darn high demand, why are they cold-calling guys like Malakito?

They know because those are the only schools they will interview students from. ND gets thrown in the mix because he helps recruit for the Chicago office.

There are a lot of qualified people for not too many open spots, they have to limit the number of people somehow.