Hello everyone!

I got accepted at both Simon (Rochester) and Alliance business school - Uni of Manchester (UK).
Simon (2 years) offered a scholarship (45%) while Manchester(1.5 years) Is yet to release their scholarship.
As an international applicant from India, I have to consider employment opportunities in both countries as well as visa and work authorization policies.

I want to shift to consulting/finance post MBA. Post schools are a good fit. Would appreciate any advice!

Thank you in advance for your advice.

Ignore the scholarship: it's worth less than any difference in the programs. Simon has many advantages if you take the STEM track. 36 months of work, much higher international mobility, a much more finance and quant based school, stronger career services. Climate is the downside. Save up for holidays in the sun. 

Thanks for your advice, Duncan! I agree with the advantages. However, Manchester ranks 30th in the world MBA rankings and with the two years stay back option- I felt that this could be a good choice too. As I understand, it ranks 4th in the UK which as opposed to Simon ranking 35th in the US. Careers services are great in both schools. Would you still give Simon the upper hand here?

Simon has: higher employment, and almost the same international mobility and salary as Manchester despite having far fewer international students and a lower ranking. Almost all international students at Simon find work in the US: Manchester cannot say that. If you want to return to your own country, Manchester is certainly the right choice. 

Plus three years is fifty percent longer than two years. Long enough to get at least one promotion and perhaps two, increasing your values and acculturation, as well as earning more.

If you look thoughtfully at the ratio between international mobility and the percentage of international students, you will see that Simon's much more effective.

Thanks for your thoughts, Duncan. 

To give you some background about me -I have 4 years of work ex in finance with ACCA degree and aim to transit into general management consulting/ product management. From talking to the alumni of both schools I learn the following:

1. Companies do not come to Simon due to location disadvantages whereas few companies (Amazon, credit Suisse, Amex etc) do visit manchester for structured programs year on year.

2. Despite STEM track- I hear that agressive networking will be required at Simon to combat tier 2 status and secluded location. But it confuses me because the employment report looks good. I hear that lesser companies are sponsoring internationals in the US and in general, transition from student visa to work visa is very difficult in US (need to get a job within 90 days of graduation) vs a very streamlined process in the UK ( 2 years to look for a job). In short, finding a job will be difficult both places but relatively easier in the UK. 

3.  As per my research, I see that Simon has a more detailed and stronger curiculum and better faculty vs a more general curriculum at Manchester which focuses more on practical learning through four Consulting projects. For someone who wants to transition into a different field, what should I give more weightage to? 

4. Do you think the weather and location downside at Simon would outweigh the other benefits? I'm leaning more towards Manchester simply because of the location and now better visa laws (2 years to look for a job) +ACCA. 

I would really appreciate your response to get some clarity. Do you think these schools seem at a similar pedestal. it's just very hard to decide. 

Manchester is a big city and the Simon school is a single school. I'm not sure if you are saying that Amazon doesn't go to Rochester, or that it does hire from Alliance but not Simon. Either way, it doesn't matter as much as outcomes for international students. At that Simon generally seems to be better, because of its greater focus than Alliance on quant and STEM degrees. 

Surely Simon has STEM options on almost all its degrees, so its three years is not a disadvantage compared to the two in the UK. 

Put goals ahead of location. If you really want to put location first, you would obviously not pick Manchester. You'd pick maybe somewhere with better weather, more beauty, safer, etc. But... Do that on vacation. Focus on your career goals and pick the best schools for your goals. 

Also, if you can focus on one of management consulting, finance or product management then you'll find this much easier. Clarify your goals and don't assume these are the only two schools in the world.

Finding a job isn't easier from Manchester. Being unemployed for a long job hunt is easier. But in terms of international students finding a job in the school's country, there is no time frame over which Alliance Manchester gets more students into work than Simon.