This seems to be a typical question on here, and I find myself in a similar situation to many previous posts. Mine comes with a twist, however. I am looking at a full tuition scholarship to University of Florida, an MBA program on the rise in the rankings, or a 20% tuition scholarship to Georgetown, a program who seems to have stalled in the low to mid 20's. I am interested in PE as I realize a consulting job out of either of these schools is unlikely. My main focus is on quality of life and overall happiness at the school, although salary upon graduation is, of course, important.

Let me know what you think!

McDonough probably has better placements in private equity, considering its (relative) strengths in finance placements. And of course you realize that you will probably have better career outcomes with Georgetown, regardless of Hough's recent rise in the rankings.

But if your main focus is quality of life and happiness, why take my advice? Talk to graduates of the program, spend some time on the campuses, etc. You most likely won't get a sense of your fit from this message board!

Thanks maury! That's wonderful advice. I will be sure to follow up with some of the current students and alumni to see what they think.

I guess another question is: How good is Georgetown, really? They seem to place students in places of employment that are far superior than other schools near their rankings, which is awesome. But it seems like they are at the end of the list of tier 2 schools (Tier 1 being the Ivy +'s). They accept 40ish% of students that apply... doesn't that seem high for a respectable institution?

Thanks!

[Edited by thatmbaguy on Mar 18, 2015]

There is a lot of self-selection at Georgetown because it is a Jesuit school.

Duncan--

I'm not sure what you mean by "self-selection." Can you elaborate please?

Thanks!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-selection_bias I mean that people who apply to Georgetown are:
- fewer in number, because some applications will prefer a school in a secular tradition
- on average, *more* likely to be Catholic
- on average, more highly motivated to attend Georgetown than other schools they are applying to
- will have a higher yield, in term of how many offers turn into students

Thus the smaller number of applicants can still produce a high quality of participant.

PS I added *more* in the post above.

[Edited by Duncan on Mar 18, 2015]

Thanks for the response! Georgetown seems like a good fit for me, but maybe I shouldn't go if I don't even know what self-selection is! :o

LOL! I am having a lot of fun recently with The Oxford Dictionary of New Words, but you won't have much time to read on your MBA.

I'm not sure if you've seen my post The sad facts about scholarships http://www.find-mba.com/board/37055 but UoF are paying you to attend so your classmates and faculty can benefit from you. At a better school, you will benefit as much as your contribute. I would certainly recommend Georgetown over Florida.

Thanks once again. That post is very helpful to me, and I am starting to lean towards Georgetown as well. My only regret is that I did not apply to higher ranked schools than Georgetown. I did not think I would get in because I am only 24 and have only been working for 2.5 years at a private lending company. I do have a 700 GMAT and plenty of hobby related activities as well. *sigh* oh well, such is life...

Take a look at http://board.find-mba.com/general-forum/which-schools-start-when-35639 Perhaps Columbia (or Chicago, if they still offer that) January intake might be worth looking at?

Sorry for the late reply. I'm new to this board, I decided it was time to give back a bit. I've worked in the private sector and business academia for a little over ten years. For me, this is a no brainier, go to Florida. Georgetown has a slightly higher starting salary, but a lower total employment and it places in areas with higher taxes. In the end it's a wash. The rankings are close. I just checked, and depending on how you count the schools that are tied with each institution, they are about 10 places apart. That doesn't make a difference in the real world. In the end the main difference is cost of attendance and cost of living. I've talked to many students who struggle with the same decision you're making and I've been around long enough to see how both decisions play out. If you want happiness, avoid crushing student debt. Florida is a fine program, you'll save over 100K. From my prospective this one is an easy call.

[Edited by molony5 on Apr 30, 2015]

Georgetown seems to have a notable salary advantage 87k to 102k. That is 17% more, and over the 30 years of a career that is basically five years salary. That is worth way more than 100k, even if you have to look for work for a few months longer.

I'm still so torn guys

Given your age, I would suggest you take an extra year and develop your career goals. If you want "quality of life and overall happiness" then you'd become a school principal (http://www.usatoday.com/story/money/personalfinance/2015/03/08/cheat-sheet-happiest-jobs/24509095/) in Alaska (http://www.today.com/health/happiest-state-america-t4061). If you get a clearer idea of what sort of role your are best suited for, and will be both successful and happy in, then you can identify the best schools for that outcome. Viewed simply as an investment, Georgetown is obviously way ahead of Florida.