Hi,

I've received admits to the full-time MBA program at Syracuse University and SUNY Buffalo. Syracuse has offered me quite a good scholarship covering about 60-65% of tuition. I'm awaiting decisions from Bentley, Case Western Reserve, Purdue, Kelley School of Business and University of San Diego. Is there anyone here who has experienced the MBA program at Whitman School of Management at Syracuse/SUNY Buffalo or anyone who can let me know more about the experience at these two schools?

Although some of the schools I've applied to are more reputed, I find the scholarship offer at Syracuse quite exciting and am primarily looking at Syracuse. The curriculum is also interesting including their concentration in entrepreneurship which is one of my areas of interest (in addition to supply chain management and marketing, I'm yet to decide)

It would be great if you could share some info about Syracuse as a town, the general culture of the university, cost of living, stuff to do there, job and internship opportunities, etc.

I know quite a bit about the weather so don't bother mentioning that :)

Any opinions are appreciated!
Thanks for your time!

Hi Akash,

Congrats on your admit from Syracuse.
I did my MS in CE from Syracuse University:
Syracuse is located in upstate New York area, very close to Buffalo. Syracuse is a university town. Not much to do there when there are no classes. The town becomes deserted during summer. But university as a whole is good.
Cost of Living is very low. I used to pay about $400 rent when I shared my apartment with my roommates.
The best thing about Syracuse University is that you will definitely get On Campus Job.
Regarding Internships: I am not really sure. Contact someone from Whitman.

Good you know about weather. But expect it to be much harsher than what you expect the weather to be.

Good Luck! You can contact me with any info you need about it.

Thanks and Regards
-D

Although the school has a concentration in entrepreneurship, it's not particularly well-known in this regard. There is a bit of startup activity in the area, but it's mostly clustered around the university, and for real access to venture capital and a much, much, better network, you'll obviously need to go to NYC. That access is why NYU and Columbia, and now Cornell, are increasingly drawing entrepreneurial-minded students.

That said, since you've not applied to those schools, Whitman is still a solid choice. I would say it's your best choice unless you get offers from IU or Purdue, and maybe even USD (San Diego would be a great location for somebody with entrepreneurial goals.

Thanks for the replies. :)

Hi,

I recently received the response from Krannert and have an admissions offer but without any aid.

Does anyone have any recent information regarding the employment opportunities for Purdue MBA graduates? Is it significantly better than Whitman (keeping in mind that I'm an international student)? Would it be worth it if I gave up the scholarship at Whitman to go to Krannert? (And man the fees at Krannert is through the roof! Hehe . . )

If I can be sure that my abilities and potential will be recognized by potential employers at Krannert and I would have strong support from the career center there, perhaps I would give up the scholarship at Syracuse and go to Purdue.

All opinions are appreciated!

Thanks again.

Krannert has been one of the very best schools in its success in placing international students for decades.

@akashovian,

I know a guy studying in Purdue, and knew few people who graduated from Purdue & Syracuse few years back. Let me tell you that Purdue vs Syracuse is no question at all.

Even if Whitman gives me 100% ride, and Purdue 0% I would go with Purdue. It's a much respected brand name. My friend is in 2nd year at Purdue now, and he hah his internship done at Amazon. Purdue has tie-ups with several companies e.g. Crane Co. they recruit Purdue MBAs for their Operations / SCM even HR roles.

In contrast, I know outcomes of 2 students from Syracuse. One of the guy graduated in 2009 (if I remember correctly) He couldn't land a job - so went back to Syracuse to do MS in IT for a year to get the 2 year OPT. He is currently working in EY as a manger though.
Another student graduated at the same time as I did (2015 May), he was struggling to find a job. He had some experience in Supply Chain/Logistics/IT. He ended up working as a contractor accepting a lower salary.

I am not saying that the path after Purdue will be easy. Indian Students outside of top 15- schools like Purdue, SMU Cox, Uni of Pittsburg Katz, Rochester Simon, Penn State etc have to work extremely hard to network and land an interview. However, these schools still have a good brand recognition so that name /and the alumni network can open some doors in getting you the 1st informational interview call.
With Syracuse getting that 1st informational interview sometimes becomes difficult. Also there is a significant difference in their average salaries. Note that the amount of hard work that goes in is comparable across schools (but differ across students) but what differs greatly is the career outcome.

Good luck with whatever decision you make.