Tepper vs. BU($$$) vs. BC($$) for an MBA?

Collegesurfer093 · May 10

Hi everyone,

I'm having a hard time choosing between these 3 MBA programs:

BU: $50K/year scholarship (which is close to full tuition)

BC: $34K/year scholarship

Tepper: $0 no scholarship

I will be depending completely on student loans, so if I go with Tepper I will need to take out approximately $190K as opposed to BU where I'll be needing only $50K and approximately $80K for BC.

I know Tepper is a T20 school but is it worth this huge difference in cost?

And between BU and BC what is the better choice here?

Post MBA career goals: I'm planning on switching careers from engineering to mainly corporate finance.

Any help is deeply appreciated. Thanks!

bluebayou · May 10

Tepper definitely not worth it. To me, BC is stronger than BU, but not $30k stronger since you have to take out loans.

Have you tried to (ahem) negotiate with BC to see if they might up the offer: 'I am really excited about the opportunity to matriculate to BC, but since I will have to support my education on all loans, the offer from BU is hard to pass up. Can you take another look at my finaid application to see if I might be eligible for any additional merit aid?'

Collegesurfer093 · May 10

@bluebayou Thanks but sadly I've already done that. My original offer was $20K and they increased it to $34K after I asked. So do you think BC is not worth the difference in cost even for someone who wants to get in finance?

bluebayou · May 11

I love BC, but $30k more in loans would not be recommended.

cbreeze · May 11

In my opinion, BC will offer you better opportunities, that's why they are unwilling to match because they have a waiting list of students who will pay. Go to BC if you wish to stay in the Boston area, they have a great network.

Publisher · May 11

Really wish folks would refer to it as CMU-Tepper as Tepper is not a strong enough brand name.

How do you differentiate between BU & BC other than by COA ?

Mwfan1921 · May 11

Congrats on the new acceptances, I remember your posts from few months ago.

I don't think Tepper is worth the extra cost and debt burden.

So now to BC vs BU. Have you compared corporate finance placement, job types and salaries at BC and BU? Do you have a better feel for one vs the other? Do you have other debt outstanding?

Regarding the MBA debt, $50K at 6% will be a $555 monthly payment (spread over 10 years),while $80K would be $888/mo. To comfortably pay that $80k one needs to earn about $130K/yr ('comfort' of course is subjective and dependent on where one lives, other debt, etc.).

If you like BC better, it's not a crazy decision to choose it, even tho you will take on greater debt.

Calling @publisher, who had good input on your earlier thread too

Publisher · May 11

If you have a particular specialty area of interest, than even two or three course offerings in that niche practice area can make a significant difference between BC & BU.

Publisher · May 11

One way to discover offered courses is to look not only at the BU & BC & CMU course offerings, but also examine the 22 courses offered by the University of Texas McCombs Masters in Finance & those offered by M-7 MBA programs such as Northwestern's Kellogg School of Business. (M-7 MBA programs include Northwestern Kellogg, Harvard, Stanford, MIT, Chicago Booth, Penn-Wharton, & Columbia.)

The Texas Masters in Finance is designed for those with less than 2 years of post undergraduate work experience but includes at least two course offerings in valuations & two accounting courses (needed for valuations) while Kellogg offers courses to NU undergrads involving heavy math & in derivatives. Of course, Penn-Wharton finance offerings should show a great variety of highly sophisticated finance course offerings.

Also examine one year specialty masters programs in data analytics or business analytics.

This advice is only relevant for those who do not want to become general managers or to specialize in areas such as supply chain & logistics for which coursework is fairly standardized.

P.S. A reason to investigate course offerings at programs to which you have not been accepted is that it may help you to identify a preferred area of specialization or preferred area of practice. This will help to focus in on the most appropriate courses offered in your program or available to you at that particular university even though in another program such as masters in accounting, finance, public policy or in the law school. Essentially, you may be able to design your own specialization.

P.P.S. Small (in terms of student enrollment) MBA programs suffer from a lack of highly specialized course offerings.

airway1 · May 11

im Not sure why BC MBA would be better then BU but keep the 30k for unknown costs. Housing in Boston is expensive, traveling to conference or special evens can add up (I had to do a two weeks program in Miami and travelled with our professor to London) and don’t forget going out to socialize. BU will get you a great job in Boston if you do your part! Network.. network ..network!

Collegesurfer093 · May 15

@Mwfan1921 Thank you! Tepper did come through yesterday with a scholarship offer of $30K/year, is it still not worth it? I'm having trouble letting them go.
I did compare and I saw a big difference in the percentage of students that ended up in finance (25% from BC, 8% from BU), but I don't know if that's because students mostly enroll in BU's program to get into healthcare/tech or because the school doesn't have strong finance recruiting?
I don't have any other debt, and I am leaning a bit towards BC, but if I can reach my goal from BU I would go their because of the money (which is what I haven't been able to figure out.) Do you think BC is worth the extra $ in this case?

@Publisher The main differences, other than COA, is the percentage of students which BC places in financial services which is about 25% as opposed to BU where the number is only 8%. In addition to what I've heard about the BC alumni network that it's a lot stronger than BU's and alumni offer a lot more help in finding jobs and internships.
Regarding the courses, I don't see that much of a significant difference that would be of more interest to me than the other would as I'm still not 100% set on an exact specialization quite yet.
Also, is the small class size that much of a disadvantage in BC's case?

@airway1 So do you think BU can get me into finance with no trouble if I network and do my part? I know $30K is a lot of money but I am willing to take on more debt if it will help me secure a job more easily.

And do you guys have any idea about the strength of the career service center in both BU and BC? I have talked to people from BU, but still waiting to be put in touch with someone from BC.

airway1 · May 15

All three are great schools with career centers at the same level. It’s about your choices and how you interact. I did my MBA at Thunderbird and got a job at a global private bank in Geneva. I networked, met alumni and took every opportunity to attend trips that got me to meet bankers. I had zero experience in private banking and ended up in amazing opportunities. @Collegesurfer093

Mwfan1921 · May 16

OP I got lost on tuition net prices, is this right?:

Tepper $76K ($68K*2 less $60K scholarship)
BC $38K ($26.6K*4-$68K)
BU $12K ($56K*2-$100K)

Then you will have books, insurance, room and board at all 3 places for 20ish months. It might be a little cheaper in Pitt vs. Boston.

This is still a big difference between Tepper and BC, I am unconvinced the extra debt is worth it. It also looks like the delta between BU and BC is closer to $50K than $30K, as in your original post. Have you spoken with career svcs at BU and BC to see why there seems to be a dramatic difference in people going on to finance jobs?

Collegesurfer093 · May 17

@Mwfan1921 Yes the tuition costs that you mentioned above are exactly correct.

But the difference between BU and BC is $26K for both years ($13K for each year).

I've previuosly spoken with somone in the career center and they said that most of their students are interested in the healthcare and tech field, so that's where they end up.

Collegesurfer093 · May 17

@airway1 Thank you!

Mwfan1921 · May 17

Got it, right.

I here you that it's hard to let Tepper go, but I really don't think you will have access to more opportunities for internships and jobs from Tepper vs. BC. Further, you can and should be looking for internships and jobs outside the help the career center will give you.....meaning network and contact alums in your target jobs via LinkedIn. No need to take on more debt for that because the opportunities are likely similar. Really that same can be said about BU opportunity as well---and that class is about double the size of BC's if that matters to you. You have good options and you can achieve your goal from any of them.

cbreeze · May 17

The main differences, other than COA, is the percentage of students which BC places in financial services which is about 25% as opposed to BU where the number is only 8%. In addition to what I've heard about the BC alumni network that it's a lot stronger than BU's and alumni offer a lot more help in finding jobs and internships.

Seems like a very good reason to choose BC.
$26K may seem like a lot of debt but if you can get your desired career on track sooner, it's worth it. This is a small amount if you take a long view on your future career.

Collegesurfer093 · May 18

@Mwfan1921 Yeah I'm starting to think that Tepper isn't the right way to go here.

So if you were in my shoes, which school would you honestly go with?
I know nobody can make this decision for me, but it's worth knowing what others would do if they were in my situation.

Collegesurfer093 · May 18

@cbreeze You really the oppurtunities that BC can offer are worth an extra $26K?

cmuben · May 18

My recommendation is to check out the career placement center and get a list of corporate recruiters coming to campus recruit at these 3 schools. Tepper is going to stand out so you do not have to write hundreds of emails personally to all these companies.

Next thing is to look at the programs. Tepper has many non-traditional yet innovative courses and some you cross register in the school of computer sciences and other departments. Although corp finance is not the strongest area at the Tepper program, the Finance department at Tepper is its best kept secret. Go check out its faculty researches and who is who in the Finance world. The Finance alum network is a solid and close one.

Last, but not the least. The MS Computation Finance program is one of the best if not the BEST in the world. Although it deals with S&T instead of Corp Finance, with your engineering background, this is a ticket you may hook up to the Finance world that is going to be uniquely CMU Tepper which neither BC nor BU comes close....

Have I tickled your fantacy....?

Collegesurfer093 · May 19

@cmuben
Tepper does stamd out but I'm not sure it's worth it since I want to work in Boston in a non IB, MBB or FAANG job.
True about the MS in Finance but I'm more interested in an MBA Program.

Tepper vs. BU($$$) vs. BC($$) for an MBA?

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