<p>A little bit info about me: I am 22 years old from Indonesia. I graduated from USC majoring in Business Administration last May. Currently, I am working as a project manager in a real estate company in San Francisco. My professional goal is to come back to Indonesia to start a company.</p>
<p>So, here is the thing: I got admitted into Columbia University's MSc. in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution. I also got admitted into NYU's MSc. in Real Estate Development. Both programs are for Spring 2013.</p>
<p>I am very confused and do not know what to do. For me, Columbia has more respected reputation than NYU. It ranks higher too. However, what interests me from NYU is the program. I am really passionate about real estate.</p>
<p>I also like the program from Columbia. However, if I want to be a businessman or entrepreneur, will all the negotiation, mediation, and conflict resolution classes be very useful? FYI, I am able to take 2 electives from Columbia Business School, which is very great for me.</p>
<p>Can you guys share your opinions? Which one should I attend? What factors should I consider? Has anyone take MSc in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution? If yes, can you share your experience? </p>
<p>Thank you very much, guys. I really appreciate it.</p>
<p>Columbia has the brand name to the more casual person but on the international stage in elite finance and other areas NYU is just as strong, if not more so. You will need to work with finance if you are in real estate development. Furthermore, your passion is Real Estate and a school can’t teach passion. You want a school to teach you how to use your passion to be successful. NYU will be filled with people just like you and you will feed off of them. Some will be well connected and others won’t be but they all will help you, just as you help them.</p>
<p>Don’t get caught up on the “Ivy” label. If Harvey-Mudd’s engineering student got caught up on going Ivy, they wouldn’t be making the highest salaries in the country, same with #2 Cal-Tech and #3 MIT.</p>
<p>School is not about what school is best, it is about what school is best for you. Based on what you said, NYU is the right decision.</p>
<p>Both are seemingly great opportunities. Details of each program are needed as well as more detailed information about your career plans. For example, the real estate principals taught & practiced here in the US may not be aplicable in your country.</p>
<p>Tough call here. First-Both are excellent schools. Columbia is considered to have the better reputation, but NYU has a fine rep. One probably shouldn’t let a school’s reputation get in the way of receiving the education that you want.</p>
<p>Having said that – Are the principles of Real Estate Development taught at NYU relevant to the Indonesia Real Estate Market? Will the Columbia Negotiation and Dispute Resolution program teach you general negotiating business skills, or will it teach you how to be a US mediator? I think you have to look into both programs and see which will provide useful skills when you return home.</p>
<p>You may want to ask this in the Parents Forum or the Grad School Forum. Change the title to read something like “MS Real Estate at NYU or MS Conflict Res at Columbia?”</p>
<p>Grad school is very different from undergrad, and you need advice from people who know about that.</p>