Emory Goizueta Scholars vs UChicago Economics

College Search & Selection
1

Hey, I really need help deciding between these two schools. My most important concern is 1. Which will get me into the better MBA program and 2. Finances, but that definitely comes 2nd to MBA. Thank you!

Emory (Goizueta) vs. UChicago Economics

I am favoring Emory because I want to have enough money for grad school (MBA). I want to go probably into consulting or investment banking.

Emory (Goizueta Scholar):

Intended major: finance inside the business school.

Pros:

FULL tuition and fees scholarship (going to be approx 80k room and board for all 4 years) so the cheapest option

Apparently very beautiful campus

Got into very selective Goizueta Scholars program (4-6 scholars every year)

Will get personally advised by the Dean of the BBA program frequently because of scholar status

More likely to get very good internships and leadership roles at clubs and organizations since being a ‘scholar’ is very difficult and is like being a BIG fish in a small pond. Will have much better opportunities than a typical Goizueta student

Access to any class I want, even if fully booked, unlike a regular Goizueta student

Strong community between the few other Goizueta scholars

Apparently can get jobs at the TOP consulting firms and investment banks after graduation because of the heavy weight the ‘scholar’ name carries. So, supposedly can work at any firm I want.

I will do the best academically there and probably be happier than at Chicago, but not too important

Cons:

Emory does not have as good of a name as Chicago, although it seems like job placement does not suffer because of this.

Not the best college atmosphere from what I have heard but not that important

Not sure about this but I would assume although I should get similar jobs to UChicago people, I think I would have a better shot for a top MBA school if I went to Chicago because of ‘name prestige.’ Not sure about this though. MBA placement is very important to me though because I want to go to either Stanford, Harvard, or Wharton MBA.

UChicago:

Pros:

25k/year merit scholarship so 100k throughout the 4 years

Top econ program in the country

Probably best name prestige for MBA

I believe very good placement as well at investment banks/consulting firms

Would give me more variety after MBA since econ b.a. and mba looks better than just bba and mba for jobs.

Best research opportunities most likely

Cons:

Will still be 200k for 4 years because I got no financial aid, but I am appealing the decision. Although my family could use my 529 money for it, it would completely deplete my funds for MBA school, so I would either have to save after college for a couple of years which is fine or get a scholarship, or get to a good enough firm or bank where they would pay for my MBA (which is quite hard).

Very diehard academically, which I can deal with because I come from one of the most competitive high schools in the nation, so not a big deal.

Not 100% sure if job placement is as good as Emory, but probably is. Just very little info on Chicago Econ job placement but probably just as good as Emory Scholar, if not better. I have no idea so maybe someone can enlighten me.

Might not do as well academically because grade deflation and that could hurt chances for MBA

ALSO, for Chicago, I’m appealing the financial aid. Let’s say I somehow get enough money to cover tuition so it would equal the cost of Emory. Would the Goizueta Scholars Program (being a BIG FISH in a small pond) be better than Chicago in that regard (being like every other Chicago Econ student)?

2

As far as undergraduate school reputation affects MBA admission:

If relevant, admissions folks would be comparing Univ. of Chicago versus Emory Goizueta Scholar so not a significant difference with respect to MBA admissions.

As to your two concerns:

  1. Either school will be highly regarded for MBA admissions

  2. Finances are fairly clear-cut = Emory is free while the University of Chicago will cost $200,000.

The real difference between the two schools in relation to MBA admissions is in post undergraduate job placement. Which school places more at MBB or at the most elite IB banks & firms.

Also, restricting your future options to just 3 MBA programs (Stanford, Harvard, or UPenn-Wharton) is not reasonable. There is a reason that there is a grouping recognized as the M-7 or Magnificent Seven MBA Programs.

The M-7 are:

Harvard, Stanford, UPenn-Wharton, Chicago-Booth, Northwestern-Kellogg, Columbia, & MIT-Sloan.

Emory undergrad on a full ride & a Chicago-Sloan MBA could be a great combination.

Northwestern-Kellogg places extremeley well in management consulting.

Most Columbia & MIT-Sloan MBAs are able to find gainful employment as well.

As an aside: Outside of the M-7, Virginia-Darden MBAs earn a slightly higher starting base salary than do newly minted Harvard MBAs.

3

If you just were to consider these schools’ economics programs, then UC clearly would be the stronger school for you. See #4, UC, and #66, Emory, in this analysis: https://ideas.repec.org/top/top.usecondept.html. However, you would be studying business at Emory under a special scholarship designation, which might change the criteria with which you would compare your choices, depending on which program most closely matches your deeper interests. With respect to value, note that UC was recognized in this Forbes article of a few years ago: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliesportelli/2017/04/26/10-expensive-colleges-worth-every-penny-2017/.

4

@ReasonableCheff1 my daughter was accepted at University of Chicago, Barnard and Brown University and will double major in International Relations and Economics. She chose to accept the Frederick Douglass Distinguish Scholars scholarship at American over attending three schools with a much higher college ranking. Our neighbor went to the local state school and is getting his PHD from Harvard for free. In the end, grad schools are looking for talent everywhere.