<p>Well i am a senior in high school and i have been accepted to many schools and i have narrowed it down to the University of FLorida and Cornell University. I was wondering what you guys think would be the better place to go for undergrad b degree. If i go to UF i can go for practically free and have no loans whereas if i go to Cornell i will probably accumulate a good amount of loans when i graduate. When applying to get an MBA would it be better to have a higher gpa at UF or a lower gpa Cornell. ANy help is greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Your GPA is pretty much irrelevant for MBA admission (unless you GPA is terrible like a 1.2). Unlike law school, MBA admissions at top schools is very subjective and things such as leadership potential and quality work experience are far more important than a high GPA. </p>
<p>That said, if your looking to get into a top MBA, it is important that you get some good work experience, and in that regards, Cornell would give you far better opportunities than Florida.</p>
<p>I think most people are going to tell you that its a no-brainer and that you should go to Cornell. I think theres good reasons for that advice. But I think you really need to decide what it is you really want. </p>
<p>At the end of the day, if you are completely focused on getting a top 5 MBA, you really should go to Cornell. As alluded to before your academic performance in college is really only one factor in MBA admissions. What's really important is your work experience, and its going to be easier to get one of the "traditional MBA feeder jobs" (Banking, GE FMP, whatever) coming from Cornell.</p>
<p>Just to clarify. There are multiple kids who did undergraduate at UF in every HBS class. If you do well in school at UF, get a good job, do well in that job, get promoted a few times, score well on the GMAT theres no reason you couldn't end up in any Graduate Business program. Going to UF doesn't close any doors for you, it just makes things a little tougher.</p>
<p>If you are entirely focused on an elite MBA at this young age, I do have to ask you why. What do you want to do with your MBA? Do you really want to work on wall street? If the answer to that question is yes, then go to Cornell. There are recruiting opportunities out of undergrad that just aren't going to be there at UF. But if you want to work in marketing, corporate finance, or as in accountant, you might ultimately find you don't need an MBA. If you do well in school at UF you will be able to get a job doing one of those functions at a respected company, especially in the Florida. In fact if you want to live in Florida after you graduate, the UF name might carry more weight than Cornell name. </p>
<p>Once you get your first job its really up to you to determine how successful your career will be. At the end of the day, smart driven people will be successful no matter where they go to school. It's hard to say where your career will be in 10 years. Perhaps by that time you will be so successful you wouldn't dream of going back for an MBA. And if you do at some point decide an MBA is necessary to advance your career, you can cross that bridge when you get there.</p>
<p>That was really a convoluted way of saying this. If you love UF, go to school there an have the best four years of your life and don't worry about about Cornell being more prestigious. You can be happy and successful coming from either school. On the other hand, if you love Cornell go there. You have two great choices.</p>
<p>Where you go to college is obviously going to make a big difference in your life for the next four years. If you absolutely have your heart set on a career path (like Investment Banking) that you'd have a much harder time getting to from UF, than go to Cornell. But otherwise I think you should be focused on other factors when making your decision about where to go to school than which program might set you up better for an MBA down the line.</p>
<p>By the way, I didn't go there, but I think UF is a fantastic place to go to school. And the thought of massive student loans just scares me...</p>
<p>If you got into Cornell hotel school, I'd go there for sure. If not, Florida is the right choice since work experience is what really counts. There will be plenty of good jobs available.</p>