<p>I have been accepted at the Yale and Cornell MBA programs for Fall 2006.</p>
<p>I know these schools aren't top 10 but are still quite good. Which program is better? I want to pursue a career in portfolio managment.</p>
<p>Help...</p>
<p>Tough one.</p>
<p>I suggest contacting the schools and see if they can put you in touch with alums who are actually doing portfolio management.</p>
<p>My own gut, based on very dated and possibly wrong information, says Cornell.</p>
<p>Portfolio management can have a very quantitative aspect, and Cornell has been strong in quantitative applications. Yale, at the time I paid attention to these things, was more geared towards the touchy-feely, and public-private partnerships.</p>
<p>You might want to look into recruiting implications. My perception is that Cornell is a strong "tier II" for almost everybody. Whereas Yale is a tier I for the particular niche areas that Yale focuses on, and is basically off the radar screen for everything else.</p>
<p>You are somewhat more likely to get into a top investment bank with Yale than Cornell, particularly for something like Public finance. But that's not what you're looking for, and portfolio management might be different in this regard for the reason I stated.</p>
<p>Then of course there's the question of where you'd want to spend the next two years. They are obviously quite different physical environments.</p>
<p>Cornell's MBA program is more established, and is in fact ranked in the top 10 according to BW. However, Yale is a relatively young program with unlimited potential and obvious networking properties. You should visit both schools and do some serious research on those two programs before deciding.</p>
<p>5-10 years ago this would have been a no-brainer for Cornell.</p>
<p>But times change.</p>
<p>Yale has since switched from awarding Master's degree in Public and Private Management (MPPM, which is accredited as both an MBA and an MPA (Master's Public Administration)) to awarding the much better recognized MBA.</p>
<p>This important change has made a noticable difference in "recruiting" on two critical levels: 1) attracting more companies to come to seek MBAs and 2) attracting a more competive student body.</p>
<p>The proof is in the pudding. Over the course of the last 5 years or so, Yale's School of Management rankings have been climbing steadily from a Top 20-25ish program to a Top 10-15 program.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Cornell's b-school has been going in the opposite direction. 10-15 years ago Cornell was arguably a Top 5 school. Over the last 5-10 years, Cornell is struggling to maintain a Top 10 position.</p>
<p>As I mentioned in another thread somewhere, I predict that Yale SOM will solidify a solid Top 10 position within the next 5 years and over the course of the next 10+ years, I can see it vying for a Top 5 spot.</p>
<p>Based on what? </p>
<p>1) Its current steadily increase in rankings (no other school has had a faster upward trend over the last 5 years)</p>
<p>2) Name / prestige. You just can't beat it with a stick. Starting with the Yale name just gives you such a fundamental edge. Will the MBA grads be HBS or Wharton quality? No. and corporate recruiters and top would be MBAs alike know this... </p>
<p>But as Yale starts breaking into some Top 10 lists (i.e. Cornell levels), where would you rather be a graduate of - Cornell or Yale - all things being equal? Still don't know? Where would you rather be a graduate of knowing that Cornell's position has slipped over time and Yale's position has been increasing? Now that its SOM has gained momentum, they are now only beginning to start leveraging the Yale name - i.e. attracting top faculty and students. It's really only a matter of time until its B-school starts acting like its other affiliated programs - does that mean that its B-school is riding on the coattails of its other more established programs? Of course! But that's the beauty and power that the Yale name possesses. In other words, if Princeton were to start a business school tomorrow, of course it would start with a huge hill to climb, but is there any doubt that over the course of the the following 10-20 years that a Princeton MBA wouldn't be worthy of the Princeton name? I for one wouldn't bet against it. Yale SOM is already in the enviable position of "getting over that initial hill".</p>
<p>3) $$$ will start flowing more steadily to the program, research, etc. The Yale network, access to $$$, endowment, etc. are already kicking into gear. Yale alums won't settle for a second rate B-school. </p>
<p>4) Watch CNBC, read the WSJ - you'll notice the frequency of which Yale SOM professors are often interviewed. Perhaps its proximity to Wall Street, perhaps its (again) the Yale name (given that a Yale MBA isn't really = to a Cornell MBA just yet), but still I am seeing far more activity and press coverage of Yale professors vs. Cornell professors... and at some point perception starts becoming reality - i.e. as Yale SOM starts gaining more legitimacy, it starts becoming a virtuous circle (which is how all elite programs begin) -> quality name -> attracts -> quality students -> attracts -> quality professors -> boosts quality name -> re-start cycle, etc. etc.</p>
<p>... Now. All of that said, Yale has a LONG way to go indeed until it starts vying for - being considered the same quality / level of HBS / Wharton / Stanford / Kellogg / MIT...</p>
<p>But Cornell? Yale's momentum alone should be enough for you to consider enrolling there.</p>
<p>If I were a betting man (and I am), I'd say that Yale's upward trend continues and that Yale SOM solidifies a position in the Top 10 over the next few years.</p>
<p>Put simply, right now you'd rather be a Cornell MBA grad. Tomorrow (and that's really what matters) you'd rather be a Yale MBA grad.</p>
<p>I would say that I would probably agree with Ivy_Grad. Yale is definitely improving rapidly.</p>
<p>However, I don't know about it entering the top 5-7 simply because I don't see any schools in the current "M7" group going away quietly into the night. I suppose it's possible as anything is possible. But it certainly wouldn't happen without a fight.</p>
<p>However, I definitely agree that Yale has momentum on its side. Top 10 in the next decade is definitely a possibility.</p>
<p>As a digression, I know a person who got into the MIT Sloan's LFM program (Sloan MBA + Master's of Science in Engineering program - the same program as the new Apprentice, Randal Pinkett, graduated from), the Northwestern MMM program (Kellogg MBA + Northwestern Master's in Eng Management), HBS, Stanford, and got waitlisted for the executive MBA program at Wharton (the so-called "Wharton West" program in San Francisco). But he got straight-up rejected from Yale.</p>
<p>Personally, Cornell is better know, but Yale is still pretty good :)</p>
<p>Fast forward 3 years later and Ivy’s prediction was spot on. Yale is a top 10 school and Cornell is in the bottom of the top 20. I don’t see Yale stopping there. In another 5 years are so I can see Yale being a solid M7 school.</p>
<p>thank you very much. (of course I posted that when my handle was Ivy_Grad).</p>
<p>prestige:
hope he took your - very prescient - advice…</p>
<p>I’m guessing you went there UG?</p>
<p>nope. no connection to Yale…</p>
<p>it’s funny because through my own and family relations i am connected to every other Ivy: Princeton, UPenn, Harvard, Brown, Columbia, Dartmouth and Cornell.</p>
<p>what is the most reliable source for mba school rankings? i see that business week still has yale ranked 24 and cornell 11. us news has yale at 10 and cornell at 17. i am interested in finance (i-banking or hedgefunds) but i dont know which is the better option</p>
<p>it’s pronounced colonel and it’s the highest rank in the military.</p>
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<p>Actually, all the top 9 business schools (from Harvard to Tuck) have momentum to progress as well. That’s Yale’s SOM’s biggest problem. I don’t see it overtaking any of the top 9 anytime now or in the near future. But I believe that it has a really good amount of potential to improve.</p>
<p>Try this [Which</a> Business School Is Right For You? - Forbes.com](<a href=“http://www.forbes.com/2009/08/04/business-school-screener-best-business-schools-09.html]Which”>Which Business School Is Right For You?)</p>