[Program Fitting]Choices: what to do?

http://forums.businessweek.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?msg=74410.1&nav=messages&webtag=bw-bschools
Q:
I need some advice. I've been accepted to two schools. One is a low Tier 1 / high Tier 2 program that is fairly selective, and the other is a mid/low tier 2 program that is a bit less selective. I'm struggling to decide which one to pick because of several factors. If I based my decision on ranking alone, I would pick the Tier 1/Tier 2 school. But I am also taking into account the cost of attending, which is much higher for the higher ranked school, and the surrounding atmophere, for which the lower ranked school has the edge.Because the tier 1/2 school is expensive, I would have quite a bit of debt after graduating from there. The lower ranked school is much more affordable and I wouldn't have any debt after attending. Both schools have good programs, with the tier 1/2 school being a bit stronger. What do you think I should do? Go with the higher ranked school and take on the debt, or the lower ranked school in the better environment and graduate debt free?

A:

As an MBA program consultant and career manager, pretty much agree with Socovich that a good school brand can not only attract better faculty, resources, talented students, networking or recruiters, but also the commitment in the academic environment will be much higher and tougher that students and faculty are more dedicated to more competitive business expertise. Better guest speakers, better consulting clubs and entrepreneurial clubs with stronger funding, better program design...etc.

And Venture Capital, which is critical to entrepreneurs with very limited time, will also spend more time and $ on better opportunities created by more committed communities. 85K is a pretty average spending on MBA investment. Think about it, how good can it be if an MBA program only charges you 25K?? The faculty and facilities must be really low quality if you see the average salary of b-school professors.

It's not a big deal to have a 85K debt from a decent school, it'll only be your starting salary on the 1st yr if you have such a competitive training and good school name. Besides, almost a half of students are in the same boat, you'll see students with higher dept will naturally commit deeper in studying since they know they have to face the reality right after school. You'll earn it back fairly soon after a more competitive training and a good school title.

Although you have the entrepreneurial dream, normally it's fairly hard to start your own business right after your school. You might need a job to buffer your long-term plan, and start your business a couple of years later. Then your first job after school will be critical. You'll have a much better chance when you've been through a more competitive training, while the school name really matters when you're seeking a job.