WashU (Olin) vs Johns Hopkins (Carey) vs UC Irvine (Merage)

Thank you! No scholarships or anything like that, money is not a huge issue/factor in this decision, but UCI/UCD would obviously save me some money considering I have family in both areas I can stay with.

You are spot on! Focusing on starting my business/venture in the the healthcare sector is my plan A, and if this does not work out (as a plan B) I’ll likely work within the technology sector in some business capacity (HR/project management/etc.).

Worked for SpaceX in my last role! But yeah struggling to figure out whether a decent school like UCI with networking opportunities in the state I plan to live with would provide greater value than a more prestigious school like WashU with a better b-school/parent brand, or even Johns Hopkins which is a newer b-school( unranked) but top-tier parent brand.

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Thanks so much for the answers. I just finished work so I can actually reply to some posts. Sorry about the wait.

While some of these programs are decently ranked within top 40 and others may be un ranked, there are some other considerations.

Obviously John Hopkins is a huge name in healthcare and would allow you to have access to a number of medical students, hospitals, hospital administrators and give you credibility. We had another applicant a few years ago who is choosing between Hopkins and top 20 mba program.

Also, if we were choosing between John Hopkins and Harvard or Stanford, I think we could talk about rank and brand power many of the programs you mentioned are on the small size so they have fewer alumni and carry much less gravitational weight.

Having been through the recruiting process and seeing how students from Sloan and Kellogg are fighting for their jobs, I can tell you that your personal experience and brands from previous employers will have much stronger impact on your interview chances than just the schools name because if there’s a good job in the area, most of your classmates will also apply for it and if it’s a really good job then guys from UCLA will also apply and if it’s really really good then UC Berkeley grad will apply and Stanford. Unless you were the top dog or top 10 recruiting in your backyard, brand is cheap.

So it’s a bit of a pickle. If you are really wanting to go to healthcare, I think it’s a pretty clear choice with John Hopkins.

I had the same time it’s in my Ris your choice with John Hopkins because some startups do not succeed and it would be easier to stay in California with the new network and recruit there close to the Irvine or local campus. I would pick California schools in case you are planning to get a corporate job. Unless that corporate job is in healthcare 😂

In terms of learning and personal development, I don’t think you’ll have that much difference at any of these programs. Having great and amazing professors is indeed super helpful but any program you go to, including Stanford and Harvard, you will have crappy professors. I’m serious. Most personal learning comes from stress and pushing your boundaries and discomfort and you get plenty of that in any of these programs.

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And I’m sorry, I completely forgot to mention one more thing. It is best to go to school in the area where you’re planning to work. I’m not sure if this helps or muddy up the water but it’s really not helpful to go to school in St. Louis for example and then move to Southern California because there’s not gonna be a lot of St. Louis alumni hanging around willing to lend you a hand. But keep in mind, those alumni and those hands are valid for your first job. After you get your first job, your second job will depend almost exclusively on your first job

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brother, a fellow WashU alum here. BB is spot on with the recommendation. WashU is a great school, I loved my experiences and it was more than anything I imagined. But having known your career goal of starting up a healthcare company in California, I would go to a school in that region and build my connections. Start-ups are hard, no academic foundation can prepare you for starting up. I think I should mention - WashU also has one of the best medical programs in the country at #5 USnews.