Regional vs Big Name National MBA: The MBA Recruiters Weigh In

If you're considering an MBA school, should you shoot for the big names or stay regional? We're doing a show on that very question at MBA Podcaster. I've been talking to folks at regional schools, but also to consultants.
Recently, I talked with Caroline Ceniza-Levine and Connie Thanasoulis, Co-Founders of the recruiting firm SixFigureStart. It's a career coaching firm helping Gen Y students and young professionals launch their careers. They have opposing opinions.
Caroline maintains there are many reasons for regional schools -- mostly, that students resonate with the area and with the school's specialties, and that it's affordable.
Connie spent most of her career recruiting from higher ranked schools. She says these big-name schools position students with their very active career services departments. Big companies consider those schools a target for the positions they want to fill. Connie says when she ran campus recruiting for Merrill-Lynch, 75% came from the big-name schools, and the other 25% came from a blend of other schools, students who made their way. But they all earned $95K base. Nice.
Caroline says the thought that the school that you attend will dictate your future income is incorrect. Check out some of today's millionaires -- many are high school dropouts. She says if you know how to look for a job, you'll be able to penetrate the big companies.
Given the choice of a regional school or a big-name, Connie would choose a big school. She says the alumni base is huge, there is great access to professors with prestigious backgrounds, and the engine at the big school will serve you well your entire career. Caroline says you should make your decision on what is best for you. Survey the advantages -- she would choose a regional school, and that decision, for many students, could be based on financial, academic, environmental or geographic reasons.
Caroline says "Make your choice on what is best for you, own your choice and be empowered about moving your career forward." To which Connie says, "Well said, Caroline."

Rice vs the Big Name B-Schools

In an upcoming show for MBA Podcaster, we'll be comparing regional schools with the Big Name B-Schools. So today, I talked with Sean Ferguson, Associate Dean of Degree Programs at the Jones Graduate School of Management at Rice University. Elegant and eloquent guy.
Ferguson says Rice does well as a regional school at a top twenty national university. Its largest alumni base outside of Houston is New York, followed by DC/Maryland/Virginia, and then Dallas. He points out that Texas has the fifteenth-largest economy in the world.
Ferguson says for B-students who are deciding between regional schools or the big name B-schools, recognize whether you know what you want.
"If you want to do finance," Ferguson says he tells students,"I don't think there are ten better schools to do Finance than Rice. If you want to do Energy, there aren't two or three schools better than Rice to do Energy or Entrepreneurship."
Another thing to consider -- big name schools are less likely to pay the freight. Those regional schools might just give you a scholarship, and your ultimate ROI will come much faster.
Regarding regional schools, Ferguson says "You can't be all things to all people, because you don't have the scale." And he says a recruiter won't bring a whole team down for 120-people, but Dallas-based companies might.
Overall, if you choose carefully, he says "Many regional schools stack up just as well with the big boys."

Which B-School for you? Regional or Big Name? We Talk to Simon in Rochester

Ah the value of a small school! I’m doing interviews for our show on MBA Podcaster.com to answer the question of whether students should go to regional business schools or the big name schools. Yet, again, I hear that the personal attention students get at the smaller regional schools outweighs the glitz of the brand.

This time it is Greg MacDonald, the Executive Director of Admissions at Simon Graduate School of Business Administration in Rochester, New York. MacDonald says students looking at regional B-schools will find constants such as specialized reputations and tighter personal relationships with faculty.

He says Simon’s reputation is in finance and accounting. What Simon teaches, he says, isn’t trendy, and doesn’t change with the times.

Their placement ratio is about 93% at ninety days after graduation. Like other schools, Simon expects that, in this rough economy, it will drop. However, MacDonald predicts Simon with weather the immediate storm. He says smaller schools like Simon don’t rely on the program hiring of the brand schools – as in, particular companies guaranteeing they will hire a specific number of grads. At the regional schools, the personal relationships with company recruiters bode well in tougher times. MacDonald advises students check to see what the average salaries are ten years past graduation, and the industries alumni gravitate toward. That will give you good information to extrapolate whether the regional – or brand – school is the B-school for you.

Stay tuned for our show on MBA Podcaster. We’ll let you know when it’s available for listening. Please feel free to comment or ask questions here in the interim.