Why so difficult…

Why has making a decision been so difficult. This is because there are so many thoughts that run through your head, a lot of which have their own merits.

Relationship: I definitely have a stronger affinity with Jones than with McCombs. Throughout the recruiting process, I have felt Jones have gone out of their way to make me feel very valued. A lot of the communication has been with their Director of Admissions who has been wonderful so far. This has not been the case with McCombs. There are however others who will argue that McCombs have a much bigger pool of applicants and as a result cannot provide the same level of interaction. I have however had regular contact with Ross who have a large pool of applicants and are a lot more personable than McCombs.

Location: A lot of people will tell you Austin is a more interesting city than Houston with lots to do especially for a young couple (yes I still consider myself young). You then get others who tell you that Houston has the headquarters of more Fortune 500 companies than Austin. I also mentioned in an earlier blog the fact that Houston is the centre of the Oil & Gas industry in the US which could prove important for me. I know my fiance will prefer settling in Austin but she has had a ‘frank’ conversation with me where she made it clear she will be equally happy with either decision.

Living costs: Austin is a more expensive city than Houston. I have to take this into consideration as I will be taking out a significant loan to fund the program. This has not been as key a factor in my decision making but has been something I have thought about.

Program Strength: This is another point I have raised previously. McCombs has a slightly better ranking than Jones for its MBA program. I however know that Jones has strong Energy and Finance programs which are my interests and therefore important to me.

I could go on about other factors, recruitment, students, experiential learning but I won’t as I do not believe there was that much between the two schools from conversations with current/past students and from my research. The two main factors that made me choose Jones are the quality of genuine interaction I have had both with the admissions office and students and their location as the energy hub.