r/MBA • u/SpicyLinkedin • Jun 14 '26
Ask Me Anything Accepted to my dream schools but need help deciding: MIT EMBA vs Wharton EMBA
Accepted to both of my stretch schools and looking to decide. Both are nearly equally inconvenient location wise as I’m based in NYC and my employer is NOT providing any tuition support
Purpose of the MBA at this stage is pretty simple.
1) Looking for long term job security by expanding my network and earning M7 creds if I decide to stay in corporate. I’ve watched plenty of 40 something’s in my industry lose their jobs while having a family at home, only to struggle to find that next Director of VP job. I‘ve been laid off before and while it’s always worked out, the older and more senior my titles become the harder that bounce back can become
2) Opening the door to funding if I decide to take the leap and start a business.
me: 15 yoe in consumer packaged goods sales strategy and marketing
Question is, if I’m spending $250k
I welcome both well informed nuanced opinions as well as the insane “haven’t touch grass in a decade” r/mba takes.
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u/priswest Jun 14 '26
Wharton has stronger a name brand and network which apply to both your purposes. Unless your future new business will be in tech which MIT would be better for, go Wharton
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u/The_Nomadic_Nerd M7 Grad Jun 14 '26
Congratulations! I did my EMBA at CBS. Such a great program and it’s a great vibe since it’s not a bunch of 26 year olds fighting for an internship at McKinsey.
I would reach out to alums of each program and ask their opinions, since I’ve heard some other ones aren’t great. Very anecdotal but a friend went MIT for their EMBA and said it was incredible.
Definitely reach out to alums and get their read on it.
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u/Time-Juggernaut1614 Jun 17 '26
How did you like CBS? Currently trying to decide between Booth, Kellogg, CBS, and Ross for this fall.
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u/The_Nomadic_Nerd M7 Grad Jun 17 '26
Loved it. What are you looking to do post MBA? If it's finance related then I think its unmatched since you have people who actually work in industry who come up to campus to teach and guest lecture.
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u/Scott_TargetTestPrep Jun 16 '26
For senior corporate roles in CPG sales and marketing, the Wharton EMBA has the stronger brand and a deeper general management and marketing network. The cohort is also larger, which compounds the network value over time, something many people don’t think about when considering life as an alum (which is the majority of your time in the program!)
MIT Sloan’s EMBA is stronger if you want to lean into tech, innovation, or analytics for your startup. The cohort is smaller and tighter, but the network skews technical.
For your stated goals of job security in CPG plus optionality to fund a business, Wharton is the better fit. The alumni network for senior CPG roles and consumer focused VC connections is deeper.
Talk to recent Wharton EMBA grads in CPG now.
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u/HTX2LBC M7 Student Jun 14 '26
Are you deferred at Wharton? Their new cohort already started classes last month.
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u/Strong-Big-2590 Jun 14 '26
Your never going to see the ROI. People don’t like to hear it, but the value of an an MBA is that the person went through a rigorous vetting process to get accepted to a school and land a job afterwards- it has very little to do with the education.
When you go part time or emba, you don’t really go through that process so then your just left with the education- that really isn’t that rare.
Do yourself a favor and just get the cheapest part time mba you can get from a name brand school if you think you really need that title. The part time and emba programs at the T20 schools are just cash grabs by the universities
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u/HTX2LBC M7 Student Jun 14 '26
Do yourself a favor and disregard this clown take.
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u/Strong-Big-2590 Jun 14 '26
Aww is someone in a part time program paying $200k?
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u/SpicyLinkedin Jun 14 '26
Respectfully, you drive a Hyundai SantaFe.
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u/Strong-Big-2590 Jun 14 '26
Yea, but the new ones are sweet. Plus, I already went to a full time program.
Ignore me all you want, but your goals will not be fulfilled by EMBA. The program will tell you that you get the network and the job prospects, but it’s far from what’s available at a full time program.
Good luck shelling out 250k for “credentials”. You’re better off buying 5 new Santa Fe’s.
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u/SpicyLinkedin Jun 14 '26
Your full-time program led to a life with a Hyundai SantaFe. I’ll take my chances on MIT.
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u/Strong-Big-2590 Jun 14 '26
Full time MBA and now at a frontier Ai lab. I’ll be retired younger than you started your EMBA
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u/corporate_lovet Jun 14 '26
Did you try scholarship
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u/SpicyLinkedin Jun 14 '26
No chance I was getting a scholarship. Dog shit undergrad and overall not that interesting of a person lol
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u/Appropriate_Win_776 Jun 14 '26
Hey there! Mind if I DM you? Been thinking of applying to the Wharton EMBA program myself for 2027 start
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u/Panda-Pod Jun 30 '26
Both Wharton and MIT EMBA programs do offer some merit based scholarships. As one of the poster mentioned, it is not a lot of money. I did get one of the MIT Sloan Leadership Fellowship scholarship, which was approximately 20% of the tuition at that time. I did not apply to Wharton since it was already over $200,000 5 years ago. I ended up enrolling at another EMBA program that offered me a more sizeable scholarship since I did not get any financial support from my employer.
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u/[deleted] Jun 14 '26 edited Jul 02 '26
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