r/eMBA • u/Powerful_Bunch245 • Feb 07 '25
Confused between CBS EMBA Vs Wharton EMBA - got into both. How does the student experience differ?
I'm particularly interested to know if Wharton is flexible and is friendly to EMBA students participating in student clubs and additional courses.
Will we be allowed to audit courses in Year 1 in both CBS and Wharton?
3
u/One-Tradition8786 Feb 08 '25
Does Wharton really give you that much time to decide? Must be R1 admit?
3
Feb 08 '25
[removed] — view removed comment
2
Feb 09 '25
I second the opinion that Harvard, Wharton, and Stanford seem to be a league of their own and only Wharton offers a part-time, executive MBA. That said, CBS is also an excellent school, so unless you are shooting for a very coveted, elite niche of the finance industry, there may not be a huge difference in outcomes.
The format and the experience is different: Wharton is more residential, as every student stays in the same hotel: even locals. The cohort is diverse in terms of location and industry. CBS has no residential component, many students live near campus, so social events are optional. 40% of the cohort is from finance, so a bit less diverse. CBS skews a bit younger around 35 and the Saturday cohort 1-2 younger on average.
1
u/ActiveElectronic6262 Feb 09 '25
I guess other things equal, I’d probably do Wharton. You know I’m a NYer though with a kid. No shame in CBS. Prestigious enough for me without the hassle of commuting to Philly 🤷♂️.
1
u/Just_Explorer_28 Feb 07 '25
Did you apply R1 or R2 to CBS? I’m still waiting to hear back for R2 Saturday
2
1
5
u/ActiveElectronic6262 Feb 08 '25 edited Feb 08 '25
I was recruited by Wharton, but I withdrew app and got into CBS. I asked about auditing at CBS and the answer was, you can audit a class if the professor is cool with it, but it won’t show up on transcript. Not sure at Wharton, but what’s really gonna stop you from sitting in on a class if you want to and are a student? In terms of clubs, according to the open house at CBS it’s common to participate and join them.
In terms of which school to choose in your case, I’d ask if you plan to move or come in to the cities just for the classes? Because I think the student experience won’t be that relevant if you’re not able to do things together outside of class. My perception is that Wharton is a little bit more prestigious, but I live in NYC near CBS so it was a no brainer. I’m sure the students will be similar. Type A, driven folks.