The Boston Vs New York Full-Time MBA Battle

Whether it’s Yankees vs. Red Sox or the Puritans against the Dutch, Boston and New York have always been two cities famous for being at odds with each other. But put their cultural and historic differences aside and you’ll find one big commonality between the two Northeast cities: Both metros are also known as top locations for prospective MBAs looking to earn an advanced business degree full-time.

Like the cities themselves, the full-time MBA offerings in Boston and New York have their differences and similarities. We’ll take a look a handful of top MBA programs in both metros and breakdown how the programs and cities compare to each other.

Location:

We’ll start with location, location, location.

New York City is Metropolis: Arguably the most bustling city in the country, NYC is is the capital of the business world. More Fortune 500 companies are headquartered in NYC than in any other city. The Big Apple is not only home to Wall Street and the world’s largest financial institutions, but also media, marketing and advertising companies. However, New York is an enormous city and expensive to live in, so it may not be for everyone.

North of New York, Boston is the largest city in New England and is often considered the academic, economic and cultural center of the entire region. Boston is also considered top college town for its numerous esteemed colleges and universities. Lots of that talent sticks too: Forbes ranks the city as one of the best places for business and careers.

Programs:

As the “World’s Business Capital”, New York is home to top finance programs, concentrations and specializations. That’s really important to note: Even as MBAs are becoming increasingly popular in other industries, finance is still the biggest MBA job sector and accounts for 22 percent of all MBA jobs, according to the 2014/15 QS TopMBA.com Jobs and Salary Trends Report.

Full-time MBA Programs in New York City include:

• Stern School of Business – New York University
• Gabelli School of Business – Fordham University
• Columbia Business School
• Zicklin School of Business – Baruch College

What stands out about these programs? A Columbia MBA opens up countless career options and is sure to pay off in the long run: The average starting salaries for Columbia MBAs is $104,000. Meanwhile, Stern’s MBA curriculum gives students tons of flexibility, and allows degree seekers to choose one or two MBA specializations, NYU allows up to three specializations from 20 plus options. Both Gabelli and Zicklin’s full-time programs feature cohort-based structures.

Meanwhile, many of Boston’s MBA programs immerse students into hands-on global experiences, allowing for students to take part in study abroad and networking opportunities with business executives in other countries. Also, Bostons has some of the finest entrepreneurship programs for MBAs, according to the New York Times.

Full-time MBA programs in Boston include:

• Sloan School of Management – MIT
• Harvard Business School
• Carroll School of Management – Boston College
• Questrom School of Business – Boston University
• D’Amore-McKim School of Business – Northeastern University
• Sawyer Business School – Suffolk University

Boston’s top two business schools—MIT Sloan and Harvard Business School—are two of the most prestigious schools in the world. Sloan’s full-time MBA features three distinct MBA Tracks (Enterprise Management, Entrepreneurship and Innovation, and Finance), while Harvard’s program requires global studies and a trip abroad. Harvard Business School boasts eight global research centers in Buenos Aires, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Shanghai, Mumbai, Istanbul, Paris and Palo Alto.

Cost:

The average tuition costs of the four NYC full-time MBA programs listed above comes in at around $49,000 per year. In Boston, the numbers aren’t too different: The average tuition costs of the six Boston full-time MBA programs listed above comes in at around $50,300 per year. A full-time MBA isn’t cheap, but the doors it can open makes the investment worth it.

Jobs:

Which brings us to jobs! Many of the top-25 jobs in Boston require an MBA degree. MBA degree holders in Boston are among the highest paid salaries in the nation. Within College Choice’s top-ten MBA programs in Boston, the highest new salary pay is $131,000.

According to Business Insider, New York and Boston are also home to the schools with the highest job placement rates. Columbia comes in first place with a 93 percent job placement rate.

Students begin crafting their network and community within the business world the minute they arrive at Columbia, thanks in part to the school’s cluster system, which places first-year students in “clusters” of 65 to 70 people who take all their core classes together. Columbia also counts some of the greatest minds in finance among its alumni, including Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett and former Bank of America executive Sallie Krawcheck.

MIT Sloan also features a 93 percent job placement rate, and also received rave reviews from Business Insider:

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is not only the best college in America, but it’s also home to one of the best business schools. The Sloan School of Management, which celebrated its 100-year anniversary last year, offers three MBA tracks: enterprise management, entrepreneurship and innovation and finance.

Sloan reported that 2014 graduates accepted job offers at companies like Adobe, Microsoft, Google and Facebook, and 7.4 percent of grads went on to start their own businesses.

Conclusion:

While Boston and New York City have their differences, both are top destinations for Prospective MBAs. With tons of top-notch programs and two of the finest cities one could ever want to live in, these metros stand out when it comes to full-time MBA offerings.

regions: Boston / New York City

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