Stanford or Yale? Forum

[Fortuitous]

I got my seat deposit extended for a few more days and would really appreciate your feedback!

-I plan to apply for the JD/MBA program at Stanford, but have no relevant experience and may not be accepted. I am interested in Stanford's PhD program in Organizational Behavior, and will be applying to the program this summer. The MBA/JD program at SLS is the one big advantage (besides weather) that I see at Stanford over Yale.
-I would like to eventually become a professor, which is the one major advantage that Yale seems to have over SLS. Although Stanford claims their yield (percentage of people that try to become profs that ultimately succeed) is better than Yale's for law teaching, YLS is the clear leader in the field. If I choose Yale, I plan to take classes in Organizational Behavior and Industrial and Organizational Psychology and to potentially earn a masters in Social Psychology.
-I feel like my shot at law teaching will be better coming out of Yale without a dual degree, whereas feel more pressure to become an "expert" on my area of interest if I go to SLS. Is this intuition misguided?
-I have always wanted to live on the West Coast, but do not necessarily want to settle there. I am single and am not bound to a particular region.

Thanks, TLS!

[Mal Reynolds]

[Systematic1]

+1

[Fortuitous]

???
Did not apply to the MBA program earlier at Stanford because JD students appear to have much better odds of acceptance than standard MBA candidates. Also, my JD is my top priority.

[PMan99]

If teaching is #1 priority go to Yale.

[cidergirl]

Stanford might give you a better shot at becoming well versed in what you want to do. I feel like at Stanford you can pretty much chart your own course. I feel like Yale has more law profs for self-selection reasons...but I guess the "rarity" principle that applies to firm hiring (according to Stanford people at least) probably doesn't extend to law teaching?

[Mad Hatter]

Not sure why you aren't considering the JD/MBA at Yale. They have a 3-year program, and your chances of getting in are exponentially better than Stanford GSB (I'm assuming you have a 740+ GMAT btw). I'm not sure that an MBA will really help you much in your quest for academia, but regardless I don't think Yale should be penalized for lack of such a program.

[quiver]

I would like to eventually become a professor

Yale. Without a strong preference either way, yes, it is that simple.

[southwick]

PMed.

[Geneva]

Not sure why you aren't considering the JD/MBA at Yale. They have a 3-year program, and your chances of getting in are exponentially better than Stanford GSB (I'm assuming you have a 740+ GMAT btw). I'm not sure that an MBA will really help you much in your quest for academia, but regardless I don't think Yale should be penalized for lack of such a program.

I would give my eye teeth to do this. Just saying.
174 LSAT means you should be able to get a 740 GMAT, I imagine. LSAT is generally regarded as a more difficult exam...

[Mad Hatter]

Not sure why you aren't considering the JD/MBA at Yale. They have a 3-year program, and your chances of getting in are exponentially better than Stanford GSB (I'm assuming you have a 740+ GMAT btw). I'm not sure that an MBA will really help you much in your quest for academia, but regardless I don't think Yale should be penalized for lack of such a program.

I would give my eye teeth to do this. Just saying.
174 LSAT means you should be able to get a 740 GMAT, I imagine. LSAT is generally regarded as a more difficult exam...

Nope, they test very different things. One tests logic, the other tests grammar/sentence structure and (more importantly) math.

[dbt]

Not sure why you aren't considering the JD/MBA at Yale. They have a 3-year program, and your chances of getting in are exponentially better than Stanford GSB (I'm assuming you have a 740+ GMAT btw). I'm not sure that an MBA will really help you much in your quest for academia, but regardless I don't think Yale should be penalized for lack of such a program.

Yea. If you're interested in becoming a professor, I'm not sure why you're as interested in getting an MBA too. That's a pretty rare combination at least from what I've seen among YLS professors. More common to get a masters or PhD in something academic.

Even if you are thinking JD/MBA at YLS vs. JD/MBA at SLS, I'd do the former because you're interested most in becoming a professor, and as Mad Hatter notes, Stanford MBA is tough to get into, definitely more than Yale MBA.

[Geist13]

so if you go to stanford you plan on earning a JD/PhD/MBA? Tone it down on the coffee/cocaine duder.

[fisherb]

Sounds like you have good reasons to go to both. Did you visit each? Go with your gut

[Geneva]

so if you go to stanford you plan on earning a JD/PhD/MBA? Tone it down on the coffee/cocaine duder.

I think the MBA/PhD program for this is combined at Stanford, from what I recall at ASW. Hm, you could have been the girl that asked the question about this program...
but really, I would go with Yale simply because it will take you far less time to complete both degrees. you can summer on the West Coast.

[hdivschool]

You should also consider specific faculty in your specialty. Some faculty may be better mentors, while some may be inaccessible.

[abl]

Stanford MBA is far better than Yale MBA. I'd choose Stanford--most of the evidence points to Yale's advantage in academia being more self-selection than anything (% of those interested getting a spot's a good way of looking at that given that both S and Y have enough people interested in academia to prevent there to be too much variation year-to-year), and you seem to generally prefer Stanford otherwise. Your chances of academia are going to be shaped FAR more by how you do at the respective schools than which one you go to, and if Stanford's a better fit the chances are you will do far better. Also, JD/PHD out of Stanford easily trumps JD out of Yale for academia. I'm less sure about the JD/MBA path to academia, but the difference between Stanford's MBA and Yale's isn't really that close.

[Geneva]

Stanford MBA is far better than Yale MBA. I'd choose Stanford--most of the evidence points to Yale's advantage in academia being more self-selection than anything (% of those interested getting a spot's a good way of looking at that given that both S and Y have enough people interested in academia to prevent there to be too much variation year-to-year), and you seem to generally prefer Stanford otherwise. Your chances of academia are going to be shaped FAR more by how you do at the respective schools than which one you go to, and if Stanford's a better fit the chances are you will do far better. Also, JD/PHD out of Stanford easily trumps JD out of Yale for academia. I'm less sure about the JD/MBA path to academia, but the difference between Stanford's MBA and Yale's isn't really that close.

the only concern i would have here is: OP "intends to apply" for the MBA/PHD at Stanford.

[bdubs]

You probably won't get into the GSB MBA program without relevant WE. They do admit applicants without W/E but their acceptance rate is amazingly low (5% for all applicants, and probably a hell of a lot lower for those with no WE). I don't know what kind of softs you have to get into Stanford and Yale with what appears to be good but not great grades (are you a URM?). It's possible that you have the kind of background that Stanford would admit without WE, but I wouldn't choose my law school based on that minuscule chance.

You might have a shot at GSB's PhD programs though, depending on what your background is, how good your GRE scores are, and who your recommenders are. I wouldn't choose Yale over Stanford if you want to teach in a subject like Org. Behavior (but then again wtf are you getting a JD for?). Chances are >80% at either Yale or Stanford that you won't be teaching after 5 years anyway, so you should probably choose the school with a few other factors in mind.

[Geneva]

I wouldn't choose Yale over Stanford if you want to teach in a subject like Org. Behavior (but then again wtf are you getting a JD for?). .

Good point. Given your career goals, why are you getting a JD?

[soj]

Panelists at the Stanford Admit Weekend implied it's very easy to get into GSB as an SLS student seeking a dual degree program. But I feel like panelists at every law school ASW tend to be successful people who think being successful is easier than it really is, so perhaps it's not that easy. I'd try to get in touch with some current students to see how it really is.

[Geneva]

But I feel like panelists at every law school ASW tend to be successful people who think being successful is easier than it really is, so perhaps it's not that easy.

[JannaV]

Stanford's offerings are downright remarkable, and are only getting better. For me, the atmosphere in Palo Alto is immeasurably superior to that in New Haven. At a certain point you have to ask yourself: Where would I be happiest? Ultimately, that is more important than anything else. Good luck with your decision!

[willwilliams1334]

flip a coin

[Geneva]

flip a coin

seriously?