Certificates, Stanford vs Cornell

Cornell is Ivy League. Stanford is Pac 10. Need I say more? :banana::banana::banana::banana:

 

The Ivy League is simply an athletic conference. There are plenty of schools outside the Ivy League that are as good or better than a number of Ivies. Stanford is on par with the top Ivies; Harvard, Yale, Princeton. I would choose Stanford Vanderbilt, Duke, Georgetown or Notre Dame over Cornell, Brown and Dartmouth. If I had the option to attend Stanford, Harvard, Yale or Princeton the deciding factor would really be the financial aid package. I feel that's the only way to really differentiate those four schools for most programs. Stanford is the only school that HBS loses students to on a regular basis.

 

This means that Stanford's football team can crush Cornell's team.

 

It is hard to say if using the money toward an MBA is better for you. It would depend a lot on your situation. If you are planning to do the MBA part time, I would probably lean toward starting that now. Even being in an MBA program might help a little bit to land a job you want more.

Between the Stanford and Cornell certs though, I would go with the Stanford graduate certificate. The reputation is a little better, but that would not be the deciding factor for me. More important would be that 1) the programs look way more interesting, rigorous, and suited to you, 2) that you might be able to transfer the credits or complete a MS at Stanford if you decided to, and 3) that it might help you slightly in MBA admissions if you do well in the classes.

 

Do these professional certificates actually add much value? I might be mistaken. But I thought anyone who is willing to pay for them could pursue the certificates.

 

I don't know how much value they add. My guess is that it would be a nice complement to a resume, but that it is not going to set someone apart by itself.

I believe it is true that anyone who wants to can pursue the certs. However, I don't think that makes them meaningless. You still need to complete the courses and I assume Stanford is going to uphold certain standards. So, I would assume if you had a graduate certificate from them that you would have some level of proficiency in the topic.

 

I know this thread is a couple of months old, but the OP might want to look at the Tuck Online Bridge Program at Dartmouth. It's designed for people who don't have a business undergrad degree and PhDs. cost is $3000. If you only wanted to do the finance portion that would only cost $800.

 

Hi jenleo

I hope you would have by now completed your MBA from stanford. I would like to know if the cretificate of strategic decision and risk management is worth in terms of opportunities.and adding value to our knowledge.

Thanks in advance

jeetesh