Is it crazy to turn down 3 T16 schools to go to UNC?
Profile: 35M, Asian, PhD background. Got into Darden ($40k scholarship), Yale SOM (0), and Cornell Johnson (0). Also have UNC Kenan-Flagler and Kelley, both full ride.
Career goal is pharma/healthcare LDP — not consulting, not banking, although both path earns a lot. Given my age and family situation, taking on six figures of debt for a career path seems impractical.
UNC has strong healthcare/pharma placement and solid LDP recruiting. The RTP location doesn't hurt either. But I'd be lying if I said the prestige gap doesn't nag at me a little.
For those targeting pharma LDPs specifically — does the T15 brand premium actually matter enough to justify $150k+ in opportunity cost? Or is fit, network in pharma, and graduating debt-free the smarter play here?
Would love to hear from anyone who's been in a similar spot or recruited for pharma LDPs from different program tiers.