My choice this past spring came down to BYU and HBS. I thought about much of what is discussed above. But, after being here in Boston for 3 months, and having previously worked within the BYU MBA program (professionally, not academically), the differences I experienced were startling and stark.

If you want a good job at a good company, have an aversion to debt, and are okay with a corporate job likely in the Intermountain West, BYU is a very smart decision. That’s not what Taysom wants.

A few limited examples where the two tiers of schools diverge in my experience:
- Interviewing at a top consulting, VC/PE (like Taysom wants), or other elite firm is very, very difficult (if not impossible) coming out of BYU; I know, I tried and failed. At HBS, top firms interview every interested student.
- At BYU, you’ll get occasional visits from interesting LDS speakers; at HBS, near daily you listen to, meet, or have lunch with the leaders of major companies, governments, or international organizations, all of whom are interested in networking with you. This helps immensely in the industries Taysom is pursuing. His target industries’ premises are, “If you need to apply without a previously developed contact within the firm, you’ve already shown you’re not the type of candidate we want.”
- The difference in the networks developed at the schools are night and day. It can be the difference of calling a friend of a friend to get an interview, or trying to get an interview cold along with (nearly) your entire cohort.

I do not fault Taysom for looking beyond BYU. For his goals, it makes complete sense. For most other circumstances, BYU is a terrific option.