MHA USC vs Tulane vs UC Denver

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Jczems

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Having trouble deciding between the three programs. Any opinions would be greatly appreciated. My goal is to go into consulting. However, I understand consulting firms appreciate some previous hospital administration experience, so maybe getting a hospital admin job is higher in priority right out of grad school. These schools have come up in threads, but never compared with each other so I'd thought I would ask the opinions of SDN.

USC MHA

Tulane MHA

University of Colorado Denver MBA-Health Administration + M.S. International Business.

UC Denver is a little strange in that its a MBA program, but I was given the opportunity to do a duel degree with international business. This gives me the greatest flexibility and something different from the MHAs. Not sure how valuable the MBA is worth since it is not coming from a top tier school, but the addition of another masters helps.

According to 2012 US News, Tulane's MHA is rated higher, however, in the MHAguide.com rankings, USC is ranked higher. They essentially alternate and is very similar in residency requirements. USC touts their 1,000 hr residency, while Tulane is virtually the same at 950 hrs. From my impression, Tulane seems to be more classroom focused with classes the majority of the day, while USC is only at night 3 times a week.

In terms of international appeal/consulting, USC has a good reputation in Asia. And certainly with UCD, the international business would come in handy? But not sure if healthcare consulting firms operate word-wide, due to varying healthcare dynamics abroad. They may just hire people from their own respective countries; unlike say management consultants.

Thanks in advance

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None of the top consulting firms recruit at those schools. If you are dead-set on working at a well known healthcare consulting firm after you graduate, I think you should instead work 1-2 years in healthcare admin at a hospital, then go to grad school at a school like Michigan or Hopkins. The easiest way to get into consulting is through grad school recruiting, which means you have to to a school that consulting firms recruit from (not those you listed) and even with that, it is recommended you have at least 1 yr of work experience at hospitals. Also, dual-degrees are cash cows and totally not worth the $ IMO.
 
None of the top consulting firms recruit at those schools. If you are dead-set on working at a well known healthcare consulting firm after you graduate, I think you should instead work 1-2 years in healthcare admin at a hospital, then go to grad school at a school like Michigan or Hopkins. The easiest way to get into consulting is through grad school recruiting, which means you have to to a school that consulting firms recruit from (not those you listed) and even with that, it is recommended you have at least 1 yr of work experience at hospitals. Also, dual-degrees are cash cows and totally not worth the $ IMO.

Thanks for the feedback!

When you say top consulting firms are you talking about the McKinsley, Bain and BCG (aren't they mostly for management consulting)? And I am pretty sure Deloitte, PWC, EY and Accenture are targets for at least USC and Tulane. Also, would you please share some other consulting firms I have missed?
 
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Thanks for the feedback!

When you say top consulting firms are you talking about the McKinsley, Bain and BCG (aren't they mostly for management consulting)? And I am pretty sure Deloitte, PWC, EY and Accenture are targets for at least USC and Tulane. Also, would you please share some other consulting firms I have missed?

You should look at their websites and see if you can find a list of companies that recruit there or an recent graduates employment summary that has the companies that they got jobs at. If you have problems finding this list on their website, it is not a school you should consider. It should be easily available on their website if it is a "bragging point" of the school.

That being said, there are a bunch of others. Here are a few off the top of my head: The chartis group, advisory board, navigant consulting, huron consulting group, truven health, accenture (all either are solely healthcare or have a large healthcare branch). Good luck!
 
None of the top consulting firms recruit at those schools. If you are dead-set on working at a well known healthcare consulting firm after you graduate, I think you should instead work 1-2 years in healthcare admin at a hospital, then go to grad school at a school like Michigan or Hopkins. The easiest way to get into consulting is through grad school recruiting, which means you have to to a school that consulting firms recruit from (not those you listed) and even with that, it is recommended you have at least 1 yr of work experience at hospitals. Also, dual-degrees are cash cows and totally not worth the $ IMO.

E&Y recruits at Tulane
 
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