CLASS OF 2000 GRADUATE COMMENTS
Editor's Note: BusinessWeek collected graduate comments in 2000 during its ranking of full-time MBA programs. The next ranking is scheduled for fall, 2002.
Chicago was a fantastic MBA program if you knew what you wanted to get out of it. Those that were not focused on their future coming in at the beginning often had a challenge in figuring out the system. Excellent place for me, albeit not everyone. -- Consulting
Chicago exceeded my expectations of an MBA program in many ways. Out of the 20 courses that I took, a lot of the professors were very good, a couple were awful, but there were six or seven professors who were just awesome -- they were leaders in their field and they were great teachers. That alone made the experience, and the money spent, worth it. Another beneficial part of the Chicago experience for me was the LEAD program. I not only had the opportunity to participate in the program as a student during my first year, but I was able to participate as a facilitator during my second year. Taking the training course to be a facilitator and teaching the LEAD (Leadership Exploration and Development) course in the fall improved my leadership, presentation, and "softer" skills tremendously. In the end it was probably the most valuable thing I did at the GSB. If I were to pick one area where Chicago could improve, I would say that it's the career center. Given the school's reputation, I don't believe that there will ever be a shortage of great companies that come to campus. However, I believe that the career center's shortfall is in helping students search out the more non-traditional jobs. The career center tends to spend a lot of time focusing on getting materials for the career services library and conducting workshops on basic skills such as resume writing and interviewing. Their time would be better spent helping students develop contacts in the community and by cultivating relationships with non-traditional employers. -- Finance
Leaving my job and going back to school full-time was one of the best decisions that I have made. I wanted to have more options in my career -- I feel that I have accomplished this. -- Finance
The University of Chicago more than exceeded my wildest expectations. I had seriously considered waiting a year to apply to Stanford. However, Chicago offered all of the opportunities that Stanford offered [right] here in the Midwest. Further, the University of Chicago is respected not only for its business school, but is consistently ranked in the top 10 for most of its graduate programs. Given the highly technical bent of the New Economy, the opportunity to interact with people within these other technical areas was very high. In fact, the business plan that I wrote incorporated research from three different departments in the biological and chemical sciences. Further, the entrepreneurial programs at the University of Chicago have grown by leaps and bounds. I was able to participate in a host of entrepreneurial activities, and attained a job with a leading venture-capital firm, hallmarks of what people have come to expect on the coast. I have made contacts and friends with people that I hope to, someday, start companies with in the near future. -- Venture Capital/Private Equity
The University of Chicago provided the platform to gain exactly what I came to business [school] to obtain. In the end, I learned from talented students and faculty, sharpened my analytical skills, and obtained the exact job I targeted. The experience could not have been better. -- Finance
The business school at the University of Chicago is a machine for pumping out investment bankers and consultants. If you don't fit that mold, it's not a good place for you. Though the administration has added a few e-commerce classes to the curriculum, this misses the point that a good business school education should extend beyond a narrow-minded collection of analytical tools. There is no focus on building leadership skills, or on fostering a sense of community within the school; and the student body is dismally homogenous. Granted, most business schools are not noted for their diversity, but the University of Chicago is horrible in this aspect. If you aren't a straight, white male from the suburbs (or at least pretend to be), then you're going to be pretty well marginalized at the school. To make the University of Chicago's lack of diversity even worse, the campus is surrounded by some of the poorest neighborhoods in the entire country, and the school pretends as if those neighborhoods didn't exist. The attitude is basically one of "who cares about society, when we're all going off to make our millions in the business world." -- Finance
The faculty and administration were extremely responsive to student concerns and suggestions, as well as global business trends. I met a wide array of individuals whose backgrounds were as varied as their aspirations. I could never accurately express the magnitude of what I learned at the GSB. Like so many other GSB alumni, I'll have to let my actions/accomplishments speak for themselves! -- Consulting
The GSB experience completely exceeded my expectations! The most positive aspect of the entire experience was working with some of the brightest and most analytical minds I have ever met. The GSB sometimes gets pegged as a quant-jock institution, a reputation that most current students and alumni would hardly disagree with. However, even though I would gladly match my financial wits with any other MBA program, this reputation sometimes overshadows the strength of the other departments (marketing and strategic management to be specific). The only drawback I can cite is not with the program but with the location of the university itself. -- Consulting
For four years before school, I had debated the merits of returning for an MBA, paying what is admittedly an astronomical amount of money, and two years of my working life. It became clear within weeks of beginning at Chicago that any doubts I had about that decision were foolish. Chicago raised not only my skill base, but the confidence I have in that skill base. They don't typically put that in the brochure, but they should, since I know I am not alone in that feeling. I've set my sights higher and higher over the past two years, primarily because I've been surrounded by individuals who have both inspired me and made me realize that success begins deep inside with the desire to win at whatever you put your heart into. We often get chided as "too competitive", and true enough Chicago is a place where second best is seen for what it is, second best. However, I've found the victory people here take most pride in is personal excellence, since the only person who you have anything to prove to is yourself. Don't tell Dean Z, but that lesson makes this place worth twice the tuition. -- Investment Banking
The GSB's academic program is fantastic -- it is challenging, rigorous, and it gave me new frameworks in which to think about business issues. The quality of teaching is constrained by consulting and research endeavors that distract professors from the needs and curiosity of students. Although there are exceptions to this rule, I can only count five professors who demonstrated a genuine desire to teach. The quality of students here is phenomenal. Everyone here is either very bright or exceptionally bright. The work ethic here sets the bar high. Normally, this is a good thing, but given the existence of the forced grade curve and grade disclosure, the GSB work ethic impedes the development of community. I found my peers here to be so myopic about, and so driven towards, their own goals as to be rather unappealing and uninteresting people. This is unfortunate. I often found myself thinking that, under drastically different circumstances, these people could be good friends. The reality is that one does not make many good friends here. The administration could do more to alleviate the "social" problems at the school. However, the administration is ridiculously out of touch with students' concerns. Every form of interaction here seems to take the form of a transaction -- done at arm's length and at a precise clearing point. Let me summarize: great academic program; talented, but boring, people; ineffective administration. Would I return to Chicago if I had to do the MBA all over again? Yes. My chief goal in earning a Chicago MBA was getting a great job; I achieved that. I had six job offers. Recruiting here at Chicago is great, because recruiters know that Chicago MBAs possess tremendous analytical and general business skills. -- Finance
The GSB suffers, to some extent, from the poor customer service attitude that is customary at the University of Chicago. The strong academics is marred by the extremely low quality of life in Hyde Park, which leads to little alumni loyalty and support for the school. -- Consulting
Entering school, I was married with two children (we've since had a third this past October), and realized that MY business school experience would also be MY FAMILY'S. I could not have asked for a better two years. Chicago has a very strong partners' organization and the school catered to my entire family's needs. In talking with some friends who went to other top schools, none of their spouses were as involved in their program as my spouse was in mine. Kudos to Chicago for realizing early the need (for some) for B-school to be about more than just the student's experience. Incidentally, the idea of B-school being about family started on the day I was accepted: the director of admissions called and congratulated me on being accepted, and hoped MY FAMILY would consider coming to Chicago in the fall. It's the little things that make all the difference. -- Consulting
As a woman entering the GSB, I was concerned that the heavy quant, majority male environment would be rough. The first quarter was very competitive for grades to use in internship recruiting. Once people get their summer jobs, however, the grade frenzy cools down. I found the environment to be great and completely manageable. One advantage of the small percentage of women is that we all know each other. The school's LEAD (Leadership Exploration and Development) program is one of it's greatest strengths. I was fortunate to be selected as one of the second year students (LEAD facilitators) trained to run the program for incoming first years. As a first-year, I was floored to learn that the professors I spent time chatting with during office hours charged consulting fees of $10,000 a day. I NEVER got the sense that a professor was too busy to help with an assignment or go over a concept because he or she involved with other, more lucrative projects. One professor told us to always knock if his door was shut -- he said he closed it to keep out his colleagues, not students. -- Marketing
|
=Subscribers Only
Copyright 2001 , by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.
MBA Insider
