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.
I believe that the small class sizes really help make GT an exceptional school. The resources are not as great because of the low tuition and class size, but the school works well with what it has. The addition of a new dean and funding for a new building during the course of this year should help to improve the school's facilities and programs greatly in the near future. --Marketing
The new dean, Terry Blum, has a vision of establishing Georgia Tech as a leader in technology entrepreneurship. She is well on her way. --Information Technology
I am a more experienced student with management experience in a small firm. The MBA gave me the fundamental business background coupled with a strong focus on technology and its application in business. Since I worked in the engineering industry for 10 years, I was refreshed to gain a different perspective on the business world. I wrote two business plans during business school, which the school facilitated by allowing me to have a faculty advisor. My colleague will pursue one of the plans and I will pursue the other one based on a patent that I am in the process of filing. I am excited about the thought of entrepreneurship, and will one day be in business for myself. The program expanded my business perspective, analytical skills, creative thinking and problem solving skills. I worked in teams with talented individuals from a variety of backgrounds including non-technical and international students. I thoroughly enjoyed the program. --Anonymous
The Dupree College of Management at Georgia Tech just doesn't get it. The professors don't embody what they teach, and the administrators rule the school with their own agenda, subservient only to the administrators of the university as a whole. For instance, 'mini-mesters' of 7 weeks (very popular with students and some faculty) are not possible because the Institute Registrar won't allow them. Rather than having an organization designed to serve students, with administrators providing support for the faculty, the whole concept is turned on its ear, with students being there to support faculty, who follow the whims of the administration. It is sadly humorous to hear professors laud customer service as a profit strategy, when they fail to treat their students as customers. Although there are several notable exceptions, most of them simply don't make the effort to design classes that add value to the course materials. Meanwhile, at least 5 of the school's top professors have left in the last 2 years (including 2 Professor of the Year winners). More focus on faculty, less on building improvements is needed. While I feel that I have gained value from my degree, and I had my choice of several outstanding job offers (which was my primary goal after leaving the Navy), I feel that my time and money would have been much better spent at another institution. --Investment Banking
I was extremely satisfied with my time at Georgia Tech. The caliber of students and professors was great, and the administration worked hard to make sure everything ran smoothly. The atmosphere was very conducive to learning. There was very little evidence of students putting their own personal desires above those of the teams that they worked on. And all of the students got along well. I think that the small size of the program was a significant factor in my positive experience. The director of the program knew all of the students well, and was aware of any difficulties that arose. he admittedly overburdened career services staff was wonderful. I had no difficulties getting interviews and received several job offers even though I did not have the kind of experience that most employers were looking for. The Dupree College of Management does not force students to be successes, but it certainly provides its students the opportunity to succeed in any field they desire. --Finance
I chose Georgia Tech because it provided good value for the money. I was granted a graduate research assistantship, so my tuition was waived and I earned a monthly stipend. Because of this assistantship program, I am able to graduate debt free! --Finance
Georgia Tech has recently (within the past year)implemented an e-business aspect into their overall MBA program. I expect the entering classes to be able to reap much more benefit from it than we were able to, since e-business was in its infancy during the two years we were at Georgia Tech. I also feel the appointment of a dean of the business school will be very beneficial as well. We served under and interim Dean, and it was sometimes frustrating to deal with that 'interim' mentality. Dean Blum has already started implementing some progressive, forward-thinking initiatives. --Nonprofit
I hated business school. I promised myself to get a masters degree and that is the only reason I stuck with it. I was bored most of the time and when I wasn't bored I was freaked out by the amount of busy work I had to do. I learned much more in undergraduate and it was more difficult. Also, GA tech needs to figure out what type of school it is. I think they should pick a distinct direction (operations or IT) and focus the curriculum on that. Then they can tailor the accounting and finance classes to what people in those disciplines need to know. Right now, they are trying to be everything to everyone and with 200 students (both 1st and 2nd years) they don't have the student body to justify and wide variety of classes. Georgia Tech needs to leverage the undergraduate reputation in engineering and attract engineers. Much more resources are spent on the [school's] executive education program - probably because those people spend about $50,000 to complete the program. So, yeah I'm bitter. But, what do you expect when the faculty and the dean bicker via email and cc the entire student body. Extremely unprofessional. The best professors are leaving. Plus, we went through a change from quarters to semesters which was not very well thought out - most teachers either crammed the old lesson plans from 2 classes together OR they added a bunch of busy work to the old format which didn't increase learning at all. Georgia Tech needs to go way down on the ratings chart so they can get a wake up call. --Marketing
Georgia Tech MBA program is up and coming. The combination of entrepreneurship, the focus on technology and the fine teachers in the foundational disciplines of marketing, operations and finance make the MBA program perfect for technology-minded managers. The value is outstanding. --Finance
Georgia Tech's Dupree College of Business is in the process of learning how to emphasize what it does well (operations, quantitative analysis, e-business, and information technology) so as to differentiate itself in the increasingly competitive b-school marketplace. I chose the program because of its quantitative focus, and I learned much that will catapult me forward. --Consulting
Georgia Tech truly has an outstanding business school. I am now working for a start-up company that is affiliated with [Georgia] Tech through our CEO. I passed up many other very good job offers to take this opportunity -- and its outstanding. --Information Technology
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