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.
After "discovering" UCI's GSM, with its positive and dynamic atmosphere, I made a decision that five years earlier I would have resisted: relocating to Southern California from the San Francisco area. In the end, the move was incredibly worthwhile, as the GSM program delivered more than I expected in most aspects outside of the typical MBA experience. The courses were updated constantly to incorporate the latest information, which left all of us feeling that we have received the most current education available. The school is building its community in a progressive, positive, and professional nature that is being well accepted and recognized. The social interaction is open, allowing students to network with virtually every individual at the school, not to mention all the industry and alumni contacts. Finally, the location is practically ideal: central to the burgeoning "Tech Coast" and wealthy Orange County. Fellowships and widely available teaching assistantships made the financing of an already economical education that much easier. With little effort I garnered high-profile employment with a top e-business consulting company at a compensation level that makes the ROI on my education 50% higher than that which I projected upon entering the program. I doubt that my experience at GSM could be beat by any other MBA school. -- Consulting
I learned a great deal about leadership by getting involved in school activities. I also learned to interact better through constant interaction with fellow peers. The faculty is very nice for the most part. Career services tries very hard, but is understaffed and lacks solid corporate connections to get the larger companies to SERIOUSLY recruit. Career services needs to get more marketing, strategy, high tech distribution, and manufacturing companies -- IT will critically affect the last two! -- Information Technology
You can not find a more current information technology curriculum, anywhere. -- Marketing
I thought that the contacts I made along with the social skills developed during my two years at GSM really helped. The academic aspects of it were also helpful in giving context to business situations. -- Information Technology
One of the best things about UCI is that it is the only major business school in the heart of the high-tech hotbed of Orange County/San Diego, and local companies are very anxious to work with the students. As a result, during the course of my MBA, I was able to participate in projects with eight different high-tech companies of all sizes -ñ ranging from Fortune 500 to pre-IPO. I gained invaluable experience working on these projects and this served me extremely well in my interviews during my second year. I encourage anybody who is interested in both a first rate academic experience and an incredibly exciting laboratory of real companies to apply this knowledge in to consider UCI very seriously. -- Consulting
I had an excellent experience at UC Irvine. I applied to a number of top 20 programs and was disappointed that UCI was the only school I got into. That attitude changed quickly when I got to the school. I was impressed with the caliber of the students and enjoyed the supportive atmosphere. It was a far better experience than I had in law school, which I believe gives me a good perspective to judge this program. -- Operations
I feel that UCI's greatest value add for its students is its small size and flexibility. Size gives the program flexibility in interweaving classic B-school curriculum with skills. Further, the financial aid offered by the school made the ROI presented by the program a no-brainer. However, the small size of the school is clearly a negative in terms of existing alumni network. At the same time, the school's existing network is focused heavily in "new economy"/High Tech companies, as well as in IT/e-commerce [and has] helped me to develop a network targeted to my areas of preference. -- Finance
While my school was not perfect, I learned a lot and enjoyed every minute of it. To me, the friendships and networks forged at GSM are far more significant than the schoolwork itself. Whether intentional or not, GSM was able to bring together a diverse group of people to create a non-competitive, helpful student body that made it fun to learn. In my estimation, this puts it above schools that are perceived to be higher-ranked. -- Marketing
I took part in the international exchange program. It was one of the best experiences in my life, and I would recommend it to anyone. However, many companies recruit too early in the season (fall) which coincides with time spent abroad. Consequently, many quality students are afraid to take part in this program, and when they do, they are at a disadvantage when searching for employment. -- Consulting
I think that overall, I had a great experience at UCI and learned a lot. I feel like the school is small and growing, and maybe the growth is causing some growing pains and difficulty. The facility resources are short, and elective demand is starting to exceed supply. That being said, the program is moving in the right direction as they try to get a larger building and a more diverse group of recruiters to the school. If I was to classify the program, I would say it is a very good program that is very valuable but that it could be a great program with additional recruiters and finance and marketing electives. -- Marketing
I entered the UC Irvine MBA program with the [intention] of making a drastic career change from civil engineering to asset management. Not only was I successful in making the change but I was able to secure a position with one of the world's most renowned bond management firms. Needless to say, I am quite satisfied with my MBA experience. I'm in possession of a great job, at Harvard wages, without the Harvard student debt to accompany it. I would recommend UCI's MBA program to anyone! -- Finance
UCI GSM is a small school; I liken it to a startup company. The small size makes the school environment quick paced and continually changing, just like the Internet economy. It offers tremendous opportunity to those who are willing to put forth the effort to build the organization. A more established school would not have given me the opportunity to seize the reins and take charge of building a program from the ground up. Attending GSM for the past two years gave me some of the best experience I will have in my career. -- Entrepreneurship
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