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2004 FULL-TIME MBA PROFILE
Southern Methodist University
Cox School of Business
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CLASS OF 2004 GRADUATE COMMENTS
It's a great program but the small size is not right for everyone, and it has its disadvantages in terms of the number of employers who will recruit at the school.--Finance
[Recommend program to friends/colleagues?] SMU is a unique business school because of its location and interaction with the Dallas community. Although students find it hard to go to New York, Chicago, and San Francisco following graduation, most do not want to go there anyway! I was looking for a school that could provide access to buyside finance professionals in private-equity,investment-management and hedge-fund industries. Dallas is one of three or four cities in the United States that can provide this constant interaction. The Cox school thoroughly exceeded my expectations on many levels, but specifically: 1.) Interaction with community, 2.) the Global Leadership Program, and 3.) access to and quality of faculty.--Not Available
[Recommend program to friends/colleagues?] I believe that an MBA is a powerful tool for an individual. They should understand the benefits to them before enrolling to understand if the cost is worth it though.--Finance
I did a project on the perceptions of obesity for Frito-Lay. It helped me gain needed experience within marketing to make a switch from engineering to brand management.--Marketing
I participated in Cox's Venture Capital Practicum, a semester-long class which pairs students with local venture capitalists. I worked with the Dallas Angels and was actively involved in company screening for seed funding, recommending companies for further consideration, and even ultimately presenting one company for consideration to Cox's own venture capital fund. This was a fantastic experience that allowed me access to Dallas's top VCs and gave me insight into being a successful entrepreneur.--Information Technology
I led a team that performed a financial analysis for the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children. The details are confidential, but I can say that it involved identifying incremental cash flows associated with a proposed investment, estimating a discount rate, and making a formal recommendation to the hospital's senior management and board of directors, many of whom are prominent members of the Dallas business community.--Investment Banking
I participated in a consulting project for 7-Eleven Corporation at its headquarters here in Dallas. The experience was a great learning experience for strategic consulting and retail. Our team was given the opportunity to present our ideas to the CEO. I feel like this really rounded out some skills learned throughout business school, especially presenatation and teamwork skills.--Consulting
Cox is a small enough program that it's almost like a family -- you know nearly everyone. This amplifies the importance of having a good work ethic and personal reputation as you go through group work. The faculty was excellent in the majority of the courses I took. When contrasted with schools where the core curriculum is delivered in integrative fashion, I do think that Cox's curriculum was less effective in tying topics together. Among the electives in the finance concentration, there were three courses that integrated well across multiple disciplines: Valuation, Applied Investing & Security Analysis, and Hedge Fund Management. The latter two were probably the most influential and satisfying courses I took.--Finance
I believe quite strongly that Cox is an up-and-coming B-school powerhouse. The quality of the faculty has improved in recent years, and the difference was noticable in just the two years I was on campus. The dean is a strong leader with a clear vision of where Cox is going.--Investment Banking
[Recommend program to friends/colleagues?] The program has features not found at other programs such as the Global Leadership Program (an international experience) and the Business Leadership Center (provides soft leadership skills through seminars offered outside of the academic environment).--Consulting
Through the Business Leadership Center, students performed analysis for a variety of projects for a local nonprofit hospital. It provided insight and experience in dealing with non-profits and their unique business situations.--Consulting
I participated in two consulting projects. One was for an e-commerce class and the other for a new product development class. Both were challenging assignments where we had to present to company senior management. My learning experience was enhanced through strategy, customer understanding, and presentation development.--Marketing
SMU was interested in me, not for my GMAT score or my undergraduate GPA, but for my breadth of background and experience. SMU works hard to build a diverse classroom. Business leaders come from all walks of life -- the arts, not-for-profit and many more. The talents I brought to the program were appreciated, and I am now able to leverage those skills in offering companies a well-rounded business leader.--Marketing
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