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| The University of Iowa Tippie College of Business |
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1999 Profile Update School Profile School Statistics Graduates' Comments: Iowa has a fine tradition of enrolling outstanding international students. Most foreign students who are from the best schools at home have brought many valuable experiences and skills. I feel this might be the srongest aspect of the Iowa MBA program. --Corporate Auditor With around 200 students, each student can receive individual attention from professors every day. A collegial atmosphere exists between students, faculty and administration which allows the students to have an impact on strategic and day-to-day decisions. The administration and professors are not egocentric academics firing down their knowledge at the unworthy masses. Rather the professors are full partners in the learning process, working hand-in-hand with the students to produce MBA's who foster teamwork and problem solving rather than cutthroat competition at the expense of your classmates. If you want a life outside of an MBA program, Iowa is the place to be. --Nonprofit (Insurance) Iowa's competetive advantage is the small size and individual attention all of the students receive. I know all of the professors personally, and have been impacted by many of them on an individual basis. I also know both Deans, the Director of Career Services, several Department Chairs, and several of the Board of Visitors Members. The access we have to these people is perhaps the best available in the Big 10. --No career path given As you are probably aware, the University of Iowa over the last couple of years has fallen out of the "other" ranking category in magazines. As a result of this 51st place ranking there have been many suggestions made to the School of Management from the 1998 graduating class. Under the leadership of Gary Gaeth, the University of Iowa is in a tremendous position to continue to make positive changes to this program. Some of the improvements that have been made in the last year include a MBA Career Resource Center, an internal consultant to help with career placement preparation and planning, several student positions on administrative committees involved with course planning, and a submitted proposal for a change in the structure of our core courses. The major benefit that I saw in this program was the small class size. It allowed more personal attention and more interaction in the classroom. I came into the program with a minimum level of 'business' experience and have suggested a 'crash course in business' (especially accounting, calculus, and statistics) be implemented or available prior to the beginning of classes in the fall semester. --Consulting The University of Iowa is definitely the best 'bang for the buck.' They offer a high quality education, individual attention, state of the art technology for teaching and simulation, and a staff that maintains a persistantly genuine interest in each student's well-being. --Consulting My goal of obtaining job offers in strategic healthcare consulting has been fulfilled and the time I spent here has been extremely productive. The administration encourages involvement from the student body, evidenced by the number of students that sit on the administrative and faculty committee's. The cost of the education is very reasonable giving one of the best values for your money. I was also able to take classes in the Hospital and Health Administration program that direcly fit in with my goals for the future. The administration is willing to allow customization of majors and elective classes to fit the needs of the student body. --Consulting Many changes were made during my two years as an MBA, including a new dean, a 50% turnover in the Placement Office, changes in the core (as well as professors), and an increase in activities outside of school (e.g. philanthropy). Many of the professors are genuinely concerned with the success of individual MBA's, and there is great comaraderie amongst all students, both first and second year. --Consulting The top students in our class are as good or better than any in the country. This has been shown by our high placement in high level jobs in top name firms in Chicago (like Arthur Anderson and Bank of Nova Scotia), New York (Merrill Lynch and Solomon Smith Barney), and even in smaller cities like Kansas City (Sprint and American selected for the program and internship/job placement. This program is on its way up and it will be reflected in its ratings in the next few Century Mutual Funds). With a drop in our rankings last year the School has made many changes to improve the quality of students years (but it still will have an Iowa price tag). --Finance The University of Iowa has to improve in the field of Information technology courses. --Consulting Due to the less than spectacular ranking of the University of Iowa I knew that I was gambling my future to a certain degree by choosing this school. The enthusiasm of the faculty and students is unsurpassed. The technology that we have incorporated into the program is at the tip of the spear of the information revolution. Finally, it must be noted, that all this training and first rate job placement has come at a cost close to zero. My two years of tuition, room and board, books and supplies was less than one years tuition at most of the "top" schools. Yet, my career path and salary level surpasses the average of any school. --Finance I came away from the University of Iowa with a six-figure salary and a job that I would have paid the company to let me do. I have less than $20,000 in debt and for an MBA with a finance concentration that translates into a great return on my investment. I am not disillusioned however. We are not Harvard and to get into the top firms takes persistence and hard work. The administration and faculty are working very hard to make this a great program and interestingly enough, the students have become VERY active in helping each other. --No career path given In an attempt to temper my enthusiasm somewhat, I was disappointed in a couple of elective courses. Perhaps it is because I was comparing them to some excellent offerings in the finance and corporate finance areas. Also, I was looking for a strategic focus in my electives and the two that I was disappointed in were more quantitative. They were good classes, just not what I was looking for. --No career path given My last point is the EXCELLENT class Applied Securities Management. This is commonly referred to as "The Henry Fund" because of its benefactors. I was a member of this 10 student class which manages a little over $250,000 and has outperformed the S&P over the last 5 years. This was a tremendous opportunity and it is a wonderful part of the finance department here at Iowa. The small-class interaction opportunity that it provides with the professor, Tim Loughran, was extremely interesting. --Finance Dean Gaeth and his School of Management team made every effort to help us achieve our goals and potential. Dean Gaeth was instrumental to make sure that there was student involement in all the relevant committees, and our voices have been heard loud and clear. The scope and breadth of the changes can be seen by the changes to the core classes, and the way the MBA program is being run. --Information Technology Dean Gary Gaeth facilitates an on-going dialogue with students and faculty through formal and informal channels regarding ways to keep improving the program. The administration is quick to act on recommendations for improvement and refinement of the mission of the program. --Marketing Several changes have been made in the past year that were recommended by student committees. A coming change in the curriculum will bring in even more electives and opportunities for students to enhance their education. We did not only get exposure to today's top business leaders as speakers and lecturers, we met and interacted with them personally. The number and caliber of CEO's and leaders that the students meet here may be greater than many of us will have the privilege to meet in our careers. The technology we have is amazing! We as students take for granted the fact that we have our own computer lab, computers in every classroom, videoconferencing abilities for interviews and project work, and extensive financial and marketing technoloy labs. UI has a team-based environment that instills a collaborative learning environment rather than a competitive environment within the classes. --Marketing > Back to Top 1999 Profile Update School Profile School Statistics |
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