| BUSINESS WEEK ONLINE:
|
|
|
|
|
|
| University of Florida Warrington College of Business |
||
1999 Profile Update School Profile School Statistics Graduates' Comments: In my time as a University of Florida MBA student, the administration gave students a stronger voice, hired more support staff for both career services and student services, implemented the tireless (but trendy) modular program, increased information services (both updated old and implemented new), increased the amount of alumni involvment, and increased the number and versatility of the programs UF MBA offers (executive and managers) while maintaining the traditional program's integrity. The modular format is not easy for schools to adjust to and, in the words of a member of the board of regents, "is a waste of time and should be dropped". --Consulting The University of Florida MBA Program had some turnover in its staff prior to and during the arrival of this graduating class. With the staff they have hired and the determination of the Dean and the Director, the program is on its way to becoming a top 25 program. Although the program may have slipped a few years ago, the direction it is now going is definitely upward. The areas of specific improvement will be in information systems, alumni network, and on-campus recruiting. --Marketing University of Florida's strength is their marketing department. Every marketing class (there are five) and professor exposed me to new ideas that I could incorporate into my career as a stockbroker and owner of a construction company. I had no plans to concentrate my studies at UF MBA on marketing. However, after just two weeks of my first marketing class, I knew that I had to study marketing. Every classmate I had in my marketing concentration felt the same way I did. They were all impressed with the professors and the course content. --Stockbroker/Asset Management The University of Florida is an excellent program based on the price of the school. For me, the difference between attending the University of Florida or a top tier school was approximately $20,000. That was simply out of reach for me from a budget perspective. For that reason, I only applied to two top tier schools, knowing that others were beyond my reach. The University of Florida Accelerated MBA has been an excellent tool for me. It allowed me to complete my MBA in one year, limiting income forgone. It also allowed me to focus on the areas of interest to me while bypassing many of the core courses which I had already taken during my undergraduate degree. --No job track given However, as an Accelerated MBA student, there are limited opportunities for extracurricular leadership. This limitation stems from officer terms which are, necessarily, December to December. Accelerated students do have the opportunity to take on chairmanship positions and to become class representatives which provide leadership opportunities. Additionally, the Accelerated MBA students are more diverse and more cohesive than the traditional students. --Consulting The unheralded gem of the Program is the Dept. of Real Estate. MBAs may concentrate in Real Estate by taking classes with students in the Real Estate Masters program. The quality of MBA students is above average overall, but I would guess that only the top 10% would be comfortable or competetive in a "top 10" program. The atmosphere is pretty laid back overall. There is no real backstabbing for grades. Social life is outstanding. There's always somebody going out or something going on. Gainesville is heaven for a college football fan. I studied hard, learned a lot, did well academically, partied, watched the Gators and really had two of the best years that I've had in a long time. No, UF is not Harvard or Stanford, but if you're looking for a quality and cheap (in-state tuition of like $2500 for the whole 2nd year) education, I would strongly recommend UF. I financed every penny of my education and am leaving only $35,000 in debt. --Finance U of Florida has an excellent international exchange program (I went to Hong Kong for 4 months), very hands-on, excellent teachers, and young programs with the desire to improve. --Consulting (Corporate Finance) UF's extracurricular activities have been very active during my two years. The MBA Association has sponsored a lot of activities for admissions, job hunting, and networking. The other clubs have also been very active. UF lacks an MBA alumni club. UF has a strong alumni club for the entire university, but the MBA Program's doesn't have a club, and its database of alumni is disorganized. --No job track given Most of the office personnel is very new. The Director of the MBA Program, the Director and Associate Director of Student Services, the Director and Associate Director of Admissions, and the Associate Director of Career Placement have all started here in the past 2.5 years. Most of this has been because of newly created positions. Because of the changing environment, communication between the office, alumni, student organizations, and the student body has been weak and unstructured. I've been very active in student activities and found myself very frustrated with trying to communicate ideas and start new projects. I hope this will change as the office becomes more established. --Consulting B-School has been an effective use of my time and energy. I feel that this program should be more rigorous and integrative across the curriculum. While many professors were outstanding, some were absolutely terrible. The administration is, in my opinion, at best, mediocre. Overall, I feel that this program has huge untapped potential and I have high hopes for its future, if the administration will recognize and implement needed improvements. --Entrepreneurship I was very impressed with the quality of professors in the program. They were always very willing to give outside assistance, discuss other topics, and give career advice. I was also impressed with the teamwork mentality that is evident in all aspects of the program. Other students were always willing to lend a hand -- thus making the experience much more enjoyable. In terms of value, I believe that the UF program is a best buy. One concentration that needs some work is the Entrepreneurship program. While I believe it has great potential, it currently has a ways to go before it reaches that ideal position. --Entrepreneurship The learning environment at the University of Florida MBA program is excellent. The faculty is outstanding. Professors go out of their way to be accessible to students and make great use of real-world examples to bring lessons home. My fellow MBA students also contributed heavily to this learning environment. The ruthless competition for grades so prevalent at other schools is not a major factor here. Instead, students concentrate on helping others, whether it be in studying for an exam or following a job lead. The supportive environment makes for a more pleasant experience and takes away some of the stress inherent in being an MBA student. --No job track given The university also offers a high quality of life. Fall football weekends in Gainesville are like nothing else anywhere. The climate is terrific year round, and there are lots of outdoor activities in the area. The Florida MBA program really helped me achieve my career goals. I came back to school to change careers from the public to the private sector. I know now that it would have been almost impossible to make this transition without the program and what I've learned here. The administration is very open to student suggestions, and one gets the impression that a good staff is on board and working hard to keep the program moving in the right direction. --Finance Overall, the University of Florida was the perfect choice for me because of the costs (very, very low); the social activities (strong MBA Association, Gator sports, large university in the country's top 5 places to live three years running), small class sizes, excellent computer facilities, strong reputation of the MHA program, etc. On a cost/benefit analysis, I will make up the time, lost wages and tuition in just a few short years. My total loans are barely above the one-year tuition of a similar (but private) program. I sincerely do not believe that the level of training and career placement is worth as much money as some schools are asking for. My classmates were confident in their abilities and spent money efficiently -- that should tell you something about their potential as very effective future leaders. --Consulting (Health care consulting) I think that UF has a lot to offer students as a "non-top-10 school." The professors are leaders in the field, and are excellent facilitators of learning. There is a lot of interaction with the professors, and the classes are a good size, not too big. In my opinion, the quality of education for the money spent would be difficult to beat. The team-oriented environment is very conducive to learning, and fellow student are always willing to help. Although the students are very diligent and serious about learning, there is not the intensely competitive environment I hear about in other programs. The improvements that I have witnessed in the last two years have been numerous, and the administration has strong future plans for the program. They are very interested in our opinions and have taken actions to improve things that have not worked. The module format has allowed us to take more electives and have given us the opportunity to gain a broader base of knowledge. --Finance The Florida MBA Program has improved drastically in a relatively short time period. The administration has grown from just a few people two years ago to a much larger staff now. There is an overall Director as well as an Admissions Director and Asst. Director. The Admissions Director was formerly in Admissions with the Emory MBA Program, and the Assistant Director previously worked for Berkeley's MBA Admissions. Florida also has a Career Services Director/Asst. Director and Student Services Director/Asst. Director. There is also a growing support staff. The academic departments are very highly rated, and the quality of professorship is high. In one ranking, the Finance, Marketing, Management and Management departments all rated in the top 25 nationally. --No job track given The program supports and encourages student involvement in all groups such as the Investment Club, Consulting Club, Toastmaster's, MBA Association, and Students for Responsible Business. The UF MBA program stresses teamwork, and a large portion of assignments are case-based. The small size of the program allows for close relations with many people, and I believe this will lead to strong networking ties in the future. --No job track given At a cost of $3,000 per year in-state tuition ($10,000 out-of-state), the investment is sure to pay itself back within a very short time frame. The average starting salary of a UF MBA promises an enviable lifestyle for those who stay in the Southeast. In other words, $55,000 in Tampa or Atlanta provides an excellent quality of life when compared to the starting salaries for graduates of top programs in other regions. If Florida could improve in any way, it should stress more diversity (a problem facing many MBA programs). The proportion of women is approximately 25%. Also, the program would benefit from a greater number of minorities. There is an undeniable deficit in the number of African Americans enrolled here. --Non-profit (Health care) Back to Top 1999 Profile Update School Profile School Statistics |
||
