Mendoza College of Business

-Notre Dame is a special place. The quality of people in the administration, as well as teachers and students, sets it apart from any other school in the world. Notre Dame has a stronger focus on ethics and doing things the right way than any other school around. The alumni network is incredible as you will always be a part of the Notre Dame family. I could have gone to many other business schools but Notre Dame was the only one for me. You can't understand truly how special the place is unless you spend a day walking around the campus.

-Career Services needs to be much more engaged and caring about their students' success searching for jobs. At best, officers of Career Development are apathetic.

-There are so many things that make this program unique! The people here (students, faculty, administration) are genuinely GOOD people. That sounds simple, but it's true. No one here is going to step on you just to get ahead. People here have the values and morals that we'll need to do good works in the business world. Also, Notre Dame has a unique brand that is tough to beat when it comes to job placement and recognition. Notre Dame attracts the same type of person that is attracted to West Point, my alma mater. I don't think I could have been associated with a better group of students or a better University.

-Our program could be made stronger by driving a deeper connection with the undergrad business program and some of the long standing recruiting relationships they have already established. This has already improved over the past two years during my time.

-There is a camaraderie that exists with the student body that, in my opinion, is unrivaled. From the first day I stepped foot on the campus at the University of Notre Dame to the day I graduated, I felt a strong bond with my peers. Those individuals will truly be my friends for life. We both learned from and challenged one another in ways that I had never before experienced, and I am grateful for the opportunity to attend one of the finest Universities in the WORLD!!! Lastly, they do an exceptional job of incorporating the subject of ethics into each classes' curriculum. Also, a very strong emphasis on sustainability.

-I would have liked to have more specialized electives and resources available to students. I was very excited when the program began offering the Business of Energy course for MBAs, as that was the industry I wanted to go into. If the demand from students is there, I feel like offering more specialty courses like the Business of Energy course would be a great addition to the program. In addition, I'd love to see more designated group study spaces in Mendoza. Currently, the school is building a second building next door for the Executive MBA program, and I hope that the additional space that becomes available in Mendoza is utilized for innovative team room spaces.

-The small class size allows you to develop great relationships with classmates and faculty that will last throughout our lives and careers. They also focus on soft skills such as leadership and communication, which are integral to becoming a top businessperson.

-No bulge bracket investment banks hire on campus, meaning we have to fly to New York or drive to Chicago for several informational interviews, hoping to land a formal interview. I landed 10 interviews, half with mid-market firms (2 interviewed on campus), and the other half with bulge brackets in NYC that I had landed through the ND network. Getting these interviews required I fly to NYC 6 times to meet with at least 4-5 people each for informational interviews. Thankfully, the ND network helped me immensely, but it would be great if these firms came to campus!

-Classes are taught in modules that are seven weeks long. I.e. in seven weeks you cover an entire class. That means you have midterms after about three weeks and finals about another four weeks later. You can cover much more material by this outline which is great. Another point to consider is that you can elect classes beginning from the second semester which was great (only very few core classes). This allows you to focus much more on the material/ concentration you are most interested in.

-Career services could use some revamping as could the overall attitude of the school towards the MBA students. Often times it feels like we are second citizens compared to executives or undergrad. Our Consulting track doesn't even have a full-time dedicated person with her own office, which can make working with her challenging.

-Notre Dame not only challenges its students and provides all the essential academic and career coaching aspects that any strong MBA program must have; but in addition, the teaching and learning process is intertwined with values that bring a constant sense of community - the end goal for a Notre Dame graduate is to be a positive contributor in his surroundings (both inside and outside the office), and not just to maximize career and earnings potential.

-To make Notre Dame's business program even stronger, a greater investment in technology and facilities should be made. For example, only two printers exist in the Business Information Center (BIC) and typically one must wait for a computer. Additionally, the business school team rooms are extremely outdated and they are always occupied. Team room chalkboards should be replaced with whiteboards, and A/V monitors should be added so that teams can work on PowerPoint presentations (and other projects) collaboratively.

-Notre Dame has a stronger community than any other school I looked at. All of our classmates get along. The curriculum is rigorous, there are a multitude of activities to get involved in, the strongest alumni network in the country, and excellent post-grad opportunities.

-Though it's a matter of debate, I believe that the program would benefit (in the long run) from expanding the size of the MBA program. There are advantages to having a very small class size, but I feel that the program as a whole would get more recognition/notoriety if the student body was larger.

-Because Notre Dame is situated in a small town, students are "forced" to hang out with each other, which has made our class closer and even more tightly bonded. We have a very tight community, and I have made friends that will last a lifetime. They call it the Notre Dame "family" for a reason. We have access to the entire Notre Dame network, and if I reach out to an alum, I am almost guaranteed to get a response. It’s amazing how strong the network is. I feel like for the rest of my life I will be able to get an interview with almost any company in the country; as long as there is a Notre Dame alum at the company to refer me I am golden. And who could forget football! All students get season tickets to the football games. It’s a great way to bond with our classmates, and also a great place to network. We are able to draw a lot of recruiters and big names to campus because they are in for the weekend to watch an Irish football game.