Owen Graduate School of Management

-Owen faculty and administration has a sincere focus on the student as an individual. Due to the smaller size of the school, each student is treated as a unique individual with different hopes and expectations. Additionally, I was extremely satisfied with the strong focus on leadership and interpersonal skills that Owen has for its students. Not only did I enhance my academic knowledge, but I also gained the confidence needed to lead an organization due to Owen's strong focus on public presentation, teamwork, communication, and decision-making.

-The facilities are rather small for the class size, which makes some core classes fairly crowded. Additional investments are being made to add classroom space in the short term. A larger building will enhance the overall experience.

-Owen truly exceeded my expectations from an educational standpoint and a community standpoint. Owen has an incredibly close-knit student body. I learned that who you choose to surround yourself with for two years matters and there is no better community of business school students than Owen. A fellow student once told me that Owen is great because it gives you the tools you need to be successful anywhere. If you want to get into a particular career field and don’t have the previous background for it Owen will provide you with the right education and understanding of the field for you to be successful in your job search. For whatever you want to do in live after business school, Owen will give you the tools, but you as a student have to put in the hard work and use your Owen network to make your dream become a reality.

-We are kind of caught in between having a great class size but not a big enough draw for the big massive recruiters, It's a catch-22.

-Vanderbilt offers a culture that is unlike any other I've seen. Everyone knows everyone and most are generally strong friends with each other. I have no doubt that I'll be not only able to utilize my own classmates in my future career, but also other Owen alumni I've never even met. I'm positive of this because my own classmates are some of my best friends and we all share common values which binds us even more tightly than most programs. We also have some of the strongest academic leadership in healthcare - this is an incredible value-add for all students, even those not specializing in this area as it opens up career opportunities that few other school graduates can claim expertise in. I was able to do this myself, finding an amazing product management job working for the leading health insurance company after completing my MBA marketing concentration. Lastly, our school has an under-appreciated ability and emphasis on helping students drive innovation and entrepreneurial pursuits. Successful startup veterans and innovative professionals (ex. former IDEO employees) help round out an amazing faculty that are driving an emerging curriculum that will be valuable far beyond the typical business school tool set.

-Facilities need to match the professional, accomplished school that we are. Image is important.

-The program is perfectly situated in one of the fastest growing cities in the US. It is well connected to the community. The students and faculty are well connected to each other because of the smaller class size.

-The facilities are slightly outdated. However, a large renovation is being made this summer to enhance the student experience.

-The students and teachers have an amazing community. There is a camaraderie that I did not experience in any of the other schools I visited. It was rare to find such a highly accomplished group that was not cut-throat. We were all the better for our collaborating, as opposed to seeing job interviews as competition.

-The school is working to recruit candidates that would otherwise go to "more prestigious" schools -- but I think the biggest thing that needs to be done is focus on remaining competitive in that arena without losing the great culture we have amongst the students. It's an absolute necessity.

-Owen was able to attract an excellent cross-section of students from various backgrounds and future goals. The class size allowed for access to faculty, and a close knit collaborative community.

-The Career Management Center has shown remarkable improvement in the 2 years I was there. However, I feel there is enough scope to go further and be able to attract more recruiters on campus to provide more and diverse opportunities for students.

-Owen is the most engaging, fun, and positive place you could ever be. It has a wonderful community full of bright and interesting people. The professors and Dean Bradford know us all personally and are highly invest in our careers and lives. There really is no other place like Owen.

-While I did not have direct insight into the treatment of international students, it seems that maybe they could have been integrated with the US students a little better. However, they just feel more comfortable with other internationals.

-It's alumni system is the strongest I have ever seen. USC purportedly had an incredible alumni network ("The Trojan Network") but it really pales in comparison to Owen's.