Program Basics

• • McIntire School of Commerce
  • Darden School of Business
  • Rouss and Robertson Halls
  • P.O. Box 400173
  • Charlottesville, Virginia
  • 22904-4173
  • United States
  • Program Web site: http://www.commerce.virginia.edu
  • Program e-mail address: Commerce-Admission@virginia.edu
  • Program phone number: 4349243865
  • Status: Public (state-operated)
• • AACSB accredited: Yes

• Accreditation other than AACSB:

  • Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
• • Year in which the undergraduate business program was founded: 1921
• • Institution: Four Year
• • Business Program: Two Year

SCHOOL BASICS

• Enrollment:

  • Total undergraduate: 15,762
  • Full-time undergraduate business: 677
  • Part-time undergraduate business: 0
  • Distance undergraduate business: 0
• • College or university freshman retention rate: 97 %

• Percentage of students who graduate from the business program:

  • Within four years of admission to the university: 99 %
  • Within six years of admission to the university: 99 %

• Undergraduate Business Degrees Offered:

  • BS in Commerce

PROGRAM COSTS

• • Annual Tuition (Resident): $9,240.00
• • Annual Tuition (Non-Resident): $33,562.00
• • Annual Required Fees: $2,344.00
• • Annual Room and Board: $8,866.00
• • Annual Cost of Books: $1,184.00

CLASS PROFILE

• Students in newest entering class that are:

  • Female: 42 %
  • International: 20 %

• Mean and median age of full-time business students in the newest entering class:

  • Mean: 22
  • Median: 21

• Percentage of newest entering class:

  • Top 10% of high school class: 91 %
  • Top 25% of high school class: 98 %
  • GPA of 3.75 or higher: 92 %
  • GPA of 3.5 to 3.74: 5 %

• SAT scores (1600 scale) for the newest entering class of full-time undergraduate business students:

  • Mean: 1384
  • Median: 1400

• Middle 50% range of SAT scores (1600 scale):

  • From: 1320
  • To: 1460

• Citizenship breakdown for newest entering class:

  • US: 75 %
  • Canada: 1 %
  • Other Non-US Citizens: 24 %
  • Dual Citizenship: 5%

• U.S. citizens in newest entering class:

  • African American: 4 %
  • Asian American: 26 %
  • Hispanic or Latino American: 5 %
  • White (Non-Hispanic): 58 %
  • Chose not to report: 7 %

• Regional breakdown of U.S. citizens in newest entering class:

  • Northeast: 15 %
  • Mid-Atlantic: 63 %
  • South: 11 %
  • Southwest: 4 %
  • Midwest: 4 %
  • West: 3 %

ADMISSIONS - Getting Into the Institution

• • Interviews are: Not required

• Application deadlines:

  • Fall 2012 1/1/2012
• • Additional application requirements: TOEFL for non-English
• • Total undergraduate applicants, all programs: 23,587
• • Percentage of applicants admitted: 33 %
• • Percentage of admitted applicants who enrolled: 44 %
• • International applicants: 6 %
• • Female applicants: 42 %

• Relative Importance of Application Elements

  • Secondary school record: Very Important
  • Class rank: Very Important
  • Talent/ability: Important
  • Interview: Not Considered
  • Extracurricular activities: Important
  • Volunteer work: Considered
  • Character/personal abilities: Important
  • Application essay: Important
  • Work experience: Not Considered
  • SAT/ACT scores: Important
  • Recommendations: Very Important
  • High school GPA: Very Important

ADMISSIONS - Getting Into the Business Program

• • Undergrad business program admissions are managed by: The business program office
  • Total undergraduate business applicants: 707
  • Percentage of applicants admitted: 51 %
  • Percentage of admitted applicants who enrolled: 96 %
• • Admissions interviews for the undergraduate business program are: By invitation only

• Freshman admission:

  • Does the business program admit freshmen?: No
  • Are freshman business admits required to complete or obtain minimum GPAs in pre-business courses before taking upper-level courses? No

• Internal transfers:

  • Method for handling internal transfers: Separate application
  • Additional application requirements, including course/grade requirements: Prerequisites comprised of economics, accounting, math, statistics, writing, foreign language, and humanities.

CAMPUS LIFE

• Five largest on-campus organizations for business students:

  • Student Entrepreneurs for Economic Development
  • McIntire Investment Institute
  • Entrepreneurship Group at McIntire
  • Advertising and Marketing Association
  • Students in Free Enterprise
• • Are freshmen required to live on campus?: Yes
  • Are business students grouped together in 'learning communities' in housing and other facilities?: No

PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS

• Minimum number of credit hours required to receive an undergraduate business degree:

  • 120 120

• Other requirements for the undergraduate business degree

  • 39 hours of Commerce course work beyond the aforementioned prerequisites. A minimum of 60 credit hours must be completed at the University of Virginia.

ACADEMICS

• Average class size:

  • Required business classes: 48
  • Business electives: 32
  • Non-business electives: 57

• Percentage of business classes:

  • With 20 or fewer students: 12 %
  • With 21 to 50 students: 83 %
  • With more than 50 students: 5 %

• Course enrollment:

  • Percentage of required business courses reaching maximum enrollment by the first day of class: 100 %

CURRICULUM

• Electives:

  • Available business electives: 56
  • New electives: Investing in a Sustainable Future
• • Last curriculum overhaul: 2010
  • Total business faculty: 69
  • Percentage of the total faculty that is tenured or tenure track: 70 %

• Most prominent faculty:

  • David Mick
  • Bill Wilhelm
  • Tom Bateman

• Business program's leading areas of study:

  • • Accounting
    • Finance
    • Marketing
    • Management Information Systems
    • Strategy
• • Special programs: Entrepreneurship Track, Real Estate Track, Leadership Minor, Global Commerce Track, Business Analytics Track
• • Study abroad programs: The McIntire School of Commerce offers a variety of study abroad opportunities, including semester abroad programs during spring semester of a student’s third-year, and several short January and summer courses.
• • Volunteer opportunities: The University offers a variety of volunteer opportunities through Madison House.

• Extra-curricular activities:

  • Advertising and Marketing Association
  • Black Commerce Student Network at McIntire
  • Consulting Group at McIntire
  • Entrepreneurship Group at McIntire
  • McIntire Investment Institute
  • Student entrepreneurs for Economic Development
  • Students in Free Enterprise
  • Women's Business Forum at McIntire

FINANCIAL AID

• • Who manages financial aid for the business program?: Central financial aid office at the university
  • Financial aid web site: http://www.virginia.edu/financialaid/

• Scholarships

  • Scholarship money distributed to business students last year: $2,023,002.00
  • Expected scholarship distribution to business students this year: $2,235,172.00
  • Scholarships are awarded to business students based on: a combination of need and merit
  • Other criteria for scholarship consideration: McIntire students have the opportunity to participate in all financial aid programs offered through the University’s Student Financial Services Office. This office works with parents and students to determine student need, eligibility, and award amounts. Each year, through the generosity of corporations, alumni, and friends, the McIntire School is able to award scholarships to support deserving students. These funds are distributed through the UVA Student Financial Services Office as part of the student’s award package. McIntire scholarship recipients are selected by Commerce School faculty and administrators in the spring of the student’s third year, and the scholarship money is credited to the recipient’s fourth year tuition bills. Most of the scholarships are need-based; some are based on academic or career interests or academic achievement. To be considered for these scholarships, third-year McIntire students complete one application for all scholarships and submit a current resume. A complete listing and description of all scholarships and awards can be found in the University Undergraduate Record.
  • Students receiving institutional scholarships in the current academic year: 20 %
  • Students receiving full-tuition institutional scholarships in the current academic year: 9 %
  • Institutional scholarship money distributed to undergraduate business students based on need: 88 %
  • Institutional scholarship money distributed to undergraduate business students based on merit: 12 %

• Loans

  • Does the school offer a guaranteed loan to all business students, regardless of nationality?: No
• • Mean outstanding debt, most recent graduating class: $21,220.00

CAREER SERVICES

• Employment Information

  • Percentage of most recent business graduates who supplied information regarding employment: 100 %
  • Percentage seeking full-time professional employment in business: 87 %
  • Percentage not seeking full-time professional employment in business: 13 %

• Accepted first job offer:

  • By graduation : 84 %
  • After graduation, but within 3 months: 10 %
  • More than 3 months after graduation: 4 %
  • No job acceptance reported: 2 %
• • Companies recruiting business students on campus: 314

• Top employers (number of students hired):

  • PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP 32
  • Ernst & Young LLP 30
  • KPMG 27
  • Deloitte 12
  • Barclays Capital 9
  • Citigroup Inc. 9
  • Accenture 8
  • Capital One 8
  • UBS 7
  • Wells Fargo & Company 7
  • Fannie Mae 6
  • McKinsey & Company 6
  • Credit Suisse 5
  • JPMorgan Chase & Co. 5
  • Teach for America, Inc. 5

• Compensation

  • Mean base salary: $60,869.00
  • Median base salary : $60,000.00
  • Mean signing bonus: $7,956.00
  • Mean other guaranteed compensation: $15,635.00

• Most recent graduates accepted jobs in the following functional areas:

  • Consulting: 24 %
  • Finance/Accounting: 61 %
  • Management Information Systems: 2 %
  • Marketing/Sales: 11 %
  • Other: 2 %

• Most recent graduates accepted jobs in the following industries:

  • Accounting: 15 %
  • Consumer Products/Retail : 3 %
  • Consulting: 18 %
  • Financial Services: 48 %
  • Government/Education: 3 %
  • Manufacturing: 1 %
  • Real Estate: 3 %
  • Technology/Science: 2 %
  • Other: 7 %

• Job offers accepted by most recent graduates in North America:

  • US: 100 %

• Percentage of 2009-10 academic year graduates who accepted jobs in regions of US:

  • Northeast: 40 %
  • Mid-Atlantic: 37 %
  • Midwest: 7 %
  • South: 12 %
  • Southwest: 1 %
  • West: 3 %
• • Career services offered: We have four full-time career counselors dedicated to our 677 students. Through the “Employer-in-Residence Program” (mock interviews, resume reviews and coffee networking sessions), resume and interviewing workshops, student treks, industry focused seminars, a supplemental recruiting program, and one-on-one advising appointments, our students are afforded many opportunities to have their resume and interview skills fine-tuned in advance of the full-time and internship recruiting process.

INTERNSHIPS

• • Companies recruiting business students for internships on campus: 125

• Top internship employers (number of students hired):

  • Ernst & Young LLP 18
  • Altria Group, Inc. 12
  • Morgan Stanley 10
  • JPMorgan Chase & Co. 9
  • Deloitte 7
  • Houlihan Lokey 6
  • UBS 6
  • Credit Suisse 5
  • Jefferies & Company, Inc. 5
  • Navigant 5
  • PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP 5
  • University of Virginia 5
  • Barclays Capital 4
  • KPMG 4
  • Goldman Sachs 3

• Internship pay

  • Internships that are paid: 99 %
  • Mean compensation, per week, for paid internships only: $1,015.00
  • Average internship length, in weeks: 10

B-SCHOOL ALUMNI

• • Total number of undergraduate business program graduates since inception: 14,021
  • Total living alumni of the undergraduate business program: 12,980
  • Percentage of living alumni who contributed to the business program or university in the last academic year: 22 %

• Alumni gifts

  • Mean Gift: $681.00
  • Median Gift: $100.00
  • Did the business program receive a gift of $10 million or more in the last academic year? No

• Prominent alums of the undergrad business program

  • Ronde Barber Cornerback, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
  • John Griffin Founder, Blue Ridge Capital LP
  • Jonathan Mariner CFO, Major League Baseball

• • -The teachers are all very engaging and they constantly challenge you with new ideas and concepts. One of my favorite things about McIntire is its difficulty. There were many times when I told myself that I would never be able to do what was asked of me but in the end I was always able to accomplish what was set out in front of me. I would say McIntire really helped me see what I was capable of and stretched my limits.
    
    -I believe increasing the number of management classes offered would improve the program. Some of these are limited to management majors (even though it's considered a secondary concentration) for a week or two into class sign-ups because of the high level of demand as opposed to the lower level of supply. As a finance/accounting major, I still would like to take more of these classes, as I think they are helpful no matter what field a student enters.
    
    -At the end of the day, I think a lot of the undergraduate business schools in the U.S. are very similar. The one significant differentiator is teaching quality. In that regard, I feel like McIntire is particularly unique. The culture at McIntire is unique because the teachers have a wealth of experience and incredible passion for teaching. This is something that can't be underestimated.
    
    -The focus on a degree of group work is great and has been very instrumental to my learning; however, the selection of groups could be rethought from an availability standpoint. The program attracts a lot of very smart and involved students who remain very involved outside of class after gaining admission to McIntire. This makes group work between 6 students a real challenge when schedules clash. While one could say that this is a real world problem, etc. I maintain that the potential negative impact on grades outweighs the lesson that people aren't always available. Having a group that can meet more regularly would enhance the actual learning and doing, which is the real purpose of any college program.
    
    -I think the Integrated Core Curriculum (ICE) in the 3rd year is unique. It exposes you to a lot of different areas at the same time so that you can learn how to work with them all together instead of in each separate discipline. I also think it is unique that we have a 2 year program that you do not begin until your 3rd year; this allows for students to be exposed to a broader education and not be solely focused on their major.
    
    -Because it's a two-year program, I didn't start thinking about business until my third-year, therefore going into internship recruiting I didn't have any relevant experience. I wish McIntire could somehow support future students in getting internships in relevant fields.
    
    -Our business program has an outstanding network of alumni and potential employers. I have traveled to many different cities for final round interviews and always run into someone from UVA. It is incredible how eager they are to help and reach out to students who ask for it.
    
    -The business program could be strengthened if the grading criteria was more lenient. This is not to say that the material or tests should be made easier - it is good that students are challenged and forced to work hard to earn good grades. However, as a third year (junior) who is about to begin his/her toughest semester in college, i.e. Fall semester of his/her first year in McIntire, one's grades will tend to fall. This might make it a lot more difficult for McIntire students to find good internships in the Spring. Some students may be extremely bright and well-suited for the jobs they are looking for, but just need a longer time to get used to the McIntire system in order to excel in their business courses. However, they are not given any "room for error" because if they do badly in the Fall semester of their third year, they may find it a lot more difficult to find a good internship in the following Spring semester.
    
    -It's a tight knit community. The Comm School is simply an experience that you have no idea what you're getting into. You work harder than any other student, but you all work together. Sometimes with people you don't like. Sometimes with people you do. You come out with so many experiences and stories, it's hard to imagine doing anything else in college. I am so nerdy, but I am literally getting goose bumps writing this. I am so thankful for McIntire.
    
    -To preface, many students de have a great relationship with the people within Commerce Career Services. However, there could have been a stronger relationship with the Commerce Career Services and the students. They are constantly emailing us about networking events, company presentations, etc. - all of which they have worked hard to set up. But, it seems that the students have to put in a good amount of effort to get to really know the people within Commerce Career Services. I believe this could potentially leave some students falling within the cracks. Obviously, most do not. But I believe they could have tried to set up one-on-one sessions when we first entered McIntire to facilitate creating relationships with Commerce Career Services.
    
    -I feel the school promotes finance and accounting much more heavily than the other concentrations, often to the detriment of other students legitimately interested in areas such as IT or marketing. Encouraging a more holistic curriculum would be much better, as I feel many students who lack a real passion in these fields study them anyway because it's "what you do" as a McIntire student. Also, career services is excellent, but could do a lot better for non-finance, non-accounting, and non-consulting positions. Some professors are weak but slide by on the school's reputation. Also, group work at times gets a bit tedious. Students are overly pre-professional; I feel more scheduling flexibility during 3rd and 4th years to take classes outside of the Commerce School would help solve this problem.
    
    -The fact that McIntire is only a 2-year program allows its students to receive 2 years of a solid liberal arts background before entering the Commerce School. I think this is incredibly important because these skills are necessary in the business world, too. Also, the case-based aspect of McIntire makes it very comparable to top MBA programs like Harvard. The top of the line facilities of McIntire is another factor that distinguishes our program, I believe.
    
    -The interdisciplinary focus is great! I now approach each problem from a bunch of different angles. Having the support of career services made finding a job a lot easier and less stressful.