<p>I am currently a freshman at the University of Central Florida majoring in Electrical Engineering, I know an MBA is a long way off but I have looked at programs that interest me. I had a couple of questions and I figured this would be a good place to start. The programs I have been looking at are Harvard’s 2+2, MIT LFM, Kellogs MMM and a couple others (Stanford, Chicago, Colombia). I know most will say I am shooting high but if you never try you will always wonder "what if". </p>
<p>I was wondering if the prestige of one’s undergrad institution greatly matters in terms of acceptance. Does that applicant from Duke stand a MUCH greater chance of acceptance than one from UCF, ceteris paribus? I have an option to attend University of Miami on a full ride next semester and if not I woiuld consider to apply to UF or Duke or GT in the up and comming year but I am unsure if the prestige is worth losing my co-op, research that I will start next year and other involvment on campus (clubs, tutor at math lab, ect).</p>
<p>My second questions is about MIT's LFM and Kellogs MMM program, is it more competitive than their regular MBA program and do some rejected applicants of the LMF program gain acceptance to either the MBA program or a master’s program. </p>
<p>My third question is how much are internships or work through college valued. I obtained an co-op at an engineering firm. It isn't just grunt work I am now considered an actual employee compared to an intern. Does this hold any weight if as far as work experience?</p>
<p>I can’t answer you second question, but I can give some thought to the first and third;</p>
<p>The most important things to MBA admissions in work experience, GMAT, and gpa, college prestige is not one of their factors for concern. With that in mind do you think going to Miami will hurt or help your chances for employment after graduation? Entry level jobs concern themselves with co-ops and internships. Also, alumni associations help obtain jobs, what kind of jobs can you get? Will this appeal to MBA admissions more?</p>
<p>These are probably the questions you should be asking yourself. Don’t skip from undergrad to graduate, you have work experience in between to concern yourself with first. What is the best way to get the right work experience?</p>
<p>I was always under the impression prestige didn’t matter much for jobs in engineering and either way UCF has strong ties with General Electric, NASA, Lockheed, Boeing, and Siemens but I was hoping to find some type of job in finance if possible. I am just unsure how much UM might help in that area.</p>
<p>How well you do in college and what you do after College will have more of an impact than which college you went to. Obviously some colleges will prepare you better, but that has nothing to do with “prestige”, other than more prestigious colleges tend to prepare their kids better.</p>
<p>Which college will help you get a better job? Also, not having a lot of loans (full ride from UM) will make grad school more affordable.</p>
<p>I have a full ride at both university’s, so cost debt wouldn’t be a factor. I also plan to apply to some programs out of undergrad(2+2) and some other deffered admissions, such as Stanford.</p>
<p>What is your GPA (or what kind of GPA are you hoping to graduate with)?</p>
<p>It sounds like quality engineering firms recruit at UCF. What kind of advantage would you really gain from going to UM? Do you have avg starting salaries for EE grads from UCF and UM? If not, I would try to obtain that from the career services of each school. I would also try to obtain a list of employers from Miami (from either career services or someone involved with EE there).</p>
<p>Also, what are your goals upon graduation? Even if Duke doesn’t give you better opportunities in engineering (something you should research) there is the potential that it would give you better opportunities to land non-engineering jobs (such as consulting) which could potentially be looked upon quite favorably by admissions committees.</p>
<p>You bring up a good point, I would strongly consider Duke. I plan to graduate with around a 3.8…I have slightly higher than that not but I believe it will level out to around 3.8. Any comments on the different programs?</p>
<p>You’re right about prestige not mattering much for engineering jobs. If you do well enough at UCF you’ll do the same work as MIT trained engineers. Also, I’ve found it’s more what you do as an undergrad than where you went that matters for b-school admissions - I went to a small LAC and did well, now I’m at b-school with a bunch of HYP types. If you’re certain about engineering then go where the $$$ (scholarship) is and where you think you’ll enjoy yourself most - that matters in college you know! I happen to know that the campus environments at all the schools you mentioned are great (why did I go to school in the northeast?), so you can’t go wrong there.</p>
<p>Lastly, vector is right about Duke etc. and non-engineering jobs. If you would consider finance or consulting work - both are superior to engineering in terms of pay and experience - then maybe consider the more prestigious schools even if you lose the scholarship, prestige counts toward getting the top (non-engineering) jobs right out of undergrad.</p>
<p>Whatever you do, it sounds like you have a decent head on your shoulders, so I have a feeling it will turn out fine.</p>