<p>Hi,</p>
<p>I’m wondering what are some of the disadvantages of going to a less competitive school such as Alabama for undergrad, compared to other schools I’m looking at such as USC, Michigan, North Carolina, Texas, Wisconsin, and Penn State.</p>
<p>I’m planning on majoring in business and I want to go to an elite MBA school such as Columbia.</p>
<p>I really like the fact about Alabama that my tuition would be covered and there would be no costs for undergraduate. If I make a 4.0 or a high 3 in undergraduate at a school such as
Alabama and I scored very high on the GMAT, would this put me at a disadvantage at getting into MBA schools such as the Ivies, and Stanford.</p>
<p>My parents are willing to pay $30,000 a year for me and the rest would need to be covered by either merit aid, scholarships, or financial aid.</p>
<p>Thanks,</p>
<p>Daniel</p>
<p>I don’t know the answer to this, because I don’t know people in Culverhouse B-school. I do know that the CEO of the Hong Kong stock exchange is an Alabama grad, and went on to an Ivy.</p>
<p>I know that Alabama grads have gone to ivies for med school and law school. I have to then guess that Alabama grads have also gone to ivy MBA programs. Does anyone here know?</p>
<p>I think Sea_tide is in the b-school, perhaps he can tell you. :)</p>
<p>Are you planning to visit UA? If so, you need to make an appt to tour the B-school and to discuss those things 205/348-6517. </p>
<p>What will your undergrad major be? That will make a difference, too.</p>
<p>Prospective Students
The best measure of any business school is the success of its graduates. At the University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce and Business Administration (C&BA), the success of our alumni clearly demonstrates the quality of our programs, as well as our commitment to helping all business students realize their potential. Current and recent CEOs of seven Fortune 500 companies are C&BA graduates. Among our alumni are numerous Corporate Presidents, Vice-Presidents, Partners and other business leaders. Also, our alumni include CEOs and Vice-Presidents of nonprofit organizations and several current or former governors, congressmen, and representatives.</p>
<p>BTW…the OOS schools on your list do not give FA to OOS kids. Do you know if you’d get any merit from them?</p>
<p>I don’t think any of the schools you mentioned give out merit aid except for very very top students. Plus, we one starts looking at private schools that require the CSS Profile financial aid form, that $30,000 your parents are willing to pay may be only a fraction of what the school expects them to pay. I didn’t apply to any Profile-required schools because I knew that my EFC through that would be through the roof compared to my lowish EFC.</p>
<p>Back to your question, it really depends on the student. Some may need the extra confidence of a HYPS degree to get into a prestigious MBA program, while many, if not most do not. Remember that MBA programs generally want 5 years work experience before applying, so your undergrad degree matters a little less. You are correct in that prestige matters for an MBA, and my advisors tell me that every time I see them. IMHO, see what school you like best. I cannot stress enough the importance of this. Personally, I chose Alabama because I liked it most out of all the schools I researched. I think that I will be better motivated and thus more desirable in an MBA or PhD program. </p>
<p>Simply put, an undergrad degree from UA will not be a disadvantage unless you make it to be. It appears that you want an undergrad business degree, in which UA and the other schools you are looking at make lots of sense. However, this is not required per se for an MBA. All in all, do well on the GMAT, and get a high GPA (4.33 is the max at UA), and stay motivated. Also, UA has a program called University Scholars were you can earn an MS in certain Business topics along with your BS. Call the number listed in mom2collegekids’s post and talk with them about setting up a meeting. I’ll also be happy to help you with any additional questions about UA or business majors.</p>
<p>I plan on getting an MBA from an ‘elite’ school myself. I didn’t make that decision until last year or so during my junior year. I was worried about how being at UA might hinder my chances but the great thing about MBA programs is that unlike law school or especially medical school, it is not solely based on undergraduate academics. Med/law school aspirants pretty much rely on their GPA and test scores. As you research various MBA programs you will see that an applicant’s chances are based on GPA, GMAT, Work Experience (99% of the schools require work experience, not internships but actually graduated from school work experience), essays and letters of recommendations. You truly have to paint yourself to the admissions councils and they look at the entire picture.</p>
<p>The great thing about UA is that we are an undergraduate researched based university. That means you do not have to be a professor or grad student to assist with actual research in any field. A classmate who was in the CBH program with me was just accepted to Harvard Business School. He was granted deferred admission, meaning they guarantee him a spot after he works for 2 years. He graduated a year early with an MIS degree. The MIS program is excellent because the students work with top companies on projects (Walmart, Proctor and Gamble, etc). Also by him being in the CBH program he was able to do research from his sophomore onward. All this helped him gain admittance. I won’t deny that going to a more prestigious school may strengthen your application but it is so small that it would only matter if two applicants had the exact same credentials - which will never happen.</p>
<p>Finally, I don’t know your family’s financial standings but $30,000 a year is way high in my book. Imagine what that $30,000/yr could be used for if you decided to go to UA. Graduating with minimal debt is always a great idea. Besides, you may be able to convince them to use that money to pay for your MBA school. The 2-year MBA program at Harvard is $46,000 a year for tuition. They estimate about $75,000/yr total (tuition + everything else).</p>
<p>If you graduate with a 4.0 and a high GMAT from UA, you will stand just as good a chance of gaining admission to any MBA program.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone. If I want to get into investment banking would that change my decision at all?</p>
<p>Just remember that you don’t have to make a decision until Spring. </p>
<p>Would you have an opportunity to visit the school and b-school before then to find out about some of your questions?</p>
<p>CC has an Investment Banking subforum, but I-Banking is more prestige-oriented. A graduate degree from a top school would be helpful if you were going to do that. If your sights are set on regional companies versus NYC, Alabama has a large following among southern banking companies. I’m in a finance club that hosts speakers from around the country and it’s interesting how many UA graduates they recruit. Regions Financial is based in Birmingham, so UA is a top school for them. Just a quick note, Alabama has few if any branches of the large national banks like Chase and BOA, Wells Fargo owns Wachovia now, so they will be having a presence soon. Even though I’m a finance major, I’m not specifically looking at banks and investment firms as possible careers. Especially with the recent financial crisis, it pays to have multiple options.</p>
<p>If you want to do I-banking, you MUST go to a top 5/10 MBA school if you do undergraduate at Alabama. I’m not sure if I-bankers are hired with just an undergraduate degree but if they are you MUST go to a top “elite” school instead of Alabama.</p>
<p>^^^</p>
<p>Agreed. You can’t just do undergrad and get hired in I-banking. You must go to a top school for GRADUATE school. You can do your undergrad at Bama.</p>
<p>Also, have you been admitted yet to these other schools? I know it must be a difficult decision since UA wants a deposit by March 1 (you can defer until May 1) when other schools don’t even notify you of their decision until then or later.</p>
<p>As far as I-Banking is concerned, your highest degree must be from a top school as uaprophet said.</p>