For: @ChicagoBear
Thanks for the reply! That’s great UA does well in accounting. Thanks for the info!
For: @Fuzzyllama
Yes I have sister who went to Duke. She just graduated this summer… I’m not sure who you are though. How do you know her?
No I didn’t get in any of the U Chicago or Northwestern summer programs. I did apply though, but I’m not smart enough to get in I suppose.
Latin!! Shouldn’t your list be all Ivy league with Northwestern, Stanford and Duke sprinkled in? Can’t believe a Latin student is going state U. I go to UC Lab… But nothing like your fancy Latin!
Thanks for the UIUC info, yeah my counselor said the same that UIUC is expecting an off the hook freshman class next year. Sucks for me. Also I heard UIUC will go roughly 70% instate and about 30% out-of-state which is bad news for us. They are going for more out-of-state students since the state cut their funding.
I did apply to Michigan using my mom as leverage. Even then, Michigan is pretty though to get into. I would barely fit into their bottom 10%.
Btw… Are you part of the case study competition between our schools? I heard McKinsey and Boston consultants will be there judging. Good way to network!!
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All new buildings regardless of location all looked the same, the glass and steel look.
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Not at Bama. The new buildings are designed to look like they belong with the old ones.
Many consulting jobs are with specialty UG and MBA - and depending on supply/demand and credentials. Two of my classmates fit the bill - one was ECE then MBA, the other was architect then MBA. The first did some work in US with a few firms before going into consulting and a lot of foreign assignments. The second has his own successful firm.
To me it is better to do well at UG, be where one can thrive. Can one thrive when in the bottom of an incoming class?
In management consulting, what you major in as undergrad rarely matters. They really just want people from brand name schools with a good GPA. Usually, not always though. I’ve seen Northwestern grads major in English and get a job as a McKinsey Consultant.
Here are a few Linkedin profiles:
She has a undergrad in Kinesiology and a MBA from IU: Works as a Development Manager at McKinsey and probably pulls in about $170,000 a year. Not bad for someone 27-28 years old.
https://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/in/pamelaloebig
This person majored in News/Radio and Film at Northwestern and landed a job as a McKinsey Analyst straight out of college. Where can you major in shenanigans like News/Radio and Film then end up at one of the most selective companies in the world?
https://■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■/in/livjaeger
The admissions offices of these schools do most of the work for the corporate recruiter, if that makes any sense…
Well what you are saying is going to a school like Northwestern is going to give you a much better chance at a high paying job as a management consultant. It might and it might not.
The cream rises to the top.
And I do know some mgmt consulting firms like to tote their employees that graduate from name schools to help sell their services and justify their advising and costs.
I’m not sure one sets out to be a consultant - you set out to do what you love and what you are good at, and if your skill set matches with a high paid consultant, so be it. If you are constantly just chasing the money the rest of your life may suffer, including personal life, life balance, and maybe personal ethics.
I was in a MBA program with a H-W who were chasing the money. Their egos were huge too. They weren’t as smart as they thought they were - they were part of a MBA competition and I witnessed it front and center, and so did the faculty who selected them for the team.
We were part of the same dance studio in Lincoln Park. I just remember she had a brother my age named Blake. Latin is just a private school, not a prep school. I would say most don’t even apply to the Ivies. I think about 5-7 students may end up at a Ivy every year. The most popular school other than Illinois at Latin for the 7th straight year is University of Southern California. I believe southern California and super high tuition is part of the appeal. I’m not part of the case study teams this year. I have a huge case of senioritis; I’m just enjoying my final year of high school. Whatever happens, happens. Did you finish all your college applications?
Yep, finally. When you visited Alabama did you do the honors tour or the regular one? Was it worth it to go all the way down there for the tour? We usually make trips to Alabama since we have family there but we aren’t going there anytime soon. Therefore we would have to make a special trip for a tour. Since UA is a last ditch option for me, I wasn’t sure if it is even worth the time and expense of going down there.
@Blake2020, if you’re treating UA as a safety, and it isn’t terribly expensive for you to travel to AL, I would just wait until you get the rest of your decisions (and FA awards if that’s a factor you need to weigh) and then decide if you should visit. We waited until April 1 to visit from PA, but we did the full tour (honors + general), all arranged by the Honors College and tailored to our son’s needs. We scheduled it for just prior to Accepted Student Day visits my son was going to be making to several other schools.
Keep in mind, however, that you may have a hard time scheduling all those various tours as a lot of colleges and universities are scheduling them for the same weeks, and it can get hectic with end-of-year activities for HS seniors. That’s why we tried to squeeze our Bama visit in on the early side. And, boy, am I glad we did. I never would have allowed my son to go there (and he wouldn’t have wanted to) sight unseen, but once he experienced the university in person, it quickly became the standard he compared the other schools to.
Good luck to you and @Fuzzyllama!
Didn’t the UA business school just win a top award and pretty sure they are in the top 10!
Dude, your parents may be helicopter, but looks like you found a new launch pad. How cool would it be for you to say, “Hey Mom, check this out: I am a talented young man who wants to create my own destiny. I just got a full tuition scholarship at Alabama–yep, that one, Roll Tide. Killer campus, state-of-the-art facilities, unbelievable student athletics facilities, great town, teachers that actually talk to me, challenge me, lovely people, an honors college, state-of-the-art honors dorms, opportunities for research and co-ops, Once I graduate with outstanding grades and non-academic leadership credentials, I’ll have no student debt, and apply to Kellogg graduate school, and be highly recruited by McKinsey, Bain &Co, Boston Consulting Group.”
Just a thought.
Blake2020:
A few clues on management consulting:
- GPA is king. Without a 3.75 its virtually impossible to get an interview. What you major in is not important–but you must pass the case, analytics and interview. So you must be well spoken, well read, understand math extremely well, and be super “clean cut.” (Break out the navy blue suit and be clean shaven.)
- To think that high performing UA students don’t have opportunities at these firms is foolish. I have a DD with interviews at Goldman Sachs, Booz Allen and Bain–all three have been on campus this Fall. McKinsey will accept applications from UA students in certain programs, such as Computer Based Honors and University Fellows as well.
- Whatever you do, don’t go into consulting for the money. As an undergrad, you are at significantly less than 170K–starting is about half of that. After MBA school, you still wont hit 170K for at least 3 years. You also need to commit to 60 hour work weeks, and four days a week of travel 40 weeks a year. Its not a life for the faint at heart.
Thanks for the info. I’ll will probably wait till all my acceptance/denial letters get in and then decide as you suggested. It’s about $350 a ticket from Chicago O’hare to Birmingham, AL. Though my parents usually have tons of flyer miles so it wouldn’t be too expensive to visit. Its more of the time thing since I pretty much have exhausted all my college days and my parents run a business so for them to leave Chicago can be a burden. But I guess we will see how things pan out. Thanks again!
Not sure who has Culverhouse at ten overall.
Bloomberg: #76
Businessweek: #80
Newsweek should have it around the same…
There might be a particular field of study within a particular department which might be ranked top 10…
Well, the two schools I’m seriously considering (Illinois and Indiana) have all of what you described, but these are top b-schools too (well respected and well recruited). So I suppose, it is a double bonus for me too attend Illinois or Indiana? Odd you think UA is the only school that has those features, if anything, it would be safe to say UA discovered those features at other institutions and in an attempt to become competitive, they implemented them just recently (last ten years?). Also look at the graduation rates at both schools; how do they graduate so many more people with bad instructors (or as you implied that don’t talk to students)? IU’s Kelley has one of the highest student satisfaction ratings of all b-schools, primarily due to tiny classes and legitimate first rate instructors. I see nothing that supports your statements anywhere.
http://kelley.iu.edu/About/Rankings/rankings.html
You can’t get into Kellogg without 4-7 years of work experience at a top firm or company. Like any good MBA program, you need work experience. Elite firms help you get into top MBA programs like Wharton, Kellogg etc… So if you are thinking you can just ace it at Alabama and walk into Kellogg (or any respected b-school) you are grossly mistaken. Typically, you need to land those top jobs straight out of undergrad (not always though).
For your info: For MGMT consulting:
- You start as an associate or analyst at top firm straight out of undergrad, for about 2 years.
- Then you are given the option to pursue an MBA (in most cases you have to if you want to move out of the associate position): If they really like you, they will even pay for your MBA
- After you come back with your MBA you move typically into a consultant role or a similar title
The goal of this process is to, as my dad would say: “Make your resume look sexy”. If they see top flight schools and prestige firms people will seek your services regardless of industry. Hence the term “McKinsey Alumni” or what my mom was later called when she left McKinsey to start a family “A McKinsey Mom”. Idea here is to build your brand name. Typically many MBA programs have a class on building “your brand name”.
@swimforschool
I’m getting into consulting not for the long term. My parents were both in MGMT consulting before they started their own company. To reiterate on an earlier post
The goal of this process is to, as my dad would say: “Make your resume look sexy”. If they see top flight schools and prestige firms people will seek your services regardless of industry. Hence the term “McKinsey Alumni” or what my mom was later called when she left McKinsey to start a family “A McKinsey Mom”. Idea here is to build your brand name. Typically many MBA programs have a class on building “your brand name”.
These firms hire from all schools really. Just the top schools are over represented and recruited well, it helps your odds.
@Blake2020, you seem to have a good handle on all of this. I should have added that my son was looking at engineering, not business, so his concerns were a little different than yours.
Re Culverhouse’s rankings, I think accounting and MIS are the premier programs within the school. See here: http://manderson.cba.ua.edu/about/fast_facts/
Do let us know how it all turns out for you!