<p>Just wondering if there’s any reason why I should attend Alabama’s business school over other more highly-recognized business schools, specifically McCombs, Cox (at SMU), and the international business school at South Carolina. I loved Alabama when I visited it, and it’s definitely the cheapest out of all my choices, but the only problems is I am having some misgivings about its academic reputation, especially compared to the other colleges I got in to. I definitely loved every other aspect of it, with the football games and sorority life and everything, but I know college is supposed to be about preparing for the workplace, not just socializing, and I don’t wanna make the wrong choice in regards to my future career path! Thanks!
Also, I’m specifically interested in marketing as my major, and international business or public relations or German as minors, if that helps!</p>
<p>What do they say in the B-school forums?</p>
<p>Bama’s Culverhouse Business College’s accounting program is ranked 19th in the country.</p>
<p>I posted a similar question to some of my peers (I am the partent) asking about Culverhouse vs. Mays at Texas A&M. Of course my Texas friends indicated that Mays is higher ranked and recruited well, especially in Texas and surrounding states. My friends in the Southeast indicated that Culverhouse had a great reputation in the Southeast and was recruited well. National rankings put A&M overall higher than Bama, but rankings don’t always tell the whole story. Regarding SC–another colleague spoke very highly of the B school and it is apparently getting a lot of funding in the next few years. </p>
<p>The bottom-line is that you probably should go where you feel the most comfortable, won’t be second-guessing your decision, and make the most of it. You have some great choices and if you put your mind to it–seek out opportunities, look for internships, get to know your professors-- you will be successful. If you are really concerned, ask the schools how their graduates are doing in finding work and what companies visit the campus and might have partnerships with different departments. Their is some value in the “brand”, but also you should be where you fit and will find the most success.</p>
<p>DS was faced with almost identical decision as you are contemplating now and thank you to so many well known posters on this board for their sage advice as he is excelling at UA both academically and personally!
DS is an Accounting major and German minor, was accepted into UT McCombs (#1 for accounting) and offered an academic scholarship by USC (which was an auto admit into the renowned International Business School). He chose UA for so many excellent reasons: he loved everything about his campus visit, Presidential scholarship, superior honors dorms, generous AP credit (he is a sophmore with Senior status) leads to double major or University Scholars; confirmed that Accounting firms recruit at UA, ability to do well academically (so far Presidential list all 3 semesters), can preserve his college fund for his MBA, outstanding Honors and International Honors program, studied abroad after freshman year (UA in Germany-Berlin), this summer will study international accounting standards in Ghent/London.
Financially, UA is a steal. There is no financial stress, no academic stress, it has allowed him to volunteer, make friends, join clubs, and build his resume to prepare for the workplace, all while enjoying the wonders of an SEC powerhouse!</p>
<p>You’ve received a couple of good responses. This type of question was discussed in depth in the “Tired of the look” thread. </p>
<p>Some additional thoughts: </p>
<p>Is your personality the type that needs to drive a ‘status symbol’ type car rather than an equally capable, less expensive car of ‘lower status’? You might want the higher-ranked school if you think you will second guess your decision for life. The two are not mutually exclusive…just an illustration to look within to see if there is a ‘need’ for higher rank or status. (Disclaimer: I drive one of the aforementioned cars). </p>
<p>One of the responses above said “no academic stress” with regard to Alabama. I believe my D would disagree with that but it might be because she did come in with so many AP credits and skip over the vast majority of the core (though it sounds like kmwjes’s son did too). Since the OP has misgivings about the academic reputation, I don’t want her to take the “no academic stress” comment out of context. My D works very hard for her classes, though she still has time for hanging out with friends, bible study group, intramurals and being a contributing writer for the Crimson White. </p>
<p>Honestly, Alabama was the lowest ranking school my D applied to. It was her safety. Even as an auto-admit to TX, she didn’t apply in her home state. And she got into some very good schools. But she fell in love with Alabama. Yes, her parents loved the price tag, but we would have supported her to go to the school of her choice. She chose Alabama. Is she looking back and wondering “what if”? No. But she is planning to go to grad school up in the northeast. Do we worry that she won’t have the academic background? Not at all. </p>
<p>As a final note, I met a young female ER physician at church last Sunday. She went to med school at Duke. Upon inquiry, I learned she went to undergrad at a small, state school in TX (NCAA D2) that many Texans haven’t even heard of. Certainly not an academic powerhouse. Yet she went to Duke for med school. She spoke fondly of her undergrad years, especially because she met her husband there.</p>
<p>Your future depends so much on you. Not your family. Not your college choice. But on you and what you do with whatever you’ve been given.</p>
<p>I understand your comment about the “status symbol car”, and no, I am not one of those people. I was actually very enamored with Alabama when I visited, and I feel as though it is a VERY underrated school. I really liked it because I felt as though the people there truly cared about their students, whereas at UT I’d just be a number. However, I’ve heard from people who are similar academically to me that UA has a very easy workload, whereas UT pushes their students more. That’s the only thing that gave me pause, because I don’t plan on going to grad school (most marketing majors don’t), and so the next four years, it is vital that I get a good, comprehensive education. I really want to live in Austin too when I’m older, and I didn’t know how difficult it would be to get a decent job in Austin with an UA degree, when I’d be competing against kids from the prestigious McCombs School of Business. UT is definitely my top choice, but as an out of state student, I doubt I’m going to get the kind of financial aid I need to go to a school like that…Plus UA gave me a full tuition scholarship, so I guess it’s a question of weighing the value…</p>
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<p>Hi. sunshine. Don’t believe everything you hear. My son is a marketing major at UA and a National Merit Scholar. He’s being mightily pushed. Why? Because he’s the one doing the pushing. That’s what employers are looking for. UA will provide you all the resources you need to compete. How you capitalize on these resources is up to you.</p>
<p>Take comfort in a recent Culverhouse blog that notes the work of Kristi Wheeler-Griffin, UA’s business school internship coordinator, who “works with business leaders across the country, making sure Culverhouse offers what those leaders seek in potential hires. Then she shares that insider information in classrooms and student organizations.” (Source: [Culverhouse</a> - News](<a href=“http://cba.ua.edu/news/262/20130207/a_job_with_training_wheels]Culverhouse”>http://cba.ua.edu/news/262/20130207/a_job_with_training_wheels))</p>
<p>One of the keys to getting a “decent job” these days is nailing down a good internship and showcasing your talents there. UA has a wonderful, supportive infrastructure to help its students obtain meaningful internships that lead to meaningful employment.</p>
<p>However, I’ve heard from people who are similar academically to me that UA has a very easy workload, whereas UT pushes their students more</p>
<p>Who are these “people”?</p>
<p>Thank you, malanai, for your comments. My son has just switched to marketing and your words help to allay some of my concerns. I think it will be a good fit for him, but the idea of changing has been a little scary. I appreciate the guidepost!</p>
<p>Not sure what type of marketing that you are interested in going to, but if you want to work for a corporation in marketing, you will probably need to get a MBA. All of the brand managers at the company that I work for have MBAs and generally the younger ones have them from one of three schools. I know that you say that you want to work in Austin - if there is a company there that you are interested in, might be a good idea to try and see how they recruit. In the job market today, it helps to have as much information as possible.</p>
<p>To add to Malanai’s post. DS is a junior finance major. He had emails every week on internships available in his field and suggestions for resumes from the business school. He just secured a PAID internship with Raymond James Financial in Birmingham for this summer. They shared with him what their previous 2 interns were doing now. One is in law school and is planning on being a financial lawyer. The other works full time for them. DS feels really good about the possibilities for his future if he does a good job for them this summer. No way he would have found this opportunity without the direction of the career center thru the business school!</p>
<p>Sorry I did find out that I WILL really need a MBA, my bad! Thank you for all your help 
I did decide on Bama, because I got no scholarship money from UT, and SMU and USC just didn’t seem like good fits for me socially. I’m excited for this fall! I do think that Bama seems like they’ll really help me a lot with internships and finding a job, so I’m very happy about that. Plus I think I’ll go to UT for my MBA, so I eventually will end up in Austin! It will be nice to have a small, college-town experience before I hit the city:)</p>
<p>Congratulations, sunshine341! Sounds like a great plan, and with the cost savings at Alabama, not only will you get a great education but you’ll have a great headstart on the cost of the MBA. Definitely the kind of good, sound thinking one would expect from a future business person!</p>