A program that is on its way

Experience during the program

McCombs is definitely still in up-and-coming mode. The location in Austin may be the best environment in the country to go to business school. Some of the professors are amazing, especially in the Marketing department. For Energy Finance and Real Estate McCombs is already a super elite program.

That said, the curriculum, especially the core still needs some work and the administration isn't good enough for the stature of the program. As cool as Austin is, it's a little out of the way for recruiting. The career office needs to devote more resources to the actual recruiting process and less on guidance.

The facilities sucked when I was there, but with the new building opening, they are sure to be a big plus going forward.

About professors, classes and curriculum

Core classes are uneven, but there are some great electives and the classes that have a good reputation have it because they are truly great. Believe the hype. (Except Raghunathan's Happiness course, don't take it)

About job placement process

Consulting recruiting was tough. McKinsey doesn't recruit MBAs at McCombs and Bain and BCG only take a couple a year. Deloitte hires a lot, but if you miss Deloitte you could be in trouble.

Investment banking recruiting is mostly for Houston, but plenty of people go to NYC.

Overall BSchool experience (4.0)
Schools contribution (3.0)
Classmates rating (5.0)

Strengths of the program:

Location
Culture & Student Support
Specialization in a particular area (e.g. Finance, Consulting, Healthcare, etc)

Best fit at this program:

Finance
Entrepreneurship
Real Estate

Can be improved:

Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Career opportunities provided by school
Admissions Team