Latin American Student Experience

Experience during the program

As a Latin American student I was a bit scared before coming to UNC because I had heard from other latins that it was going to be difficult to land a job. Luckily, everything turned out to be perfect. Let me explain my experience from three different buckets: (a) Academics, (b) Social, (c) Recruiting.

(a) Academics: UNC is a school that has full disclosure of grades (i.e. employers can ask the school for your grades) and the grade system is the following: High Pass (25%), Pass (70%), and Low Pass (5%). The first months of the MBA you work hard to avoid getting the Low Passes, but you'll realize that grades aren't that important (they really only matter if you are pursing Investment Banking). Overall, Academics are great (professors, class content, etc.) and don't represent a problem.

(b) Social: The social life is amazing. Being a relatively small class (~300), you really get a chance to get to know your class. All the night life circles around Franklin Street, which is very convenient as it is walking distance from the school and from most housing areas. In addition, you have Duke (Durham) very close (~20 mins), and Raleigh relatively close (~35 mins). In this triangle area, you have EVERYTHING. I came here with my wife and UNC is a great place for spouses (a lot of outdoor activities to do and everything is walking distance (or your can take any bus - all of them free of charge).

(c) Recruiting: This is the bucket I invested the majority of my time. Being an international without US work permit and Coming from a corporate banking background, I wasn't exactly sure if I wanted to continue in that industry. I only did on-campus recruiting because I was very happy with the firms that came here (strong focus on banking, consulting, finance, and rotational programs). I basically applied to all of the positions that were open. After many months of networking, company presentations, etc. I got invites to interview to a lot of companies and, luckily, I received three offers (Private Banking, Consulting, and a rotational program). You will naturally have many different opinions from UNC MBA's, but I'll tell you this: if you are organized, disciplined, patient, and open minded, I can guarantee that you will land a great job.

My overall experience has been incredible. You will love it.

About professors, classes and curriculum

My only concern about UNC has to do with the CMC (Career Management Center). For some reason, I haven't seen an established team during my MBA experience. There has been a lot of turnover and, as a result, some students were very disappointed about this (but most schools have this problem). Hopefully this won't be a problem in the future.

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

Strengths of the program:

Student body, diversity
Location
Culture & Student Support

Best fit at this program:

Consulting
Finance
Investment Banking

Can be improved:

Brand/Ranking