UNC Kenan-Flagler is an underappreciated top MBA program

Experience during the program

UNC Chapel Hill's full-time MBA program is an underappreciated top MBA program. In my experience so far, we offer everything some of the similarly ranked programs offer and more. I received offers from several top 20 programs when I was applying for graduate programs so I took the decision process extremely seriously. In the end, it came down to "gut-feel" and UNC stood out. One criteria I placed a lot of importance on was career opportunities and diversity of career path's (that is what an MBA program should be focused on) If you look at the employment report for UNC, one thing that is underappreciated is that we send graduates to several functions. We have 2nd year's going to Consulting, Finance, Tech, Marketing, Healthcare, Real Estate, and Energy in pretty sizable proportions. In B-School, most of us will have a plan, but many of us will also switch last minute. I can say UNC provided access to a wide-array of employers from the MBB's of the world's to the Amazon/CIsco/Dell's of the world and everything in between. You want to attend a school that is solid all around, and UNC checked those boxes for me.

About professors, classes and curriculum

UNC professors are absolutely top-notch and take a backseat to no one. Our professors are leaders in teaching and research. Most of the core professors were leading research programs with some of the largest companies in the world and consulting at various other top b-schools. We have the Kenan Research Institute, which is a prime business research center that most of our professors conduct research at. They are also extremely welcoming and open to provide help. If you are struggling on anything, you simply shoot them an email, and they'll easily block out time to walk you through it. UNC's MBA program is quite difficult in the beginning, since they offload the core bushiness classes, but having supportive faculty really goes a long way.

About job placement process

We truly have a wide range of companies coming to campus. If you are recruiting consulting, most of our grads are going to Deloitte and McKinsey, however all the top firms (BCG, Bain, ATK, ZS, PwC) come on campus to recruit. We are also exceptionally strong in Finance (Barclays, Evercore, Goldman to name a few). Lastly, I think UNC is a top 3 healthcare school with potential to be THE premier healthcare school in the future. All the top pharma and provider companies recruit actively here. My one advice would be to go beyond the rankings. I placed a lot of importance on it, but sometimes rankings are deceiving. I do believe that UNC has top 15 potential and I think we'll get there. For example, we really need a new building but they are currently raising funds to build one and once that happens I think UNC will surge. For the process now, I would say go beyond the face value of rankings and really talk to current students, alumni, and faculty and I think you will be surprised at the respect of the brand and the success of the graduates. Also, do not underestimate the value of the "brand" in general. Beyond the MBA program, UNC has highly prestigious programs in Medicine, Public Health, Pharmacy, and Undergraduate. Brand equity as a whole goes a long way when recruiting. Any top MBA program will give you access to the leading professors, competitive firms, and research opportunities. Do not underestimate your fit, career aspirations, and flexibility when making a decision.

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

Strengths of the program:

Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Admissions Team
Specialization in a particular area (e.g. Finance, Consulting, Healthcare, etc)

Best fit at this program:

Consulting
Finance
Marketing
Investment Banking
Tech
Management
Healthcare and Real Estate

Can be improved:

Brand/Ranking
Facilities