Son accepted into Undergrad Business School

AtlAtty

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Maude
Joined
Jan 30, 2012
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From the title you can tell that we recently received some good news about our son. He is still weighing some options.
Has anyone on here graduated from the b-school or have any opinions on how strong that program is in S Fla, and regionally? We did all our research but rankings only tell a small part of the story and often don't tell how a school or program within a school is perceived by the community.
Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.
 
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From the title you can tell that we recently received some good news about our son. He is still weighing some options.
Has anyone on here graduated from the b-school or have any opinions on how strong that program is in S Fla, and regionally? We did all our research but rankings only tell a small part of the story and often don't tell how a school or program within a school is perceived by the community.
Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.
Cant answer your question, but wanted give a congrats!
 
There are a few of us, but most are old folks now. It also depends on the field.
 
I loved going to the University of Miami and the school of Business, but I'll be honest when it comes to business unless you are studying possibly Finance, it really does not matter what school you attend if you are not attending an Ivy school. The school you attend for business will only help in your first job, but tbh if you are interning then that experience will be what most helps your first job. The school will then only effect if you get the internship.

Never have I been asked about my school experience or had hour plus interviews that talked about anything other than my job experience even when I was starting out. Obviously in a situation where there are two identical resumes the schools may matter, but lets be frank there are a ton of things that would matter like personality, fit, and more that probably make as much of an impact.

In my opinion if money is not an issue, like it isn't for 95% of people that go to the U, then go, it is the best school in the nation to attend. If it is and you will have to get any sort of loans don't go, its not worth it go to a public school near you.

Most of my coworkers, including bosses, in the jobs I have had, which are pretty good Digital Marketing jobs, graduated from schools I had no idea existed and in no top rankings. The person and most importantly CONNECTIONS matter the most when it comes to the business world.
 
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Congratulations! I am not in the field so won't answer, but I always wondered how much an undergrad business degree means if it's not from one of the Ivy League or similarly comparable spots. I think a lot of it boils down to finances and where he's comfortable. Nevertheless, enjoy the process and congrats again.
 
Probably depends on what regional area your son wants to work in. If he wants to work in Florida or the south, the UM degree holds some weight but outside of that, it's just another good school that competes with 50+ other universities. At his age, determining what area he will want to work in can be a very difficult thing to answer. Long story short, UM is a good b-school and would be a good choice.

Anyway, congrats to your son!
 
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From the title you can tell that we recently received some good news about our son. He is still weighing some options.
Has anyone on here graduated from the b-school or have any opinions on how strong that program is in S Fla, and regionally? We did all our research but rankings only tell a small part of the story and often don't tell how a school or program within a school is perceived by the community.
Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.


I have my undergrad and MBA from the UM B-School.

Here's the reality. The degree is fine. It's not Harvard/Yale, but not many are. There are plenty of internship opportunities in Miami when your son would be in school, just due to the sheer size of the South Florida business community, and the fact that UM is the best school in the region. However (and I'm not sure how this will change post-Covid), you do not always get the largest number of recruiters to come down to Miami to recruit/interview candidates. Maybe, going forward, a lot of pre-screening/recruiting/interviewing may be moving to computer-based systems, and the geographic barriers may go away.

Anyhow, I was just having this conversation with a friend, and comparing UM to UF. While UF may have a marginally higher ranking for their Business School, and may have more alums out in the world, WHILE YOU ARE IN SCHOOL, you simply won't have as many spring-fall opportunities to work/intern if you live in Gainesville compared to Coral Gables. So you have to maximize your summer opportunities.

Let me give an example. When you look at large accounting firms (Top 10-15 in size), they need interns all year long, not just in the summer. I have seen Spring and Fall interns be given the chance to continue working beyond the original end-date of the internship, whereas "summer interns" usually have to be back in school at the end of summer (which was a bit of a challenge on the Tax side, as we had 9/15 and 10/15 filing deadlines, so we would have preferred to keep the summer interns a bit later into the year).

I will say this, I have seen a rise in businesses needing people with international-type experience. So if your son can speak another language and/or take a bunch of the international business courses at UM, it might help to get him more interviews if the recruitment is being done via computer submission on a national level.

If a company wants a Harvard grad, there's not much that can be done to change that. But if a company is looking for someone who has a particular skillset, then the Miami degree is not any sort of detriment. Good grades are important, highlight the relevant coursework, try to have some language and/or computer skills that stand out, and get involved in some activities that show interest and/or initiative. And learn social skills. The interview is the key.
 
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I have my undergrad and MBA from the UM B-School.

Here's the reality. The degree is fine. It's not Harvard/Yale, but not many are. There are plenty of internship opportunities in Miami when your son would be in school, just due to the sheer size of the South Florida business community, and the fact that UM is the best school in the region. However (and I'm not sure how this will change post-Covid), you do not always get the largest number of recruiters to come down to Miami to recruit/interview candidates. Maybe, going forward, a lot of pre-screening/recruiting/interviewing may be moving to computer-based systems, and the geographic barriers may go away.

Anyhow, I was just having this conversation with a friend, and comparing UM to UF. While UF may have a marginally higher ranking for their Business School, and may have more alums out in the world, WHILE YOU ARE IN SCHOOL, you simply won't have as many spring-summer opportunities to work/intern if you live in Gainesville compared to Coral Gables. So you have to maximize your summer opportunities.

Let me give an example. When you look at large accounting firms (Top 10-15 in size), they need interns all year long, not just in the summer. I have seen Spring and Fall interns be given the chance to continue working beyond the original end-date of the internship, whereas "summer interns" usually have to be back in school at the end of summer (which was a bit of a challenge on the Tax side, as we had 9/15 and 10/15 filing deadlines, so we would have preferred to keep the summer interns a bit later into the year).

I will say this, I have seen a rise in businesses needing people with international-type experience. So if your son can speak another language and/or take a bunch of the international business courses at UM, it might help to get him more interviews if the recruitment is being done via computer submission on a national level.

If a company wants a Harvard grad, there's not much that can be done to change that. But if a company is looking for someone who has a particular skillset, then the Miami degree is not any sort of detriment. Good grades are important, highlight the relevant coursework, try to have some language and/or computer skills that stand out, and get involved in some activities that show interest and/or initiative. And learn social skills. The interview is the key.
Incredible post
 
Incredible post


Thank you, sir. I love my alma mater. I can list the names of many UM B-School grads who have done big things. I can name 4 classmates from undergrad who are CEOs (one is a former roommate of mine), and a 5th guy that is an MBA alum (and many on this board know him, he is the CEO of a well-known fast-food company).

The first job is just the first step. After that, anyone with drive and determination can make the UM degree mean something in the workplace.
 
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Congrats to you and your son. Well done.

Just a small clarifying comment on “Ivy League” business programs. Neither Harvard nor Yale offer an undergraduate major in business. They follow a classic “Liberal Arts” curriculum for undergraduates where students major in English, History, Biology, Chemistry, etc etc. An Ivy League exception is Penn where its Wharton School of Business does offer a business undergrad degree as well as an MBA.

For MBA programs, the big hitters are Harvard, Stanford, UChicago, Wharton, Columbia, Northwestern, MIT, Berkeley and Yale (per US News and World Report). If your son intends to later pursue an MBA after a few years of working, those are the very top schools to target.
 
Congratulations! His undergraduate degree is important. His secondary and tertiary degrees will be more impactful on his ceiling. Every journey begins with a first step and Miami is a wonderful one. I hope he enjoys these moments, they’re fleeting. I’d recommend The University of Chicago or Northwestern for his masters. Those two are equally good for that field. He should take a year or two and work before he applies to continue his education. Most masters programs look favorably on real world work experience for admissions. That’s my2
 
Congrats to you and your son. Well done.

Just a small clarifying comment on “Ivy League” business programs. Neither Harvard nor Yale offer an undergraduate major in business. They follow a classic “Liberal Arts” curriculum for undergraduates where students major in English, History, Biology, Chemistry, etc etc. An Ivy League exception is Penn where it’s Wharton School of Business does offer and undergrad as well as an MBA.

For MBA programs, the big hitters are Harvard, Stanford, UChicago, Wharton, Columbia, Northwestern, MIT, Berkeley and Yale (per US News and World Report). If your son intends to later pursue an MBA after a few years of working, those are the very top schools to target.


Yes, and I mentioned Harvard/Yale as just reputational names, not to say that they have undergrad B-schools. They only offer the MBA.

Harvard/Yale are unique because you just have to say that you went there, rarely does anyone ask you your specific major (as if Harvard/Yale have any jock majors). I'm not sure if it was the Daily Show or the John Oliver Show, but one of them recently ran a supercut of various TV commentators "casually" mentioning how they went to Harvard. It's hilarious.



 
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From the title you can tell that we recently received some good news about our son. He is still weighing some options.
Has anyone on here graduated from the b-school or have any opinions on how strong that program is in S Fla, and regionally? We did all our research but rankings only tell a small part of the story and often don't tell how a school or program within a school is perceived by the community.
Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.
Congrats.

I'm a grad.

In US, Miami BBA will get you a "oh you went to Miami... good for you", not a negative, nothing special like elite Top 20 programs.

In international buisness program, I've been told throughout Caribbean and Latin America it is (can be) elite brand.

Unless a student has Top 20 (I'd argue Top 5-10 schools really) brand behind them... its fairly level across the Top 21-50-ish/100-ish programs.

Most important part is to grow where you are planted--life opens up a ton lf doors if you stick with that philosophy.
 
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