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(4.2) |
I loved my time at Tippie, but the critiques made in the other reviews are certainly salient, namely: must be a self-starter, small network, and lack of brand recognition.
Additionally, some on staff - especially in the career services arena don't seem to do as much. Now this could be strictly perception, but sometimes that matters just as much as reality. Whether true or not, it seems like career services sort of waits for opportunities to come to them, rather than go out and get them. Moreover, they seem to be content with the challenges facing internationals, rather than thinking of ways to overcome the obstacles. They also give the same cookie cutter advice that does not necessarily apply to everyone (i.e., network, LinkedIn, etc.) - yes this is part of the story, but there are other avenues to opportunity creation. Definitely a need for higher effort and innovation in the career services realm.
Student services staff are great and accessible. No problems there.
At the very top (think dean level) , again, similar to career services, I'm not sure the drive and strategic thinking is there. It could be, but it isn't very apparent if it is.
All that said, IT DOES GO BOTH WAYS. It's not a coincidence that the students that complain the most or have the least success also put in the least effort in regards to job search and ideal placement. Especially on the domestic front, a student that is aggressive and strategic, will get anywhere from a good to a great job. On the international front, it is a bit less distinctive. Unfortunately, there are some that do everything right and still struggle to land a good gig. However, again, there are many that don't put in a ton of effort (especially on the networking side) and are disgruntled, without recognizing their own fault in this regard.
I think if admissions could focus more on letting students in that are very much go-getters and personable/affable candidates, rather than hard numbers only (i.e., gpa and gmat), it would lead to a better outcome - both for the students and the program.
Overall: very sweet deal for domestics, potential to be a sweet one for internationals but the odds are unfavorable. Great education and great college town. Amazing classmates and friends.
Most professors are genuine and elite. Educationally, hard to get a better deal than Tippie.
Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (4.0)
Classmates rating (4.0)
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Admissions Team
1. Program: Excellent learning experience.
Awesome experiential learning opportunities.
2. Henry fund: managing a real investment fund is unique experience. Sufficient to instill top-notch investment skills.
3. 50% consulting/ project based learning. Real industry exposure.
4. Small batch size- its true, everyone knows everyone.
5. High ROI. Come to Tippie if you want to be debt free in less than 5 years but remember this is only one side of the coin. Tippie either promises highest gain or no gains.
6. Small town- good for family. Life is easy, one can focus more on MBA.
7. Curriculum: Up to date and progressive curriculum- adapts to changing business needs. One of the initial school to design curriculum to address analytics needs.
Cons:
1. Location- away from major business center. Very limited face-time with employers/ alumni.
2. Small program: Very few people know about Iowa MBA program. Not many people will know outside of Iowa.
3. Brand: weak brand. Very regional school. It takes a decade for Iowa MBA to produce the same number of alumni what is other wise done annually by a top-rated schools. Employers also don't find a sizable mass for visiting the school.
4. Career services
5. Admissions: offer easy admissions to attract talent, not necessarily invested in bringing right talent.
Professors are awesome and they are wealth of knowledge. Remember this is a mid-west school, every one is humble and so are the professors. Help is always available out side of class.
Curriculum is designed to make one succeed in future. Focus on hands-on learning. The Tippie learning will give tools to perform in business setting.
This school is gold if you can get a job by yourself. Don't expect a lot on job front, career services is not the best. Alumni's are super helpful but are limited, so there may be a case that you don't find people in your target company. Every batch comes with distinct preference thus industry/ roles changes with each batch.
Overall BSchool experience (4.0)
Schools contribution (1.0)
Classmates rating (5.0)
Curriculum, Classes, Professors
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Finance and analytics concentration
Consulting
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Analytics
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Admissions Team
Student Life: Iowa City is a great place to spend two years of your life. There's a lot happening around campus if you can take time out of your job search.
Career Services: The school has a huge problem in retaining staff, even average staff, lot of it maybe due to the location. The Career Services staff uses their jobs as a a filler or as a stepping stone till they can find something better.
Location: Big negative when it comes to networking and getting recruiters on campus. The small class size means that recruiters don't have as much of an incentive to come on campus.
Financial Aid: This is great, probably the main reason why students apply here. Really good value if you are a domestic candidate. If you're international, the savings mean nothing if you don't have a job at the end of two years. If you want to return to your home country and have a business, you will have a great time with good learning opportunities and a fulfilling experience.
Academics: Most professors are pretty good but there are some that are very bad to be honest, bit of a mixed bag. You have the resources available for whatever it is that you are interested in but a very low level of support from staff and administration.
This is probably the most important factor for most applicants. Due to the limited network of alumni and an incompetent career services network, the school has been sliding in this regard. If you are an international student, the lack of support will really hurt you. Part of the blame goes to a tough external environment in the last one year.
Overall BSchool experience (2.0)
Schools contribution (2.0)
Classmates rating (4.0)
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Overall, I had a great time at Tippie, and it advanced me into a brand management marketing career at one of the top CPG companies in the US.
The upsides:
The student body at Uiowa was great overall -- fairly diverse and generally strong in their abilities and experience. Class sized are small (~80). Most of the work was done in groups, and I really enjoyed working with mine - they were reliable and brought strong skills to the table. Truthfully, there are always a few students in every batch who don't pull their weight.
I found the faculty and staff at Tippie to be very engaged with the student body. They were always accessible and approachable. A few of my professors were some of the best teachers I've ever had!
Iowa City is an AWESOME TOWN. You'll have a great time living there (but you need to be comfortable with snow!).
The downsides:
The main value of BSchool is its ability to get you connected to the right people who can give you a job. Also, they groom your interview skills, resume, 30 second pitch, etc., so that you'll be at your best when you're lucky enough to have an employer looking at you! Tippie did a great job of getting me prepared to sell myself in the interview....but getting me connected to people at top-notch marketing companies was not their forte. I did most of that networking myself (have you ever tried "LinkedIn stalking"? It works!). Nonetheless, the program pushed me hard to develop my best "product" to present to potential employers.
The snow in Iowa City. Also, it's surrounded by farmland, in case you don't like corn and soybeans.
Jon Garfinkel, Nancy Houserman, Amy Kristof-Brown, Gary Gaeth and Gary Russell = A++
Great teachers!
Scholarship opportunities are plentiful (at least when I was there)
Overall BSchool experience (4.0)
Schools contribution (4.0)
Classmates rating (4.0)
Curriculum, Classes, Professors
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Specialization in a particular area (e.g. Finance, Consulting, Healthcare, etc)
Finance
Investment Banking
Curriculum, Classes, Professors
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Specialization in a particular area (e.g. Finance, Consulting, Healthcare, etc)
REVIEWER IDENTITY VERIFIED by post count [?]
I went into Tippie with an idea of what I wanted to do, and a drive to succeed.
My professors and classmates were supportive, encouraging and remain some of my best friends.
It's unlikely that Tippie will open a door directly for you to get a job post graduation, it really is on your shoulders to interview at conferences and hustle to find the right role but they will put you in touch with anyone they can to help you along the way, and they will prep you for interviews.
Overall, I loved my time at Tippie and left with my dream job at a major company in Brand Management, making the same amount of money as my Kellogg and UNC counterparts.
Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (5.0)
Classmates rating (4.0)
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The program is small in size, allowing one to one attention to each students no matter whether it's career services or academic work. The professors are ready to provide support to students outside the classroom. Despite being smaller in size compared to many other schools, the school maintains a good level of diversity. However, due to it's location, students may not have direct access to preferred company contacts directly and will have to look for other opportunities e.g. career fairs, LinkedIn, Company visits, conferences, etc. to network heavily with people in preferred company and sector. Overall I am satisfied with my experience till now (I am a first year in his 2nd semester in the program)
Overall BSchool experience (5.0)
Schools contribution (4.0)
Classmates rating (5.0)
Curriculum, Classes, Professors
Student body, diversity
Culture & Student Support
Facilities
Consulting
Finance
Career opportunities provided by school
Brand/Ranking
