Kings of the North: Should You Get a Part-Time MBA in Chicago or Toronto?
In many ways, Chicago and Toronto are very similar world class cities: Both are situated on a Great Lake, host an “Original Six” hockey team, and both metros suffer from “second city” inferiority complexes. Both metros also have plenty of competitive business school options for professionals who want to earn an MBA. Continue reading…
Loyola Quinlan Professor Offers Holiday Gift Buying Advice to Shoppers
News Flash: We’re less than one week away from Christmas! Have you finished your holiday shopping yet? Of course you haven’t! For those procrastinators who have not, Professor Mary Ann McGrath of the Loyola University Quinlan School of Business has some tips for you.
McGrath recently published a guide on the Quinlan website that outlines four shortcuts for gift giving. The list offers consumers a few different ideas on how to best spend money on others this holiday season. A survey by the National Retail Federation shows that shoppers are expected to spend about $967 this year, up 3.4 percent from 2016; and that number only increases for those in the 18-24 year-old demographic.
McGrath’s first piece of advice is to focus on one or two special people. Don’t get hung up on finding special gifts to everyone in your life, you’ll only be wearing yourself, your time, and your money thin. Instead, she advises that consumers “choose one or two special people in your life—perhaps your significant other, a very special friend, or a parent—and find that special gift for him or her.”
Next, McGrath encourages giving non-traditional gifts, such as services or nonprofit contributions. Think of who you are buying for an purchase a service that best suits them. Know someone with kids? Buy them credit toward a babysitting service. Got a foodie in your life? You can’t go wrong with a restaurant gift card.
For those who have everything, consider making a contribution to a charity in their name. “If you are not sure which groups your recipient favors, a charity that benefits children is always a good choice,” she says.
Ultimately, McGrath says that the most successful gifts are small do not necessarily come from a store. In fact, she has found that “the perfect gift” is oftentime the handmade gift of a child. “In just that spirit, give generously and freely, try not to burden yourself or your recipients, and enjoy the company of family and friends,” she says.
McGrath, a professor of marketing, is an expert on consumer rituals, gift exchanges, and shopping behavior. She recently expanded her research into the international marketplace, and publishing several papers related to shopping and consumer behavior in China, where she lived and taught for two years. You can learn more about McGrath by reading her bio page.
How Chicago Business Schools are Helping Low-Income Students
Business school doesn’t come cheap, which often means that prospective students who could benefit the most from the lucrative career opportunities that come with an MBA either don’t end up at top tier programs or don’t end up applying at all.
The flip side is that MBA programs now more than ever desperately need more diverse perspectives in their classrooms—yet it seems the same ol’ folks end up in these slots every year. Many in academia are woefully ill equipped to meet the challenges of a more diverse and inclusive business landscape but there are a handful of MBA programs that have begun to catch up and take strides to make business educations more accessible to qualified low-income applicants.
The Chicago metro just so happens to be packed to the gills with high-ranking MBAs that take initiative to help promising candidates. Let’s take a deeper dive into four of our favorite Chicago MBA programs that have historically lent a hand to low-income students.
Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management
Situated just above the city limits on Chicago’s North Shore (see: John Hughes movies), the Kellogg School of Management is among the nation’s most coveted MBA programs—and among the most generous too. Kellogg offers a variety of different scholarships based on merit or financial need for newly admitted students and rising second-year students, as well as external scholarship resources through the Office of Fellowships for Graduate Students.
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Director of Admissions Melissa Rapp explains that Kellogg understands that funding a business school education can be challenging. “To help students meet this challenge, a variety of merit scholarships are offered, including diversity scholarships, such as James P. Gorter Scholarship which is awarded to under-represented backgrounds in the Two-Year MBA or MMM program, and academic, professional or special interest scholarships, such as the Health Enterprise Management Scholarship which is awarded to an outstanding student interested in pursuing a career in healthcare.”
UIC’s Liautaud Graduate School of Business
UIC Business provides opportunities to empower graduate students with a dynamic, proven, business education, and an immersive city experience that enhances both quality of life and career opportunities. Many UIC Business students have financial need and the school makes a point to acknowledge its dedicated staff of advisors who help every student navigate the financial aid process. Alanna O’Connor, Assistant Dean for Student Recruitment and Sid Balachandran, Program Director, explains:
“As a state institution we strive to maintain costs for students and are committed to providing a world-class business education at a campus nationally recognized for its diversity. We offer our competitive programming at a more affordable value than some of our peer schools. The affordability of our program is an important part of providing a high return on investment. Multiple tuition waivers, scholarships, assistantships—teaching or research—are also are available for students who qualify.”
Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business
The Mendoza College of Business walks the walk when it comes to a socially engaged, community-centered vision of business. Part of that mission entails actively courting and supporting stellar applicants who might demonstrate need, particularly women through the Forte fellows program.
“As a sponsor school for the Forte Foundation, Notre Dame is committed to launching women into successful business careers. Forte Fellows are recognized for their academic aptitude, leadership, and future potential,” the school notes. “Forte Fellows are granted special access to the Forte community, including leadership conference access, mentoring and career development opportunities, and network development.”
It also means that students with deep interests in corporate social responsibility might do well to apply to Mendoza. According to Mendoza, it awards more than 65 percent of one-year MBA students merit-based fellowships based on “academic performance, prior work experience, GMAT or GRE scores, leadership potential, letters of recommendation, and each applicant’s personal statement.”
Lake Forest Graduate School of Management
In its commitment to “attract and develop outstanding leaders who change lives,” Lake Forest has a number of MBA-centric fellowships and scholarships:
- The President’s Scholarship supports “proven leaders who have achieved measurable results, demonstrate a high level of self-awareness and adaptability, and are committed to developing their leadership potential.”
- The Emerging Leaders scholarship supports students who “demonstrate exceptional leadership potential and show the ability and desire to deliver meaningful results, think innovatively, and gain a heightened level of self-awareness.”
- The $3,510-7,000 Leadership Scholarship supports students who demonstrate financial need and “strong leadership potential, verbal and written communications skills, intellectual ability, and motivation.”
- The Yomine Scholarship supports students “are employed in a manufacturing position” who demonstrate financial need
- The $3,510 Tuition Assistance Grant supports “candidates who are not eligible to receive tuition assistance from their employer.”
- The Gariano Scholarship supports “women with an undergraduate nursing degree” who demonstrate financial need.
Loyola’s Quinlan School of Business
The Loyola Quinlan School of Business offers two merit-based scholarships to MBA students: the Dean’s Merit Scholarship, which typically covers 1-2 courses, awards “stellar academic performance” and the $1,000-10,000 Graduate Business Student Scholarship, which supports students “who have proven academic success and demonstrated financial need.”
Quinlan Faculty Members Discuss Amazon, Humor, and More
Loyola University Chicago Quinlan School of Business faculty and staff were recently quoted in several publications on critical issues in business, ranging from humor to Amazon. Here are some excerpts from those pieces: Continue reading…
Quinlan Professor and Fulbright Scholar Returns from Research Project in Poland
Maciek Nowak, an Associate Professor at the Quinlan School of Business, recently returned from overseas, where he spent time abroad as a Fulbright Scholar. In a recent interview following his return, he spoke directly about his work with Poland’s postal service, Poczta Polska.
Speaking with the student reporter Monica Sather, Nowak talked about the workshop, his research, and his experience abroad as a Fulbright Scholar.
“I learned more about my background, as I was born in Poland but moved when I was very young. Spending six months in Poland gave me a much better sense of what daily life is like and allowed me to experience many of the traditions that I had taken part in on a much smaller scale while growing up in the U.S. It was just awesome.
I would encourage any faculty member or student to apply to the Fulbright program. Through the Fulbright, you have the opportunity to serve as an ambassador of the U.S., connecting to such a broad range of people of different backgrounds and nationalities while being a part of a group that represents some of the best our country has to offer.”
Nowak spent six months working with Warsaw School of Economics faculty in effort to help the logistics network of the Poczta Polska. He also co-organized the Route Optimization/VEhicle Routing (ROVER) workshop, which brought together 20 of the top North American and European experts in transportation science.
According to his bio page, Nowak has worked with Federal Express, United Parcel Service, and the Georgia Ports Authority in past research projects. He has also received grants from the Federal Highway Administration, the U. S. Department of Transportation, and the U.S. State Department.
Nowak’s research has been published in Transportation Science, European Journal of Operational Research, Computers & OR, and the Journal of Transportation Management.
Read more of Nowak’s interview on the official Quinlan website.
Quinlan Dean Kevin Stevens Honored by Crain’s Chicago Business
Quinlan School of Business Dean Kevin Stevens has officially been named to the 2017 Who’s Who in Chicago Business list. Continue reading…
