Georgia Terry or Georgia Tech Scheller: Which School is Right For You?
There’s a lot to take into account when choosing the perfect MBA program. Yes, even if they’re in the city. Atlanta, Georgia, is home to a number of popular business schools of varying sizes and abilities, but let’s focus on two, yes?
Continue reading…Business School Degree Cheat Sheet: What Type of Degree Should You Get?
An MBA is the most common type of master’s degree for b-schoolers, as it encompasses a vast array of skill sets and opens the door to roles in a multitude of industries. Though the MBA is versatile, there may be another high-level graduate degree that is better suited to your individual needs. No need to go cross-eyed looking through each school’s offerings to figure out which degree is best for you. We’ve created a cheat sheet to help you find out what type of business school degree is right for you.
5 Questions With University of Georgia Admissions
In the newest installment of the MetromBA “5 Questions” series, we speak with Patricia D. Zettek, Ph.D., Director of the Full-Time MBA Career Management Center at the University of Georgia Terry College of Business, and Deirdre Kane, Director of Full-Time MBA Admissions about the UGA experience, Southern culture, and more.
What is something unique about the Terry College of Business MBA experience that people may not expect?
“Candidates to our program are most often surprised by three main things:
1.) Our flexible curriculum
2.) Our personalized and customized approach to supporting our students, academically and professionally
3.) Our welcoming and diverse program culture.
We have years of experience and the strength and size of our alumni network (310,000 and counting) to support our students in being successful while in the program and after they graduate. Our career management staff knows our students well and this one-on-one attention makes a big difference by the end of the program. Students learn and practice skills they need to land their next job or internship, and also to manage their careers throughout their lives. Faculty get to know the students, and truly take an interest in their success.”
What kind of student is the ideal Terry College of Business MBA?
“We look for humility, self-awareness and the willingness to learn new things about themselves—people who have experienced a setback or two—and learned from it. The ideal candidate for the Georgia MBA program has more than just the great test scores and GPAs sought by all full-time MBA programs, we look for the students that demonstrate a roll up the sleeves and get things done attitude. These are the people who do well here.”
What do you find business school applicants often overlook during the pre-MBA process?
“I think some people limit their choices by looking only at certain things, rather than the whole picture. They may focus tightly on one factor—school rank, tuition cost, employer relationships, average salary—rather than fully thinking through what they want and need from their MBA experience. Visiting campuses, talking to current students and meeting members of the staff could offer a very different view than the one that takes into account only one or two factors. MBA programs vary widely and there is not a one-size-fits-all experience. Find a few that fit your needs and go after them.”
“We look for humility, self-awareness and the willingness to learn new things about themselves—people who have experienced a setback or two—and learned from it” – Patricia D. Zettek, Ph.D. and Deirdre Kane
What do you find most business schools are lacking?
“Lacking is a pretty strong word. I consider business school an excellent investment in a candidate’s future. I understand why you might ask though, because if you listen to the media, the MBA has been dying out since the 1940s, but that’s just not true! There continues to be a need for professionals trained to understand the complexities of our business environment and committed to doing things right. Overall MBA programs and program staff are committed to the success of their students and genuinely interested in providing their students with the best experience and the best opportunities.”
What is your favorite restaurant near UGA?
“I think Athens is one of the South’s most underrated food cities. We’re known for music and football, but not until recently have we been noticed for our food scene. Thanks to chefs like Hugh Acheson, who calls Athens home, we have many farm to table gems, like Last Resort Grill, The National, home.made, and Heirloom Café. And everyone should check out Weaver D’s, Ted’s Most Best, Clocked, The Grit, Taziki’s, and Viva Argentine! The list is long and there is something for everyone!”
Southern-inspired specialties are abound in Athens, Georgia, including at home.made, founded by New Orleans-born chef Mimi Maumus – Photo via homemadeathens.com
For more information on the UGA Terry MBA admissions, click here.
Real Humans of the University of Georgia Terry College of Business
The University of Georgia can seem daunting from a distance. With nearly 40,000 total students, it is the largest university in the entire state, with over 400 buildings attached to its name spread across 30 Georgia counties. The university offers an impressive 140 degrees from its 17 constituent schools, including the C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry College of Business, located on the main campus in Athens. Because of this, one may expect the size its MBA classes to be quite intimidating. But despite the grand scope of UGA, Terry MBA students have an intimate setting and an even more surprising bonus: extensive affordability.
Tuition for in-state full-time MBA students at the Terry College of Business starts at a comfortable $13,404 per year, while non-Georgia residents pay $32,112 per year. Compared to the tuition costs of some of the state’s other well-known universities, such as Emory ($124,000 for the entire two-year MBA), the price tag is relatively paltry. In fact, the Terry College of Business full-time MBA program is one of only five in the U.S. News & World Report top 50-ranked business schools that offers yearly in-state tuition under $15,000.
Alongside the impressive affordability, UGA Terry MBAs boast some eye-popping career statistics. Roughly 90 percent of the Class of 2018 was employed within just three months of graduation, reporting an average starting salary of $90,250 and an average signing bonus $14,214. When factoring in the meager tuition rates, it becomes readily apparent that the Terry MBA is one of the best returns on investment not just in Georgia, but in the U.S. as a whole.
But what kind of students make up the UGA Terry College of Business MBA Class? On the surface, the statistics may seem familiar. Just over 100 students are currently enrolled in the business school’s full-time MBA program, with nearly 66 percent male students and 34 percent female students. Those enrolled in the program boast an average GMAT score of 665 with a relatively high undergraduate GPA of 3.53. The vast majority of students in the class come from Georgia at 50 percent, while 25 percent of students are of international status. However, statistics like these could hardly tell the rich and complex stories of each individual student enrolled at UGA Terry.
To get a greater understanding of what it means to be a UGA Terry MBA, we spoke with several current students, including a former Army intelligence officer, a Fulbright recipient, and a Minneapolis marketing guru, alongside many other promising future grads. Read on to see their stories and what the future may hold for life after an MBA.
Why Bloomberg Businessweek Is Praising the UGA Terry College of Business
At the top of last month’s annual Bloomberg Businesweek domestic MBA rankings, the normative favorites reigned supreme, with the likes of the Harvard Business School, the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and the MIT Sloan School of Management sitting at the top of the ranking. A quick glance at the top 20 features more of the same, with Ivy League institutions coming in strong, as well as other large school powerhouses like the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
But the real meat and potatoes of the list, beyond stacking trophy cases for the already trophy-rich schools at the top, are the schools that shoot up the rankings the most, sometimes jumping eight or more spots from the previous year. Among the most lauded institutions that made its way up the rankings is the University of Georgia Terry College of Business, climbing from 65th overall in 2016 to 55th overall this year.
Santanu Chatterjee—the full-time MBA Director and Associate Professor of Economics at the Terry College of Business—recently spoke with MetroMBA, saying that part of the reason the school has earned such high praise is because of the concentrated effort of life after graduation.
The school has “a purposeful and deliberate strategy that connects admissions, student experience, and career management, by focusing on employability at the front end, a high level of customized career services for both students and employers, and a market-driven curriculum that ensures professional success for our students,” according to Chatterjee, who originally joined the Terry College of Business in 2001, just after earning his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Washington.
Santanu Chatterjee, Terry College of Business Director, Full-Time MBA Program and Associate Professor.
Although the Terry College of Business is part of the University of Georgia, one of the largest state schools in the U.S., its reputation still lags a bit behind some of the other big name brand institutions. As evident in its climb in the Bloomberg Businessweek ranking, however, its reputation as one of the better, under-the-radar business schools may be soon changing as the result of a plan that has been years in the making.
“Over the past three years, we have focused on making our curriculum more sensitive to the needs of the marketplace,” he says. “Initiatives have included new concentrations in Healthcare Management and Human Resource Management, areas of emphasis in Consulting and Financial Technology (FinTech), and an expanded focus on experiential/project-based learning. Most of our students complete one project with a corporate partner before their summer internships. We have also revamped our Leadership Fellows Program, and set up two new advisory boards, in Atlanta and in the Silicon Valley.”
Part of the wave of program changes over the past few years also comes from newfound partnerships with many of the University of Georgia’s other esteemed colleges, establishing newfound dual degree programs to help facilitate an academic edge many of the country’s smaller schools simply cannot provide.
“While we continue to work on making the MBA curriculum more market-driven, we are also focused on a more interdisciplinary approach to business education,” he says. “Over the past three years, we have worked to develop new dual degree programs with the College of Engineering, Law School, Medical School, and the College of Public Health. New dual programs are currently being developed that include the College of Pharmacy and a one-year STEM MBA for UGA undergraduates in the STEM disciplines. A new one-year Master of Science program in Business Analytics is also awaiting final approval from the University System. These new programs will enable us to significantly expand our corporate relationships and partners, which in turn will help support our curriculum and student support initiatives.”
The use of broader university resources speaks to what Chatterjee believes is becoming a definitive advantage to not only Terry College of Business students, but University of Georgia students as a whole.
“Across the board, the Terry College of Business is focused on student success by providing them with an outstanding academic and experiential learning experience,” he notes. “This philosophy cuts across programs at all levels, from undergraduate to the Masters and Ph.D. [programs]. We have a roster of world-class faculty, excellent facilities, and a dedicated network of more than 70,000 alumni who work tirelessly to improve the quality of education and career success for our students.”
Even with the noted praise Chatterjee eschews for the business school, one program strength he may be overlooking is the welcomed affordability of the Terry full-time MBA, which only costs Georgia-based residents $15,670 per year, compared to several of the more popular MBA programs in the U.S., which often venture into triple digit territory by the end of the program.
For more information on the Terry College of Business and its increasingly praised MBA program, head over to the official Terry College of Business website.
Tuition Cost vs. Starting Salary: Atlanta
One of the most important things a prospective MBA can look for when choosing a business school is the program’s return on investment. Return on investment, or ROI, is the most common profitability ratio, and an easy way to determine if an MBA is “worth” your time and money.
According to a recent review of 129 schools from U.S. News & World Report, graduates from a third of the institutions earned an average starting salary and bonus of more than $100,000, with the overall average for all schools coming in at $91,940. MBA Class of 2015 graduates typically left school with just over $50,054 in debt, according to the same data.
Most business schools publish employment records with average salaries for different industries, so prospective MBA students can use these numbers to project future salaries. Lucky for you, we’ve compiled these figures some of the Atlanta metro‘s premiere business schools.
The Atlanta MBA Return on Investment
Clark Atlanta University School of Business
A full-time MBA at the Clark Atlanta School of Business requires 60 credit hours of study, which totals up to $53,220 in tuition. Other costs also apply, including $1,008 in annual fees as well as books and supplies. To save some money for sibling students, Clark offers a Sibling Discount to a biological or legally adopted sibling currently enrolled at Clark Atlanta University. Siblings will receive a 33.3 percent discount after submitting a copy of both birth certificates, parent’s federal tax return and a simple application.
According to employment statistics provided by the school, MBA graduates earn an average base salary of $79,000 with a signing bonus of $12,250. Most graduates took marketing/sales jobs (59.7 percent), with finance/accounting (29.7 percent), human resources (7.4 percent), and operations (7.4 percent) following behind. In order to help place MBAs, the Atlanta University Center Consortium Career Planning and Placement Service (AUCC CPPS) offers students career planning and placement resources, plans on-campus recruiting events and hosts a database of contact information for over 1400 corporate, government and educational partners. They also host several on-campus recruiting sessions and career fairs.
Eugene W. Stetson School of Business & Economics – Mercer University
Full-time MBAs at Mercer’s Eugene W. Stetson School of Business & Economics pay $818 per credit hour, with total tuition for the program coming to $29,448 with some additional minimal costs, such as a technology fee. Students can visit the university’s Office of Student Financial Planning to receive updated financial assistance information, including information on federal student loan programs.
According to U.S. News, Mercer MBAs earn an average base salary of $57,500, with 23.8 percent of full-time graduates employed at the time of graduation. Mercer students can visit the Office of Career Management Services on the Macon or Atlanta Campus to receive specialized career guidance, job search, internship search, résumé and cover letter assistance, developing personal brand information, interviewing information, and salary negotiating.
Goizueta Business School – Emory University
Students enrolled in Emory University’s Goizueta Business School two-year, full-time MBA program pay a base tuition of $59,000 per year, while those enrolled in the one-year program pay about $89,500. These cost account for tuition only, so students must consider additional expenses for textbooks and other fees. To offset some of these costs, financial assistance is available in the form of Federal Stafford Loans, graduate plus loans, private loans, international student loans, research and assistantships, merit-based scholarships, fellowships from the Goizueta Business Fund for Excellence and fellowships at various constituent centers.
According to Goizueta’s most recent MBA employment report, the school’s alumni are among the top for post-graduate employment nationwide, with nearly 95 percent of students receiving job offers within three months after graduating and an average full-time base salary of $113,295. Goizueta Business School’s Career Management Center (CMC) offers assistance to full-time MBAs in their job search. Students can receive professional development and interview training within both core and elective courses, preparing students for both the internship and job search processes. Most Emory MBAs were offered post-graduate employment following an internship (56 percent), with another 19 percent getting job offers thanks to School Scheduled Interviews.
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Scheller College of Business – Georgia Institute of Technology
Tuition costs for Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business full-time MBA students are about $29,232 a year for Georgia residents or $40,180 a year for out-of-state residents, as well as $2,010 in mandatory fees. Financial assistance is available in the form of federal loans, graduate assistantships, and a limited number of fellowships.
According to the school’s MBA Compensation Overview, 95 percent of Scheller MBAs are employed within three months of graduation. These students are paid an average starting salary of $108,088. Meanwhile, 90 percent of graduates earn a signing bonus, which average to the amount of $15,830. Scheller MBA students are guided along the path to employment at the Jones MBA Career Center, where they learn about opportunities for internships and employment through one-on-one advisement, an eight-week career development workshop, self-assessment tools, interview preparation, and a series of conferences and career fairs
Terry College of Business – University of Georgia
Terrt’s in-state students pay about $15,670 in annual tuition, including student fees, for the Terry College of Business‘ full-time MBA. Non-residents pay $34,378 per year, including student fees. The school also awards approximately one-third of its students with graduate assistantships to help make the program even more affordable. Some students may have their tuition drastically reduced per semester, get 40 percent of their student health insurance premiums paid by UGS, and receive a monthly stipend for working 13 hours per week in the Terry College of Business. Additional scholarships are also available, such as the Terry MBA Leadership Scholarship. Given out during the spring semester, the scholarship awards between $1,000 to $2,000 to a student who has shown promising leadership skills.
According to the school’s MBA Employment Statistics, 90 percent of University of Georgia full-time MBA students receive a job offer within three months of graduating with an averaging starting salary near $90,250. Terry helps its students gain employment at the MBA Career Management Center (CMC), which helps students and graduates connect with networking events, information sessions, interviews, and much more.
