Second question: Why BYU?
Posted by Sandino | Posted in | Posted on
Hopefully at this point in time, you have already made up your mind as to why an MBA degree would be a good fit for you.
Now, the question is: Why BYU?
The mission of the Brigham Young University MBA Program is to:
“To attract, develop, and place men and women of faith, character, and professional ability who will become outstanding leaders capable of dealing with change in a global environment”.
In selecting the most appropriate program , BYU MBA website recommends the following criteria :
Placement Salary and Statistics
BYU claims to have placed 95% of second-year students, and 98% of first-years. My own experience confirms these rates as true, BUT ONLY FOR American students. Placement rate for International (foreign) students is significantly lower than that, since many internationals are just not able to secure internships (myself included) or full-time jobs.
Now, the challenge with international students is not particular of BYU; many well-known American and European programs have it too .
Curriculum and Faculty
“The Marriott School has 145 full-time faculty members known nationally and internationally for their teaching expertise, business consulting, research, and publishing”
From my experience, faculty’s expertise at BYU varies from major to major (i.e. Finance, Human Resources, Marketing, Supply Chain Mgmt., Product Development), being Finance and OB/HR two of the strongest.
Program Size
BYU’s overall class is about 165 students; although the class size increases every year. From my perspective, enrolling into a small program allows you to get to know and mingle with most of your fellow students; also, you receive a very personalized attention and close help from your Professors, and Board of Directors. Instructors will put you, as international student into a small group with other American students so you can share your views and learn from them.
The downside of being on a small class is that you do not have as options in courses as you would on bigger programs. At BYU, you may not find those specialized/specific topics that you are looking for when specializing in a business area.
The BYU MBA program has also been strongly criticized for its lack of diversity, rankings would bring in the school’s high percent of the incoming students graduating from some Utah-based university (70%+; wih 62% from BYU); the class profile shows also that almost all the them are LDS members, returned missionaries (83%) and married (66%); finally, only 15% are international students. All of these indicators could create a barrier for understanding and embracing diversity. Now, I’ve seen a strong emphasis on MBA Board of Directors to include more and more women, international and non-Utah-based students into the program. I’d expect the class profile to be more and more diverse as time goes, and as capable International students as YOURSELF enrolled into the program! ;-)
Cost and Financial Aid/ Scholarships
The BYU MBA Program traditionally shows up as one of the “best bang for your buck” among US Programs. On the one hand, BYU has a very competitive cost compared to other schools thanks to the funds coming from the LDS Church to subsidize it. On the other hand, BYU offers very attractive scholarships available specially for international students (e.g. The Cardon International Sponsorship Program)
From my experience, it would take approximately 3-4 years to pay your loan from BYU, compared to 7-8 from some other well-ranked MBA school.
Student Life and Location
This is one of the strongest reasons why LDS, married international students apply to BYU. First, provided the high percent of LDS married students at its MBA program, BYU has amazing clubs (i.e. MBASA, IWA, etc.) and activities for families that will keep your wife(husband) and children really entertained and comfortable, while you’re drown with projects and homework. It is not fortuity that BYU always ranks #1 as Family Friendly program.
Now, as LDS international, this is an amazing opportunity for you to get to visit the Church sites, attend meetings (including General Conferences) , mingle and learn from seasoned and knowledgeable LDS leaders and members. For instance, during our time at BYU, my family and I attended what is called a Family Ward (as opposed to Student’s Ward), where we got to know and hear stories from Pres. Benson’s son, Pres. Kimball’s grandson, and Elder Hinckley (Pres. Hinckley’s son), among others. Not to mention the great ideas and activities we learned by watching my High Priest Group Leader, Young Men’s advisers, and talented Primary Teachers. This was for my family, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Rankings and Reputation
“U.S. News ranks BYU twenty-ninth among other schools in the United States, the Wall Street Journal ranks it first among schools with an entering class of less than 250 students, Business Week considers BYU as a tier one school and ranks it twenty second among other school within the United States, and BYU is ranked second in ethics by the Wall Street Journal and as the second most family friendly school by the Princeton Review.”
Rankings will always depend on the evaluator’s criteria, but overall, I’ve seen a BYU MBA’s increase in rakings year after year; specially in the fields of Leadership, Integrity and Teamwork.
I’d highly recommend you follow the most relevant rankings for your region (i.e. America Economia for LatinAmerica, or Financial Times for Europe, etc.) Unfortunately, because of its small class size, BYU is considered a regional school and therefore it is not included in the Global MBA rankings. Also, most headhunters recruiting abroad would only follow global MBA rankings and JUST A FEW would know about Brigham Young University in Utah.
Alumni Network
Many efforts have been implemented by MBA Directives to strengthen the alumni network at BYU such as student’s clubs, strong teamwork orientation and the BYU Management Society that works around the globe.
This efforts however, still have much room for improvement since local Management Society Chapters, at least outside of US, have only a few members and they rarely network or collaborate amongst them.
