I am a first year analyst at a boutique I-Bank in Atlanta. I was just given the go ahead by my company to pursue a part-time MBA next fall at their expense. If I am focused on exit opps and the ability to leverage my MBA at my company, what school would you choose in Georgia? (GT, Emory, Georgia State, UGA, etc.)
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Emory is the best on the list. Second choice would be GT. Just don't go to GSU.
Emory then Terry. I don't see anyone from GT in Finance.
If exit opps are your top priority, you shouldn't bother pursuing PT MBA. Besides, you will have 1-2 years of experience. That is low even for the PT program.
Makes sense. That was one of my main concerns but moving up here is not limited. Having a family is what is convincing me to go PT.
I'm an Atlanta native. How much is your company willing to pay? The price tag on Emory versus Gstate is probably a multiple of four. If they'll pay for Emory I'd say that makes the choice pretty easy.
Emory - Top 25 program. Easily the best MBA program for Finance in Georgia without a doubt. If you plan on staying in Georgia their alumni network is pretty extensive.
GT - Top 25 program as well and probably 60% of the cost of Emory.Their PT program just started a few years ago so keep that in mind. Their MBA program is geared more towards tech/mgmt, but they are really trying to ramp up the finance program. I believe it's tied to the CFAI as well.
UGA - I have yet to see a UGA MBA grad working in a reputable finance role in Atlanta. Nothing against UGA, but I don't think their MBA program is very strong at all.
Gstate - This school has been on the rise for the last decade. While Emory is leaps and bounds ahead of GS in terms of prestige, rankings, and recruiting opps it holds its own in Georgia surprisingly.
Company is willing to pay 100% with no covenants in regards to staying afterwards. I plan to, but I do not have to legally bind myself to anything. We have an office in NYC and most of our PTimers go to Columbia, so they think Emory is a steal.
Define reputable finance role - there are a decent amount of Terry MBAs at STRH.
GSU actually ranks higher than Emory for the PT MBA in Businessweek. But if your employer is footing the entire thing, Emory has the prestige thing attached to it. For PT, the student profiles are actually pretty similar across GSU, Emory, and Tech. PM me if you want some direct insight on one of the three.
Fair enough. Definitely choose Emory then since your employer is paying the full bill.
LOL. You must be a GSU alum.
I'm in the same boat as you. Just got married and just bought a house. Emory is the clear choice. I'm applying to Emory for their '14 PT program.
ATL Native.
Emory is clearly the best MBA right now in Atlanta.
GT have really been shooting up the rankings and are trying hard to beef their business school up. It's working so far.
UGA likely has some grads in finance simply due to the huge network in Georgia.
G State also has a lot of grads, but I find that most of the G State grads in finance are a generation or two older than us (Analysts).
A few notable GT alumni who held roles related to finance are:
Greg Owens --CEO of Iron Planet, Former chairman and CEO of Manugistics, Private-equity fund manager for Daniel Snyder, Red Zone Capital Partners II James D. Robinson III --Former CEO, American Express 1977-1993. Charles W. Brady --Co-Founder, INVESCO (currently AMVESCAP) Dennis M. Patterson --Premier of Northwest Territories, Canada 1987-1991, Corporate Executive Vice President, SunTrust Banks Orson George Swindle III --Federal Trade Commissioner, 1997-2005 Mike Neal --President and CEO, GE Commercial Finance Marcus C. Bennett --Former Executive Vice President & CFO, Lockheed Martin Corporation Jack Guynn --Former President and CEO, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta David W. Dorman --Former Chairman and CEO, AT&T Corp Joseph W. Evans --Chairman and CEO, Flag Financial Corporation Jere W. Goldsmith, IV --First Vice President Investments, Merrill Lynch
UGA is mostly for rednecks who want to party and watch football. Not that there is anything wrong with that.
OP would be better of gaining more experience before getting an MBA. I would recommend at least 3-4 years of quality FT work experience.
I worked as a FT financial analyst my last 2 years of college. Would that assist me? I've been in finance since my freshman year in college.
I wouldn't say that's the rule. If OP applies for '14 he'll have two years under his belt by matriculation. The PT program can take about three years to finish so he'll have 5 years of work exp once he's done with school. A fully paid MBA with no strings attached is pretty rare nowadays.
Definitely Emory for banking. GT is great if you want to get into fortune 500 companies. There are so many execs from top companies that do the GT MBA. UGA is quite a drive, assuming you are coming from Atlanta.
But, hands down, I would go with Emory
According to the schools website the average for the evening MBA is 6-7 years. At most of the schools I have seen the average is 8 years or more. For the EMBA the site states that successful applicants will have: "Significant post-college work experience; typically 8 - 10 years or more." Thus a minimal level of work experience would not greatly increase one's exit options assuming that it is even enough to get in to the school. I would venture to guess that the exit options for most people who go to school in the south east are not very good anyway.
You went from 2 years of FT experience to a first year analyst role?
Yes. I only was able to work FT because the company I worked for provided my scholarship to school. I only received the position due to my connection with the company.
If I was in your shoes I would try to get transferred to NYC and many years later apply to CBS or NYU. Otherwise find another firm in a better area that will pay for school.
Fair. I just don't agree on the fact that exit opps are not very good for the SE. NYC is a no go. I will settle with a lower COL.
Columbia does not have a part-time program, but NYU does.
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