Business School Decisions
Sophomores who applied to the Business School are getting their decisions this week. This is a highly competitive program, and there is always more demand than supply for spaces in the program.
In the event that your student did not make it in to the Business School – or didn’t apply, but wants to get some business knowledge – I wanted to draw families’ attention to two terrific programs that can be alternate routes for liberal arts or science students (anyone but business majors).
The Business School runs a very popular Summer Management Program, which is an intensive program during the first session of summer school typically. Often referred to colloquially as ‘business boot camp for non-business majors,’ this program is a great way to learn business concepts and receive valuable career coaching along the way. Details about the program are online.
The B-School also has a 5th year program that students can begin shortly after graduation. It is the Master of Arts in Management. This program is designed to give students ” a competitive edge in the business world. Combining coursework in finance, marketing, operations, business analytics, ethics, organizational behavior and leadership with hands-on collaboration, the program cultivates an experiential, ethical and teamwork-driven approach to business solutions, preparing you to excel in a complex marketplace.”
One of the beauties of this program (in my opinion) is that it allows students who are passionate about a non-business major to pursue that interest, and then come to the perhaps tougher business concepts at a time of greater emotional and intellectual maturity, so that they are better armed to tackle difficult concepts.
I have an alumni friend whose son was a liberal arts major here – a fine student, great young man. He wanted to enter the business world and while recruiters really liked him, he didn’t have enough business heft to land the job he wanted. He went into the MA in Management program and at the end of the program, he went back to interview at those same places and then had his pick of jobs. True success story.
So if your student is not getting into the business school and is upset about that, or just feels like he/she wants to have the benefits of some business training without dedicating a major to it, know that there are these two terrific programs available to them. Combine one or more of those with some very purposeful work in the OPCD in career counseling, internship seeking, job shadowing, and coaching – and your student can position him/herself to land very well after graduation.
Sometimes your students might not have the perspective to know there are many paths to a great destination, not just one. So if they fall into that camp, let them know of these options and reassure them to take a long view and see that they can go great places from any major.