McCombs (UT Austin) 2013 Calling All Applicants

Just to weigh in on this -- I think the answer in my case is:
1) My resume -- in addition to the basic curriculum, McCombs offers a number of opportunities I'm keen on, especially the MBA+ projects. I'm a career changer so these kinds of things will help bulk up my resume (and my knowledge) to help that transition. Obviously a lot of schools have similar programs, I just like how McCombs is structured and who they have partnered with. Some of those benefits will be displaced by actual job experience but some likely won't.
2) Geographic reach -- I considered another school that is strong locally but has no recognition outside its region. I think the stature of McCombs will carry farther afield than SMU or Rice. A firm in another part of the country that hires a lot of MBAs will probably know all three schools, but smaller firms might not.
3) I'm definitely not discounting this. I've already found that there are McCombs alumni in any field and any geographic region I look at. And the few that I've contacted so far have been very helpful.

I'm attending! Looks like a great time. I'm looking forward to getting a real feel for what it will be like the be a student there. And to the free food.

Yeah I'm looking forward to it, looks like the agenda covers about everything. I'm also looking forward to chatting with some students from the GCG.

I came home from work to my welcome packet today, so rd 2 admits should should see them soon if not today.

hey could you share what that agenda looks like for r3 applicants who won't know decision til late march

Sure here you go:

Thursday, April 4 - OPTIONAL DAY
TIME SESSION
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Registration and Check-In
9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. Class Visits
2:00 p.m. McCombs Tour
9:00 p.m. Think 'n' Drink Social Event with Current Texas MBAs (not a UT sponsored event)

Friday, April 5
TIME SESSION
8:00 a.m. Registration and Check-In
8:30 a.m. Breakfast
9:00 a.m. Welcome/Introductions
10:00 a.m. Co-Chair Announcements
10:10 a.m. Break
10:15 a.m. Information Sessions on Case Competitions, MBA Investment Fund, Venture Fellows, Marketing Fellows, Board Fellows, Sigma Fellows, Texas Venture Labs, and McCombs Admission Committee)
11:00 a.m. Introduction to the MBA+ Program
11:45 a.m. Meet 'n' Greet with Student Mentors
12:00 p.m. Lunch with Mentors
1:00 p.m. Classroom Discussions on Marketing, Finance, Entrepreneurship, or Strategy
2:00 p.m. Financial Aid Overview
2:30 p.m. Housing Panel - Where Should I Live?
3:00 p.m. Student Life Panels on International Opportunities, Life Outside McCombs, or Student Life with a Spouse/Significant Other
3:30 p.m. Student Organization Fair
5:00 p.m. Evening Dinner and Reception
8:00 p.m. Free night to explore Austin. See ideas of popular MBA hang-outs in registration materials or ask your student mentor for additional ideas.

Saturday, April 6
TIME SESSION
9:00 a.m. Breakfast
9:30 a.m. Morning Welcome and McCombs Adventure Program (MAP) Presentation
10:15 a.m. Welcome by Dean Gilligan
10:45a.m. Career Management Overview
11:30 a.m. Break
11:50 a.m. Texas MBA Alumni Network Showcase
1:00 p.m. Farewell Lunch
2:30 p.m. Event Ends/Farewell
3:00 p.m. Final Four Watching Party (not a UT sponsored event) - OPTIONAL

I received my welcome packet today as well.

I just posted the same question in the MSB forum

Georgetown or McCombs:

**really looking forward to any current students responses**

My goal is to land a top consulting or i-banking job. I know they are two different paths, but my goal is to see a lot of companies post-graduation. I think I-banking is more that route - but I am an attorney, so I think consulting firms might be attracted to that. I know that here in Texas - that one or two years of consulting or i-banking in NYC opens up every job in the world in Texas finance. thoughts?

Any R3 applicants heard back?

Submitted 1/16
Interviewed 2/9

Still waiting.

Ad Com has stated that they will release their decisions on or around March 29th.

Yeah and using prior rounds as a reference, they really do wait until the week of the deadline before releasing any decisions. I would think the absolute earliest any of us would hear is late-late next week. But I'm not expecting anything until the week of the 25th.

What kind of role do you envision at a consulting firm that uses your law background? I am curious as I was thinking of taking some business patent type classes in B school

I like how the school puts a disclaimer - "Not a UT sponsored event" As if saying "hey we don't take responsibility of how drunk our students get at this event and how they act" LOL

Haha, I saw that, too. I took it as, "Hey, we can't force you into a drinking atmosphere while you're here, [and without this disclaimer we know someone who is sensitive will accuse us of coercing them into drinking to make sure they fit in the McCombs culture], but we know that's where most of the intra-class networks are built and fortified, so now is as good of a time as ever to get into the scene." Well, I know I'd be there if I was making the trip lol.

Posted from my mobile device

Posted from my mobile device

I'll be straight with you. You've been fed a line of bull. One or two years consulting/banking will definitely not open up every job in the world in Texas finance. In fact, a few years of I-banking/consulting won't likely open more doors than you would have at b-school. Consulting recruiters are masters at selling the exit opps, but the truth is, if you really want to exit to a c-suite job with a big company, you will probably need to put in enough time to make director/partner at your consulting firm and your chances thin dramatically as you go down from mbb to lower tier firms. If you want a mid level management job, well then what is even the point of going into consulting/banking as you can land those jobs right out of B-school? And these companies will be coming to recruit you, rather than you having to do all the footwork.

So if you already know you want to move into corporate finance, why not just go straight there from your MBA?

But if you are dead set on it banking/consulting than I-banking makes more sense if your long term goal is corporate finance. It seems like most consultants exit to things other than finance - business development, strategy, operations, product management etc. Though I'm sure some do move into finance I just don't see how consulting is the door to it. Bankers on the other hand tend to move into finance roles, though they can certainly move into other roles too.

I haven't looked into Georgetown much so I can't say which would be better. Given that McCombs is generally a little higher ranked I'd guess it would offer a slightly higher chance of getting a top consulting/banking job.

That being said, I wouldn't say that either school gives you a particularly great shot at the top tier firms. That is, if you are talking about the m/b/b and goldman/jpm tier. IF you are talking about Deloitte or citibank, yeah you might have a good shot from either school. But I also don't think that they will open the same doors as those more prestigious firms would.

Last point cause this is getting long. Your goals and background make it seem like you aren't quite sure what you are doing. You're an attorney, who either wants to go into i-banking or consulting (two very different paths which are completely different than law) with the goal of working in finance after a year or two. Just seems very muddled, there is nothing really tying things together.

Restructuring and bankruptcy is heavily legal intensive.

As is pretty much everything these days that causes people problems - public markets, regulated industries, M&A.

Also, I'm told that some firms, "like how lawyers process problems." but, truthfully - that may be just a myth.

I understand what you mean, but there is a divide between the legal side of things and the financial side of things. Generally people take on a role where they focus on one or the other. That is to say that those in corporate finance roles don't deal with the legal and regulatory aspects of an acquisition (or whatever you might be working on). Is it beneficial to understand the laws? Of course. Will it give you a leg up in recruiting? Maybe for a certain few niche roles, but in general probably not.

In other words, law and finance are connected in the same way all facets of a business are connected. Operations, marketing, finance, regulatory, R&D - they are all connected and its good to understand the relationships, but especially among established companies there are very few roles where you will be asked to handle both legal and financial aspects of an acquisition.

It's often been debated, but I think the general consensus is that the JD/MBA is not inherently more valuable than simply doing one or the other because there really isn't a good way to utilize both simultaneously. Obviously you are looking to get an MBA to switch gears, but in corporate finance, you most likely won't be utilizing your JD much if at all.

which round did you apply for?