Marshall (USC) MBA.PM Class of 2017 Calling all applicants!

Choni, you still considering Marshall over Anderson? Double Trojan status?

Yes I am Christine... My app is currently under adcom review, so I'm awaiting a response. Hopefully, this week. If I get in, I will be a double...lol...

Posted from my mobile device

Sweet. Once a Trojan, always a Trojan?

I'm sure you don't need it but best of luck!

I've officially become a USC MBA.PM application checker addict....lol....I'm at a point in which I don't even mind a ding at this point. I just want to know!!! Still trying to patiently wait for a decision..arghhhh

Thanks

2 weeks and I am still awaiting a decision....Any updates from other applicants???

I have duo at work who have already heard from UCLA positively but are still waiting on USC.

They submitted the first week of the month (on the second) I believe.

Cool, I submitted to FEMBA last week. I started getting a little iffy about just applying to Marshall...hahaha...Marshall adcom told me 4-6 weeks...

NO! Don't go to the dark side!

Hope they both work out for you though - so that you make the "right" decision.

hahahaha....I don't want too....Marshall better come thru for me again.

I was able to make a minor change to my app documents yest... So it seems as though my package is just sitting there in the queue, waiting for the next available reviewer...

Sending good energy your way. Excited to see your updates on here!

Fight on ! (?)

Good luck aspirants! I am a 2016’er and I was in your shoes last year. If you have any questions about the program or want to know more information (because the Marshall website needs some serious work), feel free to post your questions and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Let us know why you chose Marshall?? And your experience in the PT program? A lot of folks are torn between FEMBA and MBA.PM, so it will be great to get an opinion from a current student. Admittedly MBA.PM has not provided much access to current students, unlike FEMBA.

I’ll be very honest with you, Anderson FEMBA was my first choice. I applied in the 2nd round, had my interview, got waitlisted for the remaining rounds, and eventually got dinged after the 5th round. I was wondering if I should reapply since my heart was set on Anderson but I weighed my options after speaking to numerous Marshall.PM alumni’s that I got acquainted with through friends and they were all pretty successful after graduating. In the end, the program is what you make of it. Sure, it may be easier if you’re a student at Anderson to get into ibanking, but you can still leverage your network to land an interview from a non-target school such as Marshall.

My personal experience in the PM program is a bit mixed. I absolutely love my classmates and the energy we all bring to the class. I feel like there is a lot of diversity and everyone comes from unique backgrounds. I’ve noticed that the classmates are there for you if you’re struggling in class. Are you a poet? No worries, the finance guru’s reserved a study room to get you up to speed on the finance midterm. Need help with accounting? The class accountants and CPA’s announced a study session this weekend to help you. Now I can’t speak for the other cores such as Saturday or OC, but this is how it was in my core in LA. I have to also stress the collaborative learning experience as your classmates are not there to sabotage your grades, but are genuinely interested in your success. Furthermore, the students really know how to work hard and play hard. We go by #FOPO! which stands for Fight On Party On! We have amazing social events and its genuinely an awesome time. Things that come to mind is the official Marshall tailgate parties hosted by respected companies, happy hour drinking after class, wine nights, food events, numerous career related conferences, river rafting, traditional Las Vegas trip right after Winter midterms, Mammoth Mountain trip, Football weekender to Chicago/South Bend vs Notre Dame, 5k runs, UCLA/USC MBA Dodgers Game, and so forth. Just be prepared to spend a lot of money on social activities and networking with upperclassmen!

As for why I have a mixed experience is because there is a lack of communication between the PM program office and the students. For instance, your Fall quarter ends on Thursday and Winter quarter starts the following Monday…but the office sends out the required textbooks on Friday. This barely leaves you time to look for cheaper alternatives for used books. You can either buy a new textbook from the bookstore (which is usually more expensive than Amazon), or you can be behind a day or two on class lectures until your order ships from a used book vendor. I also wish the PM office is open past 5pm for the working professionals. Lastly, the whole billing cycle is really weird for the first year as you’re on a quarter/tri-semester system. I would have highly preferred a semester system where we take 20 units each year. I still don’t quite understand why we frontload 30 units the first year as the workload is HEAVY (you’re taking ½ the units required to graduate your first core year).

I feel you on not getting much access, as that was what I went through as well. That is why I had to reach out to my friends to introduce me to their friends who had graduated from the program. If I think about it, the professors are a lot more helpful than the office staff, but most importantly, your classmates will be your most valuable tool. I have seen classmates being offered job openings before it’s posted to the public and the network is truly astonishing. It’s amazing how much fellow Trojans try to help you if they can and if they can’t, they will introduce you to someone who can. Sorry for the long explanation as I am typing this during my work break.

Feel free to ask more questions and I’ll try my best to answer.

The long explanation is what I am looking for...lol... Thanks a million, you definitely provided a new and very beneficial element to the discussion. And it seems as though the negatives of your MBA.PM experience is similar to my experience in undergrad minus the sabotaging..lol...Undegrads love to sabotage..lol... And I definitely had a concern about the front-loading of units, I just don't understand. But, it does not seem as though they are open to changing it.

Someone posted about the 17' cohort MBA.PM class size shrinking and that the current MBA.PM students were complaining. Do you feel as though the MBA.PM office is listening and plans to correct these things for future students? It seems as though the PM office is stuck in the stone ages, concerning websites, recruitment etc. And not maintaining rankings, which is causing students to look at Marshall negatively. I probably feel differently because I went for undergrad, and know the quality of education. To add folks still hold Marshall as equivalent to Anderson.

And since you originally wanted to attend Anderson....If you got accepted to FEMBA today (all courses transferred), would you leave Marshall?...lol...

Funny you mention that. At my workplace, people hold USC in the same high regard as UCLA. They think the MBA programs are ranked equally, so I guess most people don't pay attention to rankings. Or at least only care about the general school ranking, and don't look at the graduate school rank. Both are great schools, I chose mine based on location, I hate the 405 in that area.

Yes, the 405 is always something you want to avoid!

I work in tech and I'd actually go so far as to say we value USC grads more than UCLA. We recruit undergrads from Marshall. It's the only well ranked undergrad b school program other than Haas in California. USC is now outranking UCLA as a whole on US News. I agree that I don't think people know the difference in b school rankings or care to learn it. Plus who knows how long it will stand or how meaningful any of these numbers really are.

The Trojan mafia has done well for itself in my office so I decided it was time for me to join.