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Honestly, KF is a really great school. It opened a lot of doors for me. I wanted to pivot to either marketing or healthcare from a consulting background. I received my marketing internship and my healthcare full-time job because of the school's recruiting process with partner companies. I also had the opportunity to study abroad to multiple countries and continents due to the school's vast network. I am always grateful for everything that KF has afforded me. :) In terms of friends, I gained my best friend from the program and I am forever in awe of the caliber of students that were a part of 2023.
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My experience during the UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA program has been great overall. One of the highlights was the recently made free pre-MBA course, Analytical Skills Workshop (ASW), now called Business & Math Foundations. This pre-MBA summer program covers finance, financial accounting, probability and statistics, and business math. The foundation course made me more confident about the program and showed me how the curriculum is carefully designed to help us even before the MBA starts. It is a great way to refresh your skills and bolster your knowledge of these concepts in an intensive, self-paced two-month pre-MBA program.
The school culture is great. The students were happy to help when I reached out to them and greatly assisted me in preparing for the MBA and moving to the U.S. Interacting with the community, you can feel how collaborative and helpful the Tar Heel community is. For example, on the first day I reached the school, a guy from the school offered to give me a ride to collect stuff for my apartment without me even having to ask for help. Additionally, the alumni are very engaged with the program and are happy to connect with you and help you in any way possible. Although, I would love to see more alumni in more companies.
One of the things I am most excited about is the Global Immersion Elective. This elective allows students to travel to another country for an intensive experience, learning about the local business challenges, techniques, and culture. The best part is that the school provides certain fellowships to cover the expenses.
I suggest future applicants take advantage of the free pre-MBA course, Business & Math Foundations, and the Global Immersion Elective. Additionally, I would suggest they reach out to current students and alumni to understand the community and resources available at UNC Kenan-Flagler.
Google STAR at UNC Kenan-Flagler before applying to UNC
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UNC Chapel Hill's full-time MBA program is an underappreciated top MBA program. In my experience so far, we offer everything some of the similarly ranked programs offer and more. I received offers from several top 20 programs when I was applying for graduate programs so I took the decision process extremely seriously. In the end, it came down to "gut-feel" and UNC stood out. One criteria I placed a lot of importance on was career opportunities and diversity of career path's (that is what an MBA program should be focused on) If you look at the employment report for UNC, one thing that is underappreciated is that we send graduates to several functions. We have 2nd year's going to Consulting, Finance, Tech, Marketing, Healthcare, Real Estate, and Energy in pretty sizable proportions. In B-School, most of us will have a plan, but many of us will also switch last minute. I can say UNC provided access to a wide-array of employers from the MBB's of the world's to the Amazon/CIsco/Dell's of the world and everything in between. You want to attend a school that is solid all around, and UNC checked those boxes for me.
UNC professors are absolutely top-notch and take a backseat to no one. Our professors are leaders in teaching and research. Most of the core professors were leading research programs with some of the largest companies in the world and consulting at various other top b-schools. We have the Kenan Research Institute, which is a prime business research center that most of our professors conduct research at. They are also extremely welcoming and open to provide help. If you are struggling on anything, you simply shoot them an email, and they'll easily block out time to walk you through it. UNC's MBA program is quite difficult in the beginning, since they offload the core bushiness classes, but having supportive faculty really goes a long way.
We truly have a wide range of companies coming to campus. If you are recruiting consulting, most of our grads are going to Deloitte and McKinsey, however all the top firms (BCG, Bain, ATK, ZS, PwC) come on campus to recruit. We are also exceptionally strong in Finance (Barclays, Evercore, Goldman to name a few). Lastly, I think UNC is a top 3 healthcare school with potential to be THE premier healthcare school in the future. All the top pharma and provider companies recruit actively here. My one advice would be to go beyond the rankings. I placed a lot of importance on it, but sometimes rankings are deceiving. I do believe that UNC has top 15 potential and I think we'll get there. For example, we really need a new building but they are currently raising funds to build one and once that happens I think UNC will surge. For the process now, I would say go beyond the face value of rankings and really talk to current students, alumni, and faculty and I think you will be surprised at the respect of the brand and the success of the graduates. Also, do not underestimate the value of the "brand" in general. Beyond the MBA program, UNC has highly prestigious programs in Medicine, Public Health, Pharmacy, and Undergraduate. Brand equity as a whole goes a long way when recruiting. Any top MBA program will give you access to the leading professors, competitive firms, and research opportunities. Do not underestimate your fit, career aspirations, and flexibility when making a decision.
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The number one reason you are considering going to business school is to improve your career situation, get a better job, move industries maybe even move to another country.
If so, Kenan Flagler is not the school for you. Career services have issues with retaining talent, which means that the people who are supposed to help the most are inexperienced. The same is true for the administration, for example, the director of the MBA program is new, the head of career services just quit after a year in her role, her predecessor had similar time in the program. Career professionals for consulting and investment banking are also new.
About financial aid- GMAT score might get you financial aid from the school, which for many helps the decisions for ROI reasons, but i offer you not to be tempted by the money. From the top of my head, I'm thinking of at least 3 classmates with full rides and no offers meaning the very qualified people are not doing well because of the current situation at the school.
Managment: The management is currently putting its effort into it online MBA program and not in the MBA, from a financial point of view it makes sense, the program has an infinite capacity for students with no GMAT requirements which leads to incredible income from that venue but it also means less attention and investment in full-time MBA students.
What I like about KFBS: North Carolina and the Triangle generally is a pretty chill location, cost of living is pretty low and the weather is nice.
The academic staff is great and I enjoyed many of my classes.
If you enjoy sports the local sports scene is cool.
Many big names do not come to KF even though they do come to Duke (Apple. FB) and many others just don't come and I'm not sure about duke (Ford, GM, GE, Verizon, Chevron)
International students- the situation is even worse, only 30% of the opportunities that Americans have are open for you
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Hey there kfstudent! Insightful review. I noticed that this was your first post to GMATClub. Welcome.
It seems like you had a very poor experience at KF. The schools employment reports for class of 2016 show 95% of students received an offer within 3 months, and for class of 2017 (your class, right?), that number dropped to 93%. So, the verified employment numbers don't quite agree with the statement "very qualified people are not doing well because of the current situation at the school."
As someone who is about to commit two years and a ton of money to this program, your review was initially concerning. I have heard similar rumblings with the turnover of program staff, but haven't let that sway me because overall it seems like a great program, and staff turnover / culture shift occurs at every program.
If you don't mind me asking:
- Were you able to secure employment after graduating in 2017?
- If so, was it the role you desired upon completing the program?
- How are your fellow classmates who weren't able to secure employment (the7%) currently doing?
- R3 decisions were just released today. What inspired you to write the review close to a year after leaving the program?
I don't want to blindly defend the program, but I also feel as though there are some missing pieces to your story.. Your review/advice helps tons of future student make once in a lifetime decision, so that's why I wanted to reach out for clarification. Thanks.
As a current full-time student, I have to disagree with your belief that "most major firms do not come to campus". That is simply not true. As someone going though recruitment now, we already have the top 6-7 consulting firms coming to campus, and more are still being signed on. We have the top tech firms (not apple, I agree) but nonetheless, extremely well known firms. In fact, I am quite pleased with the line-up that UNC has pulled in for company visits. We also have all the major healthcare firms as UNC is one of the top healthcare programs in the country. You will have AMPLE opportunity to recruit at the biggest firms from Carolina. Lastly, if you're intested in finance, all the top IB and corporate finance players from NYC and Charlotte are coming to campus as well.
Thanks for posting Woody! If you have not submitted a review yet, would be very helpful to hear a different perspective with some thoughts and details about employment.
Hey Woody,
Thank you for your comment, let me elaborate and let me know if things got better.
I didn't say "most major firms do not come to campus", I said "Many big names do not come to KF..." and I think we can both agree on that fact.
About consulting - when I took "consulting skills and framwork" the first class we delt with the case of consulting in KF and why it's doing so bad. Yeah MBB shows up on campus, but how many do they actually take BB ~1-0 each McK ~3-5? In my year Accenture, PwC and KPMG did not arrive for on-campus interviews. It's hard to say KF is good for consulting.
Tech companies - How many people got FANG? in my year only Amazon and Google came on campus and took very few people.
IB - Only GS, JPM, BOA came on campus(no CS, no Barclays, no HSBC, No Citi, no UBS). GS took one yearly, JPM took ~2 BOA took a few more (under 10)
I am still very connected to campus because I do care what my school looks like. If I hear correctly the head of the career center left his position (this is the second person in the role to only hold it for 1 year), and many others who left did not get replaced. KF is still focused on the wrong things and the price is still student opportunities.
If things change dramatically and I have been misled I would love to hear about i.e take bb's advice. If not, let's not try to paint a picture of what's not there.
Kenan Flagler easily surpassed my expectations in terms of obtaining a great education in a warm, welcoming setting. The real differentiator for K-F is the people. I made some great connections with great people, and had a lot of fun doing so. If I had to offer some constructive feedback, I’d recommend that KF tighten up their admissions a bit. The disparity in talent across the class was pretty apparent throughout the term, and sometimes made me feel like they weren’t building the brand that I want Kenan Flagler to have. Of course this is just my opinion. In terms of great people though, Kenan Flagler is unsurpassed.
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The most important thing about UNC Kenan-Flagler is the tight community. The fact that the school is located at a place lie Chapel Hill, a college town that is all about the university, creates this small community because everyone is coming to this experience and doesn't have any other friends or occupancies in town. The university as a whole also presents many opportunities, but you have to pursue them as the business school is a bit isolated from the rest of the campus, and feels like a "bubble" sometimes. The career management center is the biggest area for improvement, but eventually, most people are able to get around, find good jobs. Most of the core classes are taking place in the first semester of the first school year, which creates a very intense time since there is also a lot of recruiting activities at the same time. After the first semester it most calms down, but it also depends on the kind of activities you choose for yourself and whether or not you are still looking for a summer internship. There are plenty of opportunities to get involved with student clubs, extra-curricular activities, volunteering, etc.
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My two years at UNC was a terrific experience. Right from the beginning, the ride was smooth, from settling down) in the first couple of weeks to ramping up and prepping for internship interviews and a great 2nd year.
The most important thing to any MBA candidate is employment opportunities once you complete your MBA program and UNC definitely provides a wide array of opportunities across industries. It certainly provided that option for me as I interviewed with some of the best firms in the world - McKinsey, Google, Amazon, etc.
The only drawback I would say, is not having a great alumni network with Tech companies on the West Coast, which I think will improve over time.
Not enough opportunities in tech especially on the west coast. But with the RTP area growing, there should be an improvement in the number of people who get recruited into high-tech firms.
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Hi Sir,
Can you please share your thoughts on opportunities for Consulting and Energy industry at Kenan-Flagler?
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My MBA experience at Kenan-Flagler was amazing. The people I met during my time there continue to be some of my closest friends and also my strongest network. Not only did it help me land my dream job but I now also have a strong network that I can rely on at all times.
Advice for future applicants: Culture fit is an important factor, make sure you fit in well with Kenan-Flagler's current students and alumni. Also, certain career opportunities are stronger at KFBS such as finance and marketing. Make sure your chosen career choice has a strong alumni base.
The Business Plan Analysis class by Randy Myer was one of the best classes I have taken. Its highly recommended! Marketing analytics and Pricing were the other two really great classes.
Strong in finance. Some consulting, marketing and general management opportunities. Growing tech opportunities these days. The career management center has had a overhaul since my time, hopefully its improved now.
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I wanted the best MBA program I could get into in terms of brand and recognition while allowing me to keep my FT job. The opportunity cost of going to a FT MBA program was much too high. My opinion is while each program offers strengths, generally speaking Accounting doesn't change much from top school to top school. I don't think Wharton and Harvard are teaching any super top secret accounting concepts that UNC or Cal aren't. That said, I was leery to start with an online MBA, but after seeing the curriculum, the quality of professors and learning nothing was "watered down" from the FT program, I quickly jumped at the opportunity when I was accepted.
And no joke, the material was tough, it was rigorous and everyone of my classmates were super smart and professionally accomplished.
On top of that, the immersions were a BIG part of my experience at UNC. I highly suggest all students to attend as many as you can afford to attend. They are truly global immersions which balance good, useful, classwork in another country and allows you to network and socialize with your classmates. That's why I truly believe this isn't an online program, it's a hybrid, bringing the best of both worlds together.
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As a Latin American student I was a bit scared before coming to UNC because I had heard from other latins that it was going to be difficult to land a job. Luckily, everything turned out to be perfect. Let me explain my experience from three different buckets: (a) Academics, (b) Social, (c) Recruiting.
(a) Academics: UNC is a school that has full disclosure of grades (i.e. employers can ask the school for your grades) and the grade system is the following: High Pass (25%), Pass (70%), and Low Pass (5%). The first months of the MBA you work hard to avoid getting the Low Passes, but you'll realize that grades aren't that important (they really only matter if you are pursing Investment Banking). Overall, Academics are great (professors, class content, etc.) and don't represent a problem.
(b) Social: The social life is amazing. Being a relatively small class (~300), you really get a chance to get to know your class. All the night life circles around Franklin Street, which is very convenient as it is walking distance from the school and from most housing areas. In addition, you have Duke (Durham) very close (~20 mins), and Raleigh relatively close (~35 mins). In this triangle area, you have EVERYTHING. I came here with my wife and UNC is a great place for spouses (a lot of outdoor activities to do and everything is walking distance (or your can take any bus - all of them free of charge).
(c) Recruiting: This is the bucket I invested the majority of my time. Being an international without US work permit and Coming from a corporate banking background, I wasn't exactly sure if I wanted to continue in that industry. I only did on-campus recruiting because I was very happy with the firms that came here (strong focus on banking, consulting, finance, and rotational programs). I basically applied to all of the positions that were open. After many months of networking, company presentations, etc. I got invites to interview to a lot of companies and, luckily, I received three offers (Private Banking, Consulting, and a rotational program). You will naturally have many different opinions from UNC MBA's, but I'll tell you this: if you are organized, disciplined, patient, and open minded, I can guarantee that you will land a great job.
My overall experience has been incredible. You will love it.
My only concern about UNC has to do with the CMC (Career Management Center). For some reason, I haven't seen an established team during my MBA experience. There has been a lot of turnover and, as a result, some students were very disappointed about this (but most schools have this problem). Hopefully this won't be a problem in the future.
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You are not the first person who mention this problem. Can you please elaborate more about CMC?? What is actually happening? Is there no assistance at all from CMC??
As someone who has observed the MBA CMC at UNC for many years (as part of MBA admissions)- I can say that I think they are working to keep improving and I know several very strong counselors in the office now. If I were a current prospect for UNC Kenan-Flagler (applying now for spot in fall 2018 class), I would not worry about CMC. I think they will deliver for you and lots of great things are happening at the school!
How is the situation now....any update or anyone recently graduated can give inputs...how are opportunities for international candidates...
Woody can we connect over linkedin?
Please let me ....i recently have been interviewed by the school and i am hoping i do make it...
Regards
Shaunak