Calling all Minnesota (Carlson) 2011 Applicants!

Yup, postal mail.

When did you receive your admit packet? I still have not received mine yet and I live here in the Twin Cities.

Live in Twin Cities, received it yesterday after being admitted on Wednesday. I bet you'll get yours today or tomorrow.

Just received the admin packet yesterday impressed with the school's generosity. The dilemma now is choose which school to matriculate at

I submitted application on Feb 1 and it got completed for review on March 5th!!! I dont know what took the admissions manager so long to complete my application! I hope the long wait doesnt run me out of selection and scholarship.....

I've just found this website about Carlson MBA. What do you think about it? https://www.avoidcarlsonmba.com/

Just read this- I don't think many of his arguments make sense at all. The entrepreneurship thing is about doing unpaid for work- but I want to get into consulting having no previous experience in it, and it will really help.
He talks about the international bit being overly expensive. I agree- but then you can hardly say that any MBA isn't overly expensive.
And the fact that some people have only two years of experience- well that may reduce their chances of employment but it's not exactly carlsons fault. Ditto proportion getting internships - although careers services should help you, it's surely basically down to your cv. Finally I think small class sizes are a plus not a minus.
I'm sure there are things wrong with the carlson program- I just think his reasonig seems pretty all over the place and illogical. Sounds like a guy who has had a bad time for whatever reason and is retrofitting lots of negatives around it. That's my opinion anyway. What do other people think?

Posted from my mobile device

"It is our hope that we have saved at least a few of you from the hell that we call our MBA program"

That would be the definition of a First World Problem.

I think the guy/gal behind this site is an idiot.

(1) as a domestic, I can't comment on international student opportunities

(2) work experience -- how is this Carlson's problem? Carlson seems to be in the standard range of work experience, and in fact doesn't seem to be part of the "younger is better" crowd that some of the MBA schools are into these days. Hell, I spoke with a current McCombs MBA who has zero years of full-time work experience. I just got and I'm 35yo. MBA students should know that most recruiters prefer 3+ years of work experience, and if they don't, then they haven't done the necessary research for MBA job opportunities.

(3) Class Size -- I expect a class size of about 110 again this year. Carlson was very forthcoming with me that their app numbers were down last year (but back up 30% this year), and they didn't want to admit people to the program that they didn't think would excel, so they opted to reduce the class size. In addition with the cohort system, they try to get 55-75 in each cohort, so they couldn't admit say 90 students. It had to either be 75 or less or 110 or more. If anything, I view a smaller class size as a benefit.

(4) Enterprise Program -- Are you kidding me? I view this as the strength of the program. Would you rather just learn case studies or listen to lectures, or also devote time to actually doing real projects? Doesn't he want class credit for the work? It would seem to be crazy to do it without getting some class credit for it.

(5) Global Discovery Program -- MBA school is expensive. At almost all good MBA programs these days a majority of the students spend at least a week overseas doing some sort of international work. Obviously I can't speak as to Chinese students re: travel restrictions.

(6) Career Services -- Can't really comment, but i'm afraid that is the way life works. When I was in law school, there were some people who got 20 on-campus interviews, and some who got 1.

(7) Can't comment

Damn I thought I was a hater. It seems to reek of "disgruntled employee" tone which is pretty hard to verify. I have a friend who is in their MHA full time program right now and he says it's great, but he is a domestic MN guy.

THM which program are you leaning towards?

My decision making process at this point:

(1) McCombs if they let me in (will likely hear in early-mid April if the 12 weeks to decision standard holds up)

(2) Kelley if I don't get into McCombs

In any event, I just booked my hotel for Kelley's admitted student weekend.

I think whoever made this page definitely didn't understand what business school is all about or did any research on Carlson's curriculum/program. From his or her tone (I'll use "he" going forward for simplicity), it sounds like he was expecting that a great job will be handed to him. Sure, a MBA may help you get to a better place, but it is not going to happen without hard work, talent, and a little luck. If this person wasn't getting any job interviews or didn't get the job he wanted, it probably was due to him not being prepared and/or informed. We live in a world of free markets (for the most part) and employers can choose whoever they want to interview -- and yes, the 20 or so people with multiple offers that still interview obviously have worked hard to get to where they are and they are probably the more polished students in the class. However, these bright students are not taking anything away from the others -- everyone has the same opportunities. To address his point of Carlson being a young and inexperienced class, what are his thoughts on Harvard's 2+2 program or other similar schools that admit students right out of undergrad (i.e., Booth, Stanford, Wharton, etc.)? Many of these young and inexperienced students go on and get great jobs in competitive fields.

Also, as for the international students, yes it sucks that MOST companies are bad at sponsoring H1-B visas. My observations are that professional services firms (e.g., consulting) are more likely to sponsor international students as opposed to industry/corporate jobs. Since Minneapolis is not a huge market for consultants or the likes, it should be expected that international students will have a relatively harder time finding employment. It is unfortunate, but it is true.

The last thing that I wanted to bring up was his thoughts on the Enterprise programs. Carlson has prided itself on its experimental learning focus for years now. If the guy who made the webpage didn't like the idea of the Enterprises, then why even apply? I think it is great because you get to connect the theory with practice and gain some good experience to talk about during job interviews. Plus, I'd rather be working on a project getting exposure to the local companies (i.e., networking) than being stuck in a class room reading about case studies.

Overall, I think this person's expectations were way out of line with reality. Nothing is given to you -- you have to earn it like everything else in the world.

I don't think that website carries any credibility either. For Americans, indeed the Carlson MBA is undoubtedly a great program. International students, however, should look carefully into post MBA prospects though. But I think that in general, the school is already very generous to international students

Just got the email about Carlson's "Up Close" Admitted Students Weekend. Pretty sweet deal. Carlson pays for airfare and 3 nights lodging in a swanky Minneapolis hotel. Even encourages local MN residents to stay at the hotel, and they pay for their lodging as well. I'm not aware of any other MBA programs that do this.

I applied for the Feb 1st deadline, interviewed on March 4th, and just got an admissions offer via e-mail!

edit

As I pointed out earlier, for American students who plan to work in Minnesota, Carlson is evidently an ideal choice. I am, however, quite curious about the job prospects though. I received a generous financial aid package from Carlson and heard quite a few positive things about the educational setting at the school, so I have seriously considered Carlson. I have contacted the school for further information about how the career service would support international students in placing themselves overseas because placement in Minnesota is almost impossible for foreigners. In the meantime, if any of you guys has any insight into this matter, please go ahead and share with us.