Calling all USC Marshall IBEAR 1 Year MBA Applicants: 2023 intake

Hi. Congrats. You done with your interview?

Not yet..got the mail today. Now I need to schedule the interview.

cool. Best of luck for your interview

Best of luck. When did you schedule your interview


Congrats for your interview invite. When did you schedule your interview?

I appeared for the interview yesterday. Here are the questions:
- What kind of a leader are you?
- Tell me about yourself?
- What other colleges have you applied for and why USC specifically?
- What electives would you choose and why?
- What's your long and short term goal?

It was a more of a discussion than an interview. Make yourself comfortable and you'll sail through. Stay honest!

Good Luck!

Congrats for the interview and thanks for the details. When did you receive your invite and if you don’t mind sharing your profile?

I am a current year student ready to chat with you here, friends, and share my experience. Unfortunately, I cannot say anything good about the program and urge you to think again before spending a lot of time on education and a huge amount of money, as Los Angeles is an extremely expensive city. By the way, I'm curious, what were you told about the career service?

­There are no groups on LinkedIn because there is no brand recognition for IBEAR; it lacks proper brand positioning. It's not like Sloan Fellows, nobody knows what IBEAR is.

Oh man! I had very high hopes from the program. Understand that LA is expensive. But being a big city, does it not have more opportunities. I hope it works out for you bud. What is your main grievance. I spoke to a gradute sometime ago and he told me that most his classmates started looking for jobs from Day1. It runied the experience for many but they did get jobs in the end.

So, IBEAR doesnt have brand recognition? After graduation, students struggle to get jobs? Companies do not recognise IBEAR?

­It's true, everyone started looking from day one, and not a single one has found a job to date. The entire early recruiting failed - the career center doesn't work at all - they only helped us with resumes, and this is while you pay full tuition. Moreover, last year, just over half of the graduates found jobs in the States, all the others were forced to leave the country.

­I also had expectations that the school would provide opportunities for mid-career managers, but in reality, you're applying for the same positions as graduates of the 2-year program who have internships, while you do not, making the chances of getting a job through the traditional MBA track minimal. And the most disappointing part is that with such an approach, you have to sacrifice 10 years of your experience because, having 14 years of experience, you're competing for positions designed for 26-28-year-olds. There are no opportunities to pivot your career to anything remotely resembling the level you had back home. It's all very disheartening.

­Exactly, at roundtable discussions when you mention to a visiting company representative that you're from IBEAR, they look at you with bulging eyes as if you've just burped. No one understands what it is, and when you try to talk to the program's directors, they just run away. It's really impossible to catch them as soon as you start asking uncomfortable questions, such as why IBEAR graduates with C-level job experience are applying for associate roles and not getting them due to their age, why haven't you done anything specifically for them - there's an awkward silence and then everyone suddenly scatters. Moreover, only half of the school term has passed, and all the talks are already about the next class - they've said goodbye to us. Can you imagine? After 6 months, they told us, "Well, guys, you're on your own from here." And this is while the supposed team that was to be our career service and supposed to work only for us doesn't exist - they're not there. There was one specialist, but they were working part-time! We are now completely without any support. It's very hard for me to write this because Chinese people are very polite and don't like to stand out, but this is beyond endurance. Once again, not a single one from our cohort has found a job, and the chances are not very high.

 

­They seem to be a little delayed given some transition with their team (few retirements based on updates from alumni). Submitted Jan 5, R2. Got my interview invite Feb 7. Keep your hopes up!

DId you give your interview? What were the questions?


Is it same with FT MBA students as well?

I'm not aware of the specifics regarding FT students, we study separately and have no joint events with them. Remember, IBEAR holds no rankings, which consequently leads to a general indifference towards post-graduation job placement, etc. If you try to find job placement statistics, you'll be surprised—there aren't any, likely because they are embarrassingly poor.

Who is conducting the interviews ?