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

­Your spouse, who graduated from USC a couple of years ago, is a key point of reference, but the rapid market growth post-pandemic and companies' struggles to hire quickly make this example not entirely relevant. Furthermore, this discussion isn't about the Full-Time program, which I cannot detail due to my lack of knowledge about it; instead, I can speak on the IBEAR program, where there's a noticeable lack of support from the graduate career service, to be precise, it's simply non-existent.

Quality of Education: No comment – you could just as well find all the lectures on YouTube. If you came to school for knowledge, I feel terribly sorry for you.:lol::lol:
Placements: If you're local with the right work documents and have a network to continue your career here, I see no point in an MBA. If I just wanted to spend time and $200,000, I'd rather go to Hainan and sunbathe 24/7, living lavishly for a few years on that budget.
Network: BS.
Experience: The campus is fine, no questions there. But just walk around the university; my phone explodes with DAILY messages about robberies, harassment attempts, armed or otherwise. I asked my friends in other schools – USC's location in THE MOST DANGEROUS AREA OF LOS ANGELES is indeed a challenge.
My thoughts on IBEAR specifically: If you don't know what you're talking about, better not to speak. I don't theorize about what I don't know, and my advice to you is to figure things out before commenting.

Set your expectations right: During the prep and interview, the school set a certain level of expectations about the support we'd receive – none of that exists. If you choose a program specifically designed for mid-level managers, not for 28-year-old juniors, and the program confirms this, but then you realize it's just draining your money, it's a completely different reality that disappoints.
This is a program for highly experienced folks who are smart enough to find a basic job for themselves: The program is made for mid-level managers who are often at the Director or VP level. I can't fathom how after being a VP in an international company with 70 people under you, you'd transition to an individual contributor level – what strange logic? I was sold the program as a tool to transition my career in the US, but instead, I live like in a prison, afraid to go outside (especially dangerous for women, thus moving only by taxi), and I haven't seen a single vacancy created for me or any IBEAR student. All events are made for FT MBA, and you're seen as a competitor by both FT representatives and GCS, who aren't happy that you're competing with FT and potentially affecting their rankings.
Consider this as a place to brush up your skills and learn about the business concepts that would help you "GROW" when you join your next role in senior management of an org. For senior managers who've survived much more toxic environments back home, all this BS about polishing skills is irrelevant – I know what I'm doing, and I don't need to build my brand.

Most importantly, consider this as your opportunity to network with some smart minds from across the world. This statement is debatable.

FYI: The FT 2-year program lands you a job as a Sr. Manager or a manager at companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, etc. If you're an IBEAR aspirant, you're expected to join these or similar organizations as a Director, Sr. Director, VP, or even a "C" level exec. But when you talk to recruiters about this or start networking with company representatives trying to explain who you are – nobody knows what IBEAR is, nobody understands how to refer you with your profile (even if relevant), and more so, people you meet came to campus to hire interns for the summer while you're looking for a full-time role and with your resume, nobody's ready to talk to you. Of course, they'll tell you how glad they are to see you and how interesting it is, but it's BS.

Trust me, if someone is unable to get placed, it's not the program, it's them. I know that sounds harsh, but that's the reality of any B-school! – I don't want to appear or sound aggressive, but again – you don't know what you're talking about. I feel deceived – I didn't come here for this – I wasn't provided with career opportunities or anything that was promised.­