Hi kotela,
1. How HKUST is different from other business schools
a. Asia and China focus
Hong Kong is a popular choice of base for regional operations for both global business going East and Asian business going global because of its location at the gateway of China and heart of Asia. We have former senior executives with exceptional experience in Asia business as our faculty, including the former CEO of PepsiCo Asia, former CEO of Walmart China, former Chief Marketing Officer & Chief Information Office of IBM, etc. Our faculty will not only use global business cases but also Asia-specific case studies during class. Also, over 90% of our graduates work in Asia and give rise to our strong alumni network in Asia. If you want to work in the booming markets in Asia, then our program can be the right place for you.
b. Global exposure
We have a small class size compared with other MBA programs, with 100-120 students enrolling each year. But over 25 nationalities and 90% non-local nationality are represented in this small community, which accounts for a highly intensive multicultural experience. Students will be divided into groups in the beginning of the program to make sure a certain diversity is always present in each group and to avoid people of similar backgrounds from spending all the time together. Class profile:
https://mba.ust.hk/ftmba/studentlife/profile.htmExchange opportunity is also guaranteed and students can choose from 56 exchange schools in over 17 countries, including both Asian (China, Singapore, etc.) and western (U.S., London, etc.). Exchange school list:
https://mba.ust.hk/ftmba/program/exchange.htmc. Curriculum
We have a 16-month program which is shorter than other MBAs and still includes a summer free from studies for students to pursuit an internship and a semester for exchange. So the opportunity cost is lower compared with other 2-year programs.
We have 5 career tracks for our electives so that students can choose to focus on an area most suitable for their goals and interests. They include General Management, Finance, Marketing, Consulting and Strategy, and Entrepreneurship.
We highly encourage you to take a look at our brochure which can be downloaded here to know more about what our program offers: https://www.mba.ust.hk/enews/subscription/brochure.asp2. GMAT score
Our admissions committee will review candidates' whole profile when making the admissions decision, including intellectual capacity (GMAT, undergraduate performance), work experience (work references, amount of work experience, global exposure, management experience, etc.), personal attributes (communication skills, confidence, teamwork, cultural sensitivity, etc.), matching (your goals and whether our program can provide what you need), and potential contribution to the program.
Therefore, we do not have any specific requirements for any of the above areas. As a point of reference, the mid-70% range of our current class' GMAT is 600-720. Normally, we will access a candidate's GMAT together with his/her undergraduate performance. So having a very good undergraduate performance can complement a lower GMAT score and vice versa.
Any questions, just let us know.
HKUST MBA Admissions Team