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Old 06-05-2012, 12:47 PM
 
75 posts, read 205,476 times
Reputation: 85

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Hi All,

A friend of mine is getting ready to apply for business schools in Southern California for the fall of 2013. He has visited Pepperdine, UCLA, and UC Irvine & is looking to apply to all three of those schools plus USC.

I understand that there are "regional" business schools in the area as well (must be, right?). What other schools other than those listed above are potential candidates for him to apply to? He really wants to move to LA so he doesn't mind if the business school's influence doesn't transcend LA's borders.

Just to give you an idea of what I am talking about: I live here in Dallas. An MBA from SMU is the "sexy" pick for potential employers given it's vast alumni support & pull. I just looked up the rankings for SMU's business school and it sits at 59th (if I remember correctly). However, they have a top 5 entrepreneurial specialty and they have such a powerful network that the ranking doesn't seem to matter. Dallas has such a strong job market that being "confined to Dallas, Houston, Austin, SA, etc" doesn't matter due to the great job market & low cost of living.

All that aside, UTD (University of Texas at Dallas) is seen as a "darkhorse" MBA given that employers are just as apt to hire their graduates given the fact that they will demand not as high a salary and the school has earned a good reputation in the region the past 5 or so years. Plus the tuition isn't nearly as high. It is funny how an MBA from UTD has almost become a stong second to SMU's MBA in that it is no longer uncommon for peers to be applying there & no longer as anonymous vs the SMU MBA say, back in 2003 for example.

I apologize for the rant but my question is: Are there similar darkhorse MBA's in the Southern California region that maybe an outsider like myself (or some other cowboy from good 'ol Texas) should be looking at? I would like to think that people like myself & my friend are as smart as our parents have been telling us all our lives but something about having USC or UC Irvine as a "safety school" definitely brings me pause if you know what I mean.

Any suggestions?
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Old 06-05-2012, 02:12 PM
jw2
 
2,028 posts, read 3,271,632 times
Reputation: 3387
If your friend wants an MBA from southern California, there are really only two choices, UCLA and USC. (Stanford and Berkeley in northern California). Those are the top tier MBA programs in CA.

The only top tier off the top of my head in Texas is UT (Austin). Maybe Rice in Houston. SMU and UTD are certainly not.
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Old 06-05-2012, 03:23 PM
 
Location: Long Beach, CA
56 posts, read 236,165 times
Reputation: 30
Look at US NEWS: Best Business School Rankings | MBA Program Rankings | US News

I think UCI is No. 49; and Claremont is #75.
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Old 06-05-2012, 03:24 PM
 
Location: Long Beach, CA
56 posts, read 236,165 times
Reputation: 30
Also Pepperdine is #81. Whose rankings matter in the MBA world? US News or Business Week or some other publication?
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Old 06-05-2012, 07:07 PM
 
Location: RSM
5,113 posts, read 19,789,229 times
Reputation: 1927
CSUF actually ranks pretty well last I checked(ranked 135 by US News in 2011) and is significantly cheaper than every other option. Also the largest accredited business college in the state.
Chapman(97 USNews, 46 BusinessWeek) is well regarded as a more local school, as is Loyola(maybe more so? they're highly ranked as a regional institution[#4 by US News overall for the west] and their part time MBA is among the highest rated in the US). Both are private schools like USC.
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Old 06-06-2012, 09:05 AM
 
75 posts, read 205,476 times
Reputation: 85
Thank you all so much for the info! Yeah--I've noticed the rankings fluctuate for fulltime/part-time as well as the acceptance rate. Definitely something to look into.
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Old 06-06-2012, 10:19 AM
 
Location: LA
35 posts, read 96,435 times
Reputation: 62
USC if you can get it. The school is not the only draw. It is the USC "family" that'll take care of you afterwards if you want to work in LA.
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