#87 Boston College Carroll MBA Admissions Interview with Kristen Shambo – “A Profession Ready MBA”
“We’re going to keep evolving to meet the need of employers… who want a profession-ready MBA. And we’re going to continue to be reactive to see what skills we need to bring into the classroom and remain very dialed into employer needs and trends in the industry.”
About Our Guest
Kristen Shambo is Associate Director, Graduate Admissions, Carroll School of Management, Boston College. Kristen has been with Boston College for over 10 years in a variety of admissions capacities and got her MBA from Carroll in 2009.
What is relatively unique about the Boston College Carroll MBA? What are its key advantages?
- Boston College is a premiere, Jesuit Catholic private university founded in 1863
- Carroll School of Management well-known for finance and accounting, and increasingly marketing
- Program focus is on producing “profession-ready MBAs;” BC launched revised curriculum in 2015 with a focus on data analytics
- Students can work for companies their second year as electives are offered during the evenings
- 90-100 students per intake
- Streamlined application process: only 1 essay and 1 recommendation required
- Generous scholarship policy with 75% of students receiving scholarships – avg amount is $44,000 USD
Touch MBA’s Boston College Carroll MBA Fast Facts
Program Highlights (4:05)
- The School of Management was established in 1938, and was renamed in 1989 in honor of industrialist and Boston College alumnus Wallace Carroll
- 1 intake / year in Fall
- Length: 2 years
- Campus in Boston, ranked #2 US City for career-oriented professionals by Robert Half Career City index. Boston boast the most software developers and R&D investments in the world per capita
- 90-100 participants/intake
- ~20 nationalities/intake, class is 32% international
- Students ranked Accounting & Finance highest
- Concentrations: Asset Management, Business Analytics, Competitive Service Delivery, Corporate Finance, Financial Reporting & Control, Global Management, Leadership & Management, Marketing & Information Analytics, Product & Brand Management
- 99 Full-time faculty
- Structure Year 1: 12 core courses, public speaking workshop, SAI structure, analysis, integration workshop, SQL workshop Year 2: choose from 35-40 electives held in evening, 40% of students pursue internships during this time
- Graduate students required to volunteer 20 hours as part of Boston College’s ethos
- Rankings: #69 Financial Times 2016, NR Economist 2015, #50 US News & World Report 2017, NR Bloomberg Businessweek 2015
- Ranked #12 for Finance, #16 for Accounting, #14 for Entrepreneurship by US News in 2017
- Other MBAs: Part-time MBA
- Accredited by AACSB
- Over 20+ Dual Degrees programs available
Admissions (16:35)
- 4 deadlines from Nov – Apr, get a decision within 2-3 months
- 595 applications received, 228 admitted, 88 enrolled, 38% acceptance rate
- Avg GMAT: 664 (80% range 600 – 720), Avg GPA: 3.26
- GRE accepted
- Avg age: 28 (22 – 38), Avg work experience: 4 (80% range 2 – 7), 2 years work experience recommended
- Min TOEFL: 600 (paper), 100 (internet), IELTS: 7.5
- Interviews done by 2nd Year MBA students on a blind basis (they can only see your resume), or if they are not available, the Admissions Committee
Financing (32:58)
- Full-time MBA Tuition: $91,040 USD
- Recommended budget: $44,670 USD
- Scholarships & Loans
- 75% of participants awarded scholarships
- Average amount awarded is $44,000 USD
- Scholarships are merit-based and awarded with offer
- Graduate assistantships also available
- Int’l students need cosigner for loans
Careers (38:57)
- Full-time placement report? Yes
- 88% of graduates had jobs within 3 months of graduation
- Average Salary (Bonus): $103,226 ($15,081)
- Graduates in 2012 experienced 94% increase in salary after 3 years
- Industry: 40% Financial Services, 16% Biotech/Pharma/Healthcare, 16% Consulting, 10% Technology, 8% Consumer Packaged Goods
- Geography: majority of placements in Northeast US
- 35,000 Carroll alumni (and 168,500 Boston College alumni) worldwide in working in 54 countries
Show Notes
Subscribe
This episode of Touch MBA is brought to you be Prodigy Finance – the leader in education loans for international postgraduate students. Visit prodigyfinance.com to learn more.
