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What Students Say
Likes
- McCombs attracts some of the brightest minds as my course mates
- The course curriculum is well structured and super busy allowing us to complete two years of content in 1 year
- Most of the professors are directly in touch with industry and also have past industry experience
Dislikes
- Course duration is super tight
- There could be more involvement with industry through live projects
- More structure could be brought with the curriculum
Course Curriculum
10
- The course is very hectic and requires prior knowledge and experience of data analytics/data science. It is a mix of both theory and lots of practical projects
- The most positive aspect is the brand value that the program has in the industry, while the negative will be short course duration and heavy workload
- One will have 3 to 4 classes depending on their electives. Classes start at 8:30 in the morning and go till 8:30 in the night. But one gets sufficient brakes between classes as well during class.
- Average number of students in your class: 60 in each section, total 2 sections.
- 50% off-class population is Indian.
Admission Experience
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I applied to two universities and was planning to apply to one
- UT Austin: Applied and shortlisted
- UMN Carlson, Minnesota Applied and shortlisted
- Anderson school of management, UCLA Was planning to but did not apply because got admitted to my dream school.
- No rejection as such but the major reasons for rejection according to me are: delayed round admit (always go for round 1) and non-alignment of SoP (generic SoP will not get you admit). Make sure that you highlight what is special about you and why you like the college.
- Because UT Austin has a better ROI. With less fee and living cost and higher brand value across the US and India, it is worth the money spent.
- The admission process has a 3-question SOP (one of the questions is a video recording where you need to answer the SOP question and record it) and 2 LoR submissions. The SoP questions are around what you bring as a future student, why you have chosen UT and why you are a good employee for a data science role. Followed by a 15-minute interview to get to know you. They also check your GRE/GMAT (any one) score.
- The admission team is very responsive and the process is very smooth and always on time
- I applied for the summer 2023 intake as this is the only intake for the program (the program is of 1 year and gets over in the summer next year). I applied in round 1 and for that, the application process starts somewhere around August and the submission deadline is in mid-September. This is followed by an interview invitation in November and you receive your admission in the 1st week of December.
Faculty
8
- The faculty-to-student ratio will be around 1:15. Faculty give enough time and attention to individual students and also organise various working sessions.
- Teaching methodology is very up-to-date, with lots of assignments and projects for hands-on. The course lacks some structure though in some of the subjects and still needs realignment with latest industry updates
- Faculties are mostly not involved in the job process and that is the area where the college needs to work.
- Prof. Deepayan Chakrabarti. He is one of the best professors with whom I have interacted so far. Most knowledgeable, very good industry experience and has the ability to teach most complex subjects in the most easy-to-understand and lucid way
Part Time Jobs
- While RA and TA positions are available with individual professors in other programs, in the MSBA program TA,RA and DA position are not allowed since the program is just for 1 year. That being said you can choose to work for other on-campus jobs like in library , parking, on-campus housing, dining, gym etc. The pay band for any of these jobs is around $13/hr. Additionally you also get incentives if you work of long hr shifts.
- The maximum hr of work is 20hrs in a week and can be split based on your preference and availability of job slot
- Getting a part-time job is not that difficult in terms of role and responsibilities (interview process) but these jobs get filled up very quickly and one needs to be proactively apply on multiple places to get one
- The pay band for any of these jobs is around $13/hr. Additionally you also get incentives if you work of long hr shifts. The maximum hr of work is 20hrs in a week and can be split based on your preference and availability of job slot Getting a part-time job is not that difficult in terms of role and responsibilities (interview process) but these jobs get filled up very quickly and one needs to be proactively apply on multiple places to get one. Part-time oppoortunities can be found on flyers hung across different facilities in the campus. One needs to scan the QR and fill a google form. Employers then schedule a call discuss role and at times ask question. This is followed by all necessary paper work like SSN etc
Placement
6
- Only 75% of the batch got employed within 6 month for us. May be it was due to slow market conditions
- average salary could be around $120000 but it heavily depends on your experience. Students need to do all the heavy lifting here, there is no campus recruitment and college placement team helps little. There are job fairs that are organized which can help get job.
- MSBA saw various recruiter but no mass recruiter. Capital One, Tredence, Fedility Investment, Whole Foods
Accommodation
Off Campus
4
- I found my accommodation through seniors. But one can also refer to apps like realtor, zillio. These app work better.
- My accommodation was of subpar standard and involved significant security threat. Rent was $2100 for 3 bed room unit ($700 each) plus the utilities. It is a basic housing with air conditioning fridge and dishwasher.
- US has massive pest infestation. Please use certified apps to find any property and check reviews first. Do not trust the realtor or anyone blindly since they get referral bonus for each successful referral.
- My accommodation was 15 min walking from McCombs. Indian students stay based on their college. McCombs students stay scattered in an around the McCombs building
Exams
- Exams: GMAT/GRE along with TOEFL
- Documents: All three Statement of Purpose, LOR, CV and undergraduate transcript
- There was a short 15-minute interview. It was more of an interactive call and the interviewer wanted to understand why I am a good fit for the role and why I am interested in the program and university. They also wanted to know if I have any other admissions as well.
Fees
- The total fee is $53,000, which includes tuition and admission fee. There is no hostel fee and students need to arrange their lodging on their own.
- Fee is charged each semester and can be paid in advance also. Delayed payment attracts penalties
- Monthly expenses for lodging (rent) and food and stationery will come out to be around $1000~$1300. With rent around $800 + $100 utilities. Rest will be groceries.
Scholarship
- I received a merit-based admission scholarship. This is provided by the admissions team itself based on your profile. There is no specific name for it.
- I received $3500 but the scholarship range is between $1000 and $5000.
- Indian students have not received any other scholarship but I am not sure of international students.
- Out of the batch of 120, 70 were Indians and out of Indians, 50% received scholarship
