University of Illinois—Chicago - Liautaud Graduate School of Business Administration

The Liautaud Graduate School of Business offers students an unbeatable combination of academic rigor and affordability. The school's "flexibility" is another huge deciding factor for many students. A second-year quickly explains, "I started off part-time while working full-time. I then switched to working part-time and going to school full-time. The program allows for students to make course load adjustments as necessary." Academically, Liautaud excels in "finance and management information systems." And students love the fact that the program offers some "unique electives [such as] Negotiations [and] Business Analytics." Additionally, Liautaud provides "great opportunities for real life entrepreneurship and venture experiences." For example, the "Interdisciplinary Product Development course [allows] student teams from Business, Design and Engineering work to solve a real-world problem for a sponsoring firm." In general, "course offerings are in line with hot sectors that are in demand by both students and employers."

MBA candidates here report that the vast majority of professors are "smart, experienced . . . interesting and know their business." And while they certainly "don't take it easy on anyone," it's evident that they "genuinely want students to learn and succeed." To that end, UIC professors "are all highly communicative and have an open door policy that they actually enforce, enabling students to see them whenever there is academic difficulty." The same goes for the "nice" administration which is "very easy to contact" and seemingly "well organized."

When it comes to the job hunt, there's no denying that UIC's "proximity to downtown Chicago" is a huge asset. Indeed, the city is overflowing with opportunity and students can capitalize on "local name recognition." Thankfully, the university is also full of "great connections." And the "career center is very active in getting students prepared for find- ing jobs." In fact, over the last academic year, more than 500 employers have visited UIC in their recruitment efforts. Beyond simply courting these organizations, career services works diligently to guarantee students will be prepared to knock their interviews out of the proverbial park. To that the end, the MBAs can take advantage of a variety of work-shops featuring everything from mock interviews to resume writing.

You can rest assured that UIC MBAs come "from multiple industries and all walks of life." Moreover, they "seek the greater good for those in the program and actively con- tribute to helping each other with potential job opportunities and homework." Indeed, there's "a real atmosphere of team work and 'having each others' backs'." And, overall, the majority of students here can be described as "extremely hard working, kind, funny, interesting and intelligent."

Not surprisingly, life at UIC is dictated by whether or not you attend the MBA program as a full-time or part-time student. Part-time MBAs are usually only campus for classes. However, full-time students reveal that there are "many different opportunities to inter- act with others through clubs, intramurals, and events." More specifically, "MBAA has monthly social events (they took over the planetarium, visit breweries, end of semester pizza parties, sporting events, etc.), but they also bring in top-notch companies for men- toring, advice, and the inside scoop on how they succeed." Finally, when students need to completely escape school life, they can explore all of the cultural and social opportu- nities Chicago offers.