Any comments or ideas on good MBAs in Cali??

hey rick. naturally I would look into the big 4: Cal Berkeley, Stanford, UCLA, and USC. but there are also other solid programs such as Santa Clara, Pepperdine, and UC Irvine that you dont hear about as much, but are still great programs with good reputations. lots of options in california.

theres an older discussion aobut califonria mbas that had some good ideas. i just saw that uc davis is also in the economist top 100 mbas in "the americas". so that program is probably worth mentioning, too.

Many thanks to both of you, I didnt see the older thread about th esme topic.. I was actually considering Stanford, do you think they rank better than USC and UCLA? Outside of the US, I guess Stanford has the biggest name, but in the US itself?

yes. Stanford is also considered a big name and top MBA program in the US. Perhaps the most highly regarded of all the ones mentioned above.

agreed. here is the link to the earlier discussion thread.
http://www.find-mba.com/board/2034

You might also consider The Rady School of Management at UC San Diego. Rady has both Full-Time and part-time programs (referred to as the FlexMBA). As of this posting, it's currently admitting it's second full-time class, and the first Flex Class ('06) is set to graduate in August. From the website:

"The Rady School will pioneer the education of tomorrow's business leaders through an innovative curriculum, led by internationally recognized faculty. Seeking to rapidly obtain top-tier status, the school leverages UCSD's strengths as a preeminent research institution ? especially its outstanding programs in science, engineering, medicine, economics and international relations."

http://rady.ucsd.edu

Happy hunting!

Thanks, sounds interesting, I will check out Rady's website.

I think the best is Stanford of course, but it depends on what you focus is in your career. I think USC is good for real estate. Berkeley is good for tech. Same with pepperdine.

I agree with all of the above, so I'm not going to say anything remotely contradictory. Rather, I just wanted to say as regards UC Davis that I have a friend there (a molecular biologist, admittedly), who rates the university as a whole very highly. But then he would - he's a mountain biking and rock climbing nut, and Davis is perfectly located for both. Forget 2.4 kids; Davis has 2.4 bikes per person on average!

DO NOT go to UC Davis. Avoid ALL UC schools at all cost. here's the reasons:

1. Sacramento is the only big city near UC Davis, and Sac NEVER hires any foreign students. They are extremely exclusive. So don't waste your $$ in Sac.

2. All UCs have BAD career centers because career counselors are civil servants, so they have no motivation to get you a job.

3. All UCs increased their tuition this year cuz of budget deficit in CA. They disproportionally increased foreign student/out of state tuition. So, you will have to pay TOO MUCH for bad education.

4. Don't go to state/public school. You'll get way better education in private schools.

Sorry, I think you're wrong about the bad education part, and the bit about Sacramento never hiring foreign students. You obviously have a bone to pick with UC Davis. That's fine, but no reason to blanket statement all UC schools (or entire cities, for that matter). UC Berkeley and UCLA are world-class institutions, and I'm sure their business schools pay very close attention to the career placement of their grads.

did you see this article?

http://www.find-mba.com/article/342/a-place-in-the-sun-mba-programs-in-california

it kind of contradicts his opinion,and it does sound like someone is holding a grudge....

it seems that California is a good place to start for would be entrepreneurs..... and the sun! :-)

What about Mount St. Mary's College, Los Angeles?

What about Mount St. Mary's College, Los Angeles?

You must be dumb to think all UC Schools sucks because both UCLA and UC Berkeley are solid top 15 programs:

http://mbaapply.com/advice.htm#topmba

What Are The Top MBA Programs?

If you've read my postings on the Businessweek, GMATClub, or WallStreetOasis forums, you'll undoubtedly know that I try to avoid the rankings talk. Rankings debates usually disintegrate into pissing matches, with the resulting discussion exaggerating the differences that no one else but applicants and students would actually care about.

What I've posted below isn't something I care too much about, but it seems like enough people are curious about my opinion as an admissions consultant. This is the first and last place I will post anything about rankings.

Here?s how the tiers more or less break down:

Top Three: HBS, Stanford, Wharton (some say Wharton is just a rung below HBS and Stanford but above Kellogg, MIT, Chicago, Columbia or Tuck, which I won?t dispute ? opinions vary).

Elite Eight: Top 3 plus Kellogg, MIT, Chicago, Columbia and Tuck. Some say Tuck is just a rung below; again opinions vary.

Sweet Sixteen: Elite 8, plus Michigan, Duke, Darden, NYU, Berkeley, UCLA, Cornell, Yale (some will say that Cornell and Yale are just a rung below, but again opinions vary).

Rest of the Best: These are the top regional schools including (in no particular order) UT-Austin, Georgetown, USC, UNC, Emory, Babson, Indiana, Purdue, Notre Dame, Maryland, Carnegie Mellon.

Big Two International: It?s basically INSEAD and London Business School (LBS), and then everyone else. The caliber of the student body and reputation of both these schools are comparable to the US Elite Eight.

There is no material difference in reputation between schools within the same tier. In other words, don't ask whether Columbia has a better reputation than Chicago or Kellogg, because other than the alums and students, no one cares!

http://mbaapply.com/advice.htm#elite8