Hi find MBA group,

I am an international candidate holding an offer from UT Dallas. I have heard that UT Dallas has an issue with diversity as there are too many IT candidates, specially from India and China. Heard that their placement is not good for international candidates even they have placed 90% of the class last year. I am applying for general MBA program and worked in Big 4 in HK for three years in tax risk function. How will you consider its location close to Dallas, will it be helpful? Their program is just 16 months of duration and i may be able to do only one internship. It also seems to be a new school, however, it is ranked 37 in US News.

I also have this situation that as my firm will sponcer me for MBA, i need to go back to HK after completing my MBA. So i have no time to find the jobs in USA, in case i want to work in USA. I cant stay in US further after MBA unless i hold an offer from US employer.

I am also holding offers from Auburn & University of Alabama, which is comparative old programs and best in the state of Alabama, not like UT dallas as in Texas, there are more Bschools better than UT Dallas.

As i am quite new to placements in USA, how would employer see a 16 months program with one internship in ranked 37th Bschool or 24 months program in Univeristy of Alabama (ranked 60) with ample chances of internships. I can easily manage internships in Japan & Singapore, n USA. The Auburn & University of Alabama are quite a old programs and has 70% placements in the past, but takes young candidates to the programs. Further, their location is not close to any great city like Dallas. However, their avg. GMAT is 640, specially for University of Alabama, ranked in top 60. Seems like two year MBA program will give me more room for obtaining internships and making connections, or it is just the ranking matters. It seems that UT Dallas is not good for General Management as appearant it is a IT oriented school. Any thoughts?

UT Dallas seems to be the better school when we look at most of the quality signs: much higher ranking at US Week; higher annual tuition; older students; higher GMAT and GPA, higher salary etc. UTD is also the larger school, by a long way, and the only one which requires work experience.

Looking at the other two, Alabama is on the way up. Auburn's MBA is tiny, and won't have the scale with employers.

PS My guess is that all these programmes will be designed for one internship. Most employers who know UTD will understand that, at 53 credits, it's in the same region as two-year MBAs, which are never more than 60 hours.
UTD is an unusual university with a strong research focus. It has corporate roots in Texas Instruments and the campus has a corporate feel. Its business school is oriented at part-time students, and its scale gives UTD a huge range of electives and concentrations.

The 91% placement rate is very impressive. The employer's don't seem only IT: 7-Eleven, Alcatel Lucent, American Airlines, AT&T, Chase Bank, Concentra, Deloitte Consulting, Energy Future Holdings, Ericsson, JP Morgan, NORTEL, Sabre Holdings, Southwest Airlines, Texas Instruments, Verizon...

If you wanted a more traditional campus experience, for example before returning to your own country, then Tuscaloosa will be a more pleasant place than Dallas. Dallas a sprawling metropolis, which Tuscaloosa is a small town in which the university is the largest employer.

Great input from Duncan. I'd add that the Alabama program is much less diverse, but I wouldn't necessarily consider diversity as a primary indicator of quality - in either direction.

Salaries are indeed better for UTD grads but this may in some sense reflect regional cost of living differences.

As Duncan pointed out placements at UTD are fairly diverse - I'd imagine that this is reflective of the economy in Dallas. If you were interested in working in manufacturing Alabama would be a good option.

My guess is that Dallas is more open to foreign talent. UTD does feel very business-like. It's like a business park, not a college, and there's a huge investment pouring into the Jindal school. For the classic campus experience, I think Alabama has a lot to offer, but I think the UTD programme will be very intensive and opens more doors.

My guess is that Dallas is more open to foreign talent. UTD does feel very business-like. It's like a business park, not a college, and there's a huge investment pouring into the Jindal school. For the classic campus experience, I think Alabama has a lot to offer, but I think the UTD programme will be very intensive and opens more doors.

Be focused and look at career statistics especially at those firms that you target. Eliminate trivial details

If you don't like IT geeks with thick glass and Chinks and Hindi then avoid Jindal school, but i find them to be good lads in general.

Also you need balance learning and internship. 3 internships seem insane and it shows what Alabama is about, exploiting cheap labours of course few colour people will go there but the kind of interaction there is very limited.

I think you need to weight up whether either of these schools is right for you. For both of them, they are feeding more alumni into IT, finance and healthcare than into management consulting. Neither of these schools is a classic choice for general management.

The way you explain the UTD programme isn't quite right. You have three four-month semesters, with 19; 17 and 14 credits, plus a summer internship. (http://jindal.utdallas.edu/academic-programs/mba-programs/full-time-mba-program/degree-plan/). The UA programme isn't well detailed on its website; I can't see how many credits is has, or how many internships are in the programme.

However, what I do see is that UA has 16 courses, compared to 19 at UTD, so perhaps UA has fewer credits?

Either way, these are not the only two schools in the world, and you need to find one that really meets your career goals.