Enrollment: 282
Average GMAT: 574.00
GMAT Range (25-75%): 530-610
Average Undergrad GPA: 3.30
Regular Application Deadline: 07/31
Rolling Admission: Yes
School Type: Public
Average Age: 30.60
Average Work Experience (months): 84
Student Faculty Ratio: 10:1

Part Time Program: Yes
Evening Program: Yes
Executive MBA Program Offered: No
Total Faculty: 34

Average Starting Salary: $58,085.00
Hired Consulting: 13.04%
Hired Finance: 30.43%
Hired Operations: 8.7%
Hired Marketing: 4.35%

Out-of-State Tuition: $30,000.00
Financial Aid Deadline: 03/15
Average Annual Total Financial Aid: $14,173.24

2010 Entrepreneurial Programs: Business Schools

Students Say - Academics
The College of Business at the University of Louisville offers two primary MBA options. The first is the Professional MBA, a two-year accelerated program offered in two formats (two nights per week and occasional Saturdays, or all-day Saturday), and taught in six-week modules across 14 terms, including a consecutive two-term capstone project, five professional development Saturdays per year, and six elective choices. The second is the IMBA, an integrated, two-year lockstep program that focuses primarily on entrepreneurship. The IMBA is scheduled for the convenience of both full-time and working students, meeting twice weekly in the evenings. The university also offers a number of joint-degree MBA programs. Both MBA programs offer a cohort-based team learning environment in a two year, year-round format, include an international learning experience and guarantee no tuition increase for students who complete the program with their cohort. A new innovative option-the UofL Full Time MBA-will be offered in the fall of 2010. The 13-month program will feature evening classes and an 11-month internship with a local company.
Students tell us that "Most of the professors have an innovative approach to teaching, and they look for ways to make their classes better. If I were to restart the program three years after graduating, I am sure it would be a unique experience." Students appreciate that this approach "is essential given the ever-changing business environment," adding that "We may not be a Harvard or Wharton, but we still produce some of the world's leaders in business. In addition, the program offers a great work/life balance." Students praise their professors for "demonstrating meaningful real-world knowledge through prior experiences. The course work they present is very applicable to situations I face as a manager at a bank each day."
Louisville's IMBA is a lockstep program with an entrepreneurial focus. This approach allows for greater integration within the curriculum; classes can be team-taught to highlight the interconnectedness of two or more business disciplines, for example. It also allows the school to vary course lengths. Because all students are taking all courses together, scheduling need not be restrained by traditional semester intervals, and students love the results. One participant writes, "I feel that it's designed to give me everything I wanted in a graduate business program. Everything that I have learned thus far has been applied in my professional life."

Students Say - Admissions
Admission to the University of Louisville MBA program is, without a doubt, competitive. Students in the program rank in the top third of MBA candidates nationwide. Applicants must submit all of the following to the Admissions Office: a completed application; an official copy of all undergraduate transcripts; an official GMAT score report; a one-page personal statement; two letters of recommendation from professors (or employers for applicants who have been out of school for a substantial period); and a current resume. International students must provide, in addition to the above, an official TOEFL score report (minimum score: 170 computer-based test, 550 paper-and-pencil test). All candidates must be proficient in computer and quantitative skills prior to the commencement of their MBA work.

Students Say - Campus Life
Most MBAs at Louisville "have little involvement with the rest of campus (library, gym, etc.) because most work full-time and attend classes in the evenings." Students spend so little time on campus that "they are secluded from other graduate students and, to a certain extent, from the other MBA students," though the recent creation of the Professional MBA program offers more opportunities to network and utilize campus facilities with other members of their cohort. Even the busiest MBAs, however, know that "our basketball team is nationally recognized and dominates both the school and the town during the season." Those who find time to spend on campus boast that it is "very accommodating, with a recently renovated state-of-the-art library and a great athletic program (activities MBAs can attend when not studying!)." One student notes, "Although it's an urban campus, you would never know it given the quaint, friendly atmosphere." MBA 'campus life' will be enhanced in 18-24 months with the planned relocation of the College's graduate business programs to the heart of downtown Louisville.
The metropolitan Louisville area is home to over one million people. Students describe it as "a city full of opportunities for recent or upcoming MBA grads. Openings for MBAs are frequently e-mailed to students by school officials, which is a great service." A recent Wall Street Journal supplement ranked Louisville "the nation's fourth best city for job opportunities for recent graduates." Papa John's, YUM!, Humana Health Insurance, UPS Worldport, and GE all have a large presence in the city; some are headquartered here. Students report that the area surrounding the school "is not the best residential area, it's not good housing. There is good, safe housing about 15 minutes from campus, though, over in the Highlands."

Students Say - Careers
Louisville MBAs receive career counseling and placement services from the Ulmer Career Management Center, a state-of-the-art, 3,800 square foot facility that includes a career management resource library, career shift and career trak databases, conference rooms, and interview rooms. The office provides resume assistance, training seminars on interviewing skills, and on-campus recruiting events supported by CareerLeader tools and Symplicity software. Students confess that "the school still needs to improve in its career management for graduate students. Although some jobs have been posted, the majority are geared towards undergraduates or students who have graduated from the MBA program and already have several years of experience." On the bright side, students find that attending Louisville creates "many networking opportunities. Most classmates have full-time jobs and experience in the 'real world.' You can make connections with students throughout Louisville that will stay with you a long time." Opportunities to network are also enhanced in the Professional MBA through the capstone project, which is a team-based, external consulting project.

Bellarmine University
Indiana University Southeast

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