westsidewolf1989

They do not instantly respect you...Austin is an excellent school, but the first reaction from anyone is not going to be, "Wow, you go to UT, you must be really smart".

UT is a great school that benefits from having an extremely large alumni network, making jobs easier to get in Texas.

Tons of very smart people are at UT. So are tons of people that got below 1100 on the SATs. Can't say the same for Harvard.

Outside of Texas, McCombs is viewed very well. Accounting is obviously good, and the BHP is also very good. The thing is, many UT grads get jobs in TX because they are either already from Texas or want to stay there after graduation. Yes, it's going to be lower on the totem pole for NYC jobs, because of location, as well as th fact that East Coast people would consider B-schools or elite privates on the East Coast to be better.

That said, there are tons of UT alums everywhere, including NYC.

openedskittles

"which one has the best business program for undergrads?"

You mentioned finance, and Michigan, Texas and Berkeley are ranked 3rd, 4th and 5th respectively for finance majors.
Undergraduate business specialties: Finance - Best Colleges - Education - US News and World Report


"Which one will give you the most job opportunities after you graduate?"

I know UT has the biggest job pool of any university, and that a lot of employers ask to see only McCombs students when they go there. Michigan might be more relative in the North and Berkeley in the West, though.


"And if you graduate from one of these schools, are any of them good enough to surpass the regional barrier for jobs afterwards?"

They all send students all over, and they all (as with most universities) send more students to the local region. Anyone in the US that knows anything about business schools should know all three.

openedskittles

To expand on what creamgethamoney was saying about the Texas economy:

Forbes ranked Houston (#1), Dallas, and Austin in the top 4 "cities for your career" last year. The other city in the top 4 was Indianapolis.

It's no surprise to me, since Houston and Dallas have the second and third most fortune 500 HQs after New York.

creamgethamoney

thank you openedskittles for corroborating my point. I think a lot of people here dream too much about the Patrick Bateman, Gordon Gekko business jobs. Being one of the big swingers in NYC as an investment banker, HF manager, management consultant, etc. that they overlook other regions too much. There are lots of great opportunities outside of the NE, Chicago, and Sillicon Valley (not to mention the fact that your dollar in these "less prestigious" areas goes a helluva lot further).

To the OP: if you want to work in the NE or Chicago, just go to Michigan and be done with it. Although I think Haas is still better, UMich will provide better opportunity in that area alone. However, I really think, since you're talking about great schools to begin with, you really can't go wrong with any. But, if you want to try something different and try a less popular region while having a really good college experience, UT is a great option as well. I'm not trying to influence your decision at all, just saying that you shouldn't completely overlook it because it's not as popular on these forums.

student01

Correction: weather is HORRIBLE. it's always like 100 degrees F here.

VectorWega

^ If you think weather in Austin is bad, you haven't ever experienced bad weather. The hottest months are June, July, and August...aka, summer time when people aren't in school. The winters are very mild and there will no doubt be people sunbathing at times in December and January.

student01

I live here in Austin.

openedskittles

USC is trying to model their business honors after the business honors program at UT Austin if that counts for anything.