Hi, I got a lot of information from this site when I was applying for McIntire as an external transfer student. I hope this is helpful for prospective students. I’m typing this out real quick so please forgive me for any grammar or spelling mistakes. I’ll break it down into the good and the bad. I hope this helps.
The good:
- Reputation. There is no doubt McIntire’s reputation is a huge benefit for your resume. McIntire is highly regarded by employers and will generally help you in terms of getting an interview.
- Campus/Grounds. This is subjective, but I think grounds is really pretty.
- The building. RRH (Where the comm school is) is definitely a step up from all the other buildings at UVA. The classrooms are unique and there are bloomberg labs in the building
- The students. You will be working with some of the brightest and most motivated people from the state of Virginia or some of the brightest students in the country (OOS). They will push you and there will be a lot of pressure to perform. However, its work it at the end because you will learn a lot.
- The curriculum. ICE is unique and its the only undergraduate program in the country that features a case study method of instruction. You will be working on cases for the majority of your ICE projects. Cases come from HBS, SBS, Darden, Wharton, Berkeley.
- The faculty is pretty good. I wouldn’t say that they are better than other four year state schools in the area (ie. UNC) but they are definitely on par.
- Social events. There is usually always something happening at the Comm School.
The bad:
- As a external transfer student you will absolutely not be treated the same as the regular folks who transfer in from the College of A&S. This is demonstrated in the way most students treat you, how faculty treats you and how interviewers/recruiters treat you. Generally speaking, students who transfer from other four year universities tend to do better because I think they have gone through more rigorous coursework. But even these people struggle here at McIntire. The transition from community college to McIntire is really tough and a few transfer drop out or transfer out.
In terms of recruiting, if you are going for banking (many come in wanting to do this), unless you are a URM, have some kind of special connection, or are just stellar, you will not land a banking internship. Banks want the best of the best and they are extremely competitive. As a result, they usually take the folks who transfer from the college. I’m not saying that its impossible, but it is improbable. - The students. I mentioned above that the students are some of the best and brightest kids in the country. But, as a transfer, this means that your GPA will likely take a hit regardless of where you are transferring from. This hit will have an affect on your job prospects.
I don’t mean to bash the school at all. These are just a few things that I’ve noticed here as a transfer student. I hope this helps.