MBA Program Ranks Third in the World for New Alumni “Salary Uplift”
Jessica V. Hoffman did her homework before selecting UConn to pursue an MBA.
“If I was going to take two years off from work, I wanted to come out with impressive job opportunities,” said Hoffman, who earned her UConn MBA in 2014 and is now a senior vice president at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
“It ultimately came down to UConn or one other highly-ranked, private institution. I found that UConn graduates were getting a great education and being hired by the same companies as the alumni from other MBA programs,” she said. “But UConn’s tuition was a fraction of the cost of the others.”
UConn MBA Grads See Salaries Spike
The recently released QS Global MBA Rankings 2018 reported that UConn MBA graduates have the third highest “salary uplift” both in the United States and the world among their peers. UConn MBA grads had an average salary increase of 171 percent when comparing their pre-graduate school salary with their post-graduate earnings. Meanwhile, the average salary jump for MBA alumni in the U.S. and Canada was just 74 percent.
In addition, UConn’s Full-time MBA alumni had among the shortest payback period, spending about three years repaying their loans. The average payback period for MBA students who studied in the U.S. and Canada is 55 months.
“Many of our graduates reap the benefits of an affordable, top-tier business education while graduating with little or no debt,” said Meg Warren, director of the Full-time MBA Program. “After graduation, they embark on their post-MBA career in highly compensated and competitive roles at organizations spanning all industries.
“I think one indicator that UConn students are wise is the mere fact they recognize the value of a UConn MBA and the return they will see on their hard work and investment,” Warren said.
Hoffman said her present salary is significantly higher than it was when she started the MBA program in 2012. “But it isn’t all about money,” she said. “It is just not possible to move ahead without a resume-builder like an MBA. The MBA gave me new opportunities, it was the ticket; but I still had to work very hard.”
“At UConn, our professors never ‘curved’ grades, we had to work hard,” she said. “That truly set me up for the real world. We had deadlines, deliverables and case competitions. I left UConn ready for work and prepared for the next step. I couldn’t be happier with the decision to attend UConn. I got a seat at the table with everyone else and I got promoted quickly. I was able to excel quickly because of my MBA training.”
James Londono ’12 MBA, vice president of venture banking at Square 1 Bank, said after earning his MBA at UConn he completed a two-year rotational program with GE Capital.
“I met colleagues from NYU, Notre Dame, Cornell and elsewhere. We had the same salary and the same opportunities,” he said. “The only difference is that they had thousands and thousands of dollars of debt to pay off, and I didn’t.”
Londono said he was well prepared for his career, where he focuses on startups and life-science companies. “I really enjoyed my UConn education. It was time well spent and provided a great return on my career,” he said.