MBS (Melbourne Business School) current student takes questions

flora_1652

The topic stems from my appreciation to Chasedream duringGMAT preparation and my desire to help those who consider to pursue MBA inMelbourne.

Actually, there are two most prestigious MBA programs in AU: one is MBS, theother is AGSM. The choice all depends on personal preference, like you mightchoose AGSM because you prefer Sydney, or you might pick MBS because we havetwo intakes per year. Generally speaking, both are very good programs.

I started my MBA study in September of 2010, expecting to graduate in 2012 (20months with internship). The class has 50 students from 27 countries (verydiverse), and 3 students from mainland China. The study life is very colorfulbut stunningly intense. You will always face trade-offs of balancing sociallife and study. The first two terms are supposed to be very tough for everyoneno matter how bright you are. You gotta be sharp, bright and emotional smart toget along with as well as compete with your classmates. But I have to say thatknowing those guys and gals is one of the most precious things you will getfrom MBA.

As to the unique attributes of MBS MBA program, I would say, one is the highquality of the program. Before I came here, I had the same question as youmight have today about whether there are big differences concerning quality,but the answer is that the difference is slim unless you compare it with top ofthe top, such as Wharton or HBS. Many subjects at MBS use HBS cases and manyprofessors come from other top b-schools. The second unique attribute is thediversity of class. You will be exposed to a real international world andget to know people from all over the world, which is so cool. The rest parts ofthe choice are actually very personal and realistic, like you choose programs inAU for better chance to stay here compared to the chance in US, or for kind ofcheaper tuition.

So hopefully the topic will help anyone who is knee-deep in making decision whether to choose MBS, and I am open up to take any related questions here.
http://www.mbs.edu/

flora_1652

Apology for my tardy reply. I have been caught by the heavy workload after midterm exam and also social works.

To Carypig:
Good to hear that you are considering to apply for next year's program at MBS. MBS intentionally keeps comparatively small class size, so the selection process could be a challenge for candidates. But I don't think you have to worry too much about it. Your background looks pretty qualified from my point of view. In our class (class of 2012), there are 50 people from totally different background (IT, banking, consulting, engineering, pharmaceutical etc.). Regarding my background, I got medical degree years ago and engaged in stem cell research for years, receiving Master of Neurobiology. Before I came to b-school, I have worked for a leading pharmaceutical companies for 3+ years. So it is not a typical background for MBA, but it could be an advantage.
I agree with you that the school does not mark itself as a leader in one or two particular area, but the truth is MBS has a very strong Marketing related curriculum and also Finance. This is something you should notice.
Regarding the application, I would recommend you to start early if you have a strong will to get a scholarship. Also, GMAT score matters a lot. Good luck!
I also invite a senior student and my Chinese classmates into this discussion. If any question I do not have answer, they probably will help out.

flora_1652

To dd笑颜:
I didn't face the immigration issue, so it probably should not be my turn to answer that question. But I agree with 天山怪路子 that if you come for a MBA program because of your intention for immigration, I would recommend to consider it carefully. As far as I know, permanent residency will make it much easier for you to find a job after MBA, and MBA itself does not guarantee you an advantage of PR, so basically these are two different decisions.
Let me know if you have more specific questions.

flora_1652

回楼上：实际上MBS在创办最初是企业资助的，后来墨大才参与进来，所以这边的教学基本独立，再加上一些教授都是从其他顶尖商学院来的，我想教学质量和国际商学院MBA课程并没有差别。
在澳洲找工作的确是和PR相关，虽然一些大公司（比如PWC）会解决PR问题，但其他很多公司还是会看。总而言之，我们是来回答问题，而不是解决问题，所以个人情况不同，需斟酌。

flora_1652

To Jiangliu:
I talked to consultants in PWC in the first week of MBA, that is why I was confident to bring it up. To some extent, I agree with you that it is one of the most difficult things if you want to stay in Australia after graduation from a MBA program without certain residency.
So as what I said, some problems are not what we can fix, and what we are supposed to give an answer here. It's all about personal choices.

flora_1652

终于考完期末考试了！第一个学期的确不轻松！不过马上要享受第一个夏日圣诞节了，心情还是很激动的：）也祝大家圣诞、新年愉快！有问题随时问～

flora_1652

@Li 下个学期可以见到你了，到时候分享一下美国的交换生经历！
@Luckgmat 谢谢你的问题，我一个个回答：
  1. Career service: 他们会提供培训、workshop、bootcamp和mock interview来帮助新生做好应聘准备，同时会邀请consulting firms (BCG, Bain, PWC, E&Y, LEK etc.)，financial service firms and banks (JP Morgan, NAB, ANZ etc.) 以及大型跨国企业来校园做宣讲。但局限性在于career service的联系范围基本仅覆盖墨尔本和悉尼的工作机会，如果毕业生回国就业的话，他们基本帮不上忙的。
  2. 关于就业难问题：有几个方面，一个就像‘天山怪路子’说的那样，中国人在这边找工作有其在语言、文化和社交能力上的局限性；另一个因素是PR，现在基本上permanent的职位都需要有PR或者citizenship，像你这种情况基本不用担心；再一个就是澳洲本地工作经验，这边在招人的时候比较conservative，如果之前没有本地工作经验，需要try your best to convince that you are one of the best and competent for the position；其实这边有一些资源是可以利用起来的，比如广大part-time学生，他们往往在top-tier公司工作，有本地network，所以如果帮忙推荐会好很多。
  3. 关于你的背景：我个人认为是很好的背景，很多fiancial service公司都会比较认big4。另外如果你打算申请MBS并且对奖学金没有强烈的渴望的话，GMAT不用重考的，这个成绩进MBS没问题。

最后祝大家新年快乐！

flora_1652

@luckgmat 我来之前几个月学校介绍了个美国人作为联络人，个人感觉对新学期的学习生活很有帮助。奇怪怎么现在招生没有了么？我已经加你msn并且给你写了email，有什么具体问题可以email联络。
前两天去学校的时候看见了新的1月入学的part-time students，感觉时间过的真快啊！

flora_1652

我个人认为MBA选校最重要的是match。
问问自己选择澳洲的理由是什么？优势在哪里？所选择的学校能不能加强你的优势并最终帮助你找到职业新起点？
从入学标准上来讲，MBS要求的确不高，一般gmat在680以上，3年工作经验，有行业优势，语言没问题的情况下进来的可能性很大。再加上现在澳币升值给招生带来的压力，所以招收国际学生的门槛可能有下降的趋势。
BTW，如果申请配偶签证可能在找工作方面会更有优势因为待遇其实和PR比较接近。