Business students looking for the biggest “bang for their buck” can find it right here at Cal State Long Beach.
In their recently released guidebook, “The Best 296 Business Schools,” the Princeton Review placed CSULB’s College of Business Administration’s master’s program, among top accredited schools by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business.
The 2013 guide highlights the program’s convenience for full-time workers, small class sizes and focus on international business.
Kai Guo, a senior business major, said that he agreed overall with the Princeton Review’s assessment of the business program.
“I applied for CSULB business school because it was ranked second in the Cal State University system,” Guo said. “Technically, I feel like I can do anything by the book, but the program is lacking hands-on real life experience. That aside, I feel as prepared as I can to enter the business field after graduation.”
CBA Dean Michael Solt said the Student Center for Professional Development offers a Passport to Success Program, which consists of workshops and seminars that help students with interpersonal skills needed for the business world.
“At the graduate level, we have a Career Center specialist that works directly with our MBAs,” he said.
“The Best 296 Business Schools” consists of a two-page profile of each school. The profiles include information on academics, admissions selectivity and career placement opportunities. Much of the profiles are based on more than 19,000 students surveyed.
The guidebook does not rank schools in numerical fashion. Rather, it comprehensively lists that separates schools in 11 different categories.
The Princeton Review guidebook differs from others because it combines data provided by schools with student feedback to create a more balanced ranking, according to David Soto, director of content development for the Princeton Review.
“It’s difficult to balance the information given by schools,” Soto said. “Students are pretty candid about their feedback though, whether positive or negative, and it gives us a pretty good snapshot of what’s going on.”
Solt said the driving factor of the rating comes from the faculty and the quality of their teaching.
“We have a faculty that is dedicated to providing excellent, up-to-date courses, and we offer solid MBA programs in evening, daytime and weekend formats,” Solt said.
Students just starting the program, such as Vietnamese international student Nick Nguyen, said they are impressed by their experience so far.
“This is my first semester in America,” Nguyen, a freshman business major, said. “The environment in the business school is very accepting. The professors are great at answering questions and there are many students who are open to work in study groups, which help me a lot.”
CSULB’s business school was first recognized by the Princeton Review in the 2006 edition.