University of Rochester, William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration Admission
University of Rochester, William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration Undergraduate Program
University of Rochester, William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration Application

The Facts

The University of Rochester is a rather moderately-sized, private institution located in the town of Rochester, New York, and has a combined graduate and undergraduate population of over 8,350 students. The university's William E. Simon Graduate School of Business Administration, however, is significantly smaller however, and is home to about 747 graduate business students. Approximately 95% of the currently enrolled students have had an average of about 6 years of full-time professional experience, a factor taken into serious consideration by the admissions committee when reviewing applications. Perhaps as a result of this fact, the average age of enrollment is around 29, however, ages range from 21 to 51. Approximately 3% of the currently enrolled students enter directly from undergraduate school, while about 1% of students already have a graduate degree of some sort. The Simon Graduate School of Business Administration is perhaps best known for its emphasis on providing students with functional skills to help them succeed as leaders in the global business marketplace. The school offers graduate business degrees in the Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Science in Business Administration (MS), as well as a doctoral program in business administration, and joint degrees in public health, microbiology, immunology, medicine, as well as anesthesiology. The school also offers plenty of internship and work-study opportunities, as well as foreign exchange programs with 9 countries. Some of the most popular programs of study include courses in the areas of finance, marketing, accounting, operations, information systems, strategy, as well as international management.

Admission to the Simon Graduate School of Business Administration is extremely competitive among the many students who apply; last year, over 1,584 students applied for admission to the school and approximately 427 of those students were accepted. Eventually however, only about 174 of the admitted students actually enrolled for the coming semester. The admitted students had an average undergraduate GPA of about a 3.2, as well as an average GMAT score of about 649. The admissions committee requires all applicants to have a minimum undergraduate GPA of at least a 3.0, as well as a minimum GMAT score of at least 500. Students are able to begin graduate course work in either the fall or the winter, and are notified of their admissions status on a rolling basis.

The Simon Graduate School of Business has 58 full-time faculty members, of whom 86% hold a doctorate degree. The school is also home to 10 part-time faculty members, of whom 40% hold a doctorate. The average graduate business class numbers around 50 students, and most faculty members teach an average of 3 courses at any given time.

Placement Services

The school has rather extensive placement services available to both current students and alumni. Last year, there were 47 companies actively recruiting on campus, 95% of which were national corporations. The majors most in demand by the companies included finance, marketing, consulting, operations, health care management, as well as information systems. The average starting salary of the most recent graduating class was around $78,000, however, it ranged from $60,000 to $140,000. Over 69% of the same class were able to find jobs within three months of receiving their degrees.

What's Good

"There are always national corporations recruiting here, which is awesome for those of us who have yet to get jobs."

"There are a lot of great courses available here; you certainly do not have a lack of choices!"

"There are a ton of internships available, and I think those are the most valuable kinds of educational experiences you can have."

What's Bad

"I think some of the classes are too large; it's hard to have a conversation."

"Some of my professors seem to dematerialize after class; outside help is hard to get."

"The tuition is not cheap, and financial aid is limited."

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