The University of Scranton Online MBA

Discussion in 'Business and MBA degrees' started by Neuhaus, Jun 2, 2016.

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  1. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    They have other programs too.

    I was seriously considering applying to Syracuse for their MBA program. Living in Syracuse I know the value of an SU degree particularly given the dedication to athletics in this town (Go Orange!).

    But I always felt like I left something unfinished at Scranton. I have my associate's because I left my bachelor's program early to join the Navy. And I always said that I would pick the best possible name I could for my MBA as I wanted it to be from a school I held in high esteem.

    Well, my acceptance is in place and I will be starting at UofS, again, toward the end of the summer. It isn't a cheap program. However, my employer generously agreed to pay the full cost provided I remain with the company (or any parent or subsidiary) for at least 18 months post-graduation.

    So I can't recommend it for price. But it is a solid Jesuit school for folks to consider.
     
  2. Rich Douglas

    Rich Douglas Well-Known Member

    MBA programs--like many--have different levels of reputation. Some schools have a national reputation, while others are more regional or local. Move outside that school's 'reputation zone'--for good or bad--and you find differences in schools melt away.

    If you go to Stanford for your MBA, everyone across the country is going to know what Stanford stands for. But it gets more complicated at the micro level.

    I went to National University for my MBA back in the 1980s. National has a strong local reputation in most parts of California, not always good. (They've rankled traditional educators for decades and are sometimes seen as "easy" degrees because they were about the only ones available to working students in California cities for a looooong time.) It's safe to say that the MBA programs at the University of San Diego and San Diego State are both stronger and have better reputations with local employers. But get outside the San Diego area and poof! The differences disappear. In other words, no one is going to mistake National for Stanford. But they're also not typically going to make distinctions between NU and USD or SDSU. Also, those distinctions, when they are made, become less important as one's career accomplishments pile up.

    Of course, there are a lot of reasons for choosing a school besides the utility of the degree, but we see people on this board sometimes agonize over this issue when, usually, it just doesn't matter.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-TogGxzlfhM Sometimes, it just doesn't.
     
  3. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    Congratulations, let us know how the program goes!
     
  4. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    I agree with Rich.

    In and around the Scranton area UofS has a strong reputation. I'd even go so far as to say it has the strongest regional reputation for graduate business degrees right alongside PSU.

    Scranton holds some pretty decent influence up to about Syracuse. I've encountered other Scranton grads. And the presence of LeMoyne gives locals a generally favorable view toward Jesuit education.

    That said, Scranton is not Georgetown or Fordham. And even those names, as you begin to move across the country, begin to lose some of their star power. Both are still good names but their influence wanes as other regional players' influence waxes.

    Nothing wrong with Fordham on the East Coast. But when you start looking for work in UCLA territory the name isn't as powerful as it is in NYC.

    Scranton is expensive. Like $50k type expensive. For the same price I could go with Drexel. For slightly less I could go with Benedictine. For a fraction of the price I could go with Marylhurst, Chadron State, Touro University Worldwide or countless others.

    But this is likely to be my last career focused formal degree program. Anything after this will be on my own dime and purely for my own enjoyment. I don't expect my MBA to be fun. So I might as well enjoy the name. Besides, any time you can work out your personal baggage on the company's tab, why not?

    Thanks, Bruce. I look forward to sharing.
     
  5. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    A perfect example of regional reputation/influence around Boston is Suffolk University. It's literally behind the state house, and a Suffolk Law degree seems like almost a prerequisite for entry to the Massachusetts General Court (legislature).

    Suffolk was on my initial list for my CJ Master's, but I don't plan on staying in Massachusetts forever (or even that much longer), and Suffolk loses its shine pretty quickly once you're outside New England. UMass, however, everyone has heard of and knows (for better or worse...hahaha).
     
  6. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Congratulations, and good luck! And you're right, if the price is zero, then there's no reason to consider that as a factor. At that point, "I just like the place" is a perfectly good reason. (Although your reasoning is more thorough, of course.)
     
  7. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    That's a great comparison. I first heard of Suffolk when someone I was connected with on LinkedIn updated their profile to indicate they were attending law school there. I hadn't heard of it.

    It took about five minutes worth of searching to realize that it is a pretty solid school and the reputation just hasn't made it beyond the borders of MA.

    The only time I ran into a "negative" opinion of Scranton was that once someone asked me where I "went" to school so I told them UofS. They began laughing pretty hard. Then finally they said "Oh, is there actually a University of Scranton? I thought you were making an Office joke."

    He didn't get the job.
     
  8. Bruce

    Bruce Moderator

    I would think if you say "Oh yes, it's a Jesuit university", that would stop the laughing pretty quickly.

    I can't imagine why! :biglaugh:
     
  9. Neuhaus

    Neuhaus Well-Known Member

    I think I did say something to that effect at the time. I liked watching The Office. And I wasn't terribly bothered by the fact that they were, in many ways, making fun of Scranton. What bothered me was how the people of Scranton felt that the world was laughing with them rather than at them.

    I also thought it rather amusing that Dunder Mifflin employed a Stanford and a Cornell grad in the role of paper salesman. In upstate New York it isn't uncommon to find a Cornell grad working a fairly menial job. The statutory colleges only charge SUNY in-state tuition and many locals go there because it is close. But you don't generally run into Ivy League grads in Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

    It has never shocked me at what sort of comments people will make during their interviews with HR. I try not to let it bother me. If you can't make it through a half hour with the HR guy before mocking his alma mater the odds on you making it through the other 2.5 hours, with the people who actually make the hiring decisions, unscathed tend to favor failure.

    I've always enjoyed hiring engineers much more than sales people. :sigh:
     
  10. AV8R

    AV8R Active Member

    That's for sure. Those Jesuit schools are brutal. Ask me how I know.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 3, 2016
  11. Koolcypher

    Koolcypher Member

    Congratulations and good luck to you.
     

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