Enrollment: 605
Average GMAT: 667.00
GMAT Range (25-75%): 630-710
Average Undergrad GPA: 3.29
Rolling Admission: Yes
School Type: Private
Average Age: 27.00
Average Work Experience (months): 48
Student Faculty Ratio: 9:1

Part Time Program: No
Evening Program: Yes
Executive MBA Program Offered: Yes
Total Faculty: 108

Average Starting Salary: $93,005.00
Hired Consulting: 8.14%
Hired Finance: 45.35%
Hired Operations: 3.5%
Hired Marketing: 15.12%

Out-of-State Tuition: $36,000.00
In-State Tuition: $36,000.00
Financial Aid Deadline: 05/15
Students Receiving Some Aid: 90%
Average Annual Total Financial Aid: $35,881.00

Best Campus Environment
Best Business Schools

School Says - General Information
Ranked as the #1 Finance program (2nd in the world) by The Economist in 2003, the Rice MBA program at the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Management of Rice University has risen quickly from its founding in 1974. The small class size provides an intimate, dynamic learning environment in the new state-of-the-art facility. Close connections with the faculty and alumni open a world of opportunities as does the location -- Houston -- home to the second largest concentration of Fortune 500 headquarters. Whether you are interested in staying in Texas, working elsewhere in the U.S. or relocating internationally, you can achieve your goals with a Rice MBA. Additional information and a full list of media mentions are available through our website at www.jonesgsm.rice.edu.

School Says - Student Body
The Jones School attracts students both nationally and internationally. In fact, 32 percent of first year students hail from outside the United States and another 23% are from outside of Texas. The average Jones Schools student has five years of experience and is 28 years old. Our students have worked in a wide array of industries and functions and bring that diverse knowledge to the classroom and to their teammates. Our students like to be involved on campus and in the community. Jones School students have formed a number of organizations to learn more about various professions and to improve their skills. These organizations sponsor guest speakers, visit area businesses, and take on special projects. A sampling of the many clubs at the Jones School includes: Consulting Club, Energy Club; International Management Club; Marketing Club; National Association of Women MBAs, Toastmaster Club and Wine Club. In addition, weekly corporate-sponsored "partios"Ââ€"parties on the Jones School patioÂâ€"provide relaxation and opportunities to network and bond with fellow students. Prominent Jones School alums include: James S. Turley Ââ€" Chairman and CEO, Ernst & Young; Abby Rodgers Ââ€" Vice President of Marketing, Coca Cola Company; Keith Anderson Ââ€" Managing Director, BlackRock Financial Management; Doug Foshee Ââ€" Chairman, President & CEO, El Paso Corporation; Caroline Caskey Ââ€" Founder and CEO, Identigene.

School Says - Academics
In every course, you'll have an unparalleled opportunity to work one-on-one with an accessible, involved, and energetic faculty. The Jones School faculty maintains an important balance between teaching and research, believing that current industry knowledge is as critical as textbooks to your education. Depending on what's most appropriate for each course, Jones School instructors use multiple instructional methods to enhance your learning: process-case-method study, analytical and quantitative approaches, lectures and discussions, oral and written reports, theoretical studies, management simulation games, individual study, and teamwork. A comprehensive core curriculum focuses on managerial and leadership skills, ethics, information technology, and communication skills in addition to the functional areas. An Action Learning Project in first year gives students the opportunity to learn how to integrate disciplines and turn knowledge into action. A core entrepreneurship course in second year further refines integration of business disciplines. Students take 25 credit hours of electives in their second year, which allows them to custom design their curriculum to suit career goals.

School Says - Admissions
Admissions Selection Criteria: The Jones School considers each aspect of the application when making admissions decision. The application requirements include: GMAT (GRE or MCAT for join candidates); TOEFL for international applicants; transcripts from educational institutions; resume; confidential evaluations; essays; interview (invitation only); completed application form and application fee. Academic Background: You must have a four-year undergraduate degree from an accredited college or university if you received your education in the United States. If you are an international applicant, your undergraduate degree must be the equivalent of a U.S. four-year degree. If you have completed a three-year Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) degree, we also require a two-year Master of Commerce (MCom) degree. Your undergraduate and graduate GPAs, GMAT scores (GRE or MCAT for joint candidates), choice of major, electives, course load, and grade patterns are all considered. Leadership Potential: Your demonstrated leadership and management experiences, both on the job and through extracurricular activities, will help us assess your leadership potential. We look for individuals with at least 2 years of professional work experience. Confidential Evaluations: Evaluations from employers and/or professors shed perspective on your capabilities, enabling us to assess your qualifications more accurately. Essays: Three essays that articulate your career goals, work experience, and reasons for choosing Rice University's Jones School are a crucial component of your application. Use them to convey intangibles: why you are pursuing an MBA; how you have benefited from your academic, professional and personal opportunities; what qualities you will bring to the Jones School; what you will seek from us; etc.

School Says - Campus Life
The Jones School moved into its home in August 2002. The 167,000-square-foot building offers state-of-the-art facilities, including the best, broadest, and most in-depth finance center of any business school. Other features include the Business Information Center (BIC), an extension of the universityÂ's main library; tiered classrooms; behavior research and observation room for marketing research and interviews; a 450-seat auditorium; and a career planning center. Fully loaded laptops are provided to all students, and the Jones School is equipped to make sophisticated use of electronic access.

Students Say - Academics
The Jones Graduate School of Management at Rice University is "one of the top schools in the world for finance" as well as "a core school for [recruiting by] most of the world's top energy companies," students in this prestigious program brag. That latter distinction has much to do with Rice's location in Houston, America's oil capital. One student explains, "If I could pick up Rice and put it anywhere in the country, I would put it right back in Houston. There are more MBA-level jobs in Houston than in many other states combined. The demand for Rice graduates in this area is incredible."

In addition to its stellar offerings in finance, Rice also has "a strong entrepreneurship program" and a "great" strategy curriculum, and it "excels in accounting as well as communication." Overall this is "a very technical, quantitatively rigorous MBA" with "unbelievable facilities." One unique feature here is "the Rice Alliance program, which integrates business/science/engineering disciplines in the areas of new technology and entrepreneurship such as nanotechnology, which is a strong discipline at Rice." In 2008, the Rice Alliance Business Plan Competition awarded over $675,000 in prize money.

Rice "is a small program, so you get the personal attention that you need," and students get to enjoy "the feel of a well-knit community. When I walk down the hall, I have to say hello to 95 percent of the people I see because I know them from somewhere or another," says one MBA. The faculty here includes "CEOs, CFOs, and board members of Fortune 500 companies in Houston" who "are very accessible and helpful outside of class." What's more, "The professors continue to get better" here, as "The program office and the Dean have a strong role in attracting new profs to Jones." "The new program office is very interested in the students' needs and [is] committed to working with students to make their experience better." It helps that "the administration is readily available to partner with students" on whatever they need. The administration also works hard to attract "highly touted keynote speakers" who "routinely visit the Jones school to give us the latest in business planning, experience, and analytics."

Students Say - Admissions
Applicants to the Jones school must provide the Admissions Committee with official copies of all undergraduate and graduate transcripts, GMAT scores, two letters of recommendation, two personal essays, and a resume. An interview is also required. The school considers "leadership experience and team-based experiences" in evaluating candidates and seeks "unique qualities that the candidate will contribute to the program." International applicants must also demonstrate English proficiency and provide proof of sufficient financial support to pay for their education and expenses while studying at the Jones School. While post-undergraduate professional experience is not required, the school prefers candidates with at least 2 years of such experience.

Students Say - Campus Life
"Rice doesn't feel like school, it feels like a family," students tell us, reporting that "every week, we have social network events where the faculty and professors all unwind. It's a great balance between social life and school." Those events include Partios, which are "parties on the patio every Thursday, often sponsored by recruiting companies" that draw a crowd with "free beer (yes, beer) and pizza." Another fave is the Coffee Colloquium, a free breakfast every Monday and Wednesday morning that provides "a chance to meet professors and other students. and get the latest news." Students get involved here in the "variety of student activities and professional clubs that truly contribute to the overall student experience."

Aside from the fun stuff, first-year students must deal with a "mountain of assignments, case studies, and teamwork projects" that can be "overwhelming" because "They all have to be done now!" First-year course work, in particular, can be "rough, with little available time to socialize or network off campus." "If you think your communication and presentation skills are excellent, be prepared for a lesson in humility," warns one student. The workload eases up during the second year of the program, allowing students more time to devote to such opportunities as the Wright Fund, "a student-run fund with market value of over $850,000" that gives them "hands-on and real-world knowledge in investment management."

The Jones School "is also located in the most beautiful building on the Rice University campus. With its technology, the school is a wonderful place to be stuck in working on a team project for hours on end." Students want you to know that "the general perception that Houston is an ugly city" is accurate, but also that Rice is located "in the nicest, most beautiful part of Houston, with 100-year-old oak trees that line the roads, and within walking distance to the Museum District and Rice Village. This is the ritzy, old-money area of Houston."

Students Say - Careers
"Top investment banks like Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers, and other bulge brackets are recruiting more Rice MBAs each year. The majority of students have two to three offers for full-time positions" upon graduation. If there is a weakness here, it is that "there is heavy emphasis on the energy industry. I would like to see more technology companies from California and financial institutions from cities like New York and Boston to come and recruit at Rice," says one MBA. In the asset column, "Recruitment from real estate firms has picked up due to word of the technical nature of the program." Students tell us "The alumni network is wonderful, and both undergrads of Rice and Rice MBA alums are more than happy to help with a job search."

Employers who most frequently hire Rice MBAs include: Chevron; ExxonMobil; Deutsche Bank; Citi; ConocoPhillips.

University of Texas at Austin
University of Virginia

More at PrincetonReview.com