City University of New York—Baruch College - Zicklin School of Business

Baruch College's Zicklin School of Business sits at the intersection of quality, affordability, and opportunity. Students universally praise the school's cost and location, calling Zicklin the "best value in the greatest city" and rave about their access to "powerful resources and alumni." The school's "flexibility" and part-time study options make it is especially valuable for students who need to keep their full-time jobs (or take care of their full-time families). "It allowed me to continue working full-time and obtain my MBA in the evenings," one MBA student specializing in healthcare and government explains. Because of Baruch's "diversity, great curriculum, practical lessons, [and] on-campus recruitments," students consistently judge it to be "one of the top schools for 'return on investment.'"

While Baruch may not have the cachet of other New York City business schools, the "teachers are excellent, [the] curriculum is tough, and [it] will prepare you for the workplace." Baruch boasts top programs in accountancy, which students describe as "the #1 program for accountancy in New York State," as well as "international business and entrepreneurship programs with great success rates." The rigorous academics are challenging, and some first-year students find it "hard to keep up," especially when the material is unfamiliar. "Academics are tough especially in the first semester," one fulltime student and former attorney comments. "Teachers are available, but sometimes the amount of work makes it hard to go for help. Those students [without a quantitative] background or [undergraduate] business degrees do find the work exceedingly challenging, and it's hard to keep up." Another student believes the curriculum needs "better class balance in the first semester" and that the program could benefit from "early start for non-business majors/background."

But students say those challenges are mitigated by "consistently good faculty and customer service." Accessible faculty "allow us to email them," rather than strictly relying on office hours, "because they understand that most of us have full-time jobs and families to take care of," one accounting student explains. Students say they take away a lot from these "great professors with real-life experience in building businesses or holding executive positions in large institutions." "Some faculty are amazingly good," and most "are top-notch, very well known in their respective fields, highly educated, and very accomplished."

Baruch's location offers great access to one of the world's major financial hubs along with "an innumerable amount of internships and professional development opportunities." Students say that the school's "excellent reputation around Wall Street" means that it "consistently ranks as a top school for Wall Street firms." Some students complain about Baruch's administration, describing it as "a huge bureaucracy," where "it is sometimes difficult to reach some of the administrative offices by phone." But those same students say the "the MBA advisors are great," and remind prospective students that "all compar- isons for Baruch need to be made with the very affordable tuition in mind." Students also get career exposure from their professors, who "have great careers in great companies, share their experiences with students, and arrange for other top business leaders in various industries to speak with and motivate students."

Business students at Baruch are "diverse, successful, [and] driven." The "different pro- fessional backgrounds" and the cultural diversity represented in the student body make for "stimulating conversations during lecture." Everyone is "friendly and eager to learn and network," "open to discussions and debates," and "work together well as a team." Students "often meet together outside of school" and generally describe each other as "good friends and great people to work with." The school provides "various student activities and clubs that are beneficial to students of diverse backgrounds," and "the school provides a lounge and a locker, so it makes it easier to relax between classes."