SUBJECT: SUMMER BUSINESS INSTITUTE DATE: JULY 17, 2011 MEDIA OUTLET: THE CHRONICLE OF HIGHER EDUCATION AUTHOR: KATHERINE MANGAN
Business Boot Camps Cater to Students Versed in Proust, Not Price Points After graduating from Smith College in May with degrees in architecture and Italian studies, Stephanie Strenta decided that what stood between her and her dream job was a basic grasp of business. So like a growing number of liberal-arts and sciences majors, she performed a cost-benefit analysis and decided that a summer business boot camp was a sound investment. This month she completed a four-week program at Dartmouth College's Tuck School of Business, where, for just under $10,000, she got a crash course in accounting, marketing, management, and leadership. The Business Bridge Program also helped her hone her interviewing skills, polish her résumé, and tap into alumni networks. Programs like Tuck's are booming this summer as business schools cash in on the anxieties of today's college students and graduates, who are confronting one of the worst job markets in memory. Among the universities offering similar programs are Southern Methodist, Stanford, Vanderbilt, Villanova, Wake Forest, the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Chicago. Many of the programs report record numbers of applicants, especially among younger students hoping to get a jump-start on securing an internship. Tuck's program offers two summer sessions, each for about 130 students. The 15-year-old program has in the past appealed mostly to rising seniors and recent graduates, but in the last two years, students who have just completed their sophomore year make up about a third of the class. "People are starting earlier in their quest for a job," says Paul Doscher, director of marketing for the program. "They realize that in this job market, you need every advantage you can get." He describes the workload as "a fire hose every day" with workshops extending through lunch. "These are M.B.A. faculty and content. It's not watered down for undergraduates." Persuading students to pay $9,600 for tuition, books, and on-campus housing often requires appealing to parents, as Tuck did on its Web site: "Consider that hundreds of thousands of students with college degrees flood the job market every year," it said. "Bridge grads are better
2011 Media Report Villanova School of Business Page 137