Meet the Rice Jones MBA Class of 2018

Rice University, Jones Graduate School of Business

Rice University, Jones Graduate School of Business

AVERAGE GMAT SCORES JUMP 14 POINTS

Dean Rodriguez couldn’t be more proud of the first class in his tenure. “The Rice Business Class of 2018 represents the highest caliber student we’ve ever enrolled, with a 14-point jump in GMAT scores,” he gushes. “They’re enthusiastic and have been immediately engaged. Their willingness to collaborate with each other on teams and in activities shows the level at which they’re embracing the opportunity in front of them. To me, this class is clearly driven to become an active part of the new Rice Business.”

Make no mistake: the headline for the Class of 2018 is the average GMAT score, which jumped from 676 to 690, putting the Rice MBA on par with private heavies like Vanderbilt Owen and Georgetown McDonough.  The median score was even better, vaulting from 680 to 700, with scores ranging from 660-720 in the 50% range. Average GPAs also climbed from 3.3 to 3.42.

Despite strong word of mouth about the program, applications slid from 775 to 746 during the 2015-2016 cycle. That said, Jones remained pretty selective, accepting just 26.5% of applicants, lower than Cornell and just a hair higher than Michigan. However, the news wasn’t entirely sunny. The percentage of women tumbled from 35% to 24% in the 110 member class. That said, the percentage of international students held steady at 34%, though the number of countries represented in the class slipped from 16 to 13.

The single biggest surprise this year: Rice University's Jones School in the Top Ten

The single biggest surprise this year: Rice University’s Jones School in the Top Ten

The biggest change, however, came in the class composition. Last year, 41% of the class had earned business and economics degrees as undergrads. In the 2018 Class, that number fell off to 29%. The difference was more than made up by STEM majors, which skyrocketed from 36% to 62% of the class, perhaps making Rice the STEM-friendliest MBA program west of MIT and Carnegie Mellon. Considering that Houston is dubbed the “energy capital of the world,” it should come as no surprise that a third of the 2018 Class previously worked in the energy industry. Beyond energy, 11% of the class hails from financial services followed by healthcare (9%), government (8%), and technology (7%).

82% OF STUDENTS ON SCHOLARSHIP

Why so many STEM majors? To start, the Rice MBA appeals strongly to aspiring entrepreneurs looking to apply business fundamentals to commercialize their ideas. It starts with the Rice Alliance of Technology and Entrepreneurship, which boasts one of the world’s best university incubators. Since opening its doors in 2000, the Alliance has helped over 1,700 fledgling ventures secure over $3.3 billion dollars in funding according to the school. The Alliance also hosts the world’s largest graduate student startup competition, which doles out over $1.5 million dollars in cash and prizes to competing teams. Along with drawing hundreds of students, the competition boasts over 180 sponsors and 275 judges from the investment and venture capital sector, giving participants face time with future employers, partners, and mentors.

This entrepreneurial mindset, coupled with vast opportunities accessible through Rice and Houston itself, made a deep impression on Troemel. “As a materials engineer who worked in medical devices and organic semiconductors, I sought out universities with a great engineering school neighboring the b-school,” he says. “Rice, with its world-renowned nanoengineering institute, was of course a first choice. Combined with the long history of entrepreneurship and commercialization and the world’s largest medical center right next door, there is no better place to position yourself at the interface between business and technology to contribute to global innovation.”

Typical of smaller MBA programs, Rice emphasizes hands-on learning in its curriculum. The Action Learning Project (ALP) is a case in point. During the spring, students spend 13 weeks partnering with firms like General Electric, Goldman Sachs, and Haliburton on a consulting project. In other words, ALP acts as a dress rehearsal for the internship, with students able to practice what they learn long before their high stakes ‘summer interview.’ Even more, the program cultivates a true family atmosphere, beginning with its MBA Program Immersion that kicks off the first year. Here, students are not only tutored on business basics, but also engage in extensive team building exercises. If that wasn’t enough, Jones reigns as the most generous full-time MBA program, with 82% of the 2017 Class snagging a merit-based or named scholarship.

“RICE WAS THE FAMILY THAT I KNEW I HAD TO BE A PART OF”

This was a refreshing change for students like Sibley, who joined the program because “it felt like home.” Mattson attributes the program’s “team-oriented culture and a collegial atmosphere” to its smaller class size, which fosters an intimacy that’s near impossible to replicate in larger programs (let alone the workplace). The difference was also palpable to Wes Weigle, a West Point grad and water sports enthusiast, who calls Rice Business “unlike any other school.” His pitch for the school easily tops anything you’d hear from the Mad Men at Oglivy or Edelman.

Rice students working together in the courtyard

Rice students working together in the courtyard

“I was amazed at not only the reception that I received during my visit as a candidate, but more importantly, the acclaim that the students, alumni and faculty had for their school and the opportunities that the program and the Houston area provided,” he says. “The classroom size was a fraction of all the other top-ranked schools in the country, and I immediately felt the tight connection among students. Everyone knew their classmates by name and the alumni were actively involved in the hiring process post-MBA. Following my visit, all other schools fell to the bottom of my list; Rice was the family that I knew I had to be a part of.”

In my every MBA family, the members eventually splinter off to pursue their dreams. For Sibley, that means entering commercial real estate, where he hopes to be the driving force behind a building that “would serve people functionally long past my lifetime.” Weigel plans to form a veterinary care practice with his wife, while Mattson pictures himself nurturing oil and gas companies. Leader, however, admits that her dream employer doesn’t yet exist in the customer shopping niche. But she knows exactly what she wants — and that gives her a step up over her peers. ”I prefer entrepreneurial environments simply because I feel that I can have the biggest impact in smaller, less policy-oriented environments,” she reasons. “While my dream employer might still be on the verge of launching, some of the brands that I garner inspiration from are Bonobos, Everlane and Shinola.”

When it comes to their legacy after leaving McNair Hall, Weigel perfectly sums up the aspirations of the Class of 2018. “Business school provides the perfect setting to develop lasting relationships and friendships with a truly extraordinary group of individuals with diverse experiences and backgrounds. Following completion of the MBA program, I hope that my classmates will associate my name with someone they can trust, someone whom they would follow, and someone who they can call their friend.”

DON’T MISS: THE STEREOTYPE-DEFYING MBAS IN THE CLASS OF 2018 OR MEET THE RICE JONES MBA CLASS OF 2017

To read profiles of incoming Rice MBA students — along with their advice on tackling the GMAT, applications, and interviews — click on the links below.

Edward A. Clark / Skaneateles, NY

Carrie Leader / San Antonio, TX

Maria Clara Leiva / Caracas, Venezuela

Trey Mattson / Houston, TX

Sonny Nguyen / Houston, TX

Christopher Phan / Raleigh, NC

Cecily Lynn Rivers / Memphis, TN

Stephen Sibley / Houston, TX

Adrian Trömel / Luxembourg, Luxembourg

Wes Weigle / Aiken, SC

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