Sacramento, California

Sacramento, California

Outside Take: “As skyrocketing home prices turn people away from many California cities, Sacramento stands apart as a relative real estate bargain. Sure, the state capital doesn’t have the outdoor cachet of smaller regional destinations like Auburn or Nevada City, but its location near the foothills of the Sierra Nevada and at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers (the latter is hugged by a 32-mile parkway) makes for easy-access recreation. Local stewards and nonprofits are working hard on the accessibility of these spaces. The city plans to connect its 450 miles of hiking and biking trails to create a regional network of 800 miles spanning five neighboring counties.”

Just a short drive away from Sacramento, the state capitol of California, the Graduate School of Management at the University of California’s Davis campus is also close enough to the San Francisco Bay Area and Silicon Valley so students can benefit from the tech ecosystem. and Apple, Intel, and Hewlett Packard are Northern Californian neighbors with operations in the Sacramento region, after all. Proximity to Napa is also enticing for those with a taste for the wine biz. Its small full-time MBA program is ranked 47th best in the U.S. by Poets&Quants. In a recent analysis by U.S. News, however, it ranks among the top 12 U.S. programs with the highest return on investment for recent graduates earning more than $100,000.

A key element of this MBA is four Industry Immersions, which ensure that MBAs get cutting-edge insight through live case studies presented by senior executives. MBA and graduate students from other disciplines collaborate to develop compelling solutions to the problems posed by the executives. The interdisciplinary immersions offer field seminars, alumni mentorships, specialized internship and career placement, and networking opportunities. Students can choose from immersions in several areas that are well represented in the region and draw on UC-Davis’ research leadership, including food/agriculture, sustainable energy, biotechnology, and technology finance.

Austin, Texas, has a great music scene

Austin, Texas

Outside Take: “Austin doesn’t need to prove its outdoor credibility: 19 state parks, 313 city parks, and over 17,000 acres of greenspace have long made it the adventure capital of Texas. But when it comes to the equity and accessibility of these spaces, Austin has some work to do—38 percent of inner-city residents don’t live within walking distance of a park. In 2020, the Austin Parks and Recreation Department (PARD) spent $47.8 million to, among other things, upgrade 15 existing parks to make them ADA compliant.”

In Austin, a prospective MBA’s best bet is the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas, whose MBA program is ranked 20th best in the U.S. by Poets&Quants. The big news at McCombs has been the opening of Rowling Hall in 2018. A 497,500 square foot marvel in downtown Austin, Rowling Hall provides students with access to the city’s bustling startup culture. The ‘Silicon Hills’ region itself consistently ranks the 10-best in the country for entrepreneurship according to outlets like Forbes and CNBC, thanks to its business-friendly regulation and taxation – not to mention deep reservoir of tech expertise and Fortune 500 might. That doesn’t even count the city’s “Keep Austin Weird” vibe – a call that combines the area’s forward-thinking spirit with its no-nonsense independent streak.

“The building was designed to host our wide array of overlapping communities including the MBA program, the university, the city of Austin and beyond,” explains Tina Mabley, who heads the MBA program. “Our unparalleled location places us at the intersection of The University of Texas campus and downtown Austin, which serves as a live and vibrant business laboratory right outside our doors…The University of Texas and the city of Austin have grown and evolved together. Austin has been the fastest-growing city in the country for three of the last five years and Rowling Hall allows us to capitalize on all the richness that growth has brought to the area. We appreciate a synergistic relationship with the city, which enhances the experiential applications and interactions we can offer our students every day. Being a major hub for tech, healthcare, energy, and a variety of other industries, we continue to find ways to bring these elements into our curriculum and community.”

For young professionals, it’s a highly appealing place. “Austin is a special city that sits at the intersection of many different industries and attracts companies of all sizes,” says Caroline Peterson, a Class of 2022 MBA at McCombs. “McCombs does a phenomenal job connecting students with local organizations through fellowship programs and MBA+ projects. For me, the ability to interact directly with business leaders and gain hands-on experience throughout the academic year offered a huge advantage in building a robust network and skill set.”