The Peter J. Tobin College of Business at St. John’s University ranked at No. 54 this year.
Tobin College fell behind four spots from last year but is still much higher than its No. 77 finish in 2019. While the B-school had a more selective admissions process this year, its employment outcomes took a significant hit. Some 75.23% of the Class of 2020 were employed full-time within three months of graduation, down nearly 11 percentage points from last year. Internship outcomes stayed unchanged at 81%. Tobin had an acceptance rate this year of 56.68% and an average SAT score of 1230, a slightly more selective admissions cycle from last year’s 59% and 1208 average SAT score.
Despite ranking lower this year, Tobin’s undergraduate program still offers quality opportunities for students to learn in a hands-on environment, including through its unique residence program and community-driven microloan program.
10 MAJORS
Tobin undergraduates can choose from 10 different majors including Accounting, Actuarial Science, Business, Business Analytics, Economics, Finance, International Management, Management, Marketing, and Risk Management and Insurance.
Alumni view their education relatively well. When asked if they would recommend the Tobin program to a close friend or colleague interested in an undergraduate business degree, surveyed 2018 alumni gave an 8.5 average rating. Alumni also gave the B-school an 8.1 average rating in how well it prepared them for the world of work and an 8.4 rating in terms of faculty availability for informal discussions and mentorship.
EXECUTIVE-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM
One of the main characteristics of the Tobin education is its focus on experiential learning. The B-school offers a number of opportunities for students to learn through engaging in real-world environments.
The Executive-in-Residence Program (EIRP) is one of many hands-on learning opportunities. EIRP allows selected students to work with partnered organizations as “consultants” to offer them fresh solutions, new product ideas, and more. A maximum of 18 students are admitted to each EIRP class and admitted students receive academic credit for their work.
One of the unique aspects of Tobin’s EIRP is that students can work with a variety of companies as consultants, as compared to one in many other B-school consulting programs. Many Tobin alumni highlighted the relevant skills and valuable experience they gained through EIRP.
“The Executive in Residence program was crucial in providing the experience of the consulting industry,” one 2018 alumni told us. “We worked with four companies in various industries throughout the year to tackle real problems through research and innovation, and presented our findings in front of the boards for all firms. Some teams’ suggestions were actually implemented by the businesses to reduce internal costs, enter a new industry, reach a new market, or reshape the employee training program. This experience was crucial in getting me my first job as a consultant.”
“[EIRP] helped to shape my ability to problem solve and develop fleshed out business cases/recommendations,” another 2018 alumni said. “This also helped introduce me to more professionals in the industry and improved my ability to present to them confidently.”
For aspiring consultants, Tobin’s strong EIRP program offers a unique opportunity to get a head start on their consulting career with valuable, real-world experience.
GLOBAL LOAN OPPORTUNITIES FOR BUDDING ENTREPRENEURS
Another cornerstone experiential learning experience at Tobin is the Global Loan Opportunities for Budding Entrepreneurs (GLOBE) program. As a student-run microloan program, GLOBE allows students to work in task teams to manage the microloan fund, vet loan applications, maintain the website, market the program, communicate with stakeholders, and raise funds.
What makes GLOBE unique from other microfinance programs is the social responsibility aspect. GLOBE runs much like a nonprofit organization and works in 72 developing countries in Central America and Africa to boost the earning capacity of local entrepreneurs and serve the needs of the communities. GLOBE’s program field partner, The Daughters of Charity, coordinates the distribution and collection of funds. The social good aspect of GLOBE reflects the university’s Catholic and Vincentrian mission of helping the underserved and marginalized.
GLOBE offers students a unique opportunity to gain valuable, hands-on experience in a breadth of business roles from finance to marketing. On top of that, students can make a real positive impact in the world.
“I worked with GLOBE (Global Loan Opportunities for Budding Entrepreneurs), a volunteer program through Tobin, and that was honestly the best class I took in all of undergrad,” one 2018 alumni said. “The broad perspectives of the world that it provided (not focusing solely on people’s worth as their fiscal output) and the social responsibility it promoted truly changed my outlook on life and helped me to pursue what I truly wanted.”
“[GLOBE] helped me to understand the world of microfinance and also taught me more about entrepreneurship,” said another.
Overall, the Tobin undergraduate program is perfect for students who prefer hands-on learning. Whether it’s gaining valuable consulting exposure through EIRP or building socially responsible finance skills in GLOBE, Tobin students have a variety of opportunities to experience the real world of business.
Alumni say:
“The Executive-in-Residence Program offered at The Peter J Tobin College of Business was instrumental in my last year of college in helping me discover the industry I wanted to work in and in helping solidify the presentation, creative thinking, and networking skills I used to get my first job out of college and still use in my everyday career.”
“I had a seminar course in Economics in which we traveled into studying the effects of how variables such as Household income and values affect inequality within the top 50 richest cities within the United States. From that project, it has taught me to approach problems holistically and to see the big picture rather than purely focusing on smaller details. Also through writing the paper with former classmates, it taught me the importance of wording.”
“I was part of two great experiences – GLOBE and EIRP. GLOBE is a student-managed microfinance program where I actively created change in the global setting, which made it to be a truly rare and unique experience. Dr. Sama also allowed for this program to truly succeed under her great guidance – she is instrumental to the program with her years of experience in microfinance. EIRP allowed me to do student-consulting for top companies in the tri-state area, exposing me to a more high-paced, realistic work setting. To handle both programs on top of a school workload allowed me to build a great work ethic and most importantly, teamwork and people skills.”
Top employers for 2020 grads and number of students hired:
- PwC – 12
- EY – 10
- American International Group – 6
- Deloitte – 5
- JPMorgan Chase – 5
- Synchrony Financial – 3
- GEICO – 3
- KPMG – 3
- AON – 2
- Protiviti – 2
