At the Mays Business School at Texas A&M University, the mission is to be a vibrant learning organization that creates impactful knowledge and develops transformational leaders – which ties directly to the school’s values of respect, excellence, leadership, loyalty, integrity, and selfless service.
The B-school came in at No. 36 in the 2023 rankings, down only a few spots from last year’s No. 33. Their strongest score of the three methodological categories was Admissions, where they ranked 32nd – down from last year’s 22nd place.
The Mays Business School welcomed 36.19% of their applicants this year, slightly more lenient than last year’s rate of 30.54%, and their average SAT score was 1274 – slightly higher than the Class of 2021’s score of 1263.
Employment-wise, 81.22% of the Class of 2023 secured a full-time position within three months of graduation – a fraction of a percentage down from last year’s 81.48% for the Class of 2021. A solid 70% of the Class of 2023 landed a business-focused internship before graduating – the same rate as the Class of 2021.
“Aggies are encouraged to be optimistic about their education and to believe that they can achieve their goals,” Annie McGowan, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs at Mays, says. “The spirit of transformational leadership is integrated into coursework and high impact learning experiences.”
A CULTURE OF SERVICE
Selfless service is heavily integrated both the opportunities available for Mays students as well as the culture at Mays.
The Nonprofit and Social Innovation Certificate is one of the ways Mays students can tailor their education towards a career in service. The certificate includes 13 hours of coursework and an internship with a social purpose organization.
“Not-for-profit organizations makeup one of the fastest growing employment sectors in the country and are actively looking for graduates who can use their skills to immediately make an impact,” McGowan says.
Students can also enroll in the “Strategic Philanthropy” course where they actively engage in entrepreneurial activities and contribute over $100,000 annually to a local non-profit organization.
Claire Raabe is a class of 2016 alum. She says she had a number of opportunities to engage in nonprofit work as a student.
“While at Mays, I was able to take classes related to nonprofit business that was extremely relevant when I was given the opportunity to intern with the Tim Tebow Foundation,” Raabe says.
Alden Warr, another class of 2016 alum, highlights one memory he has of a professor inviting over 300 students to his house for dinner one night. The memory, Warr says, exemplifies the culture of selfless service at Mays.
“This was Dr. Shaub’s way of expressing his openness to help us in any way he could and to lead by example in humility, service and generosity,” Warr says. “The experience helped shape my image of what success really looks like. Our sector too often confuses wealth and prestige with success, but the example that Dr. Shaub and others provided throughout my time at A&M helped me understand the aspects of life and career that would ultimately fulfill me and focused my attentions on higher goals.”
A STRONG NETWORK
The values of Mays help contribute to its strong alumni network.
“Everyone knows about the Aggie Network, but the Mays Aggie Network is second to none,” Holly Melvin, a class of 2016 alum, says.
That might be because of the number of resources Mays provides its students to connect with alumni. When 2019 alumni were asked how they would rate the opportunities given to them in the business program to nurture and improve their soft skills, they ranked the program an 8.9 out of 10.
Mays Career Coordinators are specifically dedicated to serving Mays students by offering targeted services and resources. Through Career Coordinators, Mays students can outline a career management plan based on career goals.
McGowan says the Career Coordinators help Mays students develop their networking from start to finish.
“Students are encouraged to begin meeting with a Mays Career Coordinator as freshmen to begin creating or refining their resumes, developing their professional networks, building career readiness skills, and identifying opportunities to gain experience while still undergraduates,” she says. “Career programming for all Mays Business School students includes networking mixers with industry recruiters, career fair preparation, mock interviews with local professionals, and major or industry-specific panel discussions.”
HireAggies is another resource available for Mays students to build connections. The online system connects students to job postings for both full-time and internships as well as contact information for thousands of employers to assist in the development of professional networks.
The Business Student Council hosts one of the largest business career fairs in the country, attended by more than 700 employing organizations last fall and 500 last spring.
The AggiExternship program, hosted by the career center, provides the opportunity for students to participate in multiple one-day visits to companies to gain insight from professionals in their fields of interest.
Other opportunities include industry seminar presentations, panel programs, and case competitions.
“The Aggie network perpetuates affection and loyalty to Mays and to Texas A&M University,” McGowan says.
To say the Mays network is tight-knit is an understatement.
“I doubt there is an alumni network in the world that is as strong as the Aggie network,” Warr says. “I’ve been all over the world and have had other Aggies see my Aggie ring and come up to me to introduce themselves, and an immediate friendship is formed. Aggies, nearly to a fault, will go out of their way to help each other, and I am proud and thankful to be a part of it.”
Where The Class of 2018 Went To Work:
- EY
- Deloitte Consulting
- Sewell Automotive Companies
- Accenture
- Dell
- Amazon
- JPMorgan Chase
- Oracle Corporation
- Lockheed Martin
- Wells Fargo
- PWC
- Protiviti
- Academy Sports & Outdoors
- 49 Financial
Alumni say:
“My time at Mays prepared me to be a competent businesswoman by treating me like I already was one. The high standard set by the school’s leadership ensured I received a first-class college experience while developing as an individual of strong character and integrity.”
“The Senior Capstone for May’s MIS program was one of the most hands on and one of my favorite projects I ever worked on in undergrad. It required me and my classmates to combine the skills we had learned throughout the program into one final project. We went a step above that and used it as a service project to help the Aggies in Recovery community by designing a new website and member database for them.”
“The best experience I had while at Mays Business School was through the Strategic Philanthropy course taught by Kyle Gammenthaler. During this class, we researched and interviewed nonprofits and, as a class, decided where to donate $50,000 to our community. Not only did this class shape my perspective of how to be more philanthropic in my personal life, but after graduation I ended up working for the company that also runs the charitable foundation that started the class at A&M.”
“The differentiating factor of my educational experience at Mays was the fact that faculty and staff were concerned with developing the content of my character in addition to the content of my mind. I was equipped with a deep technical understanding of my field of study, as well as an awareness of my individual values, my ability to create value for organizations, and the importance of seeing value in others.”
“By taking advantage of the numerous opportunities offered by Mays during my time in college, I developed a solid framework both personally and professionally that has and will continue to serve me well.”
“Like almost anything in life what you get out of your experience at Mays depends on what you put into it. However, if you commit and invest, Mays offers an exceptional educational experience, an international network, and unparalleled opportunities to grow as a professional and an individual.”
