For years, I had been wanting to return to school and focus on real estate studies. While spending the last decade in restaurants I dreamed of working in the real estate industry. I had no clue where to start but knew completing my bachelor’s would be the best launching pad. Looking at the regional options, the Jindal School of Management (JSOM) at UTD was by far the wisest choice for its national and global ranking. To top it off it came with the perks of being a public institution.
JSOM is a university unto its own as it is entirely possible to never leave the Management building and not realize it. However, if you venture out, the Activity Center, Student Union, Library, and the Plinth are all worth visiting.
My first semester on campus I learned just how connected the university was to the various groups of students on campus. They understood the different challenges freshmen would face compared to international students to transfer students to commuter students to non-traditional students returning from some time off. Each segment has specific programs, organizations and events catering to their needs. It was fantastic. I have never felt so embraced by a university or a school all the while knowing everyone else was getting the same support.
I have been blown away by the caliber of professorship the school offers. What UTD may lack in school spirit it makes up for in academia, organization involvement, and industry connections. Thanks to JSOM’s requirement of internship experience and Professor Lynch and Professor DeCourcy’s ties to the industry I landed a fantastic internship that led to remaining with my firm after graduation. Professor Polze’s business law and Professor Hedgecox’s real estate law courses are must takes. Professor Lynch’s valuation course is an industry headliner where you learn how to use ARGUS. I was able to build a schedule every semester of the most knowledgeable and capable professors. I genuinely can’t think of a professor within the Real Estate track not worth taking; there are courses I wanted to take and ran out of hours.
The opportunities for real estate specific scholarships, case competitions, and organizations are exceptionally notable. My second year on campus was a busy one in which I took part in the CometX Accelerator program hosted by the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and joined the Professional Program in Finance, PPF, led by Alex Treece. The 8-week CometX program guides individuals and teams through the necessary steps of launching a successful start-up company and PPF gives students the opportunity to take Breaking Into Wall Street, an intensive online course of financial modeling. In my junior year I had the opportunity to represent JSOM and UTD at the first annual IREM Case competition where we delved into the fun depths of property management. We placed second and won a cash prize of $2,000 and a year membership with IREM. As a senior, I was honored to enter the competition for a second time and led the team to first place and a cash prize of $5,000. My only complaint of JSOM and UTD isn’t finding ways to get involved but rather limiting yourself from joining/show up to everything. 10 out of 10; would attend again.
