The Texas MBA Full-Time Program rose two spots among U.S. schools to No. 7, overtaking Vanderbilt and Georgetown University, and held steady among American public institutions at No. 3. Only Berkeley (7) and UNC (14) fared better among public schools.

For more on the ranking and the methodology used, visit McCombs Today.

Below are comments on the ranking from some of McCombs’ Latin American students:

McCombs posiciona a sus estudiantes a agarrar al mundo por los cuernos.

“Texas has historically held a prestigious position in Latin American hearts. With the U.S. being the #1 foreign trade partner for many Latin American countries, including Mexico, it’s no wonder why every month I receive increasing calls and emails from Latin American prospective students interested in the Texas MBA. The advantages McCombs offers, combined with Latin American entrepreneurial spirit stronger than ever, positions graduate students to win with countless friends, mentors, and opportunities to take on the world by the horns.”

-Rodrigo De La Garza (Mexico)

Tem sido uma ótima experiência que, sem dúvidas, irá me ajudar a mudar o mundo!

“McCombs has been an amazing place to interact with some of the brightest minds in the world, especially with Latin Americans. I was surprised with the amount of companies looking for prospective students to develop successful careers in Latin American countries, and this figure continues to grow. McCombs’ faculty and students are so engaged in making the business school even better that I am sure we will continue to build on this ranking. It has been a great experience that will help me to change the world! Hook’em!”

-Paulo Barros (Brazil)

Sin duda la mejor decisión que he tomado ha sido venirme a McCombs, ha sido una experiencia que me ha cambiado la vida y me ha dejado mucho aprendizaje.

“Coming to McCombs has been the best life-changing decision I have made, I have had a lot of opportunities to understand what my strengths are and how to benefit from them. As co-president of the Latin American and Hispanic Association I have participated in diverse networking events with people from several countries within Latin America and I have noticed the prestigious reputation McCombs has built for itself throughout the years. Employers from all over Latin America have approached our association for recruitment; they always express a deep respect for McCombs. I am amazed with the devotion of the McCombs board and staff, and the unconditional support they demonstrate to students is invaluable. Every day I find myself surrounded by very interesting people who are now lifetime friends. Hook’em horns!”

-Nora Villareal (Mexico)

Learn more about the Diverse McCombs Community on our website.

Doing market validation at a grocery store during 3 Day Startup… in a whaleshark costume.

First, tell me a little bit about GuavaText.
My co-founder and I started GuavaText in April at 3 Day Startup, which was hosted by RetailMeNot. When I was preparing for the weekend, I came across a statistic that didn’t sit well with me at all – households that make $99,000 are 400% more likely to use coupons than those that make $19,000. I started with questions about coupon offerings and distribution and the demographics, but after more research and developing my ideas further, I settled on one that I focused on during 3 Day Startup — “How might we encourage lower income households to maximize their buying power?” 

Over the course of 3DS, we tried to answer that question by rapidly going through the design thinking cycle and conducted shop-alongs and interviews, ideated, and built prototypes. At the end of the weekend, we had an SMS based financial budgeting tool and had users. Since then, we’ve been talking to our users constantly, validating our product and business models, and building out our product. Really exciting times!

With so many others going the app route, why did you decide on using SMS?
When we were developing our idea, we let our users dictate the product. Our primary and secondary research showed us the power of SMS. Our users told us “I’m not tech-savy enough to download and use apps” on my smart phone, but I text all of the time. And our secondary research reaffirmed that SMS was a solid platform. 95% of all text messages are read and 90% of those messages are read within four minutes of receiving. When we saw that companies like M-Pesa were designing SMS based mobile wallets, we knew we wanted to explore SMS further.

Those are great stats on SMS. Moving on to the pitch contest – how’d that go?
Frightening, but fun! Imagine starting a company and three weeks later pitching to TechCrunch writers, Josh Baer (Capital Factory), Jeff Harbach (CTAN), and Tom Ball (Austin Ventures) in front of 900 people. It was an amazing honor to be on that stage and talking about our company. We met a lot of awesome people that night and really reaffirmed to us that we started a meaningful company and were chasing problems worth solving.

Although we didn’t win, it was great to see that the winners were started by 3 Day Startup alums – First Cut Pro and Embarkly.  They will be representing Austin at TechCrunch Disrupt, so we all win!

What do you think about the Austin startup and tech communities?
Austin’s startup scene is very supportive and interconnected. I can just show up to Abel’s on the Lake and meet with investors from the Central Texas Angel Network or email our dean about startups and get awesome feedback – she worked at a startup before McCombs!

Besides that our ecosystem is very vibrant. The success of Dell, Bazaarvoice, HomeAway, and RetailMeNot has inspired companies like Mass Relevance. And now with TechStars coming to the Capital Factory, we are only going to see more amazing companies coming out of Austin. It’s an exciting time to be here.

Mass Relevance showing off to POTUS via Venture Beat

Any other resources/opportunities here that you’ve taken advantage of?
This summer we are working at Austin Technology Incubator and the Longhorn Startup Camp and with Texas Venture Labs. We are extremely lucky to be involved with those organizations and have the mentorship and resources we need to really accelerate GuavaText. Besides the formal resources, it’s amazing to be able to walk around the office and randomly run into Bob Metcalfe, Josh Baer, or Cam Houser or see other startups hacking away on the next big idea. It’s absolutely inspiring.

What else are you up to this summer?
To tell you the truth, not much. Besides from chasing product/market fit at Guava, this summer is really about finding life/career fit for myself. Do I have it in me to live off of ramen, sleep at the office, and work alongside my co-founder 14 hours a day 7 days a week to start my own business?

Kaoru Fujita is the recipient of the McCombs Entrepreneur Fellowship and supported by Texas Venture Labs, DLA Piper, and the Austin Technology Incubator.  Follow him @thekfuj and GuavaText @Guavatext.

What have you been up to since you graduated from McCombs?
I have since moved to the Bay Area where I have been taking advantage of the activities the Bay has to offer. Oh, I did go back to Austin twice already! It is really difficult staying away.

Why did you want to get an MBA?
I wanted to educate myself on the broader business sphere which I felt would be a great asset for my forward looking career goals.

With all of the other options out there, why did you choose the Texas MBA?
I selected the Texas MBA program for three reasons: 1) I thoroughly enjoyed my visit to McCombs during the Diversity Forum weekend 2) The technology leadership program, offered through the Information Management Department, is a highly regarded one among its peers 3) I got tired of snow shoveling in the Northeast!

How did our program impact your career and personal life?
The Texas MBA has made a great impact in my life. I am now a polyglot with regards to business domains. I have also expanded my global circle of close friends.

Can you name a favorite moment you had on the Forty Acres?
Haha, which one do I pick. I’d go with graduation day, when Fernando G., our very own recorder of great MBA moments, took an active snapshot of the entire MBA 2012 class on his way down from the graduation stage after he had just completed his walk. That action took us by surprise, and the entire class leaped and screamed in excitement. That is the level of selflessness and camaraderie that exists on the Forty Acres!

What have you been doing with your “extra” time now that you aren’t having to spend it studying and in class?
Outside of work, I am engaged in volunteer groups and the Lean/Agile community. On the weekends, you may find me playing tennis, dancing salsa, or completing handicraft projects. I leave some room for generating and testing ideas!

Over the past few years, hundreds of students have capitalized on the opportunities available through MBA+, with dozens of them completing micro-consulting projects for sports teams and related brands. For some students, the sports-related projects were simply a unique way to apply what they were learning in class, but for others, it was the first step to breaking into the sports industry.

In fact, for many prospective students looking to change careers or switch into any new industry – not just sports – MBA+ is a key factor in their decision to come to McCombs.

“When I visited for Preview Weekend, I decided I was going to come here during [MBA+ Director] Deidra Stephens’ presentation about MBA+ projects,” says soon-to-be Texas MBA graduate Dan Amodio. When he saw some of the brands from past projects listed on the presentation slides, his mind was made up.

Before coming to McCombs, Amodio was working in technology sales – a good job, he says, but not one that left him completely satisfied. When considering his options, Amodio kept going back to an internship he had completed with the Cincinnati Reds while in college. “I loved the industry and loved working towards something I believed in,” he says. “I loved giving people the best day of their week at the games.”

Amodio knew his return to business school would be all about trying to put himself in position to get a good job in baseball. He saw the MBA+ project as the first step to gaining industry experience, which he could then turn into an internship, and eventually, a career. With plans to work in baseball after graduation, Amodio knew this project would ultimately play a big role in making that goal a reality.

With the help of Stephens, Amodio was able to connect with a member of Major League Baseball’s San Francisco Giants and managed to set up a consulting project with the team’s strategic revenue department to analyze the purchasing behavior of fans at the ballpark. After recruiting some fellow classmates to join in on the project, Amodio’s team reviewed transaction data for a specific group of season ticket holders and recommended ways to enhance the value proposition for these fans. Able to directly apply what they were learning in the classroom, the project turned out to be a great success.

Dan Amodio, far right, with his MBA+ project team at AT&T Park in San Francisco.

When it comes to students working with sports brands on MBA+ projects, the Giants project team is far from alone. While McCombs remains better known for excelling in more traditional corporate environments, the list of successful sports-related projects completed by Texas MBA students is an impressive one.

• Buffalo Bills – Developed plan to draw more fans into tailgate events
• Under Armour – Specialty store marketing activation and execution
• Texas Rangers Baseball Club – Identify factors driving individual ticket sales
• Spurs Sports & Entertainment/Austin Toros Basketball – Create a business plan and proposal for building new arena
• San Francisco Giants – Value analysis of creative ticket services (mentioned above)
• adidas America – Distribution analysis
• IMG-Reliance – Create strategy for development of Soccer India
• Under Armour – Developing a collegiate retail store
• Houston Rockets – Retail merchandise analysis
• Houston Dynamo – Develop marketing strategy
• Houston Rockets and Toyota Center – Increase online ticket sales
• PUMA AG – Running/fitness consumer insight research

“MBA students love the opportunity to work with sports teams and brands,” says Stephens. “Working on a project for any company is a tremendous learning experience for students, but we find that giving students the chance to work with a company that inspires them provides an extra layer of excitement. Projects with sports teams and brands expand a student’s network that can assist them in getting jobs in non-traditional fields.”

Professionally, the project with the Giants opened a lot of doors for Amodio, helping him land a strategy internship with the Australian Baseball League (ABL) last summer, as well as another micro-consulting project the following fall semester with the Texas Rangers.

With the two MBA+ projects and an internship under his belt, Amodio was able to put together a great baseball résumé in less than 12 months. Now, when it comes to full-time employment, he can actually be considered as someone that has experience in the industry. “It went from me emailing every team like ‘please, talk to me,’ to now getting companies in the industry reaching out to me saying that they want to talk.”

One of those companies was the ABL, who reached out to Amodio about a position within the same office he interned at a year ago in Sydney.

Amodio was offered the job – and he accepted. After graduation, he will return to Australia as Baseball Operations and Facilities Manager, a role that includes planning and developing new baseball facilities. He’ll be working on projects that will enhance the commercial viability of the ABL and contribute to the global growth of the game.

“There is no way I’d be able to make all of this happen if I didn’t come back to school,” Amodio says. “It’s not a stretch to say that without the Giants project I would not have gotten the job in Australia.”

Why did want to get your MBA and why did you choose McCombs?
I had been interested in learning the best practices and tools that come with an MBA and applying the lessons to market-based solutions that alleviate poverty. For example, some of the disruptive innovation models that I’ve learned in marketing classes are helping to shape my idea of public-private partnerships, pro-poor sustainable models, and last mile distribution strategies in emerging markets. For me, the McCombs school has been instrumental in helping bridge that gap with insightful peers, influential professors, and an enriching learning environment.

Is there anything about the program that has surprised you?
I’ve loved the ability to capture the start up, technology, and energetic community within Austin and UT and couple that with social entrepreneurship and innovation. I didn’t realize the sense of family that all these unique characteristics of the program bring.

Can you tell me a little bit about the company you founded, 108 Mala?
108 Mala is a business that works with indigenous artisans and craft communities, adopts eco-friendly supply chain models, and supports income generation and market access opportunities for rural populations in South Asia. The company also designs, develops, and produces sustainable and high-end textile products sourced by companies such as ABC Carpet and Home, Fab.com, Gilt Groupe, and Overstock.

What was your inspiration for starting this business?
For over ten years, I’ve had a desire to empower some of the poorest farmers, producers, and artisans in the world and tap into innovations for market-based growth in emerging economies. I started the company when I was backpacking through Asia (after I got laid off from my job in NY in the height of the recession). I wrote a business plan that would ideally provide products, technology, and solutions to fight poverty, access emerging markets, and bring opportunity to the entire supply chain. And 108 Mala became a natural extension of this vision for me.

I hear you’re also an intern for the Dell Social Innovation Challenge. What does your work there involve?
For DSIC, I am working on partnership development and corporate fundraising. I spend time with the team helping to encourage students from around the world to craft and create viable business models that have a social bottom line. Our partners have been instrumental in inspiring students and universities engage with DSIC. And finally, I am helping prepare for the Finalist week activities happening in Austin from May 11th to the 16th.

Outside of class and work, what else are you involved in?
Besides eating too many breakfast tacos? I have been involved in Net Impact, MBA Outsource, and the Entrepreneurship Society. I’m also a big fan of all the outdoors and active culture here. Hook ‘em Horns!

Overall, 37 MBA students – 30 of them during the 2013 spring semester – participated in exchange programs at 13 different schools in 12 countries. Not all students are pictured on this map.

For more information on each location, click on individual location markers.

View Texas MBA Study Abroad 2012-13 in a larger map

The club has proven to be valuable to it’s members, providing them with a deep and meaningful experience which will benefit them in both future personal and professional market endeavors.

I caught up with David earlier this week and was able to ask him a few questions about the club.

What made you want to start up the Investment Club?
I started the club to create a venue for classmates to learn from each other, share investment ideas. I also wanted to learn more about the process of managing money from a legal and operations standpoint.

How does the club operate?
There is a fixed monthly contribution each month from every member. Any member is free to propose investment ideas at our monthly meeting. Following the meeting, members vote on proposals and those that are approved are added to the portfolio using contributions from that month.

What has been your favorite part of the Investment Club?
The club has been a great way to interact with and learn from classmates about real money investments. It provides a much richer experience than discussing cases or reading textbooks.

Have you been able to apply what you’ve learned from your classes?
Some aspects of our finance, strategy and marketing classes have been helpful in analyzing investment proposals.

What are your plans for the club once you graduate?
I am starting a hedge fund with one of the other club members. We are in process of figuring out how to include other club members in the hedge fund.

We are excited to be closing out a very strong full-time MBA admissions cycle with an increase in both the quantity and quality of full-time MBA applicants! We have received close to 2000 applications from over 56 different countries. We look forward to learning more about the applicants in our last round as we process and review our Round 4 applications. As a reminder, we will be releasing all of our full-time MBA Round 4 decisions by May 10.

Speaking of decision releases, we are on track to conclude our Round 3 decision release by the end of this week. We have a strong and diverse admitted class to date with an average GMAT of 700 and admits coming from over 25 countries! I am excited about our admits to date and look forward to practicing my Spanish and Portuguese with them and their significant others when they come to Austin for our Preview Weekend at the end of this week. We look forward to welcoming y’all to our lovely city.

Last but not least, I do want to take a moment to address those who are on our full-time MBA waitlist. As an admissions team, we understand the anxiety generated by being on the waitlist and we are working hard to get your final admissions decision as soon as we can. Any updates to your application (i.e. improved test scores or significant change in employment status) should be emailed to MBAWaitlist@mccombs.utexas.edu by April 1, 2013. We expect to begin reviewing our waitlist at the end of April 2013 and will update you on the application status by early May.

Hook ‘Em!