"I always like to take things to their fullest potential," says Matt Hancock. His experience in corporate banking is a case in point. After five years in the field, he knew he'd reached a plateau. "To experience finance at its highest level," he says, "I knew I needed the skills an MBA would provide."

For Matt, a native Middle Tennessean, Vanderbilt was a logical choice, and not only because he earned his undergraduate degree in economics there. "Owen has a renowned finance faculty, and many important courses are front-loaded during the first two mods," he says. "I felt this would give me a distinct advantage during the extremely competitive [internship] interview process."

Experience proved him right. With the knowledge edge he gained early in the program—he especially credits a course in corporate valuation—Matt won an internship on Wall Street with UBS.

Matt also joined three student clubs and served as president of the Owen Finance Club. Meanwhile, he was able to get to know nearly all his classmates which helped him achieve a balance between academic and social life. Overall, he says, "Owen was one of the most challenging, rewarding and fun experiences of my life."