by Doug Schmitt
BusinessSchools.com Staff Writer
September 27, 2006
Home to the infamous Battle of the Alamo and nicknamed “Alamo City”, San Antonio has a population of 1.2 million. The city was known as a rebellious wild-west town until railroads arrived and it became a bustling center of business. San Antonio now has an economy driven by national defense, healthcare, tourism, financial services, and telecommunications. The region is culturally diverse, offering a myriad of recreational activities for residents to enjoy such as festivals, arts, theater, music, and fine dining in addition to professional sports team the San Antonio Spurs.
Employment and Internships
With four military bases, a world renowned medical center, an expanding downtown convention center, several financial institutions, and an annual 20 million tourists that visit the region, San Antonio has an economy that's just as diverse as its culture. Internships and employment opportunities belie students around every corner in San Antonio thanks to the many large and growing companies in the city. Some employers include AT&T, Bank of America, Capital Group Companies, Clear Channel Communications, Citibank, Frost National Bank, and Washington Mutual.
According to the Texas Workforce Commission's Labor Market Information Department, the occupational outlook in San Antonio for business and related occupations is great through 2012. As a whole, management occupations will see 15.2% growth in opportunities and business & financial occupations will experience 18.7% additional jobs. Marketing will have 23.8% more jobs; human resource managers will see 21.1% new jobs; general and operations managers will experience 20.1% additional job opportunities; and business operations specialists will grow by 20.6% new opportunities.
Education
San Antonio provides business students with many educational options to choose from. One option waits at the University of Texas – San Antonio (UTSA) College of Business. Being one of the 40 largest business schools in the nation, they offer students undergraduate and graduate studies in concentrations such as Accounting, Actuarial Science, Construction Management, Economics, Finance, General Business Management, Marketing, and Statistics.
The University of the Incarnate Word has a School of Business and Applied Arts and Science, which offers Master of Business Administration (MBA) or Master of Arts in Administration (MAA) degrees as well as undergraduate degrees. Some areas of study include Banking, International Business, Management Science, Merchandising/Retail, and Security Management. Additionally, Our Lady of the Lake University offers a new and unique graduate degree, the Master of Science in E-Business.
Financial Aid
San Antonio does not leave students with a lack of financial aid. Scholarships, a popular and traditional form of aid, are available from a variety of sources including private and institutional sources. The Houston Endowment provides scholarships to students attending school in Texas, on of which is administered by St. Mary's University in San Antonio.
UTSA offers quite a selection of in-house scholarships for which all students are considered. One of those, the UTSA Academic Excellence Scholarship, is available to incoming freshmen that had an SAT score of 1200 or better that are enrolled full time. Awards are between $500 and $1000.
Grants, loans, and work-study programs are available to students as well. Examples are the Pell Grant in addition to the Federal Stafford & Perkins loans. Students can learn more about these from their school financial aid office in addition to visiting the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) on web.
Summary
San Antonio offers a diverse and thriving economy which will generate employment opportunities graduates. The excellent selection of educational resources and wide variety of recreational activities promise an enriching environment to live in, making San Antonio an ideal place to attend school.
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