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FEBRUARY 16, 2000 B-SCHOOL Q&A: ADMISSIONS Meet University of Arizona's Admissions Director A Conversation with Susan Wong, Assistant Dean and Director of MBA Admissions at University of Arizona's Eller Graduate School of Management
Q: Susan, how is the Eller School keeping pace with the evolving needs of its recruiters? A: We're trying to keep up to date as to what the corporate sector needs and wants. In the past, they've said they need business research conducted so they know what their competitors are doing. And none of the MBAs they were getting could do that. So we turned a market research course into a business research course -- now a core course -- that every student in our program is required to take. Consequently, when the students went out for their internships after the first year, we found them doing market research or business research for corporations. Q: How else has the school's curriculum changed to better serve the needs of the its customers -- recruiters and students? A: We're creating opportunities for [recruiters] to come [here] and get what they want by continually changing our curriculum and pedagogy to match the needs of the corporate sector. For instance, we hired a director of our consulting group, who goes into the corporate sector in Arizona, and out of state, to develop opportunities for our students to consult. And [students] do these consulting jobs, make the presentations to the companies, and they get graded for them. This gives them an opportunity to apply what they're learning in the classroom. The first consulting job is done in the second semester of the first year. And the second consulting job is done in the last semester, and it happens to be their capstone project. Another way that [the curriculum] has changed is that we've decided to give students an elective in their first year. That elective can either be a marketing research course, or a financial evaluation course. Or it can be a course that doesn't [exactly] teach Java [script computer language], but teaches students how to employ Java to achieve certain results for the consumer. That will make [students] much better applicants for the jobs they want to get. We also created some E-commerce courses because the Web is going to be around forever and it's the strongest thing going right now. The courses are being taught as a joint venture between our MIS Department and our Marketing Department. Q: How often are classes revised? How fast does curriculum review happen at Eller? A: Every year we see new courses and changes made to the curriculum. We've already decided we're going to change our communication component. We changed it last year. But we keep changing things until we make it better for the corporate sector as well as the student.
Q: The University of Arizona is about to launch a new MBA program, offered via teleconferencing, to students split between the West Coast and Tucson. How will the traditional, full-time MBA students benefit from that technology? A: We'll be bringing in guest speakers to Tucson. Or, if we have a room in Silicon Valley and we have a guest speaker that we want to come into our classrooms from Silicon Valley, they can deliver from the classroom site. That way, they can spend time with the students one-on-one [when they visit a class in person], make the presentation to the class, and we don't cause [guest speakers to] lose as much time on the job as they might otherwise. Q: What separates the full-time program from other MBA programs in the region -- for example, Thunderbird or Arizona State? A: The programs each have their own specialties. Our flagship specialties are marketing, finance, entrepreneurship and management of information systems. Thunderbird is best at international management, and they have strong cultural and language courses. We do not include any of those things in our program. ASU has a wonderful chain management program. In the future, we envision bringing the three schools together to offer an MBA program not in Arizona, but in places where students don't already have access to these specialties or strengths in an MBA program. Thunderbird is coming [to our campus] this month [to discuss such a partnership]. We also hope to have ASU here in a few weeks. Even North Arizona University, which has a specialty in hotel and restaurant management, may work with us to offer programs all over the United States by video conferencing. Q: University of Arizona enrolls a good mix of students. Its Class of 2001 is comprised of 30% women, 20% underrepresented minorities, and 20% internationals. How, as director of admissions, do you ensure that the school's future MBA classes will be diverse? A: I do a lot of target marketing and get out into the field to make presentations to different groups. I also advertise [the program] internationally. Several years ago, the majority of the international MBA students were Chinese and Indian. We wanted more diversity than that, so we started advertising abroad. Now, applicants come to us from Nicaragua, Venezuela, Brazil, Mali, the Ivory Coast, Iceland, and other [countries]. In our first-year class, which is very small with 110 students, 20% of the students are international, coming from 15 different countries. The same is true for our domestic underrepresented groups. Some of our targets are the Women in Engineering group, the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, and the National Black Engineering Society. We receive a large number of applications from these people, so we're able to increase the number of people from these different groups in our program because we now have an expanded pool [to draw from]. Q: The University of Arizona experienced a bit of a dip in its number of female MBAs -- 35% in 1998, to 30% in 1999. How do you expect the school's Class of 2002 female percentage to shake out? A: The number of GMAT test takers dropped last year, and it wasn't in the international pools, but among potential U.S. applicants. We've found that the number of test takers is also reflective of the fact that the economy is good, employers don't want to lose their trained employees, and the employees don't want to leave the job market. But we want students in our programs. So what we are now doing is we're trying to do creative scheduling on the weekends and week nights to accommodate those people who want to continue working. That way, it's a win-win situation: the employer gets to keep the employee, the employee keeps their job, and we get a student. Women tend to be risk-aversive. They don't like to quit their jobs because they're concerned about what they're going to get on the other side of the program. That's why there was a little dip in the number of women applying [last year]. In the 1980's, we had that problem, too. Many women have families and other responsibilities that they need to take care of. Others fear that they're going to put their career on hold and they won't be able to move forward afterward. Q: Despite a downward trend in the number of U.S. applicants to business schools, Arizona has seen an increase in applications: in 1997 Eller received 700 applications, 800 in 1998, then 1,245 in 1999. A: Last year at this time, we had approximately 340 applications for the full-time MBA program. As of yesterday, we had 833. I had to hire a temporary staff to help me open all the mail and get it all into the system. For some reason, we are attracting a lot more applications, and it's basically split 50-50 between foreign and domestic applicants. Q: Does the school plan to keep its percentage of foreign students steady at 20%? A: We'd like to increase it a little bit, but we don't want to increase it too much. One of the problems we're having is that a large number of companies are no longer supporting [international] students for their H-1 visas. So the international students are having a more difficult time finding career and internship placements. The more internationals we enroll, and the more dissatisfied they are, the more it's going to hurt the U.S. and our program. I know other schools are experiencing the same thing. Before this year, we had companies [on campus] recruiting international students. Now the companies have started saying: If you're an international student, we won't be able to interview you. Q: Some directors of admissions say that they place a lot of weight on the interview or essays when they're evaluating an international candidate's English skills. How does Arizona tackle that issue? A: We require a 600 minimum TOEFL score. Applicants from outside the U.S. do not get interviewed until we've had an opportunity to review their application. That way, we reduce the number of applicants we actually talk to; we only talk to those we're interested in recruiting. We assess their verbal [ability] that way. We assess their oral skills, and we try to assess their written skills not only through the essays they write for us and the [AWA] essays they provide through the GMAT [exam], but also through the e-mail and letters that we get from them. We even assess the skills of our U.S. applicants. We are circumspect in the way we look at [domestic applicants'] essays and everything else. And we try to interview every student who actually enrolls in the program. Last year, we interviewed 100% of the admitted class. Q: When is the best time for candidates to apply to Eller? When do they have the best chance of being admitted? A: February 1. It's also our university-wide international applicant deadline. At that time, we know what financial aid we can offer. Back in December, we have no idea of what the university is going to give us in terms of waivers and scholarships. February is also when Arizona receives the most applications. Q: Eller applicants can apply online with Embark or Multi App, they can download an application, or they can submit a paper application. Which format does Arizona prefer? A: Any way that is best for the applicant. We're here to process applications, however they come. Without applicants, we wouldn't have jobs. The majority of students send in paper applications. Q: When an application arrives on the desk of an admissions committee member, in what order does Arizona review it? A: With international students, we take a look at the TOEFL score first to make sure they meet the minimum requirements. We also consider the GPA. The graduate college requires us to calculate a GPA by looking at the last 60 semester hours, or the last 90 quarter-hours of the undergraduate. If they have a graduate degree, we calculate it on 12 units of graduate credit or more. Professional grades, like law, medical, and dental school can't be used for grade calculation. After we look at the international student's qualifications, and when we're looking at an application from domestic applicants, we look at work experience. A lot of our applicants will meet the minimum qualifications, which is two years, but we look at the quality of work experience, what they've achieved [at work] and whether or not they job-hopped. At this point, we're looking at whether or not we'll be able to place them in a job when they graduate. Q: How does Arizona define a job-hopper? A: We've had applicants who have worked three years and been at seven different companies. That's when it becomes a concern, because if they've job-hopped, they're going to be a risk for a company. [Back to the order in which we review the application:] We look at their letters of recommendation from people who they might have worked for, and who the letter comes from. We want to see what the applicant's processes in decision making are. If they've gone to a coworker [to get a recommendation], we wonder why they went to a coworker and not to a boss. If they went to somebody who is maybe viewed as important and in the media all the time, [we wonder], does this reference really know the [applicant]? We do a balancing act. A person could have a 740 GMAT and a 2.5 GPA, great work experience, letters of recommendation, and essays, and we'd let him in. Or, a person might have a 550 GMAT score, a 3.9 GPA, great work experience, and they'll get in. Q: If an applicant chooses to have a coworker or the company's CEO, rather than a direct supervisor, write the recommendation, should they clarify as to why they did that? A: Yes. We give them an essay that allows them to tell us anything they want to tell us. Q: Arizona has four required essays. The last two questions ask candidates about how they have resolved dilemmas, and what an article written about them in ten years may say. What are you hoping to learn about applicants in their essays? A: Their goals. A lot of times, applicants tell us in that first essay what their goals are. But sometimes the [last two essays] tell us whether or not they think they're going to achieve their goals. They also tell us how they think about themselves, as people. Self-esteem is very important. Q: Does low self-esteem or egomania often come across in the essays? A: Once in a while, yes. The happy medium is somebody who is comfortable with who they are. We don't want somebody who isn't happy with who they are and cannot see themselves as being something more than just an entry-level employee. We want someone with a vision. Q: What common mistakes should applicants avoid on the essays? A: One common mistake that I see is people who are trying to be funny. When I do an interview, I expect people to laugh at my jokes because a sense of humor is important. When it's in an essay and they're trying to be too funny, it begins to be too much. Others send in an essay that's maybe two lines long, and they haven't put a lot of thought into it. So we get [to] measure maturity levels and [applicants'] decision processes from these essays, too. We see all this stuff on paper. We see a resume, GMAT scores, and grades. But in a small program like ours, which we intend to keep small, we have to make sure that all [of our future students] are going to be able to work well together. So that's what we look at in these essays. And if they give us two sentences [in their essays], or don't think about the content, that's not going to help us at all. (Editor's note: There are four required essays in the Eller School's 1999-2000 application. They include: 1. "What are your current career objectives and what role foes the MBA have in helping you achieve them?" 2. "What is your biggest work-related achievement (within the last five years) and why do you think it is indicative of your potential success?" 3. "Answer one of the following: a. If you are seeking admission to one of the dual degree programs, why is the completion of both degrees important to you? b. Describe an ethical dilemma that you have encountered. How did you resolve this issue? c. What is your biggest work related disappointment (within the last five years) and what did you leadn from it?" 4. "Answer one of the following: a. What question do you wish you had been asked? How would you answer it? b. Ten years after graduation you are the subject of a magazine article. What would this article say?") Q: How do you evaluate applicants' grades and the undergraduate institutions they attended? A: They play a large role. There are times that we look at them when we've got two assistantship candidates with the same qualifications. We look at the school they went to and what degree they got. Q: How does the Eller School evaluate the GMAT score? Does the school look at it piece by piece or holistically? A: We break the score down [into its components]. Communication skills are very important in today's business world. So when we look at the GMAT scores and the essays, we consider how hard we're going to have to work to get the applicant to the point where we want them to be when they graduate from our program. We have a communication component in our program and have students with varying skills, but we can't afford to spend a lot of time with somebody whose skills aren't up to par. So we do take a look at the verbal [score]. We also compare the [AWA] essays in the GMAT to the essays [applicants] provide in their applications. That gives us a better understanding as to what the applicant's writing skills are under pressure, versus when they have a lot of time to spend on an essay. Q: How can an applicant best prepare for an interview? A: They can't. We do a non-confrontational interview. Q: How so? You mean you don't employ an interrogator's light in a room with two-way mirrors? A: [LAUGHS] No, I don't put them on the hot seat. I want to get to know the person. And when you put them on the hot seat, they are uncomfortable, you are uncomfortable, and you can't learn anything from them. I talk to them as if we're having coffee in a shop. Many times, they tell me things they never would tell anybody in an "interview." Somebody I may not have thought very highly of can come across very well in the interview. Or somebody who I thought very highly of may come across as not being very good, in terms of their people skills. Q: What kinds of questions can an applicant expect to hear? A: What do you like to do for fun? What kinds of things do you do, other than business? I talk to them about their families, their reasons for looking to live in Tucson, how they feel about their visit to campus. I ask whether they have any questions about the cost of living. That gives me an idea as to whether or not they've done any research into what Tucson is all about. Q: How long do the interviews usually last? A: About a half an hour to an hour. Q: Is it a good sign if the applicant has had a long interview? A: Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't. It depends on the person. Yesterday I had an interview with a gentleman that I thought was going to be 15 minutes long, and it turned out to be an hour and a half. But he had two pages of questions for me. Q: Should applicants be prepared to ask a lot of questions? A: A lot of [prospective] students don't come prepared with questions. It's just like doing a job interview: you expect candidates to have questions. That helps us learn what's important to them. Q: What kinds of questions show that a candidate is educated about Arizona's MBA program? A: Someone may ask me, why did Arizona change the curriculum to do this rather than this? That shows that they've taken a look at our curriculum over a few years and they want to know why we've [made certain changes]. A not-so-good question would be: 'What makes you better than the University of Phoenix or ASU?' Q: How does the University of Arizona evaluate a student's "fit" with the MBA program? A: Our atmosphere is friendly and supportive. The students support one another, the faculty support the students -- the students feel free to come into their offices. They walk down the hall and wave at me when I'm talking to an applicant. Once I interviewed a young man from New York who couldn't get over how friendly the people in Tucson are. He wasn't used to having people walk up to him saying, 'Can I help you?' When he went home, he told me he felt like Tuscon was home. That's the feeling we want this program to have. Q: What separates Arizona's pile of accepted applicants from the dinged ones? A: The quality of work experience. Q: What can the applicant who lacks business experience do to highlight her business know-how on the Eller application? A: There is no real reason to do that. One of the best students [to complete our] program is graduating this year, and he was a math teacher at a local high school before [coming to get] an MBA. He has adapted, and adaptability is the [key] thing. He learned the business language, the technology, and companies are chasing him down. So it doesn't matter what the applicant did before [applying], but that they did a good job. They should tell me what they achieved. Q: How many applicants are waitlisted, and how many make it off? A: As we lose people from our program, we add [wait listed applicants] to the pool. Last year, we probably took 10 people from about 45 to 50. I usually ask members of our admissions committee, who are alumni and professionals, to look at the [wait listed] applications and tell me where they would rank them. Q: What can a wait listed applicant do to show Arizona that they're worthy of an acceptance letter? A: Number one, follow the instructions on the application. The other thing is to make sure that all their letters and essays don't have another school's name on them. I've had a letter sent to me for ASU saying the person was still interested in attending ASU's program. Many times [wait listed applicants] take the GMAT again. When I'm interested in an applicant, and they have bombed the GMAT, I'll call them and ask, 'Would you be interested in taking the GMAT again?' And some people tell me, 'absolutely not, you ought to admit me on my other requirements.' That tells me the person won't be good for our program, because they're not willing to try, and if they were told to do something in the classroom, they may do the same thing. Q: Are dinged applicants looked upon more favorably when they reapply? A: Some people have actually achieved that. We have said that their work experience was lacking, and they go back to work for two years. I've had a number of students whose grades were very poor and I couldn't admit them to the program. Our graduate college permits applicants to take 12 semester units of graduate credit, so if they get a 3.25, they calculate their admission GPA based on those 12 units. And I have had applicants who have done that. It's a good sign because it shows that they're willing to do whatever is necessary to improve their situation. Q: Any parting words of wisdom for aspiring Eller MBAs? A: My best advice to them is to make sure they have that work experience. Also, if they intend to get an MBA, and they find it difficult to go on a full-time basis, they should think about the other alternatives for working professionals. There will be opportunities opening up all over the United States. Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.  Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed. Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video. To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here. Learn more, go to the BusinessWeekOnline home page  | | FEBRUARY
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