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MARCH 13, 2000 B-SCHOOL Q&A: ADMISSIONS Meet University of Georgia's Admissions Director A conversation with Donald R. Perry, Jr., Director of MBA Admissions at Terry College of Business
Q: Don, the Terry College snagged a new dean from Rutgers U. in 1998, P. George Benson. How has his arrival impacted the college so far? A: Dean Benson has a lot of energy, and is a tireless worker when he promotes the college. There is great potential within the Terry College, and he's positioning it to get the recognition that it deserves. Some of his plans call for delivery of the MBA on a part-time basis. We're also considering adding a distance-learning component to the MBA program. We have done that with the PricewaterhouseCoopers students. We may also add a part-time program north of Atlanta. Q: What curriculum changes has the school made recently, and what changes can accepted applicants expect over the span of their two years on campus? A: We have added an e-commerce component. Now we have a specialization in the area. Before, we offered such electives on the marketing or the [management of information systems] side. In the future, we will streamline the offerings that we have and package them differently. Q: The university currently enrolls 177 full-time MBA students. Are there any plans to make the classes larger? A: We will increase class size a little bit as we go along, only as it allows us to maintain the quality that we're looking for within the MBA program. Over the next two to four years, we may increase enrollment 12% every year. Q: Twenty-five percent of the class of 2001 is female. Five percent is minority and 21% is international. Where will those numbers fall as the Terry College increases its enrollment? A: The mix of the student body will be similar [to what it is]. We would like to see about 30% female, and improve our minority representation, too. It's an issue we continue to address. Diversity impacts the academic experience for the students in the program. Internationally, we will consistently enroll between 20% and 30%.
Q: How is Georgia working to increase the number of minority applicants? In 1999, 5% enrolled, which is on the lower side for most universities. A: It is. The competition for minority students is keener today than it was five, six, or seven years ago. The MBA market has been demanding more minority students in their programs. So we have to be more aggressive in identifying and working those candidates through the pipeline to the point of enrollment. Progressive Partners is an initiative we designed to help us recruit talented minority candidates. While its success has been variable depending on the year, overall it has been highly positive. Minority candidates interview with three companies we are in cooperation with: International Paper, Wachovia, and Merck. After being admitted, eligible candidates interview with each company prior to enrolling in the program. If selected, candidates are guaranteed a program-sponsored assistantship, a company-sponsored scholarship, and a summer internship with the company following their first year of study. There is no obligation by either the company or the student for full-time employment, but we certainly hope the experience is one that is mutually beneficial and offers the potential for a permanent employment. In past years, that program was highly successful. We're trying to regain momentum we lost by adding additional companies to the program. That will help us with recruitment. Q: What percent of the total applicant pool is international? A: About 50%. Q: From what countries does the Georgia program attract the most international applicants? A: In order, our applicant pool is dominated by China, India, and Turkey. Several years ago, we attracted some Turkish students to our MBA program. Word-of-mouth in certain countries appears to be fairly strong. Interest [in Terry] was cultivated within the institution that the first Turkish student came from. Q: What parts of the world is the Terry College eying for applicants? A: Latin America. We're looking at using services like GMASS [a list service of the Graduate Management Admission Council] and trying to target candidates who fit our profile. We have also considered doing some of the international forums. But we already have such a large international applicant pool that we haven't had to do a lot of overseas travel and recruitment. Q: Sixty-four percent of the class is from the southeast of the U.S. Is Georgia looking to diversify its MBA classes on the domestic front, too? A: Yes. That 64% doesn't accurately represent the fact that the applicants are characterized by where they were living prior to enrollment. The Southern economy has been strong, particularly in Atlanta, so if you actually go back and trace their roots, they are not [all] from the Southeast. Q: What is the best deadline for an applicant to drop their applications in the mail to Terry? A: We receive the most applications between Dec. 1 and mid February. We would like to space out the flow of the applications, because it makes our workload easier. Q: So applicants face less competition if they get their applications in earlier than Dec. 1? A: There may be fewer applications, but we evaluate applicants during the early period the same way we evaluate applicants in the later, busier period. I forecast what I expect from the applicant pool by looking at the previous year's applicant pool to gauge how the candidates compare. Q: Last year, Terry attracted about 950 applications to its MBA program. Has the school seen an increase in the number of applicants in 2000? A: To date, we're about level. Q: Applicants can employ Embark.com, Multi-App, or they can request a copy by mail. If you had it your way, how would everyone apply to the MBA program? A: The online application has some advantages for us. Loading the information directly into our admissions database saves us keystrokes. Submitting the application online is also easier for candidates. Still, it doesn't make a difference if applicants apply online or not. It won't change the ways that we review it or the way the decision is made. Q: How are the applications reviewed? A: I read all of the applications. When I get a file, it has been read by other committee members, who have made notes on a comment sheet. The committee doesn't sit around a table and make decisions on a candidate. Each committee member reads the file independent of the others and makes notes on a central sheet that is passed through to the end. It's a consensus decision. My vote doesn't have any more weight than anyone else's. Q: When an MBA-hopeful considers applying to the University of Georgia's MBA program, what should he or she be most concerned with: their essays, GMAT scores, undergraduate GPAs, or work experience? A: The GPA, GMAT, and work experience collectively carry the most weight on the application. That weight could be different among candidates. We don't put everybody through a cookie cutter decision-making process. We leave room for differences of backgrounds, strengths and weaknesses that candidates have. Beyond that, essay questions, honors and activities, and letters of recommendation carry additional weight. Then life experiences, travel, etc. Q: How important are an applicant's undergraduate major, and the university that they attended? A: The majors are not terribly important. Majors are an additional way for us to diversify an MBA class. As far as the institution goes, we don't have any set standards to put institutions to. There is no ranking. We know more about some institutions than we know about others, but we don't know everything about every institution, so it's hard to pass judgment. That's where an interview can become important: if I don't know much about XYZ University, the interview is an opportunity to not have to force a judgment where I don't have enough information. Instead, I evaluate that institution from the candidate's perspective. And I can evaluate the candidate without worrying about the institution, but rather who they are as an individual. Q: Sixty percent of the admitted applicant pool completed an interview in 1999. It seems that Terry puts a big emphasis on the half-hour chat. How should applicants prepare? A: They need be ready to talk about themselves from a lot of different perspectives. I'm interested in where they've been, where they're going or want to go, and how an MBA fits that equation for them. Knowing the candidate on a more personal level helps me determine their fit within the MBA program. Up until today, I did all the interviewing. Now, I've got somebody to help me. Q: What kind of questions should applicants expect to hear? A: I look at the resume and usually break the ice by finding out about their background: Where are they from? How did they make the decision to attend the [undergraduate] institution they did? How did they make their career choices? And the interview flows. In other instances, I'm try to assess different skill sets, strengths, weaknesses, or computer skills. I also try to determine life experiences that they have had. That might be travel, or unique hobbies and interests. If there has been a family crisis, how has that been a building block for them? Is there another life experience that may differentiate them from other candidates? Q: What can hurt applicants during an interview? A: Interviewees need to come in having some focus and some idea as to what an MBA entails and how an MBA really is going to be critical in their careers. The interview should not be looked at as a step the candidate has to take before the next step. It really is a chance to sell themselves. They need to take the interview as seriously as they would an interview for a full-time position. Q: How does the Terry College evaluate the GMAT score? A: We look at the total score, and then break it down into the verbal sections. The AWA is a decision variable, but isn't weighted quite as heavily as the total [GMAT score], quantitative, or verbal sections of the test. We're trying to see where the candidate may be stronger in one area versus another, and where there may be an area for improvement. We do not have any absolute cutoffs for any GMAT component. However, the selection process is very competitive and candidates GMAT scores need to be within a competitive range with other candidates in the pool. The 40th percentile is an absolute minimum for the section scores. It would be rare that someone would be competitive with sections scores this low. Given our average GMAT of 644, the average section scores for our students are well above the 40% level. Q: How is it seen when an applicant has taken the GMAT more than once? A: We look at the higher score within a year of matriculation. If an applicant took the exam three times and got two average scores and one blow-away score, I'll take the blow-away score and go on about my business. I'm not going to dwell on the other two scores. Q: What does the Terry College consider compelling work experience? A: Our average work experience last year was 4.3 years. Two years is on the lower end of the scale. As far as the type of work experience, it really goes back to talking about the diversity of the student body in the program. But we do want it to be related to one of two things, and possibly both: the applicant's undergraduate training and their professional goals and objectives. If the applicant has had work experience related to one or both of those things, chances are good that they've had sufficient work experience to make an impact. And they're positioning themselves for whatever future career they're looking for. Q: What can the person who lacks two years of work experience do to gloss their application? A: They can get more experience! If they're already in good positions that show increasing responsibility and promotion potential, then they just need more of that. If the quality of the work experience is suspect, then they would have to consider the possibility of changing careers and doing something different that would provide a better base for an MBA program. Q: Georgia requires applicants to submit three recommendations. Who should they come from? A: We would like to stay away from personal assessments. We prefer that at least one, if not a couple of recommendations, come from an immediate supervisor. We understand that some people don't want co-workers to know that they're returning to school; however, we are looking for those individuals who can provide us with quality information about the candidate as it relates to their ability to work, get along with others, their performance, and their progression. Q: What does the Terry program want to learn about an applicant in its four required essays? A: We're trying to assess where the applicant wants to go and whether or not their expectations are realistic. We also want to learn about their leadership experience. One interesting question asks candidates to tell their MBA classmates who they are. I've had people create crossword puzzles, where they have completed the crossword puzzle using the clues at the bottom as they relate to attributes that the candidates possess. I've had people send in pictures and give me a narration with captions below each picture. Q: Does that work? A: I like it. It breaks up the reading of the file and lets you see some of their creativity. Otherwise, MBA applications are somewhat similar. After a while, the answers to a lot of the questions become the same across institutions. Our questions give them an opportunity to get outside of the box. Q: What mistakes come up over and over again? A: Most applicants do a fairly good job in providing the information that we're looking for. I wouldn't characterize anything that they're doing as a mistake; however, sometimes a candidate doesn't put thought into their answers, and it's evident that they're not really taking the MBA [application process] seriously.
[Editor's note: The Terry College requires applicants to complete four essays: 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  | | MARCH
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