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DECEMBER 21, 1999 B-SCHOOL Q&A: ADMISSIONS Meet Purdue's Admissions Director A conversation with Ward Snearly, the Director of Admissions at Purdue's Krannert School of Management
Q: Ward, you've handled everything from recruitment to admissions to student advising at the Krannert school for 16 years. Has the scope of your responsibility changed at all over the course of your tenure? A: It sure has. When I started here, the office was a small operation with myself and a half-time person as receptionist and full-time secretary, and one half-time grad assistant. We did everything: student services, advising, registration, and admissions. We also had a rotating professor act as the Academic Program Coordinator. In the last couple of years we've added staff. Two years ago we added a full-time administrative program director, and last year we added an additional staff member, titled the Manager of Advising and Student Services. So we now offer a lot more service to our students. Q: Is that necessary in today's environment? A: Absolutely. I think it's a key thing. Admissions has gotten to be much more proactive/interactive. There's a lot more contact with students, through e-mail and MBA Forums. [We travel to] international forums around the world to talk to [prospective] students in different countries. That has really facilitated the process of open communication. The Web has made a big difference as well. All those things have meant that we've had the opportunity to communicate with people all over the world in different time zones. We've also just added, in the last several months, a Manager of Marketing and Recruitment who's responsible for helping us focus our efforts more on marketing the program and also on setting up interviews. That's exciting, and I think we're moving in the right direction. Q: When did the business school environment become so competitive? When did it become necessary for top B-schools to utilize all the resources that you just outlined? A: In my opinion, it started about 1992, and that's kind of, in my mind, a point where schools began to do a lot of benchmarking with other schools. They began to look at their students as not only products but also as customers, in the whole model of bringing students in. And students, at that point, started to become more active in contacting schools. For example, in 1992, we had the opportunity to go to Motorola University. A hundred administrators and faculty from Purdue were sponsored by Motorola, as part of the University Challenge Program, to learn total quality management and then try to apply those tools and techniques within the university setting. So we came back with those things. That was kind of the starting point for looking at Krannert [in a new way]. That was the beginning of a lot of changes in terms of, for example, how Krannert's curriculum was structured, going to an eight-week module [allowing for] more electives and more student interaction. Then, in 1995-96, the availability of the Internet [which served up] information that you could go to any time of the day and access, and e-mails, [which allowed] us to communicate across time zones, was another big step. Electronic applications were the next step in the evolution. We're trying to pursue that technology as aggressively as possible. We were one of the early charter members of what was Snap Technologies/CollegeEdge, and has now become Embark.com. Q: The Krannert School is renowned for it's tech savvy and it's quantitative know-how. What types of technologies, since 1995-96, has Krannert utilized to increase the public's awareness of the school? A: The first thing we did was post our downloadable application on our Web site so a person could go in and produce a copy that they then had to actually submit in hard copy. That was early on. Then Embark's online application system came along. We thought that offered a nice environment for students to be able to work on their application online, and that we could see the applications being built; also that it would give us a chance to be more proactive in terms of identifying students who looked like they were a good fit for the program. Q: How about from a recruitment standpoint? Has Krannert utilized any technologies to better reach its far off international applicant population? Does the school, say, use an electronic interview scheduling system? A: We're getting into that. At this point in time, we're just on the cusp of using that type of tool. We just purchased .Edulink, which is an in-house online admissions system [built and leased out by the University of Virginia's Darden School]. We expect to have that available within the next few weeks, and that will facilitate the process of those kinds of schedules. We were also a charter member of MBA Multi-App, which started out as a software package that students who were applying to multiple schools could purchase and use to apply. Last year was the first year we really started to [conduct] interviews at MBA Forum sites. This year we expanded that initiative, but we still scheduled them pretty much by hand. That will become more automated as these tools come online and our staff gets familiar with them. Q: Does Krannert's MSIA degree cause any confusion when you go out and talk to prospective students? The Yale School of Management, for example, changed the name of the degree it awards -- from an MPPM to an MBA -- because of student and employer confusion over what exactly an MPPA stood for. A: Well, we have the MSIA degree, which was the genesis for the Krannert program. It was started in 1956 and it's an 11-month program. It was designed initially for people with technical degrees who wanted to get all the general management [training] they need in a short period of time. We've retained that degree because many of our alums who were graduates of that program feel very strongly about it, as a unique opportunity for particularly technical people who have a good amount of work experience. In the mid-'70s, we added the two-year Master of Science in Management Program (MSM), which is our version of the MBA, and we also have a small specialized program called the Master of Science in Human Resource Management (MSHRM).
Q: So the school's MSM and MSIA credentials don't cause any confusion or skittishness on the part of your applicants? A: Not really. Usually, it may require a little more understanding or explanation. Certainly people may look at the MSM Program and wonder if that is an MBA. When you look at "MBA," sometimes it becomes a generic term. There are a number of schools that grant a degree that says something other than MBA on the degree. You mentioned Yale. Northwestern has a Master of Manufacturing Management degree (MMM), Carnegie Mellon offers an MSIA degree, and MIT Sloan offer an MS degree -- though they now offer students the option of choosing either the MBA or an MS. Purdue is known as an MBA institution. We ask employers if it matters to them what is on the degree, and they assure us that they're more concerned with the quality of the students that come out of the program than what is actually stamped on the degree itself. We also actually survey students and ask them if it makes a difference to them or if [the name of Krannert's degree] had any impact on their decision [to enroll]. Most often, it doesn't affect their decision. Q: Krannert runs a fairly small program -- a total of about 280 full-time students enroll, 140 to a class. The school, I understand, has made plans to expand its rolls, however. What's the status of that? A: Yes, that has happened. Normally, the entering class has been about 175 students -- that includes all three of Krannert's programs (the MSIA, MSM, and MSHRM). This past year we had 215 in the entering class, and that was by design. The idea was that we'd gradually increase the size of the entering class if we had sufficient qualified applicants and if we had the facilities to do it. [This year's incoming class] is probably the largest class that we've ever brought in. The class breaks down into about 32 students in the MSIA program, about 25 students in the human resource program, and then the other roughly 160 students in the two-year MSM program. Q: Diversity is the holy grail in MBA admissions. But can an MBA class ever become overly diverse? For example, 39% of Krannert's Class of 2001 is comprised of international students. Is that too much of an international perspective? A: If it is, it's not something that I've received any feedback about. I think that [percentage] is probably bumping up against a number that we might feel comfortable with, but in terms of student feedback, and faculty feedback on the mix of students that we have, the qualifications of the students, what value they add to each other in terms of their learning experience, it's unanimous that this is a good mix and the students and faculty like it. [The mix of people] adds a lot to the overall experience, and I think that's probably going to continue to grow. We just started a program with the German International School of Management and Administration in Hanover, Germany, which is really a clone of the MSIA program. It's taught in English in Hanover, and it's going to give our students the opportunity to go to Hanover and study for an eight week module, which will dovetail exactly into the curriculum they're studying here in Lafayette. So that's a seamless chance to go abroad and study. And, likewise, students from Germany and other European countries can come and study for eight weeks and integrate into our student population. So I think that's an exciting initiative, and it's going to continue to add to the opportunity for international experience and sharing of information. Q: Nearly every admissions officer I've spoken to has urged applicants to not get ahead of themselves and skip over that vital first step: getting a clear picture of a school's culture and the applicant's fit within it. As I mentioned, Krannert is a small program; it's fairly [geographically] isolated, and pretty quant-oriented. What type of a person would best excel in the school's MSIA program? A: The MSIA program is a fairly specialized program that appeals to a certain slice of the market population. And usually, there are just a small number of people who want to come to school, go through the intense 11-month program, and get back in the job market as quickly as possible. Our MBA program -- if you will -- the MSM program, which is what most students are interested in and what most of them choose, has a variety of specialization areas. There are actually nine different areas or options, as we call them here: finance, marketing, operations, management information systems, strategic management, and so forth. What we like to see students do is to have a chance to do research and find out what they're interested in in terms of wanting a good, broad exposure to different functional areas in management. We give them a fairly broad core curriculum consisting of about 35 hours of the 60 hour program. Then they have a chance to specialize in one of those nine areas, or they can decide not to specialize and just take a sampling of courses from each of the nine areas. But most people choose an option or even a double option once they get into coursework. In fact, it's fairly common for our students to graduate with more than the 60 hours required. But to answer your question, with the availability of the Web site, the [school's] catalogue, Business Week information, and [information from] other publications, it's fairly easy for a prospective student to do some research and find out, before even coming to the school, what the culture consists of, which employers tend to recruit there, what kinds of jobs students tend to go into, and where they tend to go. Q: Krannert operates a rolling admissions process. Once I've made the determination that Krannert is the place for me, just how early can I apply to the program? A: You can apply as early as Nov. 1, and in fact, we have an early admission guarantee, we call it. It's aimed at U.S. permanent residents who are interested in applying to Krannert -- we're their first choice -- and they've done their homework and they want to apply early. We'll give them a decision, guaranteed, by Dec. 15 of the year preceding the starting date. That guarantee is to try to match up their interests with our interests and get that early group taken care of. This is only the second year we've done the early admission guarantee. It looks like it's starting to grow in terms of the number of people who are taking advantage of it. We also have an early Jan. 1 admission for domestic, U.S. permanent residents, and a Feb. 1 early application for international students. We tell them that we'll give them a decision around March 15th, if not earlier. So we have kind of a modified rolling approach to admissions where you can apply at these various cut-off points. Most of our applications do come in the period from January through April. Q: Krannert, as I mentioned, has a heavy quant focus. Does that put the onus on the applicant to do well on the GMAT? A: The GMAT is important. But the quant aspect of Krannert has been probably more a function of the kind of students we historically have had. We've always had a strong proportion of people in engineering, science and technology who come in with very good quant skills. It's that, more than it is the curriculum driving that reputation, per se. Many programs require a year of calculus before you can apply. We do not have a specific math requirement. We once enrolled someone, for example, who was a music major who never had taken a math class in four years of undergraduate study. But that person did well on the quantitative portion of his GMAT, so that became the measure of our feeling of how we thought he would do. Now, he applied to an engineering school right out of high school, he had four years of high school math, so he had good math skills. He just hadn't had to study any mathematics during his undergraduate career, based on his major. That's not uncommon. There are a lot of people from the social sciences and different [academic] areas who don't have a very heavy math background. In those cases, the GMAT becomes more important. Twenty-five percent of the people enrolled in our Class of 2001 come from liberal arts backgrounds. But we still have a strong proportion who come in from engineering and sciences and technology. I think that really drives the reputation of Purdue as being, we say now, more analytical than [necessarily] quantitative. Q: How should a prospective student approach the GMAT? A lot of folks tend to think of the GMAT as a criterion that admissions officials scrutinize left and right. How do you view it? A: I think the GMAT is a very important part of the application. We call it the Admissions Triangle. On one leg of the triangle is the GMAT, on the other leg is the grade point average, and on the third is the work experience. The way those three legs of the triangle interrelate is a key [aspect] to analyzing how important one is. You can have a minor weakness in one of those areas and if you've got strengths in the other two, then that's going to be an offset. But realistically, what happens is that you have a large number of applications, many of them with good skills in all those areas -- they have good GPAs, GMAT scores, and work experience. And so, in fairness to their applications, they're probably going to get the nod over somebody who has a weakness in the GMAT score. So, when approaching the GMAT, it's very important to do whatever an individual thinks he or she needs to do to [properly] prepare. Usually applicants know their own limits and capabilities, and they've had experience taking the SAT or the ACT or maybe even the GRE, so they tend to know if they're a good test taker. If they are not a good test taker, then they should try to do whatever they can to improve their chances for success. Q: The admissions triangle utimately provides only a basic snapshot of an applicant. The school is able to get a more refined picture of that individual by looking at the other aspects of the application, including the essay responses, the recommendations, and the interview feedback forms. A: You're exactly right. [Looking at] the admissions triangle is only the first step. The next is looking at what the student brings to the program. That can be measured through the essays, and through the chance for a personal interview. We want to see what [the students will] bring in and how that's going to add value to the experience of the class, and to the faculty guiding the class. We want to see what [applicants'] expectations are in terms of what they want from us. Q: The interview tends to be one of the better mediums for getting at what you just outlined. Krannert, however, doesn't really interview a lot of people, despite the fact that it's got such a personalized program. The school only interviewed 17% of its admitted class. Why is that? A: We're moving in the direction of doing more interviews. The way we've operated in the past is that we've made decisions based on the application. We try to construct the essay questions in a way that they are, in fact, like a written interview. So we're asking the students to treat their essays like a written interview opportunity. When we review the total application package, if we think we still need more information to make a decision, if it's not clear-cut, then we invite the student to come to campus. There are some cases that are fairly standardized in terms of asking them [to come for an interview], and there are others where we rely on the review of a number of people on the admission committee to reach a consensus on inviting someone to come for an interview. On the other hand, an applicant can request an interview and we'll look at their application and, again, make a decision about [extending an invitation to interview]. We have required, [in the past], applicants to interview on campus. Now, as I mentioned, we're starting to do more at Forum sites. As our personnel staff increases, we'll probably continue to do that. I've been told by students that we have the most comprehensive interview process because we have a [prospective student] visitor meet with at least four people. They meet with the Director of Placement or the Associate Director of Placement; they meet with me or someone in the admissions office; they may meet with the Academic Program Director or the Administrative Program Director; and always a faculty member, or maybe even two faculty members. They'll also often meet with a graduate assistant student, and they can also sit in on a class and attend a morning coffee [session]. Q: The visit sounds pretty in-depth. Unfortunately, however, the vast majority do not actually get to take part. Instead, they need to concentrate on producing top-notch essay responses. How should they approach the essays in terms of constructing the types of well-rounded answers that would give you a better understanding of who they are? A: That's a good question. A key thing is that you've done your homework, you know about the school, you know what the school has to offer. Then you need to know yourself and what you want, and how those things tie together. It's like a business communication model in essays. And our essay questions are fairly short. We have three essay questions -- two of them have 500 word limits, and the last one is 100 words. So [essay responses] require careful thought and careful definition of who you are, what you want, what your expectations are, and how that fits in with what the school does. Q: The final element that candidates submit to you to round out their applications are the recommendation forms. Do a lot of admissions directors sort of poo-poo the recommendations? Don't they essentially say the same thing over and over again? A: I'm not sure that the majority [sound the same]. We require two recommendations -- some schools require more than that. You can submit an extra one to us if you want. Most people send in two. Now, you'd think that almost anybody who's 27 years old or so can get two quality recommendations. A key thing is to get meaningful recommendations, to get them from people who are in a position to assess your day-to-day work activities and give us some insight into how they think you would perform in an MBA program. That requires a careful selection on the part of the applicant. You have to know who your recommender is and have confidence that the person is going to make the effort -- they think enough of you as an applicant, as a friend, a coworker, or a subordinate -- to really communicate effectively how they think you will do at the program, and have your best interests at heart. If you're able to find those people, then the recommendations take care of themselves. And they're very meaningful to the schools. Q: When evaluating applications, do you view them differently depending on where they've come from? Would you review an international candidate's application differently from another that's been filled out by someone from, say, Boston? A: That could happen, I suppose. Although I think, primarily, if you go back to the model that we try to use -- academic success in the program, measured by the things like work experience and GMAT scores; evaluating what they bring and what they expect to get out of the program; and, finally, how we think they'll do in terms of the job market -- we look at the same elements no matter where [an applicant] is from. Q: How should I expect to hear word that I've been accepted into one of Krannert's graduate business programs? A: Expect, initially, a thin envelope with a congratulatory letter. Then, another congratulatory letter seven days later. We also try to follow up with a phone call from a student and/or faculty member talking about the program and congratulating the person on their admission. Sometimes we e-mail people as well, especially if they're international students, and we feel we can communicate with them faster by e-mail. 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  | | DECEMBER
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