Edited by Nadav Enbar

MEET THE ADMISSIONS DIRECTOR
A Business Week Online Q & A

For nearly a decade, Business Week's Best Business Schools rankings have been the leading source of sound and reliable advice for students seeking a Master of Business Administration degree. One of the topics that is of most concern to the thousands of students with whom we have communicated over the years is the admissions process: How do you best prepare for business school? On what basis do admissions officers judge you? How important -- or not -- is it to interview at various schools? Do your interests -- and your personality -- fit in with the goals and culture of the school?

The answers to these questions are especially important given the increasingly tough competition for the relatively few slots available each year at top b-schools. For the top 25 schools in Business Week's rankings, the number of applications is up 44% in 1997 vs. the level in 1993. In no small part, that's because salaries for MBAs have taken off, too.

Where do you get the best advice on how to enter this fray? From admissions officers, of course. Hence this series of Business Week Q & A's with these key officials at top schools. We'll add a couple of new transcripts here every week for six months or more. So come back often to check out our latest -- and let us know what you think#151; and let us know what you think!

On November 20, 1997, we spoke with Linda Gaston, director of MBA marketing and admissions at Case Western Reserve's Weatherhead School of Management (a runner-up in Business Week's 1996 rankings). Linda is quite an accomplished individual. She started her career as a computer programmer at the Navy Finance Center, then moved on to BP Oil Co. where, over the course of 12 years, she worked in capacities ranging from fuel-purchasing agent to marketing manager. In 1992, Linda was bitten by the entrepreneurial bug, becoming owner and president of Solutions Now Software. She became Weatherhead's admissions director in 1994 and has been evaluating applicants ever since. Linda earned a BS in computer information science at Cleveland State University and an MBA from Case Western. Ms. Gaston was interviewed by Business Week Online reporter Nadav Enbar.

Linda, you've been reviewing and evaluating applications for several years now. What are your thoughts on the recent popularity of the MBA degree? What changes have you seen in the applicant and the admissions process since your days as a student?

Well, I actually had a bit of an unusual background as a student. I started as a part-time student at Weatherhead and finished as a full-time student. So I interacted with two different variations of students. But for the purpose of my answer I will only refer to full-time students. I think that earlier, students or prospectives looked at the MBA as professionally enriching, that it would increase their perspective on business issues and enhance their mobility in the job market. I'm finding now that we're seeing a more mature group of students looking to maintain their positions and build their portfolios. I think the MBA is now being perceived as more of a requirement rather than an optional degree.

Now in terms of changes in the applicant, beyond the more mature student, we're seeing more diversity. By that, I mean we're seeing more business students coming from the nonbusiness arena, the military, the arts, nonprofit management... So there's been some changes in the types of people who would consider the MBA beneficial to their career.

Weatherhead offers several programs, a 60-hour, a 42-hour accelerated, and a part-time. Have all of these programs been growing in popularity?

Indeed, they've been growing across the board. The part-time program was recently ranked among the top 10 by a U.S. News & World Report feature on top part-time programs. We're located in Cleveland. And the area has a large number of Fortune 500 companies -- in fact, it's got the fourth-largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the country. So lots of employees from those companies take advantage of the Weatherhead School's part-time program. And those students get to take advantage of all the special features of our program, they have exposure to the same faculty, curriculum, and environs that our full-time students do.

Our full-time students have two options available to them. As a full-time student, you can take a 42-hour accelerated option or the traditional 60-credit hour program. The accelerated option is an 11-month program. Part-time students can take advantage of three options: The accelerated 42-credit hour program, a 54-credit hour program, or the traditional 60-credit hour program. The reason for the 54-credit option is because we have a good number of engineers and others who have a good amount of prior business experience, but not enough for the accelerated option.

From what I've read, the accelerated, 42-hour program is open only to people who hold an undergraduate business degree from an AACSB-accredited school or a school approved by the admissions committee. Is that right?

Exactly.

How carefully does the school review an applicant's prior business knowledge before qualifying them for the accelerated program?

Actually we look at applicants quite critically before qualifying them for the program. And that's really because the experience is compacted: There's no internship, and the whole program goes by really rapidly. It's very intense. In general, we look carefully at applicants' credentials, their grades, and the time elapsed since completion of their course work, to make sure that they can take advantage of all the opportunities available in the program.

Do you cap the amount of people you enroll into the accelerated program?

Yes. This program is limited to 50 students, and we're typically in the 40-student range. This has always been a very intimate learning environment. It's a small, close-knit community that has a rapid pace and requires close contact between students and faculty. So a large amount of students would be difficult to maintain.

What are Weatherhead's official application totals for its Class of '99?

Well, for the full-time program we had 1,000 applications for 1997. For the 42-credit-hour accelerated program, we generally have around 200 applications.

How about the class sizes for Weatherhead's full-time and one-year programs?

We have 150 students entering the traditional two-year MBA and generally have around 40 students entering the accelerated program.

What were the yields for this past year?

For the two-year program, it is roughly 52%, and it's 60% for the 42-credit hour program.

Have the yields changed at all, for better or for worse, from last year?

Actually our yield is increasing across the board. In the past, we've been hovering around the 40% and high-30% area. So, to achieve in excess of 50% is a real achievement for our school. As we continue to demonstrate our value through change in our curriculum and alumni, we feel our yield will continue to increase. For the accelerated program, we think students are really perceiving the value. In the past some people would question its validity, but that's just no longer the case.

In which demographic population area are you seeing the sharpest growth -- women, internationals, minorities, older applicants?

I think most schools, including Weatherhead, have seen their applications increase dramatically from the international sector. Beyond that, I think I would say that the next-largest growth area is from the mature, nontraditional business segment. We've always done well with women. We've sustained in excess of 30% female class makeup, and women comprise 33% of this year's class.

Do you feel that's a result of the school's Web site, which has, from what I have read, been developed into a major marketing and communications tool at Weatherhead?

If you're asking about the connection between Web marketing and our success in recruiting students, I think there is a very large correlation there.

How do you account for the large percentage of women at Weatherhead?

I think that the representation of women in our program is due to our learning environment and due to what prospective students observe when they come to the school: a collegial, close-knit environment. I also think that women are encouraged by seeing very successful, high-potential students.

With respect to the Web, I think women are now being driven to the Web. They are now making purchases via the Web, and I think that going online to research what product to buy includes researching MBA programs. A dramatic amount of students are researching programs via the World Wide Web today. So the medium's relevance is certainly growing.

Can applicants now complete and send in a Weatherhead application via the Web ?

Yes, they can.

Is this an internal innovation? Or is Weatherhead offering its application via the Web through a vendor?

We're currently doing it internally. However, we're looking to outsource this effort in the near future to take advantage of the expertise of companies dedicated to Web development.

What are this year's application deadlines?

Mar. 14, 1998, is the deadline for those who want to be considered for scholarship. And the general deadline is Apr. 15, 1998. We work on a rolling admissions basis.

Do you have an idea of how many seats or spots generally get filled per deadline? I mean, say I'm an applicant looking to apply to Weatherhead. It's March, and I know that my chances of acceptance are slimmer than they were in February. What's an approximate number of spots that I can project will be available to me should I decide to go ahead and apply?

That's a difficult question to answer because it fluctuates from year to year. I would say that coming into March, roughly 50% of our places are filled, and that's purely because of our scholarship deadline -- we ask people to submit a fee to secure their scholarship. Once they submit that fee, they've pretty much committed to coming here.

What does a completed application comprise?

There's the application form. Then we ask students to include a description of employment history (resume), an application fee of $50, transcripts -- submitted to us in official envelopes -- two letters of recommendation, the GMAT, TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) if applicable, information on a student's academic background, and present employment information. We also have an application interview schedule included right on the application because we strongly encourage students to complete an admissions interview.

We also include a financial-aid checklist and express form in the application because we want students to work with our financial-aid office. The Financial Aid Office will assist them in identifying any aid available to them as well as secure a statement of financial responsibility for internationals (foreign students are required to show their financial solvency in order to secure a visa).

The application form is very traditional, with personal data and demographic-type data included. We ask them to give us what their intended academic program is: full-time, part-time... and we ask what potential interest they might have in taking advantage of some of our international opportunities, semester exchange opportunities, certificate programs, and/or study abroad opportunity at the Weatherhead campus in Budapest.

Weatherhead campus in Budapest?

We have an arrangement with the International Management Center in Budapest, Hungary, where students look at emerging economies such as those in Eastern Europe. And they can take up to as much as their entire first year studying at that campus. So we survey during the application process to see whether prospective students have any interest in the opportunities that we have to offer.

Do you prioritize the application variables you just listed, and if so, in what order of importance?

We're most keenly interested in applicants' employment history, academic background, and, of course, their GMAT information. And for internationals, we want to evaluate their TOEFL information.

Is Weatherhead's GMAT average continuing to climb?

Yes, it is, and we anticipate that we'll see increases next year.

What's the GMAT range for this year's class?

For this year's class, it ranges between 380 and 800.

Do you evaluate the GMAT holistically or in parts (AWA, Analytical Writing Assessment, Quant, Verbal)?

We look carefully at the quant score, but I would think that we take a predominant holistic view of the score. There are some innaccurate inferences that can be made when looking holistically. For example, an international's score may be affected by the verbal component. But if we scrutinize any one component over the other two, it would be the quant.

If an applicant has taken the GMAT more than once, do you weigh the second or third score as heavily as the first?

We look at the best score unless there are dramatic fluctuations. But we presently look at the best score.

How heavily in your mind does an applicant's undergrad institution weigh? Obviously the relative rigor of the undergraduate institution affects the applicant's GPA.

Exactly. I think that's why the GMAT is looked at: because of its commonality. There are many reports of grade inflation to contend with when looking at the candidates' academic record. But we also look at the undergrad major when evaluating a prospective student's performance.

So what happens when say, hypothetically, you're evaluating two candidates, one a liberal arts major from Harvard, and the other an engineer from Alaska State?

Well, the GMAT becomes the tie-breaker in that case. We look at the course work and the rigor at each institution. We would also look very carefully at the type of courses in engineering offered at Alaska State. I'd have to have a look at Alaska State's approach to learning coupled with the undergraduate discpline.

Although interviews are optional, I understand that the school makes an effort to interview as many candidates as possible. Any particular reason why Weatherhead is now stressing the interview more than before?

Well, the interview gives us a tremendous amount of insight on the applicant, on his or her abilities and what they can contribute to the Weatherhead environment. It also gives perspective on how they would take to our learning environment. So it gives us a better understanding of the student's personality, initiative, leadership abilities, and communication skills than we could extract from the paper transcripts.

We've also found a far greater correlation between the success of students in the program who also do well in the behavioral interview. In terms of using interviews as an instrument, it has been very effective.

Is it to the applicant's advantage to interview?

Most definitely!

How does the interview fit into your overall evaluation of an applicant?

It's one of the key factors that we look at because we're looking at a number of things when evaluating. We're looking for the candidate's ability to succeed in our program. We're also looking for their ability to contribute, as well as the type of alums they will be... whether they will be an individual that will make an impact on society. The questions that we've developed for the interview really give us good insights on those factors.

How long does the interview session usually last?

About 30 minutes.

O.K., let's allay any fears that superstitious applicants out there may have. Is the length of the interview, whether it goes longer or shorter than the usually allotted 30 minutes, any indication of an applicant's performance?

Well, some people are very efficient speakers, and they can complete the interview and convey a great deal of information about themselves in less than 30 minutes. However, we have found that 30 minutes is what we need to fully explore the questions. Beyond 30 minutes can't be viewed as a positive or a negative. If it took significantly longer, however, then we would wonder about the person's ability to convey themselves clearly and articulately. In some cases it has just been a pleasurable interview. There's really no method to the interview: It moves forward according to the applicant's responses to our initial couple of questions.

Who at Weatherhead interviews?

We take advantage of all the resources available to us. The majority of the interviews are conducted by the admissions staff -- which includes three professionals -- and our assistant dean actively interviews as well. Then we take advantage of our alumni resources. Many of our alumni conduct telephone interviews. They also do regional interviews for every major U.S. city as well as international interviews in Asia, Latin America, and Europe. So we really try to make ourselves available. We're able to interview about 90% of the students that enroll in our program.

What do you ask, generally?

We try to assess a student's leadership abilities, teamwork abilities, and analytical and decision-making abilities. We're also looking for how they handle pressure. The format, as I mentioned, is the behavioral interview. So we ask students to reflect on their experiences in certain subject areas. We make inferences on performance based on the applicants' previous performance.

Can you give an example or two of the type of questions you'll ask during an interview?

Sure, one of them goes something like: "Please describe for me a time when you were endeavoring to accomplish a project with a team and there were challenges with that team. How did you resolve the issue(s)?" So this gives us insight about what types of experiences the applicant has had and how they can handle issues within the context of working in a team. Working in teams happens frequently here at Weatherhead as well as in the real world, so the ability to negotiate one's position and work toward productive solutions within the organization is extremely important. That's one element that we hope to flesh out.

What's should applicants do to prepare themselves for the interview?

Well, I think the applicant should keep in the front of his or her mind those experiences and abilities that they possess that would enable them to succeed in B-school and a professional organization after graduation. They should try to make sure that those possessed skills come through in their comments during the interview. We're trying to discern the applicant's ablility to succeed and contribute in our program and make a contribution to society. They should just really be themselves and reflect on their experiences.

How many required essays are there in the Weatherhead application?

There are four mandatory essays and one optional.

Are there word limits?

No word limits are imposed. But we think that somewhere between 500 and 1,000 words generally can convey a message completely.

What do the essays entail?

We want to understand the applicant's motivation for pursuing the MBA. For one of the essays we ask them to describe an ethical dilemma so that we understand their descision-making style and approach. We do ask about their leadership and teamwork skills again because those are critical skills we feel are necessary for success. We ask them to talk about a personal or professional challenge that they've had. We feel that students contribute greatly to each other's learning experience, so we want to discern how their experiences might rub off on the class.

We offer six questions and students choose four. And there's a big range from which to choose from. One of them asks: "How do you spend your leisure time."

You mentioned that Weatherhead requires two recommendations with an option to submit more...

That's right. If they think that it would materially add to our knowledge of their aptitude and abilities, then we invite applicants to submit additional recommendations.

Who, in your opinion, is the best person for an applicant to contact for a recommendation?

I think that the immediate supervisor would probably be the best individiual to assess the skills and abilities of a candidate. However, many of our candidates don't want their immediate supervisor to know that they're about to leave the company. In these cases, for those applicants who want to enjoy the rest of their time at work, we ask that they find a former supervisor or anyone that they've worked with on special projects that can speak to their abilities. Applicants shouldn't always ask their supervisor for a recommendation because, in some cases, that's a very sensitive issue.

Is it inappropriate for a candidate to get a recommendation from a professor?

We've received recommendations from professors, but we ask that the professor explain the basis for his saying that the student will excel in the MBA program. They need to give us some detail about their observation of the candidate's professional abilities in addition to their academic abilities. But generally speaking, we do like the balance in recommendations.

Weatherhead's Class of '96 grads had the highest average full-time work experience (5.5 years) of Business Week's runner-up B-school grouping. Is that being maintained by this year's class?

Oh yes. It's about 5 years, and holding fast.

Why is Weatherhead emphasizing work experience so much?

If you look at the types of skills and experiences that one gets that will contribute most to their ability to add value to the organization or enhance their experience in the Weatherhead MBA program, it comes from work experience. We like to have a relevant, substantive environment in our classroom. We don't just want an academic, theoretical perspective. We think that the perspective that comes from real-world experience contributes greatly and will allow candidates to leave here and add value to wherever they go afterward. So what you get from work experience is very, very critical.

Can an applicant with little to no work experience get into Weatherhead?

We will admit under 10% with less than two years of work experience.

What can somebody with little professional work experience do to bolster his or her chances of acceptance?

They have to have significant internship involvement or other work-related experience where they have made significant decision-making on the job and have contributed. They must have some substantive work or professional experience so that they can take advantage of our curriculum. If they can base comments on observations about things that have actually happended in the real world, they will get much more out of our program.

What about applicants with literally zero work experience who are applying right out of school?

It would be difficult. We would have to look at them purely on the basis of their academic accomplishments unless they could present some sort of experience, be it voulunteer work or exposure to the family business. The onus would definitely be on the candidate to present some very compelling reasons why they would excel in our environment.

Do you allow accepted applicants to defer?

Students can defer for one year. I would think that no more than 5% defer from year to year.

How many applicants were waitlisted this past admission cycle (for the Class of '99)?

We had roughly 100 applicants waitlisted. And we did not, based on our recruiting efforts and students able to matriculate, have to touch our waitlist.

What can waitlisted candidates do to wheedle themselves into your consciousness and raise their chances of being plucked off the waitlist?

First of all, if a student feels that they've been on a waitlist and it appears that their prospects are limited, they need to look critically at what they conveyed to us about their background and abilities because apparently one or a combination of factors was not sufficient for them to be enrolled. So they need to think carefully about their talents and think if there is other information that would help them that we are not yet aware of. We welcome a dialogue with all of our applicants... even those that are waitlisted. If there's information that paints a different picture of a student, we'd be happy to talk to them again and learn more about their abilities.

Do you encourage rejected applicants to re-apply? Do you provide counseling for candidates denied admission?

Yes, we do. When we send the rejection letter, we include a sheet that gives feedback on what we felt kept the applicant from gaining admission into the Weatherhead program. If anything on the feedback letter is incorrect or has changed in the applicant's file, or the applicant anticipates anything changing, then we ask them to contact our office.

How long do you give successful candidates to decide whether they want to accept your offer of admission?

We give four weeks for scholarship candidates -- they need to submit a deposit of $500 to secure a place in the class. For other students, we give them until May 1st -- that's the absolute deadline. Generally, because we give a fair amount of scholarship and people want to secure their spots in the class, we receive a reply in a fairly short amount of time from the receipt of the admission letter.

What's this year's tuition?

It's $20,100 per year.

Has that changed from last year?

The greatest increase we've had is 4%, and we don't anticipate anything greater than a 4% increase for the next year.

What would you estimate the annual cost of living to be in the Cleveland area?

Roughly $9,700 for room and board.

What kind of scholarship is available at Weatherhead?

We have scholarships here at Weatherhead that are based on academic merit and also on the attributes of the candidates that we think would really enrich our learning environment. We also have ambassadorial scholarships for international students. In general, scholarships range anywhere from $3,000 to full tuition. And if we had to do an average, it would be around $9,000 -- that's pure scholarship. 30% of our student body receives scholarship, while 70% of our student population is taking advantage of loans. Because we give partial awards, students have to supplement their finances through loans.

Are interviews required for merit-based scholarships?

Yes, they are mandatory.

Who are your toughest competitors?

Indiana, Michigan, Duke, and Vanderbilt are the top ones. Georgetown is in there as well.

Linda, would you like to add anything else before we wrap up?

I would like to highlight that we have one of the most innovative, special, dynamic, learning environments. Through our curriculum and our environment, we offer a very unique and beneficial experience to students. There are many special features that students won't see anywhere else. Lots of time is spent both in curricular and extracurricular areas that will angle our students in making an impact. For us in admissions, we're trying to recruit the best and the brightest so that we can make that happen.

Linda, thanks much for speaking with me today.

You're welcome, and thank you for having me.


For more information, you can contact the Weatherhead Admissions Office at (216) 368-2030 or check out the school's Web site at http://weatherhead.cwru.edu