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 Jan. 30, 1997, we spoke with John Silbernagel, assistant dean of admissions and financial aid at Tulane University's Freeman School of Business (a runner-up in Business Week's 1996 rankings). John began his career in admissions as a graduate assistant in 1987 while he was completing his MBA degree at the Freeman School. Over the past 10 years, he has held various positions, including MBA admissions coordinator, associate director of admissions, and director of admissions. He is an active member of the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) and has served on the Recruiting Services Task Force and the Financial Aid Advisory Group. In addition to his MBA degree, John also earned a BS in marketing from Louisiana State University. Mr. Silbernagel was interviewed by Business Week Online reporter Nadav Enbar. Here's the transcript of that discussion:

John, I understand that you earned your MBA from Tulane in 1988. So you've seen the admissions process from both sides of the fence -- as a student and as admissions director. Has the actual admissions process and the type of candidate now applying to the Freeman full-time MBA program changed drastically since your time there as a student?

Definitely on both fronts. The program has evolved quite a bit. When I was a student, the class composition was younger and had less work experience. Today, people are staying out longer garnering work experience and bringing more with them to the classroom. In addition, the international dimension of the class has changed dramatically. There were some foreign students in my class, but they were from a limited amount of countries. Forty percent of our most recent class is comprised of international students from many different countries. The Freeman School has done a lot in the international area in terms of affiliations with other schools, and all of the study and internships abroad that we have today. So that area has changed dramatically.

From the admissions side, it has certainly become much more competitive. I joke with applicants that I'm glad that I applied earlier because they wouldn't have let me in today. Generally speaking, though, today's applicants are more savvy, and that's partly due to all of the information available. When I was applying, you called the school and received a brochure. Today's applicants know what's out there. They can use the Web as a tool for investigation, and that's especially helpful for international applicants. Even 10 years ago there were very few sources of information. Guidebooks weren't as prevalent, and neither was recruitment abroad. We certainly do a lot of that today. So, I think the Web coupled with E-mail has made the application process much more accessible.

You alluded to the international aspect of the program. That's an area the school has been working hard to create a niche in -- specifically with respect to the school's international business program. Do you feel that's Freeman's chief draw?

I think it is one major component of the program that is attractive to many candidates. This program offers an international perspective to anyone -- whether it's your specific interest or not. The curriculum, internships, and study-abroad programs offer a lot of international opportunities for those who really want to delve into that area.

Do you feel that the school's finance component is it's primary strength?

From a functional standpoint, that would be our main area. It has typically been the most popular area of the program. We started a program several years ago called the Burkenroad Report, which has teams of students act as investment analysts and visit regional companies. There, they meet with management and prepare reports. That program has received a lot of attention and has provided a great experience for our students. Programs like the Burkenroad Report attract people here, specifically in the finance area.

Have programs like the Burkenroad Report positively impacted on the school's application totals?

They most certainly have. The application pool has probably doubled since I was a student and was up 15% [in 1997 over the previous year]. It's hard to compare the number of applications we're receiving this year, vs. last year, because the GMAT Computer Adaptive Test (GMAT CAT) has contributed to a different type of flow for this year's [1998] cycle -- as far as when completed files come in. It's really too early right now to say what the application total will be for this fall's class.

Tulane's MBA program is comparatively small, a factor that must also lure quality applicants...

That's right, we usually enroll about 100 students per class. We have a portfolio of programs ranging from undergraduate to PhD, and we need to manage the total size of the school. A decision was made to keep the MBA program quite small for the advantages that it provides. That decision has made it much tougher for the applicant. Last year, for example, we received 778 applications, which was, as I mentioned, up about 15% from the year before. We admitted 265 students -- roughly 34% -- for our lowest admissions rate ever. For our Class of 1999, 93 people enrolled. That means, that of the 265 applicants that we made an offer of admission to, 35% accepted. That yield has been holding fairly steady.

Our applicant pool, however, has changed a lot. As our reputation has increased, the quality of the applicant has gone up, creating a shift in the schools that we are now competing with for students. Now, we're going up against the elite B-schools. We had a lot of bottom-end applicants who have since been replaced by more qualified candidates. But, from a competitive standpoint, it's as tough as ever to get a student to enroll into our program. So we don't expect the yield to change dramatically. Our selectivity rate has really changed, however. Five years ago we probably invited 60% of our applicant pool to enroll.

The school has evolved since your time there. And from the sound of things, so, too, have the students themselves. What type of person now "fits" into the Freeman culture?

Clearly, with the small size of the program, teamwork is critical. In a broader sense, communication skills are essential. I'm looking for students who will contribute to the class. Being able to contribute comes from some professional breadth of experience. Also, with our large international population, communication skills are always an issue. Many international applicants look fine on paper but don't have the communication skills to succeed in the program.

So are you seeing the sharpest growth in applications coming from internationals [31% of the student body in 1996] -- especially because of the international course work?

Yes, definitely. For the fall class of 1997, 40% of our enrolled students are international. Furthermore, of last year's application pool, 56% were international -- that's quite significant. China has had the greatest growth. When you think about the size and population of that country, though, that's not too surprising.

What do you feel has created or contributed to Tulane's significant international presence -- recruiting, word of mouth, reputation?

It's a combination of many factors. From a recruiting standpoint we did a lot of university recruiting when I was a student. Now, we don't do any of that because we don't, in most cases, want a student coming right out of school. Five or six years ago, we started emphasizing recruiting abroad. We're now doing a lot more travel and attending MBA forums to attract top-notch international students.

Another contributing factor is the word-of-mouth effect, which tends to happen as you travel. In addition, as our number of alums grows, they are returning to their native lands and talking to their peers about the program. That's been very nice.

I think our merit-based scholarships that are available to both domestic and international students also help on the international recruitment front because for many international applicants, that's a critical factor. While some schools do not consider international students for scholarship, we will.

What are this year's application deadlines?

I don't always like to talk about deadlines because we are on a rolling admissions process -- we begin reviewing files in September and continue evaluating applications throughout the year. The late deadline for international applicants is Apr. 1, and for domestic applicants it's May 1. But I would never encourage anybody to wait to submit their file anywhere close to those dates. As a general rule, the earlier you get your application in to us, the better.

As I mentioned, what has changed things this year is the GMAT CAT (the computer adaptive GMAT test that was recently implemented in October, 1997). There used to be only four times a year that students could take the GMAT. Now, candidates have much greater flexibility and can take the test weekly (Editor's Note: The GMAT CAT is administered every day of the week, the last three weeks of every month). That means that we're getting GMAT results weekly. From a work-flow end that has been great.

What elements of the application do you look most closely at? Is there any one variable that you tend to attach more weight to?

We look at and evaluate the different elements of an application as one aggregate package. There are six components we'll look at: the candidate's academic background (GPA and transcripts); the GMAT; two letters of recommendation; essays; a resume to look at an individual's work experience; and the interview. Of course, for international students, we require them to send in their TOEFL (Test Of English as a Foreign Language) results.

The importance of any one factor will greatly depend on the candidate and the other credentials that are in his or her file. For example, if someone has an academic background that includes no quant work, and his job responsibilities have no quant background, then his quant skills might be looked at more closely. It really does depend on the candidate. For many international candidates, it may depend on their verbal skills. For a candidate coming straight out of undergrad, their grades and GMAT scores are much more important. Overall though, for the common applicant, everything in their file is reviewed fairly equally.

Do you use any sort of a cutoff when appraising an applicant's GMAT score?

No, I don't use any sort of cutoff. The range of last year's score was 490 - 740. So, there's a wide disparity, just like in our students' GPAs and work experience.

How are you now assessing those who have taken the GMAT multiple times -- a situation that seems destined to increase with the advent of the GMAT CAT?

Our policy has always been to consider the highest score. When the GMAT went to the CAT, we thought about these possible effects. If someone applying for fall entrance in September is rejected, they --from talking to us -- can identify that the GMAT was the weak point in their file. And if they choose to retake the GMAT CAT, we will reconsider one additional score for that fall cycle. The same applies for a waitlist situation.

We're not going to reevaluate a candidate every month that they retake the test, though. In my view, when a candidate takes the test, you don't know whether the result reflects their best effort. Seeing two scores really does provide a lot more information -- especially if they are the same score, or if there's just a 10-20 point difference. It really does give me an idea of their aptitude.

Freeman tries to interview nearly 100% of its applicants, uncovering the communication-skills angle. How does the interview fit into your overall evaluation of applicants?

Our policy is that we require the interview if you are in the U.S. at the time of your application. All domestic applicants are interviewed. For a variety of reasons, we have not been able to require the interview for our international applicants. International interviews have certainly increased, though, in proportion to the amount of time we're now spending on the road at MBA Forums and private receptions. We do a lot of phone interviews as well.

We really encourage applicants to come to campus for their interview because they'll gain a lot more from the experience. We just can't duplicate that campus experience by meeting students at MBA Forums or talking to them over the phone. Candidates put themselves at no disadvantage, however, if they do a phone interview.

As far as the interview itself goes, we do a completely blind interview. We don't review any of their credentials before they interview because we want to go into it with no bias. If a domestic applicant comes in for the interview with all of his or her credentials, it will not be reviewed. That's not the case for international applicants, however -- for international students, the committee may request an interview after having reviewed their files.

Are most of your international applicants asked to interview?

For the most part that is happening much more. As the quality of our international pool has increased, the interview, in some cases, has become the deciding factor. For example, our applicants from China all tend to have a good amount of work experience, a high GMAT score, and solid grades. Much of the time, the interview and the candidates' ability to communicate and express themselves in English becomes the deciding factor.

How can applicants best prepare themselves for the interview?

I think it's definitely a two-way process. We want to get to know the person behind the application. We're not into stress interviews. There aren't any tricks. I would encourage the applicant to be very comfortable.

Obviously, you need to be prepared to talk about your background and what you can bring to the program. Many people do not have a sharp enough focus about why they want the MBA degree. To be successful, you need to have that focus. It's also important to know as much as you can about the school that you are applying to. Why do you want to get an MBA at the Freeman School? Don't just give the appearance that you're presenting a generic application to 10 schools. Also, dress professionally -- you'd think that is a given, although it doesn't always happen.

Who interviews at the Freeman School?

For the full-time MBA program, there are three people on the admissions committee: myself; our director of admissions, Bill Sandefer; and then our director of graduate education, Mignon Coulter. Occasionally the dean and associate dean join us to review a particular file that we are having problems making a decision on. We have candidates interview with someone who will be participating in the final decision. And we'll gladly hook people up with students or faculty if they have questions. At this point, we don't use any students to help us with the interviews -- just our professional staff and the program director [who is the adviser to MBA students] interview.

How many essays must Freeman applicants submit?

We require applicants to complete two essays. U.S. candidates may submit only one, but internationals must respond to both. Because the interview is not an absolute requirement for international applicants, we want to give them more opportunities to tell about themselves, shed more light on the differing aspects of their personality.

We used to have many more essays in the application before we required the interview. But we cut them back once we introduced the requirement. Also, now with the AWA [the Analytical Writing Assessment, a component of the GMAT test that was implemented three years ago], we can glean more about their writing style. It's interesting to compare the applicant's essays to their AWA. If their essays are flawless but they can't complete a sentence on the AWA, then you know they didn't write their essays.

What do the essays entail?

We changed them this year. As I mentioned, domestic applicants can choose from among two essay questions. The first one asks applicants to describe their ideal job after completing the Tulane MBA program. In that question, we want them to describe their role and responsibilities, discuss their co-workers' responsibilities, and demonstrate how their past experiences support their goals. We're looking for focus and realism, for how likely their plan is bound to happen.

The second essay is a bit different and more fun. It asks the applicant to assemble a small group of people to tour their country with the president of a major corporation. Who would they choose to guide the dignitary and what sites would they see? What message would the dignitary draw from the experience?

Thus far, 98% of our domestic applicants answer the first question. The second question is obviously more geared toward the international candidates.

How many recommendations do you require?

Two. We certainly accept additional recommendations if they are appropriate. The key factors with recommendations are to choose appropriate people. I definitely have a preference for recommenders who have worked closely with candidates on the job or in the classroom. We joke about "celebrity recs," which are those recommendations filled out by people who have no connection to the applicant. They're usually candid about not knowing the applicant, and that really hurts, because what they write is critical.

We ask each recommender to mark the several check boxes on the form, and to also attach a brief letter addressing the applicant's suitability for the program. Many international recommendations will come in with all of the boxes checked, but with no letter. That may reflect a cultural difference, and that's not the candidate's fault. But they really need to emphasize to their recommenders how important the letter is.

Does Freeman emphasize -- in line with most of its B-school brethren -- work experience?

We do. Again, that's something that's changed dramatically over the last 10 years. The basis of a student contributing in the classroom comes from work experience. It also adds to students' focus. Recruiters will look at that past experience as well. The range has varied a lot over the years. Last year's range was 0-10 years -- which was a much tighter range than usual. The upper end has been about 25 years.

John, can you describe how Freeman's decision-making process works?

Once the application is complete, it is submitted to a member of the admissions committee -- usually to someone who did not interview the candidate. Each member reads the file individually and makes his or her own comments recommending the applicant be admitted or denied. Once each member has reviewed the file, a decision is made on a committee voting basis. The admissions committee's meeting times vary throughout the year. Right now we're meeting once a week.

What suggestions or advice can you give to prospective student out there about the best ways to go about completing the application?

I think that the most important piece of advice is to view the application as a package. You can't get fixated on one part of the package, like your GMAT or GPA. Put your best effort into each part of the application. Ensure that the committee has all of the information that they need to form a well-rounded picture of you. We give candidates a lot of flexibility in what they can provide. If you need to address anything in your file, that's fine. Just remember that once a decision is made, you can't submit anything more. So think about how best to represent yourself. Generally, through the essays, interview, and recommendations, we should have everything that we need to know about you.

We should also receive your package in a timely manner. Plan ahead. Get your tests out of the way early. Also, get the recommendations out of the way early because they take time and aren't in the candidate's control.

What's this year's tuition?

Tuition and fees, which are fixed, are $22,066 for the 1997/98 academic year.

What would you estimate the annual cost of living to be in the New Orleans area? I imagine the rent is cheap but that quite a bit of cash is dropped in the French Quarter...

New Orleans is New Orleans. The Financial Aid Office published a budget for students, saying that $11,000 would suffice for the academic year -- that encompasses health, transportation, books, etc. The room and board portion is about $7,000.

Do most of Freeman's students live on campus or off?

Almost all students live off campus. We're surrounded by housing on all sides. There's a streetcar line as well, so if you live a little farther away, you can hop on that and it will take you to the campus.

Let's change direction and talk about the main reason people go to B-school in the first place -- for a bump up in salary. Many students have complained of the lack of companies that recruit on Freeman's campus. Is that changing?

The number of companies recruiting has certainly increased. For the 1996-97 academic year, 133 companies interviewed on campus, 100 companies requested resume referrals, and 150 companies requested resume books. In addition, The Freeman School participates in seven job fairs/consortia [Atlanta MBA Consortium, New York MBA Consortium, Miami International Job Fair, Orlando International Job Fair, Black MBA Consortium, Mardi Gras Job Fair, Freeman Days in New York], and our students inteviewed with a total of 89 companies at those job fairs last year.

What new efforts has the school embarked upon to boost the quality of placement opportunities available to its students?

In terms of new efforts, the Freeman School has hired an internship coordinator who has increased internship opportunities; created a Web site for posting resumes, jobs, student job acceptances, and to give career information to students, employers, alumni, and prospective students; and implemented Academic Software's "First Place" into the Career Development Center. Also, a national search is under way for an assistant dean of career development.

The Freeman School's personal approach to career development allows each student individual counseling and mock interviews. The Career Development Center works in conjunction with the dean, faculty, and all staff to foster cooperation and to develop job prospects. We feel that communication is key to our success in this area.

Do you feel that Freeman's placement opportunities are tied largely to the Southeast region?

We certainly don't see that in terms of where our students go after the program. In fact, 20% of our class went to the West Coast, and an increasing amount of the class is being placed abroad. Like most schools, we place the largest percent of our students in the school region. We placed 35% of last year's class in the South, which is considered below Washington, D.C., to Florida to Louisiana. So it's a big chunk of the country and an area that has strong employment opportunities.

Are pay packages increasing?

Yes, that has steadily increased every year. Last year's [1997] starting salary was $60,625 (Editor's note: The average starting salary for the Class of 1996 was $56,253). You have to remember that the cost of living in the South is typically lower. If you're placing the majority of your students in L.A. or New York City, the average salary would be higher.

Payout is another area that's changed since my student days. When I graduated, the pay package averaged $34,000.

Who are your toughest competitors?

There are so many ways to measure that, but for the most part our toughest competitors are UT Austin, Georgetown, Vanderbilt, Emory, Duke, and NYU.

John, thanks for your insights, and good luck with the rest of the admissions cycle.

It was my pleasure. Thank you.


For more information, you can contact the Freeman School's admissions office at (800) 223-5402 or check out the school's Web site at http://freeman.tulane.edu