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FEBRUARY 5, 2002 CHAT TRANSCRIPT A Chat with Haas's Admissions Directors Members of the MBA admissions staff at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, along with a second-year student, with tips on getting into the program Haas School of Business (No. 18 on BusinessWeek's 2000 Top 30 B-school list). Johnson manages international MBA admissions and Pihakis handles domestic applications. Marjorie DeGraca is director of part-time MBA [http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/01/part_time_profiles/haas.htm] admissions. Nate Kraft is a second-year MBA at Haas, as well as a BusinessWeek Online MBA Journal writer. Johnson, Pihakis, DeGraca, and Kraft's joined BW Online's Jack Dierdorff and Mica Schneider for a live BusinessWeek Online chat on Feb. 13. Following are edited excerpts from the discussion: Q: Jett and Pete, you've experienced a wild start to this application season. Your first-round deadlines for submitting applications have passed. Can you sum up what you've learned after reading the first batches of applications? Johnson: Well, as you know, we saw a significant increase in round one applications -- up approximately 90% over last year's round one. There are a lot of factors influencing this, including the shaky economy and people who feel that this may be the right time to go back to beef up their skills. Q: Marjorie, the economy is sending plenty of people running to full-time MBA programs. Are applications to Haas's part-time MBA program up as well? Are companies willing to sponsor part-time students in a recession? DeGraca: Yes, we are seeing applications rise to the part-time program, but I'm not expecting the same dramatic increase as the full-time program. Companies are still willing to sponsor part-time students, though I have to say it's getting harder for companies to justify educational expenses these days. Q: How do you look upon full-time undergraduate work experience? Is it counted or figured into the acceptance process? Pihakis: We certainly consider full-time and even part-time work experience completed during undergraduate years, as the number of hours spent per week on such activities help to account for the time that an applicant spends outside of class. In evaluating work experience, we tend to focus more so on postgraduate experience, as we have found that such experience is typically more demanding than experiences completed prior to earning a Bachelor's degree. Q: Haas applications were up 90% prior to round-two decisions. What are the latest numbers, and how many offers have been made? What percent have accepted their offer? Johnson: At this time, we have made offers to 132 applicants from round one, and we have a number of round-one applicants on our wait list. We don't ask that they respond to our offer yet, as we want them to take advantage of opportunities to visit campus again, attend one of our admitted student weekends, and talk to faculty, students, and alumni. Although we have about 10 who have already told us that they intend to accept, we're not pushing for the deposit checks yet! Q: What are the application and admit numbers for part-time applicants? Are there currently part-time MBA applicants on the waiting list? DeGraca: We're just getting under way for part-time applications. We actually haven't extended any offers of admissions yet, as the first deadline was Dec. 1, and we will be getting back to applicants on Mar. 15. So no one is on the waiting list yet. Q: Nate, what are Haas's academic strengths? Kraft: I think the core strengths of the program are the overall skill set the core classes provide and then, on the margin, the special benefits that the Bay Area has to offer. For instance, access to technology and Silicon Valley. Q: Are there opportunities to work or interact with some of those local companies? Kraft: Yes, Haas has a very strong relationship with all the major technology, consulting, and banking companies. As students, we get to interact with them in classes, during industry events like "firm nights," and across other relationship-development events put on by both the faculty and the career-center staff. Q: Is there any change in the admission of international students this year? Johnson: Not at this point. We appear to have a pretty strong international pool this year -- we usually do. We are watching closely to see what impact some of the financial crises in the world economy will have on our pool this year. (The situation in Argentina, for example.) We expect about one-third of our class to be composed of international students, as it usually is. Q: How are internships and job offers looking for first- and second-year MBAs? Kraft: Haas faces the same situation that all the other major B-schools are in...jobs are scarce, for both first- and second-year MBAs. I think, though, that we are starting to see a turnaround in the market. Over the past few weeks, I've been hearing from my classmates and from our esteemed career center that the tide seems to be turning. That said, it is a really tough year for everyone. Particularly in some of the standard Haas [recruitment areas,] like tech, consulting, banking. DeGraca: One of the unique things about the Haas program is that part-timers also have great access to the career center. There is even a dedicated full-time adviser for part-time MBAs. Q: If you are a permanent resident of the U.S. but not a citizen, are you viewed as an international applicant? Johnson: Not really. It isn't really significant in that we don't reserve certain numbers of places for specific types of individuals, we simply offer admission to those that we feel are particularly strong applicants. For that reason, the numbers from different countries, cities, states, professional backgrounds, etc., will vary from year to year. We often get this question from applicants who are concerned that we have a required number of California residents or something, and the answer is that we do not. Q: Why does Berkeley ask about which other schools you are applying to? Pihakis: We ask that question only to get a sense of who our competitors are. We absolutely do not use this information in making our admissions decisions. Q: Do you feel that a CFA and an MBA are redundant for a career in finance? Along those same lines, how do you view an applicant who is involved in the CFA program? Johnson: They are absolutely not redundant! I shouldn't really speak to the CFA question, as it is not relevant to my position, but what we hear from employers and applicants in the finance/financial-services/banking industries is that the MBA is still very much valued. For an applicant who is involved in the CFA program, we consider it as another indication of that individual's skills, abilities, and motivation. Having earned the CFA designation is certainly a positive factor. In terms of comparing them, they are really very different things. An MBA is a much broader educational experience. Q: Last year how many Consortium for Graduate Study in Management (CGSM) fellowships did Haas offer? Pihakis: I believe we offered the fellowship to approximately 12 individuals last year. Q: Are Consortium fellowships offered to part-time MBAs? DeGraca: I believe these fellowships are only offered to full-time MBAs. The part-time program, however, does offer some need-based grants. Q: How is the search for the new dean coming along? And how's life without Dean Laura Tyson? Johnson: The search for the dean is well under way, and the search committee has been meeting to discuss candidates. It is a bit premature to discuss it, though, as the application deadline for submitting candidates has not yet passed. There is a university-wide search committee that includes individuals from the business school, the chancellor's office, and other divisions of UC Berkeley. Ultimately, the committee will make a recommendation to the chancellor, who will have the ultimate decision. Life without Dean Tyson is a bit different, although we have a great interim dean, Ben Hermalin, who has been a member of the Haas faculty for a number of years and is very well liked. I hope that LBS appreciates how much of a coup they scored by getting Laura. Q: I have been waitlisted in round one. I sent in another letter to express my genuine interest, and arranged for an interview next week. What else should I do to strengthen my case? Pihakis: One of the things that you can do is to submit another letter of recommendation (or two), if you feel that these will provide information not already provided in your application. You can also retake your GMAT and/or TOEFL exams, if you feel your scores are below our average. If you feel that your quantitative skills may be in question, you can retake the GMAT focusing on your quantitative section, or you can enroll in a course in statistics or calculus. Q: What is Haas looking for in its required short and long essays? What's one of the more memorable responses to the "dinner" question? [Editor's note: In Haas' MBA application, applicants are asked to respond to eight questions in a "short answer section." The dinner question is, 'If you could have dinner with one individual, past or present, who would it be? What would you order?'] Pihakis: We are simply looking to get to know our applicants better, to find out what makes you tick, what you're passionate about. It's amazing how much information we can get from these questions. The best advice that I can give you in terms of how to answer these is to be yourself, be honest, and write about things that you care about deeply. You want the admissions committee to get a sense of who you really are. Do not attempt to get in the heads of the admissions committee, and do not tell us what you think we want to hear. Too many candidates do this, and it is typically very transparent. I always suggest that our applicants write these essays as if they are writing in their journals at the end of the day. You can even have a glass of wine or a cup of tea, something to relax you, when you write them. Johnson: I think the applicant who wanted to have "bloomin' onions" with Jesus was one of the more novel ones I have seen this year! In terms of what we do look for in the "dinner" answer, the most important thing is your motivation for who you select and what it says about you and your goals, motivation, and personality. Q: If you do not submit a recommendation from an immediate supervisor because you do not want to inform them about your MBA application, will it adversely affect your application? Pihakis: It will not adversely affect your application, but you should be certain to explain why you have chosen not to do so. You should also be certain to secure a letter from a former supervisor or two, as we are extremely interested in hearing what your supervisors have to say about you. In terms of letting us know why you have not secured a letter from your current boss, you can write that in the optional essay. DeGraca: It's a little different for the part-timers. Work experience is especially important, and given that you aren't likely to be leaving your current employer, we really do want to see a recommendation (or two) from your direct supervisor. Q: I understand the value of submitting an application early in the process, but as an individual who is working to complete an application right now, I am concerned about my potential for acceptance in the final round. Is this a factor I should consider? Pihakis: Yes, that is a factor that you should consider, as our applications have gone up quite a bit this year. It is always best to apply earlier, if possible. Q: What goes through your mind when you see a transcript that has a cumulative grade point average (GPA) of 3.54, when the first two years of college were horrible and the last two were absolutely stellar? Johnson: Well, it is certainly better to have the trend going in that direction rather than the other way! Typically, what we are looking for is evidence that someone has sufficient academic skills to be successful in our program and to be competitive with other applicants. Since this is based on a variety of factors, including the undergraduate grades, its importance depends on a review of the entire file and all of the strengths and weaknesses that are expressed in it. Q: Is it possible that Haas will admit more people this year because of an increase of applicants? Pihakis: No, we do not plan to take a larger class this year. One of the things Haas prides itself on is the close-knit, family-like community of our students, faculty, and staff. We feel that we benefit tremendously from this intimate community in many ways. In addition, we simply do not have the physical space to accommodate a larger class, even if we wanted to. Q: Nate, what are some common complaints that Haas MBAs have about the B-school, aside from the fact that cell-phone reception isn't great? Kraft: The best and worst thing about Haas is the level of student involvement in all areas of campus life. Haas has one of the most involved student bodies of all the MBA programs, and we pursue changes at the school with (sometimes) wild abandon. What's great about it is that it means we have a great deal of say in how life at Haas works. What's sometimes a downside is that, because we're only here for two years, we don't necessarily have a great system for handing down institutional memory. Q: How do you evaluate reapplicants? What percentage of them do you admit? Pihakis: When we evaluate reapplicants, we are looking for substantive change in the applicant's record. Far too many people reapply in the very next year after being denied admission, and rarely have they had enough time to really demonstrate substantive change in their credentials. (The exception to this is a reapplicant who has a significant increase in test scores, of course.) I have seen a number of applicants reapply two years later and be successful. In some cases, we have even had a reapplicant two years later who is awarded a scholarship! Q: Majorie, are the interviews for part-time students by invitation only? DeGraca: Yes, we invite applicants to interview once they have turned in their applications. Typically, we interview about 70% of applicants. Q: What if someone lost his job during the part-time MBA program? Is it possible to transition to the full-time MBA program and graduate sooner? DeGraca: One of the great things about Haas is that it is possible to transfer between the programs if circumstances change. However, this is based on space availability. Also, part-timers need to have completed the core courses before getting approval to transfer from the directors of both the part-time and full-time MBA programs. But it is possible! The school is very flexible in this regard. Q: What are the biggest mistakes qualified applicants make to hurt their applications? Johnson: One mistake is not taking the application seriously. We really are interested in facets of the applicant beyond just "the numbers," and occasionally we see applicants who have strong undergrad credentials and good GMAT scores who do a poor job of describing their work experience or professional goals. We turn down a number of 780-GMAT types each year because they do not do an adequate job of helping us to understand how the program would benefit them and what they would bring to the class. Q: Is there any preference given to Berkeley undergraduates? Pihakis: No, there is no preference given to Berkeley undergraduates, although we are always impressed if you have succeeded in our undergraduate program, as we know how rigorous it is. I have heard a rumor out there that we are even TOUGHER on our own undergraduates. This couldn't be further from the truth! Q: Why choose Haas over other B-schools in the Bay area? And Nate, what other schools did you apply to? Kraft: I applied to Kellogg, UCLA, Stanford, LBS, and Tuck. (You can read all about how fun that was in my journal.) I chose Haas because of the combination of technology, entrepreneurship, and global business that I saw at the core of the school's academic heart. The other, perhaps even more important factor was the strong sense of community that Haas offers. I know just about every person in my class on more than just a first-name basis. That's a rare thing in most programs. Pihakis: I would like to add that if you have not done so already, definitely come and visit us! You will undoubtedly get a sense of the electric community here when you experience it firsthand. We have daily information sessions from 1-2 p.m. from Monday through Friday, and these are led by current students. You can also have lunch with a current student from 12-1 p.m., or attend a class or two. To arrange a visit, e-mail our Haas Student Ambassadors at hsa@haas.berkeley.edu. We'd love to have you here! Johnson: The academic, social, and professional environment here really can't be beat, and the Haas community is unlike any other that I know of. The opportunities available due to our position at one of the top universities in the world help, too!  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 Learn about your online education options |
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