Drawing Them to Dallas

Each year, Patti Cudney and her team can only admit 100 students to the full-time MBA program at Southern Methodist University's Cox School of Business in Dallas. Finding people who are ready to be actively involved both inside and outside the classroom is key, says Cudney, the director of MBA admissions.

To attract those kinds of candidates, she's applying her own business acumen. Cudney likens her task to a sales and marketing job. "You're constantly thinking of ways to reach out to audiences, talking to them about benefits of the program," says Cudney.

She should know. Cudney herself earned her MBA in marketing from the Indiana University Kelley School of Business in 2004. She came on as associate director for MBA admissions at Cox in May 2004 and was promoted to director in February. She also holds a BA in political science from the University of California at Berkeley, and in between, she worked for a small public relations and government affairs consulting firm in San Francisco.

Cudney recently spoke with BusinessWeek Online reporter Jeffrey Gangemi. Here are edited excerpts of their conversation:

How is application volume this year?
Through the first two -- out of four -- rounds, we've seen an 8% to 10% increase in applications from last year at this time (see BW Online, 12/7/05, "First Round Frenzy"). Not only are we getting more applications, but the quality of applicants, both their educational and professional backgrounds, is fantastic. Also, we're seeing many people who have really done their homework and are targeting our program for the right reasons.

Is it always better to apply early?
We want to see an application that best represents the candidate. However, in a couple of instances, we would recommend trying to meet specific deadlines (see BW Online, 12/6/05, "Timing MBA Application Submissions"). We encourage international students, who have to secure a student visa, to apply as early as possible. We also give priority for scholarship opportunities to those who apply by our Mar. 15 deadline.

What kinds of students find SMU to be a great fit?
We are a small program with only 100 students per class. It's really a tight-knit community here, and we're looking for people who want to be an active part of the program from Day One. People who are looking to learn not only in the classroom but also in...

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