MBA Insider: Admissions Q&A March 25, 2008, 5:02PM EST

McCombs: Improved by Its Students

The director of full-time MBA admissions at the Texas school says the program remains intimate despite the university's size

Christina Mabley
University of Texas at Austin

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Christina Mabley is director of full-time MBA admissions at The McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin. Christina Mabley became director of admissions for the University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business in December, 2004. She previously served as the director of alumni relations for two and a half years. A McCombs alumnus, Mabley also worked for three years in marketing at startup Garden.com, an online seed and gardening supply company whose operations closed in 2000. Mabley says the best way for applicants to learn about the school before applying is to network with alumni.

McCombs—despite being part of a large university—brags about its intimate classes (only 260 students per class) and intense team-oriented education. It came in at No. 20 in BusinessWeek's most recent ranking, and Mabley said she hopes to strengthen its international reputation by attracting more European students and continuing to reach out to Latin America. She spoke with BusinessWeek.com reporter Derek Thompson about the best time for students to apply to McCombs, recent changes to the application, and how to avoid seeming insincere in your essays. Below is an edited transcript of their conversation.

Does McCombs still use rolling admissions? Should students apply early or at any specific time to avoid the rush of applicants?

We do still use rolling admissions. Just before mid-December is a good time for students to apply if they are looking for a quick turnaround. Our first deadline is Nov. 1, and that's suggested because we're rolling. Our second mark is Jan. 1. So sometime between them, like mid-December, we might have the quickest turnaround.

How many spots open up every year?

We bring in a class of 260. That's a set number.

When is the final application deadline?

Apr. 1. It's usually about a six-week turnaround at that point. There are some variables in terms of how long it can take to set up an interview.

Which applicants do you interview?

We interview 100% of our pool. An interview is required. We have on-campus interviews, which can be with second-year students or admissions staff. We also have off-campus alumni who conduct interviews from time to time. In the very rare occasion that a country is involved where we can't contact an alumnus, we'll do a phone interview with that student.

McCombs has been known for an emphasis on high tech and entrepreneurship. Do you still draw heavy interest from those areas?

Those are actually older areas of focus for us. They have been historically strong, but the majority of our students [now] focus on finance, marketing, and consulting. That's where we really see students heading after school. A lot of our students are interested in the entrepreneurial spirit, and they'll take that forward with them. We do have a strong IT department and operations, but recently it has not been a singular focus of the school.

What's the split between in-state and out-of-state students? And what about international?

In-state is 32% of our school. And out-of-state is 43%. Our international students make up 25%. Among our top international draws, we tend to see Korea, India, China, and Mexico. Europe is an area where we are interested in expanding and have seen some development this year. Latin America has always been strong, and we continue to cultivate that area as well.

Does McCombs have a particularly strong relationship with Latin America?

We have partnerships with some of the top B-schools in Latin America. We do exchange programs with them. We have a spring trip where students can go to Chile and Brazil and visit our partner schools in those areas as well as visit local companies. We also bring in students from those programs to study here.