Haas Deadlines & Essays for 2007

UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business has published its application calendar and essay questions for fall 2007 admissions.

Deadlines and notification dates for 2007 are:

Round 1 - November 6, 2006 (with notification by January 29, 2007)
Round 2 - December 11, 2006 (with notification by March 19, 2007)
Round 3 - January 31, 2007 (with notification by April 30, 2007)
Round 4 - March 12, 2007 (with notification by May 14, 2007)

Essay questions are posted to the admissions section of Haas' website (http://mba.haas.berkeley.edu/fall2007.html).

Aiming for I-Banking? Here's What to Expect

Investment banking is always high on the list of MBA students' career preferences. The Wall Street Journal's Career Journal recently offered aspiring I-bankers some pointers on what to expect during and after business school. Here are the main points from that article, along with some of our own comments (in italics):

Getting hired: Most investment banks recruit staff through their summer internship programs. If you want to use your MBA as a platform to launch into investment banking, make sure you attend a program that includes a summer internship (i.e., a two-year, full-time MBA program). Take the time to research which firms recruit at which schools, and select the schools you apply to accordingly.

Salary and benefits: An MBA hired by an investment bank as an associate in early 2006 could expect a compensation package of about $185,000, a New York City pay consultant told the Journal. Wharton and Chicago's 2005 employment reports said that MBA grads from those schools who went into investment banking or brokerages received a median annual salary of $95,000 plus a sign-on bonus of about $30,000. The schools' employment reports would not include annual bonuses for performance, which, according to the Journal, can range from $70,000 to $190,000.

Career perks: Many investment bankers enjoy the amount of responsibility they get to take on early in their careers. Investment firms often provide their hard-working staff with morale boosters such as a company gym; concierge, meal, and car services; and free or discounted sports and theater tickets.

Career downsides: Long hours. 70 hours a week is typical. Hours are often intense as well as long, with bankers working through weekends and holidays. Another issue to be aware of is that most investment banks do not include pension plans in their benefit packages -- so bankers have to count on budgeting part of their generous salaries for retirement savings.

Source: "The Perks and Drawbacks of Being an Investment Banker," by Aja Carmichael - the Wall Street Journal Career Journal, May 24, 2006

Yale Alumni Network Tops 5,000

The Yale School of Management graduated its 5,000th MBA student in the School's annual commencement ceremony on May 22.

Dean Joel M. Podolny, in his address to students, faculty, and family members gathered for the ceremony, said, “With 5,000 alumni spread out around the world, SOM is truly coming into its own. Soon you will be receiving your Yale diplomas, and you will officially be part of the worldwide SOM alumni body. It is a group that is strong and growing, just as our School is strong and growing, and committed to taking a leadership role in the future of management education.”

The Yale SOM Class of 2006 consists of 215 students from the U.S. and 23 other countries. Graduates are going on to positions with a range of employers, including Google, Morgan Stanley, McKinsey, PepsiCo, Deloitte Consulting, Unilever, Merrill Lynch, Microsoft, and Lehman Brothers.

Source: "Yale School of Management Marks 5,000th Graduate at 2006 Commencement" - press release, Yale School of Management (New Haven, CT), May 22, 2006

MBA Applications to UCLA Grow By 10-12%

Applications to the full-time MBA program at UCLA's Anderson School of Management increased by 10 to 12 per cent in 2005-2006, Dean Judy Olian told the Financial Times in a recent interview.

The School is planning for an incoming class of 360 first-year students this fall, which is 11 per cent larger than Anderson's first-year classes have typically been.

There was even greater growth in applications to Anderson's part-time MBA program. Olian said that part-time application volume grew by 40 per cent over last year.

Olian, who took over the deanship at Anderson in January 2006, said she was drawn to UCLA by the intellectual environment. "When you are in the business of knowledge, UCLA is at the top,” she said. She added that the University of California system is “the greatest university system in the world,” with a strong governance system that maintains high academic standards.

Olian also noted that California is an ideal setting for a business school. The size of the state's economy and population guarantee a strong foundation for business studies and a steady stream of talent. California also offers strong biosciences, real estate, and media and entertainment sectors. Above all, California has been the seat of entrepreneurial culture in the U.S. "I think the entrepreurial company will be the corporate model of the 21st century," Olian said.

One of Olian's priorities as Dean is to recruit outstanding faculty. To date she has brought at least 8 new professors to Anderson, bringing the total number of faculty to 78. She said she would continue to seek to attract top academic talent to the School.

Source: "Member of a Club of Two," by Della Bradshaw - the Financial Times, May 15, 2006

Tags: UCLA, Anderson School of Management

'06 MBA Grads Getting More Job Offers, Higher Salaries

The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) reports that this year's MBA grads are seeing more job offers and higher salary and bonus packages than their predecessors were a year ago.

GMAC's survey of b-school graduates found that the average starting salary offered to this year's MBAs was $92,360, compared to $88,626 in 2005.

Two-thirds of job offers included a bonus with an average value of $17,603.

52 per cent of 2006 graduates said they had received a job offer while they were still in school. That figure was 50 per cent in 2005, 42 per cent in 2004, and 36 per cent in 2003.

Almost 66 per cent of survey respondents rated their MBA program as an outstanding or excellent value. 29 per cent described their program as a good value.

The GMAC survey collected data from 6,139 students at 147 business schools in the U.S. and abroad.

Tepper Awards Entrepreneurial Fellowships to Y1 Students

The Tepper School of Business has selected 12 first-year MBA students as the recipients of the School's first Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellowships.

The students will work in paid summer internships at entrepreneurial firms this year while receiving close mentorship from Tepper faculty and the company's CEO or another top executive. Next year, the students will complete a team-based project in another entrepreneurial company during their final semester of classes. These internships will take place across the U.S., but all of the students will begin the fellowship program in Silicon Valley.

The James R. Swartz Entrepreneurial Fellowship Program was established with a gift from Tepper alumnus James R. Swartz, co-founder of the Palo Alto-based venture capital firm Accell Partners. Swartz said that the Fellowship Program was designed to give outstanding students direct exposure to the entrepreneurial and venture capital sectors.

Source: "CMU Creates Fellowship with Ties to Silicon Valley" - Pittsburgh Business Times, May 18, 2006

Fuqua Devotes $40M to Improve Academic Facilities

The Duke University Board of Trustees has approved a plan to expand the building that houses the Fuqua School of Business.

The plan includes construction of a $40 million addition to the Keller Center. The addition will provide additional classrooms, team meeting rooms, and expanded space for the business library. Construction will begin this fall and should be completed by July 2008.

The renovations are meant to improve the academic experience of Fuqua students, Associate Dean for Marketing and Communications Mike Hemmerich told the campus paper.

Dean Douglas Bredeen noted recently that, with the expansion of Fuqua's programs in leadership, nonprofits, ethics, entrepreneurship, and health care management, the School was in urgent need of additional classroom and study space.

Source: "Fuqua to Get $40M Facelift," by Ryan McCartney - The Duke Chronicle, May 18, 2006

The WE Factor and Your MBA Investment

One of the most commonly heard questions about business school admissions is, "How much work experience do I need to get into b-school?"

It's often followed by one of the most commonly heard objections to b-school admissions, which is, "Four (or five, or even six or seven) years! Why do I have to wait that long? I'm ready for my MBA now!"

In fact, the amount of work experience that a student needs to benefit from an MBA program is an eternally debated question. Expectations go up and down over time. About fifteen years ago, b-schools began looking for applicants with more work experience, and the median figure went up to about seven years. More recently, business schools have made an effort to reach out to younger applicants, with some going so far as to actively recruit people just a year or two out of college. (Some people say this move is meant to encourage minorities and women to enter MBA programs; others say it's a way to shore up shrinking applicant pools. There's probably some truth to both arguments.)

As with many other controversial aspects of MBA admissions, the question that applicants should ask themselves here is not, "What is right?" or "What is normal?," but rather, "What makes sense for me?"

An MBA is a professional degree. It has a practical rather than an academic orientation. You need maturity and judgment in addition to smarts to do well in your studies and after you graduate. The skills and methods you'll learn won't mean much to you if you don't have the experience to understand the situations you'll have to apply them in.

Moreover, recruiters prefer MBAs with prior work experience. A recent Wall Street Journal/Harris Interactive poll found that employers' biggest gripe with b-school hires is that too many of them lack the experience they need to hit the ground running as managers. That means that even if you get into Wharton or Chicago or Stanford with just a couple of years of work experience, you'll be at a disadvantage when it comes to hiring. Classmates with four or five years of experience will be well ahead of you -- and for good reason.

Your MBA degree is probably going to be the biggest financial investment you make in your life except for real estate. You owe it to yourself to make sure you realize the best possible return on that investment. One way to do that is to wait to go to b-school until you've accumulated enough experience to get the most out of your program and to be a prize catch in recruiters' eyes.

Of course, you won't be the only person deciding whether you have enough work experience to perform in b-school or not. Admissions committees will judge you on that score, too. They will be more inclined to admit you if you seem like someone who's ready to take full advantage of a top MBA education.

How do admissions committees make that judgment? It's based largely on what you write in your essays. Admissions committees look for evidence that you're thoughtful about your work experience and are thinking intelligently and realistically about your future. They're also looking for signs that you're reflective, resilient, principled, and disciplined -- in other words, a grown-up. This is one more reason why it's not just what you put in your essays, but the skill and strategy with which you present it, that counts in MBA admission decisions.

A Stern Grad's Survival Tips for MBA Moms

When - and how - to balance MBA study with family needs is a question that poses a dilemma for many professional women. Shonna Keogan, an upcoming graduate of Stern's part-time MBA program who had her first child about a year into the program and who will give birth to her second a few months after receiving her degree, gave her advice for MBA moms in the May 9 edition of the Stern Opportunity:

1. Enlist support from your spouse, family, and friends. Keogan says it was often "the little things" her husband did, like dropping off her assignments at school, that got her through the rough periods.

2. Arrange flexible employment -- meaning a job that allows you some control over your schedule and accommodates employees who need time to see to family and medical business.

3. Set realistic expectations. You're not going to be able to maintain a 4.0 GPA and participate in all of the school's social events and fulfill your duties as a parent at the same time.

4. Keep family and work separate. When it's time to be with your family, put work out of your mind and focus on your family. When it's time to be at work, put your family out of your mind and focus on your work.

Keogan writes that the flexibility of Stern's part-time program was perfect for her needs. Saturday classes, intensive classes, and independent study were some of the options that allowed her to pursue a quality MBA education while fulfilling her family and business responsibilities.

Chicago GSB 2007 Deadlines

The Chicago Graduate School of Business has released its application deadlines for 2007 admissions.

The deadlines are:

Round 1 - October 18, 2006 (notification by January 4, 2007)
Round 2 - January 10, 2007 (notification by March 28)
Round 3 - March 14 (notification by May 16)

Recruiters Prefer Full-Time MBA Programs

One of the first questions that anyone pursuing an MBA degree runs up against is what kind of program they should enroll in: full-time, part-time, or EMBA?

Each one of these options has its strengths. The answer to the ‘which program?’ question depends on who is making the choice and what their reasons for getting an MBA are.

But if you ask corporate recruiters for their opinion on MBA programs, their answer is unequivocal: they strongly prefer full-time graduates.

The internship component of full-time programs is a large part of the reason for this. Full-time MBA students almost always take a paid summer internship during the summer between their first and second year of classes. These internships are valuable to students and employers alike. Students get a chance to put classroom knowledge to work, and to get a taste of what it is really like to work in a particular field or industry. Employers get a chance to size up prospective hires – in fact, career services officers at b-schools across the country have said that a growing proportion of graduates’ job offers stem from such internships.

Even companies that do not hire MBA interns value the experience that full-time students gain through internships and the recent, targeted employer recommendations they are able to give. That’s one reason why major corporations scout for management talent through the career services offices of the top b-schools.

Career goals should be the main factor that b-school applicants consider when they make the ‘which program?’ choice.

Part-time programs are a suitable choice for people who are happy with their present employer and hoping to move up in the same company. They can also be a good option for people who want an MBA education to plan and start their own business.

EMBA degrees are, of course, meant for mid-career professionals who are already on the management track at their current employer and who plan to stay there. Typically, career services are neither expected by EMBA students nor provided by EMBA programs.

But people who want to change employers or industries are much better served by enrolling in a full-time, two-year MBA program. Their internship will give them the relevant work experience they need to convince prospective employers that they can perform at the management level. They will also benefit from the alumni network they plug in to and the superior career services support that top b-schools provide to full-time students.

This advice is not always what prospective MBAs want to hear. The cost of attending business school for two years, full time, is daunting, as is the prospect of possibly having to move to another city to attend b-school. But the fact that someone is willing to do those things to gain a management education is seen as a sign of career commitment by many employers. Keep in mind, too, that full-time program graduates have better job prospects and receive higher salary offers than part-time grads typically do. That difference should, in a few short years, compensate you for the sacrifices you make to attend school full-time.

Stanford 2007 Application Calendar

The Stanford Graduate School of Business has posted its 2007 application deadlines to its admissions website.

Round One - 25 October 2006 (notification by 18 January 2007)
Round Two - 10 January 2007 (notification by 5 April)
Round Three - 14 March 2007 (notification by 10 May)

All application materials must be received (not just postmarked) by 5 p.m. Pacific Time on the deadline date.

According to Stanford's admissions newsletter, the application and essay questions for 2007 will be somewhat different than those used in 2006. Applicants can use the 2006 material to get an idea of what to expect in this year's application, but should wait until 2007 materials are available to prepare and submit their applications.

The admissions office plans to post 2007 essay questions to Stanford's website by early June. Application materials will be available online by early August.

Wharton Global Alumni Forum to Be Held in Istanbul

Wharton's next Global Alumni Forum will be held in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 8 and 9.

This is the first time that Wharton has held such a meeting in Turkey. Previous Global Alumni Forums were held in London, Paris, Berlin, Munich, and Moscow. The Forums are a chance for Wharton alumni to learn about business opportunities and to meet business and government leaders in world economic and business centers.

Mehmet Habbab, chairman of Delta Petrol Group Companies and a Wharton alumnus, is chair of the Forum's Organizing Committee. Other Wharton alumni who will speak at the Forum are Tarek Sultan Al-Essa, managing director of PWC Logistics, and Mohammed Alshaya, CEO of the Alshaya Group. Kürsad Tüzmen, foreign trade minister of Turkey, will also address the meeting.

Wharton's international alumni network currently includes about 300 alumni in the Middle East, 200 in Africa, and 3,000 in Europe.

Source: "Wharton School to Hold First-Ever Global Alumni Forum in Istanbul." Press release, the Wharton School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 25 April 2006.

Technorati tags: Wharton

UC San Diego Brings INSEAD Exec Ed to US

A new partnership between INSEAD and UC San Diego's Rady School of Management is bringing some the European school's highly regarded executive management courses to the US for the first time.

Philip M. Parker, professor of innovation, business and strategy at INSEAD and a respected expert on global competitive strategy, will come to San Diego to teach "Business Strategy for Human Resource Leaders" from June 5 to 7.

In January, the Rady School will offer "Telecommunications Strategy and Marketing," another INSEAD course that has been popular with European companies and executives.

Additional INSEAD courses will be offered through the Rady School in the future.

Source: "Rady School to Partner with INSEAD," the San Diego Daily Transcript, May 3, 2006

2006 "A Great Year" for Haas Grads, Career Service Director Says

Abby Scott, the executive director of career services at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, says that 2006 is "shaping up to be a great year for our Berkeley MBA students. They are getting more offers and more competitive salaries than last year."

Corportate recruiting of Haas MBA grads is up by 38 per cent from last year. At least three out of four students graduating from the full-time MBA program this spring have already received job offers. Salary offers are higher than they were a year ago, with average base salary offers approaching $100,000.

Consulting and technology are the top recruiters of this year's MBA grads. 33 students have already accepted offers from consulting firms including McKinsey, Deloitte, Bain & Company, and Boston Consulting Group. Yahoo!, Google, Amazon.com, and Microsoft are the top tech employers, and reported to be out-bidding other recruiters for top graduates.

The finance sector has also been an active recruiter at Haas this year. Fidelity Investments, Lehman Brothers, Banc of America Securities, and Wells Fargo Bank are among the companies that have interviewed on campus and offered jobs to graduating students.

Source: "Berkeley MBA Graduates Gain from a Thriving Job Market" - Haas NewsWire, May 1, 2006

PT Application Volume Up 40% at Kellogg

The number of applications for summer 2006 entry to Kellogg's part-time The Manager's Program is reported to have grown by 40 per cent over last year.

Kellogg designed The Manager's Program to meet the educational needs of business professionals working in the Chicago area. Graduates follow the same coursework and learn from the same faculty that full-time Kellogg MBA students do, graduating in two and a half to five years with a Kellogg MBA. Applicants -- who must present proof of full-time employment, and who must maintain full-time employment throughout the program -- can enroll in any quarter. (For more information, go to www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/tmp/index.htm.)

Application volume to MBA programs across the country has grown significantly over the last year, driven by a healthy economy and improved job prospects for b-school graduates. Although it is still too early for most schools to report final statistics for the 2005-2006 application season, preliminary figures show that application volume rose at top schools. The Chicago Graduate School of Business estimates that its application volume is at least a third higher than it was last year. Yale reported an almost 10 per cent increase in applications, and Tuck and Goizueta officials have spoken of 40 per cent application growth.

Business school application volume still has a way to go before it returns to the peak levels that were seen half a decade ago. However, given continuing good news on the economic and job fronts, it's safe to assume that application volume will rise again this coming year. Applicants for fall 2007 admissions to top MBA programs are bound to see more competition than those two or three years ahead of them did -- but that difficulty is all but certain to be offset by a greater number of job offers and even more generous compensation packages.