Business School Admissions

April 2006

Chicago GSB Applications Up by More Than 35%

Application volume to the Chicago Graduate School of Business is reported to be up by at least 35 per cent this year. Approximately 60 per cent of applicants were invited to interview.

Yale SOM Application Volume Up 11.8%

The Yale SOM received 2,272 applications this year, up from 2,032 last year, marking an 11.8 per cent rise in application volume. Director of Admissions Anne Coyle told the Yale Daily News that the SOM’s "focus on service" helps explain that increase, noting that Yale’s values appeal to "millennial generation" applicants. The YDN also confirmed that the SOM is limiting the size of its incoming MBA class to 180 students (a 20 per cent reduction from past class sizes) in order to facilitate revision of its core curriculum. Watch for the SOM's '06 acceptance rate to drop dramatically as a result of a larger applicant pool and a smaller first-year class.

Wharton Applicant Pool Grew by 12.2% in 2005-06

Wharton's 2005-06 graduate application volume grew by 12.2 per cent over the previous year, according to preliminary data. Most of the increase for the MBA program came from U.S. applicants, with international MBA application volume growing only by 1 per cent. The 12.2 per cent figure reflects the increased applicant pool for all three of Wharton's graduate degree programs. Exact figures for the MBA program are not yet available.

March 2006

2007 US News & World Report Rankings

The 2007 US News & World Report b-school rankings are out. The group of schools filling the top 20 slots is almost identical to last year's, with one notable exception: the University of Washington, which USNWR ranked 18 last year, has fallen all the way to 29 this year. The change in the top 20 rankings that will probably draw more attention, though, is Tuck's slide from 6 to 9. (We don't think the change means much. Tuck has been and remains an outstanding business school.)

The top 10 U.S. b-schools for 2007, according to USNWR, are:

  1. Harvard
  2. Stanford
  3. Wharton
  4. Sloan and Kellogg (tied for 4th place)
  6. Chicago
  7. Haas and Columbia (tied for 7th place)
  9. Dartmouth (Tuck)
10. UCLA (Anderson)

2006 MBA Grads in High Demand, GMAC Study Finds

Employers plan to hire 18 per cent more MBAs in 2006 than they did in 2005, according to the latest Corporate Recruiters Survey from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). MBAs with skills in marketing and finance are in especially hot demand, as are those with proven communication, leadership, and other 'soft' skills. This year's MBAs can expect to receive an average starting base salary of $80,809, up from $78,040 last year. Total compensation packages are expected to average approximately $99,737.

Yale Introduces Revised MBA Core Curriculum - And Cuts Enrollment

Students entering the Yale School of Management this fall will be the first to follow a revised MBA core curriculum that presents traditional management coursework in the context of practical management problems. The new, integrated curriculum is meant to produce graduates who are better prepared to immediately put MBA knowledge to practical use. "There's a lot of anxiety over the state of management education because of a fundamental disconnect between what management education today teaches and what leaders of organizations are looking for," SOM Dean Joel Podolny told the Yale Daily News. What employers want, Podolny added, "is people who are able to independently identify problems, frame those problems in a larger context and draw together the resources necessary to solve them." The new curriculum, which Podolny characterized as a major departure from the style of teaching at most business schools, has strong support from faculty and students. An MBA student told the YDN that many students think the new curriculum is superior to the one that the SOM currently follows. Some first-year students "wish they could start over again next year," he told the paper. "I think we all feel a little sad that we're not in the Class of '08."

In a related development, Inside Higher Education reports that Yale is cutting the size of its first-year class this fall. Yale's MBA classes normally have 220 students, but this year's class will have only 180. The reduced enrollment is meant to give faculty the time they need to develop new materials for the revised curriculum.
 

***Darden Extends 2006 Admissions Deadline***

Darden has added a fifth round to its admissions calendar for fall 2006. The deadline for R5 is 11:59 p.m. EST on April 27. All application materials must be submitted, and an interview completed, by that date. Decisions will be released between June 5 and 9. For more information about Darden admissions, be sure to check our September 2005 interview with Darden Director of Admissions Everette Fortner.

B-School Application Volume Climbs

It looks like many of the top b-schools saw significant increases in application volume in the 2005-2006 admissions season. As of mid-February, Tuck reported that its application volume had increased by about 40 per cent over last year. Goizueta also said its application volume was up by about 40 per cent, while Haas reported an approximately 30 per cent increase. Applicants to Kellogg and Sloan reported hearing from admissions offices that higher than expected R2 application volume was having some effect on application processing at those schools. Wharton has indicated a strong stream of applications in Rounds 1 and 2, although admissions officers have also reiterated that there are still class spaces available for strong Round 3 applicants.

Simon Targets Younger Applicants

Rochester University's well-regarded Simon School of Business is actively recruiting younger MBA applicants, including recent graduates with little or no work experience. Dean Mark Zupan recently told Rochester’s WHEC-TV that the School will emphasize “values, attitudes, and innate smarts” over work experience in making admissions decisions. The School hopes the change will attract a larger and more diverse applicant pool. It especially hopes to attract more women applicants through this program.

February 2006

MBA Hiring Continues to Rebound

MBAs entering the job market from b-school this spring look set to reap the benefits of a rebounding economy. Various news sources report that demand for MBAs is hitting a level not seen since 2000. WetFeet, a recruitment consulting firm, expects 2006 MBA grads to do slightly better than the average $106,587 base salary and benefits package offered to 2005 grads. Perhaps the best indicator of current MBA career prospects comes from students themselves. B-school career services officials report that students are highly confident of securing interesting and well-paid positions after they graduate. As we have noted over the past few months, both recruitment and job offers have been on the rise at all of the top b-schools, whose 2005 grads did very well in the job market.

Kelley School Introduces 3-Year Joint JD/MBA Degree

The Kelley School of Business has joined forces with Indiana University's School of Law to establish an accelerated, 3-year long joint JD/MBA degree program, with classes beginning this fall. School officials hope that the accelerated program will make the joint degree a more feasible option for applicants. Like most  universities, Indiana previously required 4 years' study to earn both degrees. Indiana and Northwestern are the only US universities offering 3-year JD/MBA programs.

The Harvard Business School raised almost $600 million in the course of its recently-completed, three-year-long capital campaign. That amount exceeds HBS' original goal of $500 million and sets a record for the amount of capital ever raised by a U.S. business school. $112 million of the funds will go to support financial aid, including the establishment of 150 new fellowships. HBS notes that over 80 per cent of its MBA students receive some form of financial aid. HBS financial aid programs include need-based fellowships for incoming students and a loan forgiveness program for MBA grads who accept employment in government, non-profit, and other sectors where salaries are lower than in the business sector.

January 2006

MBA Compensation Has Jumped by 13.5% Since 2004

The average compensation package offered to newly-minted MBAs hit $106,000 in 2005, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council. That figure is lower than last year's average of  $114,000, but 13.5 per cent higher than in 2004. Investment banks and consulting firms continued to be the top employers of new MBAs, with investment banks offering an average signing bonus of $40,000. The health care industry was also an increasingly active recruiter, while the technology sector "showed signs of life" in 2005 and is expected to step up recruiting in 2006.

Tuck Honored by the Minority Business Hall of Fame

The Tuck School of Business has become the first b-school selected for inclusion in the Minority Business Hall of Fame. The award was made in recognition of Tuck's Minority Business Executive Program and its other contributions to minority business development. Paula Graves, Tuck's Minority Programs Development Manager, called the award "an honor...Minority businesses will continue to grow in the upcoming years, and Tuck is pleased to be a positive factor in that growth." Tuck was the first business school in the U.S. to tailor executive business courses to the needs of minority executives. Dean Paul Danos will accept the award at a ceremony at the Harvard Club in New York City on January 19.

GMAT Adds Fingerprint Requirement: GMAT test takers now have to identify themselves by a fingerprint when they report to their testing center, according to a January 4 press release from the GMAC. Fingerprint identification will also be required when a test taker re-enters the testing room after a break or other absence. The test taker's fingerprint, along with a digital photograph and signature, will be part of his or her official GMAT record.

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