MBA Insider's Blog

Mid-January admissions update

Our office is on the home stretch finalizing Round 1 decisions, and we are also polishing up our iPad screens to gear up for some intense Round 2 file reading.  The next several months are going to be extremely busy for us, especially given that applications for the full-time MBA program are up again this round!  Not only are the numbers looking good, but the quality of the pool continues to impress us, and we're definitely looking forward to meeting more outstanding candidates as we craft the Class of 2014 . 

On that note, here's an update on what our applicants can expect over the next few months:

- Round 1 decisions: The rest of our R1 decisions will be released on the morning of Wednesday, January 25th (Pacific Time).  You can log into your online application for a status update then.  Admitted students will also receive a phone call from the admissions office (or an email if we are unable to reach you).

- Round 2 applications: The vast majority of R2 files will be released to the admissions committee after round 1 decisions are out.  Although the application deadline was a week ago, we want to make sure each R1 application gets adequate evaluation time by the admissions committee before focusing on R2.  Which takes us to our next item...

- Round 2 interviews: Interview invitations will be sent via email starting next month.  We anticipate most will take place throughout February and March, depending on how quickly the admissions committee can evaluate applications.  Please note that R2 is our heaviest round by volume, so even though we will devote our time and resources into file reading, it will still take time to go through each one.  We thank you in advance for your patience through this process!

- Cool happenings: We have some amazing executives coming up on campus this year, such as Vice-Chairman & CEO of McDonald's Corporation Jim Skinner and venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki.   Off-campus, faculty member Jim Stengel will be a featured speaker at this year's TED Conference in Long Beach.  Stay tuned on Twitter and Facebook for updates on these and other upcoming events.

Hello 2012!

A happy new year to our readers!  2011 was an exciting year for us with lots of great changes, and 2012 is already off to a wonderful start.  The admissions team was busy reading files throughout the university closure period, and we arrived back in the office today ready to release many more round 1 interview invitations.  We are wrapping up our round 1 files and will continue to invite applicants to interviews over the next few weeks. 

With the Round 2 deadline just about a week away, we're also gearing up for the busiest time of the admissions cycle, as this is typically the round in which we receive the greatest number of applications.  Layer on top of these impending files all of our upcoming admit events, winter admissions events with Inside the MBA and The MBA Tour, plus tons of other ongoing projects and you can see that the life of an admissions officer is never boring.  But hey, that's what we love about this job :)  Remember to check Facebook and Twitter for quick application tips and updates in the days leading up to the deadline.

One last update - class visits for winter quarter will begin on Tuesday, January 17th and registration is now open.  Click here to sign up (select Category 04. Full-Time MBA: Class Visit and search in the date range desired).

As always, feel free to send us any questions/thoughts via the comments section below, email, or phone.