The Haas admissions team just released a great new podcast detailing what they look for when evaluating MBA applicants. Peter Johnson (Director of Admissions) and Stephanie Fujii (Associate Director of Admissions) shared a few important insights into how Haas evaluates every Haas applicant.
According to Johnson and Fujii, the three key areas that Haas looks at when evaluating applicants are: academic aptitude, professional accomplishments and leadership, and personal qualities.
Academic Aptitude
When assessing your academic aptitude, the admissions committee especially looks at your undergraduate transcript and your GMAT score. Haas will also will take into consideration your coursework in other graduate programs, if applicable. According to Fujii, "Basically, we're trying to evaluate your ability to succeed academically in our program." Johnson made note that they pay attention to the caliber of your undergraduate institution, the rigor in your undergraduate classes, and the overall trend in your GPA from your freshman year to your senior year. The school does not have a hard GMAT score cutoff, but Johnson urges applicants to aim to at least be in the school's middle-80% GMAT range (currently 650-750).
Professional Accomplishments and Leadership
Work experience is very important to Haas. Most incoming students at Haas have between three and seven years of work experience after college. The school rarely admits applicants with less than two years of work experience. But it's about more than just quantity of experience. According to Johnson, "We really need to understand your career progression. Why have you transitioned from one job to another? How has your role progressed within each organization? Have your responsibilities increased? Have you had the opportunity to develop leadership skills?" Johnson went on to add that it's impressive to see that a candidate has earned a series of promotions and increases in responsibility, rather than someone who "started out at the top." Finally, the Haas admissions team looks closely for signs of how you've impacted your organization, which is a key yardstick of your leadership ability, regardless of your job title.
Personal Qualities
Like all other top business schools, Haas puts a lot of emphasis on who you are, not just what you've accomplished. As Johnson says, "We're interested in understanding our applicants as individuals. In other words, what's important to you? What are you passionate about?" They go on to emphasize that you really need to be your self in your MBA application. Says Johnson, "The number one mistake that applicants make in their essays is that they spend too much time trying to write what they think the admissions committee wants to read." Finally, they give another important piece of advice that we often give our clients: Don't underestimate how much time and effort it will take to create truly great, personal MBA essays. Finally, they explain Haas's interview policy: The school typically invites 25%-30% of its applicants to interview (usually conducted by alumni or students), and Haas rarely admits an applicant without an interview.
These are just a few of the tips that Haas includes in their podcast. We definitely recommend that you give it a listen if you're interested in Haas, but give it a listen even if you don't plan on applying to Haas this year.
For more advice on applying to Haas, visit the Veritas Prep UC Berkeley (Haas) information page.
