Chat with Admissions: April 8, 2008

Welcome to the chat! JoAnne Starr will join us momentarily, but don't wait to post your questions now. Thanks for joining us!

If an application is a few days late, would your recommend sending it in?

Yes, since we admit on a rolling basis, the "deadlines" are guides to the whole admissions process. We are still accepting applications and will continue to do on a space-available basis for fall 2008 admission consideration.

I understand UCSD has rolling applications, but I was curious about the application deadlines for Spring 2009?

We only admit for fall quarter. The deadline dates for next year will be approximately what they are this year. The 2009 application will be open early September. Do keep in mind that we admit on a rolling basis, so you do not need to wait to submit an application for a "deadline"—submit when your application is the best representation of you and we'll get going on the admission process for your application.

Can you please tell me when the Spring Classes start?

Spring quarter begins the first week of April at UC San Diego. Rady School admits each year for fall quarter only for both the Full-Time and FlexMBA program - we do not have a spring quarter admission.

After undergoing the Rady MBA program, how many students start their own business ventures?

Very few actually start ventures immediately: our Lab to Market sequence helps students understand the entrepreneurial mindset and how it applies in existing innovation-driven companies, not just in start-ups—and students tell us that the experience of Lab to Market helps them see what additional experience they might want to gain before starting new ventures. New ventures are most likely to be started by the students coming to Rady with more prior experience—we see more among our FlexMBAs, who average 10 yrs of work experience, than among our Full-Time MBAs.

My first question is, to be enrolled in the executive MBA program, do you have to be currently employed? What if you have the experience and have taken time off to go to school?

We don't require you to be currently employed—we always have FlexMBAs who are in transition either at the start of the program or at some stage along the way.

What is the majority of students that decide to open up their own business ventures after completing the Rady MBA curriculum?

You'll see my answer to a similar question. This is really a matter of how ready you are individually—and what kind of business venture you're trying to establish. I talked just this week to students in a team that's done very well with an entrepreneurial idea in business plan competitions, etc—and one team member is joining a venture capital firm as an associate; another is joining a mid-sized company in the same industry to gain experience in an operating environment. I'm pretty sure these are students who will found something later on in their careers—but now isn't the right time for their best chances for success.

If we are retaking the GMAT, is it required of us to put our first scores on the online application form?

No, but we will see the scores because when you request that your retake scores be sent to Rady, all your tests will be reported. Be sure to mark the box on the application that states you are retaking the GMAT—and indicate when. If you haven't submitted your application, don't wait until you have the retake done. We will assemble your application and do a preliminary review—then wait for the new scores.

How can I make an appointment to visit the school and speak with an advisor?

Please email MBAadmissions@ucsd.edu to request a meeting with an admissions staff member. We would appreciate knowing what you'd like to discuss—admission, program details, what MBA program you are interested in, etc.

I am considering a few schools to apply to for an MBA. As Rady has a smaller alumni base, how do the academic merits offset this?

I'll speak to academic merits—but I also would want you to consider the strength of our relationships in the business community: Rady was established, to a high degree, because the business community wanted us and wanted the innovation-focused education we provide. You can see that in the involvement of an extraordinary array of business leaders and experts—as speakers, project advisors, mentors, etc. from an academic standpoint, the Rady MBA is different—it is fundamentally focused on innovation and delivers an education that is rigorous and analytical—and highly applied. Our Lab to Market course sequence is not like anything being done at any other school we know about—and we watch what others are doing.

I was wondering when will Round 4 applicants receive decisions from Rady?

We do not have rounds—we admit on a rolling basis, so as soon as we have the application and all pieces are received, we will review for admission consideration. The decisions are usually made within 4 weeks, especially when we are towards the end of the admissions cycle, as we are for the Full-Time MBA program now.

What are the masters programs Rady competes against?

Actually, we find that a pretty high percentage of students who apply to us have chosen us very deliberately because of the unique nature of our program. We pay attention to what's happening (from a curriculum and program standpoint) at places like Sloan and Carnegie Mellon and Stanford. Full-Time MBAs who apply to us have typically looked at other top schools.

On average, what do the students portray as their weekly time commitment to the program? Does this change from one year to the next?

Full-Time students are typically enrolled in 4 classes per quarter. Each involves 3 hours of class time per week—and you should assume 6-10 hours per week outside of class for each. The kind of work you're doing changes from quarter to quarter—and the tie you need to invest outside of class does too: if your quant skills are great, you may find first term a bit easier than some of your classmates, and then you might spend more time in the winter quarter, when there is more reading and writing.

I really know Rady is the school for me (particularly very interested in Lab to Market) and I have submitted my application. What are the things I could do to get admitted other than waiting?

If your application is complete, then you should hear from us within the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, you can begin to prepare yourself for your MBA studies by reading the Wall Street Journal and other business journals/publications. There is nothing for you to do to "get admitted".

According to the Rady student job placement list last year, these are not very big companies? Are all of these companies start-up style?

Among our 2007 employers: Motorola, Hewlett Packard, Pfizer, J&J, IBM, Barclays—so the mix includes a number of major companies. Another set are strong mid-sized companies like Amylin, Provide Commerce, Cypress Bioscience. There are certainly a few early-stage companies in the group, but we find the majority of students going to mid-sized and large companies.

Lets say I applied in August 2008 and got accepted into the program, when would school start, in January 2009? But for whatever reason I was accepted in August 2008, would I have to wait till August 2009?

Applying in August 2008 would be too late for admission consideration for Fall 2008, which begins in September. You would need to wait until September 2008 to use the correct application to apply for Fall 2009. We admit once a year—for fall quarter only.

This may have already been answered but how many people applied last year? And what is the yearly growth rate of your program?

We had about 230 applications to the Full-Time program last year. We are not currently growing the Full-Time program: we expect have a cohort of about 60-65 join us again this coming fall.

Is a recent graduate salary report available?

Yes, you'll find it posted on our website on the Full-Time MBA page.

What is MBA degree to help me if I just like to do research, not to manage people?

If you'd like to explore the kinds of careers an MBA can prepare you for, I'd suggest that mba.com is a great resource—the section on careers and the MBA gives detailed profiles of dozens of career areas. There are certainly kinds of research (into investments, for example, as a part of an investment management firm) where an MBA education can be highly valuable.

How well is your program geared toward entrepreneurship?

We are really focused on innovation and how innovation reaches the marketplace. Whether you're an entrepreneur or a manager in a innovation-driven company, you are considering opportunities and deciding whether—and how—to move forward on them. That is true if you're interested in launching a company, and true if you are at Sony or Hewlett Packard or Pfizer trying to decide which of your R&D discoveries to invest turning into products.

What is the average cost for an MBA program?

The fees for the Full-Time MBA program are approximately $24,000 for California residents and $37,000 for non-residents or international students per year. These are fees and do not include living expenses—I would estimate about $18,000/yr for those expenses. The fees are approximately the same for all of the University of California MBA programs, as they are set by the UC Office of the President and approved by the University of California Regents. They may vary slightly due to individual campus fees (recreation facilities, etc.), but only minimally.

How many applicants have already been matriculated?

About 2/3 of our fall class for the Full-Time MBA program is seated. Additional offers of admission are pending decisions.

Are loans available to international students and what is the maximum amount?

There are loans available for international students, although there may be some specific requirements. The UCSD Financial Aid Office determines loan eligibility based on the full cost of attendance, including both fees and living expenses. Loan information is available on our web under Full-Time MBA Program, cost and financing.

Are you still offering admissions or all of them are out already?

We are still accepting applications and making admission offers. I anticipate that we will continue to do this through April. We are really looking for the right fit at Rady and what the applicant's contribution will be to the program—and why the individual applicant sees the Rady program is right for him/her.

Does your estimate of 60-65 for the full-time MBA program reflect the school's desired range, or does it reflect an expected acceptance rate of about 25%?

Over the last several years, we've admitted about 1/3 of those who apply to the Full-Time program—and had 2/3 or more of those offers accepted. 60-65 is the class size we're interested in having, roughly—our core classrooms seat a max of 72, and we need there to be a few seats for the teaching assistant, guest speakers, etc, so we have an upper limit. But the actual size of the entering class is dependent on the quality of the applicant pool—we're not trying to fill seats, we're working to bring together an interesting group of people who will learn together.

How many people applied to the FlexMBA program and how many do you accept?

Typically FlexMBAs apply to only one or two programs. Over the last couple of years, we’ve typically gotten about 120 applications for the Flex program; about 80-85% of those we admit accept our offers.

I am a Civil Engineer working on the Construction Management area but I have only worked on this area for about a year and a half. Would you say that I could be a good fit for the program with my short history of experience? Or would you recommend me to wait?

The amount of experience is not particularly important to us—we're more interested in what you've learned from it, how you've been able to contribute—and why it makes sense for you to enter an MBA program now.

The MBA can have value at various points in your career—and there is no right answer to "why now?" What we hope is that you've thought through your own decision, have evaluated your own progress so far and considered your goals. The essays you write help us a lot in understanding this.

If we plan to retake the GMAT, is it required of us to report our first scores on the online application form?

No, you don't have to report your first scores—we will see them, in any case, when we receive score reports from GMAC. If you're worried about your first scores, please know that we do always look at your highest scores in evaluating your application.

Since we have no other questions, we're going to go ahead and close the chat now. We hope that this has been useful—thanks for joining us to talk about the Rady School and our MBA. If you do have other questions, please feel free to email MBAadmissions@ucsd.edu directly—and we'll hope to talk with you again.