Calling Berkeley-Haas Fall 2008 Applicants!

All the round 1 waitlist candidates will be receiving updates on 3/31. I'm really hoping to get off the WL as I submitted an extra statement in addition to two LOR's. It's like I applied to another school!

For those on the round 2 WL, don't give up yet.

wow, they are tough!

braindancer, did you apply R2?

good luck to R1 W/L folks!

I was also WL'd last year, and was accepted sometime in late spring.

Good luck!

So, for those of you that were waitlisted last year and eventually let in, what advice can you give to those that are waitlisted this year?

I personally hope that I can clear up any concerns they may have when I interview because I think that my weakest point is that I hope to do VC after my MBA and I didn't cover it as in depth as I should have in my essay. We'll see.

Kryzak - I thought you were going to UC Berkeley? Are you now going to kellogg instead?

I didn't do anything, as I didn't have anything to add to my application. Haas kept asking for time to time if I'm still interested; I kept confirming that yes, I'm still serious.

Dinged as well. This one cut deep.

Congrats to those who were accepted and best of luck to those on the waitlist.

Time to damage my liver.

waitlisted after interview

damn !!! its like the MBA season is just not ready to lemme go

Waitlist for me. Not terribly surprising after the way my interview was conducted...

Debating whether to stay on the WL or not.

DOH!!! No admits??? This is so weird! Talked to the adcom today, and they said it'll probably end up as 18% increase from last year's numbers.

Christian, I never committed to Haas yet. My avatar reflects the most recent admit. My new avatar will reflect my decision process...

SkiC, sangoman, and livehard... sorry to hear that...

Definitely get on the W/L! From the sound of it, both naturallight and braindancer got in from W/L without much effort!

R2
SkiC - R2 - Waitlist w/ interview
sangoman - R2 - Waitlist w/ Interview
skaballet - R2 - Waitlisted w/o Interview
ChristianW - R2 - Waitlisted w/o Interview
livehard - R2 - Dinged w/ interview
sperinko - R2 - Dinged
Evl - R2 - Dinged
uphillclimb - R2 - Dinged
sensation - R2 - submitted????
cooldar - R2 - Under Review
ncprasad - R2 PT

R2 certainly seems more difficult.
Haas was on my original list, but i didn`t apply because they have a requirement of college level statistics or maths. My degree in sports didn`t have any maths or stats.

I also considered UCLA but they have a requirement that a UK citizen needs an undergrad of a first or upper second (i have a lower second).

I sent emails regarding this to both schools, all they did was refer me back to the info on their web page, so i decided not to apply.

Moreover, those requirements made me think less of those schools as it neglects work experience. I transitioned into engineering and became quite succesful in it (I wouldn`t have been a consultant on a ex-pat contract in Japan otherwise). No formal `background` in quantitative academia, but my work experience should make up for it. But both of those schools quite clearly do not appreciate late developers, or people who changed career track later.

very interesting that they "required" math or stats. I've spoken with quite a few people who are in and barely know any math. They learned all they needed to know either in math camp or took some classes outside.

I have a very different viewpoint than you toga, probably because my background is engineering and I'm transitioning *into* business, haha. I think everyone should know the very basics of math/statistics, especially if you're going to do business. It's fundamental knowledge just like all the humanities requirements that universities in the US make engineers take.

The math that they require non-techies to take is laughable (no offense intended), and I believe that everyone should get a more well rounded education, no matter what their future studies are. Mind you, I'm not saying that everyone needs to take advanced calculus or number theory, but the requirement that Haas and UCLA had were pretty much the first semester/quarter of real math (calculus), and teaches good knowledge that everyone should be exposed to.

Claiming that both schools "do not respect" work experience just based on that is too general of a statement. I actually like Haas (and Kellogg) the best because it allows people like me (with 7 years of WE and a masters degree), late bloomers, to contribute and values us, unlike Stanford and Harvard, who favors all the young folks with only 2 years (or none) of experience.

My 2 cents. To each their own I guess.

Yes, it was a harsh assumption i made based on their initial requirements. For Hass it effectively ruled me out of applying even though I am in a quant intensive career. They were academic requirements which i didn`t have, and from my perspective it ignored my quant heavy career path. I`ve no doubt they were after a rounded academic background, but those requirements got up my nose, more so because when i sent emails to admissions querying it (mentioning my quant heavy career), or they could do was to refer me back to the website to those quotes!!!

For UCLA, that requirement of a second class upper is ridiculous. it`s basically saying anyone with a GPA below 3.3 will not get in. so you can see from my　perspective that this definitley does not include late bloomers.

The statement is general, because for international applicants it a clear line of what they do or do not accept, and that line is drawn from your undergraduate years. Clearly ignoring post-graduation work experience.

I think they just have to claim those requirements to fend off total drooling retards with GPA of 2.1. I don't have any proof for that, but I strongly believe they would consider your application even if you don't immediately fit the requirements listed. They're just not very vocal about it.

As a tangential example, I have an undergrad GPA of 3.15, and still I got in.

Maybe so, but their admissions didn`t encourage me to apply by fobbing me off back to their requirements when i sent a query about it, and it put me off.

the (3.3 is an approx caluclation for a lower second UK degree (it`s usually assessed as between 2.9-3.2). Anyway, it doesn`t matter to me anymore, because i never applied, and applied elsewhere instead. Anyway, it might be something that someone who is at Haas or Anderson might want to talk to admissions about, because it puts some people off from applying.

I can check in on that for you... but I think they were short handed this season because one of the members left. Generally I find issues when they tell *everyone* that they can apply (500 GMAT or 2.0 GPAs) because the process is "holistic" and everyone has a chance, blah blah... funny how in this case they went the other way.

Well, I kept talking to as many current students as I could, and then I wrote a short letter updating the school on what I had done since I applied. I also had another manager at work submit a rec.

This worked for me, but it's tough because everyone's situation is different. In general, I think it helps to show that you are still passionate about the school and excited about making the program great.

Good luck!

WOOHOO!!! I'm in off the waitlist!!! Just got the call!