Calling Haas(Berkeley) Applicants(2015 Intake) Class of 2017

FROM Haas Admissions Blog: Part-time MBA ROI: A Career Change to Management Consulting

When Desirae Early, MBA 15, looked at part-time MBA programs, the extensive career resources in theEvening & Weekend MBA Programwere an important factor in her decision to enroll at Berkeley-Haas. She had no idea how important they would prove to be to her MBA ROI. She went from career switcher to entrepreneur back to making a career change—ultimately landing a position with McKinsey & Company.  It’s not that work as a sustainability specialist at Levi Strauss & Co. wasn’t satisfying,but she was curious about what else was out there. Success in a business plan competition with a full-time MBA student prompted the duo to see if they could launch their own enterprise. While she enjoyed that, it wasn’t quite right either. The more this evening and weekend MBA student talked with the Career Management Group (CMG), the more career panels she attended, the more she felt drawn to management consulting. Her decision made, Desirae jumped into the arduous task of preparing for on-campus recruiting. “I didn’t even know what a case interview was,” she recalls. It didn’t take her long to learn. CMG’s Jeanne Lew and members of the Haas Consulting Club put her through her paces. “A group of my classmates organized ourselves to practice case studies,” she said. “Classmates and recent grads who work in the field were so generous with their insights and advice.” The topper may have been Desirae’s experience in Social Sector Solutions, a class in which student teams consult with a nonprofit on a specific issue. Co-led by a former McKinsey director, each team is advised by a McKinsey consultant. Desirae calls it a “rich experience all the way around. It felt good to help, and I got to test-drive consulting and come away with a portfolio example to show potential employers.” Potential soon became actual. In Fall 2015, Desirae starts as an associate in McKinsey’s Atlanta, Georgia office. “When career doors started opening up, I decided why not try a new city, too? That makes me one more member of the Haas Alumni Network in Atlanta.” Last year 42 percent of grads from our Evening & Weekend Berkeley MBA Program advanced in their careers, and 42  percent successfully made career changes. We invite you to explore these more reasons to choose Berkeley-Haas.

It works for me now. I was able to set up my CalNet ID and email address.

Fellow Interview Hopefuls,

I've done some digging in last year's thread and it was a pretty hilarious experience seeing the exact same nervous questions and tea leaf reading we see in this thread. Anyway, for what it's worth, last year for round two the latest interview invitation that was reported was sent out on March 5. So if you think that has any predictive bearing on this year, then you have just enough hope for the wait to be soul crushingly unbearable. Personally I choose the unbearable soul crushing and remain optimistic.

Hang in there all.

Did anyone else received the mail with subject "Round 2 application update" quoting us to stick on as they are supposedly in review process?

Yes, the same email came out last year. Thank goodness I knew that or I would have thought I was being invited...

Haha..me too at first glance got hopeful of some update from Haas..:D

We interview in no particular order so whether you are asked early or late in the Round is no indication of how we feel about your candidacy.

I get that they're trying to be diplomatic but I just can't imagine that this is true...

Yes, I am greatly inclined to agree with you. I feel like it's simply something they have to say.

FROM Haas Admissions Blog: An EMBA Evening on Healthcare Entrepreneurship

How do you strike out on your own from a steady job, start a company in the notoriously hostile arena of healthcare and thrive? For anyone who’s pondered this question, we found three individuals who’d done just that and were willing to share their success stories during the EMBA Healthcare Entrepreneurs Panel earlier this year at the Claremont Hotel. There are many leadership opportunities beyond the classroom of the Berkeley MBA for Executives Program. One of my responsibilities as class president is to organize the speaker series for the class of 2015. Each Friday sees a noteworthy speaker visit Haas to share their business and life lessons, and to spark debate and reflection over lunch with students. The deep network of my classmates means that we have a steady stream of diverse and enriching topics for us among our invited speakers. For instance, in the last few months we’ve covered subjects ranging from energy efficiency to the impact of technology on mankind; we’ve  been challenged by a thought leader in social marketing and the former chief of staff of the Indian army.   Late last year fellow student Alf Cheng approached me with the name of an entrepreneurial biotech executive who'd be a great match for the speaker series, but couldn’t make the lunch slots during our usual Thursday to Saturday class format. As members of the student officers group, Alf and I are focused on making the best of the student experience, building out connections and representing the Berkeley-Haas EMBA brand. Physicians from the Berkeley MBA for Executives Program classes of 15 and 16: Jason Weisner (16), Zino DiPerna (15), Sandeep Garg (15), and Johannes Peters (16).  A chance to do something in all three areas appeared as we contemplated an evening panel event, allowing students more time to socialize, switch things over from a formal presentation format and be unconstrained by our regular one-hour slot. In short order, we recruited two more Haas healthcare entrepreneurs from our network and the event came together. One of the reasons I chose to study at Haas was the abundance of connections to students and faculty both within and beyond the business school. In addition to our classmates, we brought in students from our program's class of 2014 and also newly-admitted members of the class of 2016, as well as students from both the Berkeley-Haas Evening & Weekend and Full-time  Programs. We also reached out to students at the School of Public Health through the Haas Healthcare Association and also students from other business-schools in the area.  Over the course of the evening, our panel shared some of the unique challenges associated with entrepreneurship in the pharma/biotech arena—including the challenges of pitching to venture capitalists accustomed to tech-style quick exits, the critical importance of building a good board aligned with your interests, how to play to your strengths, and how to contemplate running a clinical trial outside of the US for a fraction of the usual cost and overhead of a traditional program. Coming so soon after our Silicon Valley Immersion Week, this close up view of healthcare entrepreneurship added an extra dimension for the EMBA class of 2015. Once the panel wrapped up, conversations carried on into the night over wine and dinner, business cards were exchanged, plans made to meet at other events, and students took more lessons back to their day jobs. All in all, a great networking and learning event that came about through challenging the status quo of the our speaker program format.

Got my interview invite this week. I applied on the R2 due date. GMAT 690-720
Keep your hopes up. Looks like they have only invited 13% so far, vs a total of 18% in R1.

Do you remember when your file went "under review"?



Posted from my mobile device

For those that want to read into the tea leaves...my file went "under review" about 1 week after I applied (day of deadline). And I received my interview invite last week. I was able to select a slot up til the first week of March.

Greetings Fellow Haas Fans! I applied via the Consortium during R2 and have not received an interview invite. I submitted my application, via Consortium, on 1/5/2015 but my Haas admissions account indicates that my application was received on 1/14/15. Are other Haas applicants, who applied via Consortium, experiencing delays in receiving interview invitations?

Either 1) the Consortium application process delayed the review of my application, 2) admissions officers are still reviewing my application or 3) Haas has decided to pass on my application. I'm hoping that responses to my question point to #1 above...

Good luck to all on your applications/interviews/careers/etc!

I applied through consortium and my app was received by HAAS on 1/16 and went under review on 1/22 (got a separate email). No interview invite yet, but ~3 consortium applicants have gotten an interview.

Thanks for the response! I have a friend (Consortium also), who is not part of GMATClub community, who received an invite about two weeks ago and is interviewing early next week.

If we don't hear back by end of next week I guess that the probability of an interview invitation drops dramatically...

Agreed.

I went under review shortly after the R2 deadline - so took about 6 weeks

Was anybody at the Super Saturday event today? I was from the gold cohort and wondering if anybody else from my group is on here!

I'm gold too! I absolutely loved the experience and the people I met. Go Gold!