Re: Haas Berkeley 2012 - Calling All Applicants [#permalink]
22 Nov 2011, 14:33
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Just offering up a different perspective to the group. The Haas office is tasked with reading hundreds of applications right now. I know mine clocked in at more than 3,300 words and two staffers have to read it before an interview invite is sent out. Not sure how big Haas's staff is but this round of applications is easily five times the word count of War and Peace--that's about 7,000 pages of personal statements!
If my glimpses at other admissions teams from other fine programs are any indication, these people are still gearing up for the other three rounds of admissions and still doing recruiting and events as well.
It doesn't matter when you get the interview. It's not a professional sports draft. You will not be putting first/12th/240th round draft pick at Haas on your C.V. in the future. There's hundreds of applications to go through and they haven't magically looked at all of them and put the best ones on the top of the pile. Don't bestow them with superhuman powers just because they hold our fate in their hands
I like what trikstr said, you're not out until you're out. There's much better ways to use that nervous energy. Do some holiday volunteering, take a class or find a new hobby. Have interesting things to talk about once you get that coveted interview. Because idle hands Google "Haas rejection rates." Continue to uphold those Haas values I know you all wrote about in your applications. Believe in the power of positive thinking and do something productive instead of staring at your inbox. It's tough but so are all of you
Re: Haas Berkeley 2012 - Calling All Applicants [#permalink]
31 Aug 2011, 11:13
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Hi all,
I'm an Army vet who is currently a second-year student at Haas. For any veterans out there looking to apply to Haas, please feel free to send me a PM, and I'll connect you to the Veterans Club here.
_________________
Re: Haas Berkeley 2012 - Calling All Applicants [#permalink]
26 Oct 2011, 06:21
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Can any R1 applicants share their insight into what was the toughest essay? I know it can wildly vary, but would be interesting to see if there is any trend...
I must admit that when I started off, I hated the Haas application. But I can tell you that it grows on you as and when you start writing the essays and developing the short stories. I really think that the short essays are a great opportunity to display various aspects of your personality and background. You can almost develop your personal story using the short essays and then tie it all together with the last (1000 word) essay. A word of advice would be that the essays requires many more round of edits and reviews that other schools owing to the 250 word limit. The message in each essay needs to be crystal clear and sharp. So, please keep adequate time for this process. I just wrote first drafts very quickly and kept on refining them to the last moment and was surprised with how good (and how different) the end product was.
To answer your question, I struggled the most with the essay # 1 - what gives you greatest joy and how does it make you distinctive? I ended up answering truthfully and while it didnt look or sound "cool" or flashy, it did tie in with my overall story.
Anyway, good luck to applicants in further rounds ad also to those who applied in R1!
Re: Haas Berkeley 2012 - Calling All Applicants [#permalink]
01 Nov 2011, 11:15
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sh0gg0th wrote:
Anybody can shed light on how well Haas places into investment banking? The most recent employment report says only 3.9% of the 2010 class got IB jobs - does this mean Haas is a non-target school (although all bulge brackets appear to be hiring on campus), or is investment banking just out of fashion with the recent graduates? Many thanks.
Haas has always been always known as an Entrepreneur's school. Doesn't mean that there are no IB guys but from what I have heard Haas and Berkeley's culture is more akin to the silicon valley's entrepreneur spirit.
_________________
Re: Haas Berkeley 2012 - Calling All Applicants [#permalink]
15 Nov 2011, 13:45
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sfmatt85 wrote:
Hey everybody,
I'm working on my application now, and am wondering what your thoughts are about the optional essay question "If not clearly evident, please discuss ways in which you have demonstrated strong quantitative abilities, or plan to strengthen quantitative abilities. You do not need to list courses that appear on your transcript."
I scored relatively low on the quant section of the GMAT (77th percentile). While I know this isn't the worst thing ever, I know it's not good and I'm wondering if I should address it via this optional essay.
To add some context, I have an academically strong quantitative background (economics w/ a 3.8+ gpa in quant courses) and strong quantitative work experience (analytical work in municipal financial consulting). I also specifically asked my recommenders to comment on my quantitative abilities. Typically I was scoring 98th+ percentile on the quant section on my practice GMATs, but I just messed up the timing on the real deal.
My initial inclination is not to worry about writing this optional essay and to let the rest of my application speak for itself, but I just wanted to see if any of you thought that is an error in judgement.
Thanks and best of luck to everybody!
Go Bears! Matt
Yep. That's exactly where you should talk about it. They just want to know you've put some thought into it.
Re: Haas Berkeley 2012 - Calling All Applicants [#permalink]
15 Nov 2011, 14:43
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Balc wrote:
OhDenny,
Just curious, prior to the interview invite, when did you receive the email saying your application had gone under review? Thanks.
I recieved that particular e-mail on 10/13. Submitted 10/9. But I seem to remember Stephanie saying at a Haas event that they mix the applications up so the order of submission isn't relavent. Did I dream that up?
One thing with the off-campus interviews - they've asked you to pick a location before you pick a date. This is so they can match you up with an interviewer and you can arrange a time directly with them. This is great if you have a home base, but I travel quite a bit, so may have to go a couple of rounds with Admissions to get something on the calendar. Not that I'm complaining! Just glad to be interviewing.
Re: Haas Berkeley 2012 - Calling All Applicants [#permalink]
10 Jan 2012, 19:04
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Admitted! Got a call from the Admissions Director today at 0-30 a.m. Malaysian time (I am on vacation right now =)).
27/F/750/WE 5 in Technology (sales & marekting). Russian.
They said they would be sending me a certian admittance package directly to Moscow. Dies anyone know what this is? Official confirmation of acceptance? Scholarship offer? Does Haas give scholarships, by the way?
Good luck to everyone waiting for the calls!
_________________
"A leader is the one who climbs the tallest tree, surveys the entire situations, and yells, 'Wrong jungle!'" - Stephen Covey
Re: Haas Berkeley 2012 - Calling All Applicants [#permalink]
18 Jan 2012, 12:42
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jongchan wrote:
I was born and raised in Country A, am a citizen of Country B, and have been working in the US (Country C) as a permanent resident. Is my application in Country A, Country B, or the US (C) pile?
Just ask admissions. They'll reply on the spot.
PS: I got in on R1, very excited. Good luck to everyone on R2,3,4
Re: Haas Berkeley 2012 - Calling All Applicants [#permalink]
18 Jan 2012, 13:41
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cosmotoot wrote:
hopefulMBA123 wrote:
Hey. I saw people posting about R2, same period I applied. I'm an East Coaster and was invited to a Super Saturday on-campus (Feb 4) for an interview. Invite came a couple days ago. No clue if the email is being staggered or not. I haven't visited the campus so I'm planning on going. Hope that helps.
I am a R2 applicant also (in Boston). Just received an email invite to Super Saturday on Feb 4 for an interview. Yipee!
Anyone have ideas about what questions are asked in Haas interviews? I'm applying to MBA/MPH so am not sure that makes a difference for interview.
They are going to ask you pretty standard questions like walk them through your resume, why an MBA, why Haas, career goals, etc. They might also throw in some behavioral questions about leadership and failure. Remember that Haas interviews are blind, so don't be shy to reuse stories (which are assumedly your best) that you used in the application essays. What I think they are really trying to assess, however, is your fit with the culture of the school. Make sure the tenor of your comments get across that "confidence without attitude" they are looking for and you should do great.
Re: Haas Berkeley 2012 - Calling All Applicants [#permalink]
19 Jan 2012, 11:12
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Yeah I found that frustrating as well. I think what was happening is that contractions, such as "we've" are one word in Microsoft Word, and two works in Haas Word. Honestly Berkeley's algorithm is probably better, but I had the same reaction of frustration when I realized I had to trim my already polished essay even further. Goodbye extra adjectives!
Sounds right. Unfortunately, possessives are also counted as two words, so "my manager's goals" becomes four words instead of three. Seems silly, but oh well. I'm assuming that the format that the admissions committee receives the application in is the same that as the format you see when you hit "print application" so I doubt they even see the word count.
As of last night, I'm officially in for R3! Best of luck for everybody!
I called the admissions office about this matter when I applied. They're aware of the potential for discrepancies and said that applicants are fine as long as essays are within 10% of the word limits.
Ah! If only I knew about this yesterday. Wouldn't have spend 11.55pm-11.58pm cutting down on ghost words. Then spend 11.58pm-11.59pm searching for a missing * field somewhere on the test scores page because the submission wouldn't go through. Found, fixed, and in for R3 with 10 seconds to spare
Re: Haas Berkeley 2012 - Calling All Applicants [#permalink]
19 Jan 2012, 13:48
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nikheel wrote:
Quote:
Ah! If only I knew about this yesterday. Wouldn't have spend 11.55pm-11.58pm cutting down on ghost words. Then spend 11.58pm-11.59pm searching for a missing * field somewhere on the test scores page because the submission wouldn't go through. Found, fixed, and in for R3 with 10 seconds to spare
Damn that sounds like a stressful night! I'm glad you made it in under the wire!
I interviewed with the head of IB for a large commercial bank. He had interviewed a friend of mine last year (who is currently at Haas) and another friend a few years ago (who went to Haas as well). He kept a poker face all along the interview, and I didn't think I did very well. The interview was mostly a discussion on how I deal with things (an annoying colleague, leading people, etc.), my career so far and my future plans.
Make sure you have your story straight, a good number of situations covering most questions (tell me a time when you xxx) and ask a few smart questions in the end (a few a like: "what was the most surprising/least expected thing about haas you found out after you got in", "today, xx years after you left haas, what do you thing is the deepest impact haas had in you", "the recent crisis made a lot of people question bschool, how do you think haas prepares people to current challenges, such as ethics, global, etc.").
Re: Haas Berkeley 2012 - Calling All Applicants [#permalink]
30 Jan 2012, 21:52
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jlk wrote:
Is it time for round 2 applicants who haven't gotten an interview to throw in the towel?
hey there, im a R2er and was fortunate enough to receive an interview invitation this morning, so there's still hope. I know it's tough, but just try to be patient and keep good thoughts. Funny how one interview invitation changes everything!
gmatclubot
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30 Jan 2012, 21:52
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