Marshall (USC) Class of 2017 Calling all applicants!

Hi All,

I was wondering if anyone knows if you can have more than one letter of recommendation. It says "at least one". Would I be able to give two? or would that look bad? Thanks!

spanxtr: I only remember submitting one last year plus a follow up LOR when I was waitlisted. That should be enough.

Congrats to all those accepted! Next year will be a totally different core than we experienced as first years this year and the changes are only positive. For those who were waitlisted, I was interviewed and then waitlisted last year only to find out that I was accepted about a month before the program began. So, there is hope for you too! It's really tough to get into Marshall because of our small class size relative to other similarly ranked business schools, so I know it can be frustrating.

For those waitlisted, it can really help if you know a current student who can send a note to the admissions staff on your behalf. So, start networking with us if you haven't already!

Yes, you are absolutely correct buddy.

rbsx: I never got a chance to respond to your latest comments, but the negativity you're showing throughout your posts is exactly what we're trying to filter out of Marshall. Call me naive, but I believe that one's character truly shines during adversity and all of the current students and faculty are taking the challenge of improving Marshall head on. You can get on the bus or not.

As far as "admissions director," if you're talking about Keith Vaughn, he left months ago as part of a faculty evaluation process that has been on going with regards to all staff members. As part of this evaluation process, we have also been adding some tremendous talent. You fail to mention that we recently hired Chris Harris to run career advising for students and he has been doing an AMAZING thus far. This evaluation process will be on going into the spring and summer, so more additions will be coming soon as well.

Still don't believe me? PM me your email address and I will forward you a 10 page PDF document that we received from our MGSA (Marshall Graduate Student Association) President outlining some great things we have in store for the spring and next fall. Just a few highlights:

- We have Monthly Town Hall Meetings that allow first and second year students to speak directly with the administration and faculty. Your voice is now heard here. If you have an issue, it will be addressed.

- We now have half semester classes so students can take more specialized courses in their areas of interest. They're half semester because we don't want to waste your time on a specialized class that shouldn't a full semester in length. These half semester classes will only continue to increase.

- The entire core will be changed for the class of 2017, with an increased focus on data analytics, excel, and real world applicability

- Our Career Development Workshop program is being revamped for the class of 2017 thanks to students' efforts and the addition of Chris Harris

- We're beginning to build one centralized online system that connects all the various resources we have available to students (welcome website for first year students, career services system, graduate salary reporting system, club groups website, MyMarshall, etc.)

...plus various initiatives to increase the companies that visit Marshall, as well as many other small initiatives that deal with summer preparation, orientation, etc. Oh, and we still have the best business communications class in LA. You'll be speaking publicly during orientation as part of a required case competition (for fun). You'll then spend the next 5 months improving your communication skills. It's such a good course that UCLA had to get in on the action.

Now the fun part: we have some of the most amazing social events every semester that really allows us as students to network with each other (perhaps the most important thing about business school). Nearly the entire class of first years (in addition to many second years) is about to go on a huge trip to Mammoth Lakes in a week. We have mixers every other week. It's FUN here.

You can disagree with our strategy all you want, but you cannot disagree with our effort for improving what already is a great school.

Did you guys upload any Unofficial TOEFL Score Report? If so, will a screenshot of the TOEFL webpage (with the score breakdown) in PDF format be enough?

Hi mflatt23,

Thanks for the advice. I have been put on the waitlist without even interview. Could you please advise what extra information would be good to provide to admissions team so that they can reconsider my profile?

Also, do the waitlisted candidates have any chance of getting the scholarship as well?

Thanks.

No scholarships don't go to anyone waitlisted (even if you've had an interview). I'd also follow up if something new changes professionally (promotion, new assignment that adds value, etc.) or if you know someone who is connected to USC and might be able to help. Pretty much anything that you think could help you out, I'd consider following up with. Either follow up once or follow up 1-2 times spread out over several months.

Alright. Thanks buddy

Question for R1 applicants or current students.

Did you have your reference fill out the form with the short answers on the Marshall website? Or did your reference send in an open-ended letter of recommendation?

If it was the latter, did you follow any particular format? (length, topics covered, etc)

Any insights would be greatly appreciated!!

During the application is it mandatory for international students to spell out clearly all the funding options . I mean how can one specify all the funding details even before getting the admit...... am i something missing here or other international applicants faced similar dilemma ?

in for R2!

Congrats! That's great.

toocrispy: Both. When I went in to visit the school, the admissions lady said that they also liked to see a one page letter of recommendation in addition to the 3-5 questions that they ask all recommenders. So, I would suggest having your recommender write the "traditional" letter of recommendation too. Topics covered is really open ended...perhaps he can take a look at the questions Marshall asks this year and then write the letter of recommendation as a summary to that or address things not discussed in those questions.

Hi,

I am from India and looking to apply in Round 2 by Jan 15 and want to know is TOEFL score required for admissions.
Also I have done my Bachelors degree from institute where medium of instruction was english so can I get TOEFL waiver based on this fact? If no can I submit my TOEFL score say couple of weeks after deadline?
Is there any 1 out there from India who has got this TOEFL waiver??Would really appreciate if people in this thread can share there thoughts on this.

Thanks
AK

Hi simplyanuj,

From all the bits of information I have gathered so far during my application process I can tell you that you will need to take the TOEFL/IELTS. The clause that states TOEFL is waved off if your undergrad medium of instruction is english lies in a very grey area and as an Indian student its something you cannot fully rely upon.
To answer your question - Many universities (not all) will allow you to submit your application without having submitted your TOEFL score, they will explicitly ask you to mention the date that you will be taking the test. So yes you should be able to go ahead with the Jan 15 deadlines.
Also you may make use of the optional essay to state that you have not yet taken the test and would be taking it on xyz date.

Ideal approach - write to the university and clarify. They do reply.

Regards..

I m applying in R2.

Can anyone please confirm if we are supposed to submit the Letter of Financial Support and the Transcripts right away or are they only needed once we get an acceptance.

thanks in advance.

According to Marshall's TOEFL waiver conditions, you can only get TOEFL waiver if you either completed Bachelor's degree from English speaking countries following Marshall list or are native English speaker.

I used to send an email to ask them about Letter of Financial Support and the Transcript submission, they told me that those two things are required only if you are accepted.

I also apply R2, good luck!

Hi,
I'm having a problem uploading my transcript. Whenever I try to upload the transcript, I get the following error:

The file you have chosen to upload is not the correct type. Only Word, PDF and RTF type files may be uploaded.Type is: application/download

I'm uploading a pdf file of less than 1 MB size so it complies with the requirements. I'm not sure what to do next. Anybody faced similar issue?

Submitted my application for R2!!! How soon can we expect the interview invitations to start rolling out? R1 guys can maybe shed some light?

What about a LOR from a recent graduate?