Ask Tepper MBA Admissions

Hello adimaniac!

Thanks for your question! Every year we admit re-applicants, so I would say that we are pretty re-applicant friendly. As to the percentage, I hate to generalize since it varies, so I would just like to highlight the fact that it can and does happen!

For candidates that do not get admission, they have the opportunity to schedule an appointment at a limited time during the summer to get feedback on how they can strengthen their application, in the hopes that they will re-apply. Even if someone does not seek feedback, they can use the time after they first applied to reflect on how they can strengthen their application. There are many ways that a re-applicant may strengthen their application - some re-take the GMAT, get additional letters of recommendation, get additional professional experience, re-write essays in order to better articulate goals, fit wit the Tepper School, etc.

I hope this is helpful, and please let us know if we can further assist!

Best,
The Tepper Admissions Team

I am an R2 international applicant and had a question, wondering if you guys can help me. I have read some other posts where the application status for some is "Stage 3: Credentials Received - Appication Under Review by the Admissions Committee". When I log in, I can only see that my application has been submitted. Am I missing something?

Hello murakip2,

Thanks for your questions! We usually waive the TOEFL for a completed degree but you can feel free to write to our office and request the waiver based on what you've done so far. You can contact us at mba-admissions@andrew.cmu.edu, and I would recommend that you submit a request and a copy of your unofficial transcript to show your current status in your studies.

We have current students and alumni that had a PhD prior to coming for their MBA, and I think what is helpful is how they tie that in with the MBA and future career. It's important to make this connection clear in your application since going for an MBA directly after PhD studies is not a usual career path. Be clear and thoughtful in your essays and interview in order to show your fit with the MBA and the Tepper School and how this will benefit you in your career. We seek diversity, so you can use this to your advantage, and you can highlight how you could see yourself contributing to the learning and social community here at the Tepper School.

I hope this is helpful, and please let us know if we can further assist!

Best,
The Tepper Admissions Team

Hi aanchalsinha,

Happy to help! We are currently trying to process applications as quick as we can, but as you can probably imagine, we have quite a few in this round. As we process the applications, the status in the online application will be updated to reflect this, so that is why some people may have a different status at this time.

We appreciate your patience, and feel free to check your status again in a week or so. If we need anything additional to complete your application, we will contact you directly via email. I hope this is helpful, and let us know if we can further assist!

Best,
The Tepper Admissions Team

Hi James,
I am Punit, and as a round-3 applicant, I submitted my application just one day before the deadline.

On 21st-March-2012, my application status was updated to "Stage-3: Credentials Received - Appication Under Review by the Admissions Committee". However since then nothing much has happened with the application.

I see many round 3 admits have already appeared for interviews, in that case should I assume that its a straight reject for me or that my application is still under positive deliberations. (Hoping for the second case tough..)

Can you please elaborate on various stages in application procedure.

Is there anything else as an applicant I can do, please suggest.

Thanks for all your help.

Hi Tepper Team,

I will be applying for 2013 Sept batch and hope to send my best application.

I would like to know if someone with strong undergrad and a tough post grad clubbed with unique experiences of investment banking and micro-finance/social impact funding but an average GMAT score of say 650 will be looked down upon?

Does coming from an over represented pool of Indians but no engineering and IT background help? I have a BA in Economics from one of India's oldest economics colleges and a masters from a top British university along with the work experience mentioned above. I have significant experience in front end M&A and private equity advisory and managerial experience as a principal manager of strategy and new initiatives with a big Indian micro-finance firm.

I think Tepper is a good fit with its recent focus on social entrepreneurship (my long term future goal). Hoping to get your views on my profile and the hurdles i might face.'

Thank you for taking the time out to reply. Appreciate it.

Regards
sarveshmehta

Hi,

In case I get an admission offer, how much will I have to respond and confirm my matriculation? Is there a deposit I have to make? What's the process?

Thanks in advance.

hello,
I am not sure if you can answer the question but I am interested in MSCF program at Tepper. I would like to know how long this program has been established and what prospects does a student of this program can expect? how are the current students placed? what are the admission requirements? is GMAT score enough or do we need to write GRE? Appreciate your reply very much.

Thanks,
Adi

Hello Adi,

Happy to help with your questions! Introduced in 1994, Carnegie Mellon's pioneering Master of Science in Computational Finance (MSCF) is considered by many today to be the top quantitative financial engineering program in the country.

The MSCF program is the joint venture of four colleges on our campus - the Tepper School of Business, the Mathematical Sciences Department, the Department of Statistics, and the Heinz College. Administered by the Tepper School of Business, the MSCF student enjoys the advantages of the business school environment, including the full resources of the School's placement services. As a result of the collaborative efforts of these four colleges, MSCF's twenty-five courses are both balanced and deep. Designed expressly for the MSCF student and the needs of the industry, the curriculum seamlessly integrates instruction in probability, statistical analysis, numerical methods, computation and simulation methods, stochastic processes, economics, and their application in today’s quantitative financial markets.

The MSCF program is intense and extremely demanding - recruiters know the students graduating from MSCF are bright, highly motivated and keenly interested in the financial engineering industry. Our employment rates remain high - even in these challenging times.

If your passion is to be in derivative sales and trading, quantitative portfolio management, risk management or financial analytics, there is no program better able to provide you with the educational tools and recruiting services you need to succeed!

For the admissions requirements, you are welcome to take either the GMAT or the GRE and for additional details on coursework, etc, feel free to check out https://www.tepper.cmu.edu/master-in-com ... index.aspx.

I hope this is a helpful start!

Best,
The Tepper Admissions Team

Hello sarveshmehta,

Happy to help with your questions! Though our standards are high and our admissions process is very competitive, our ideal student does not fit a rigid profile. We welcome students from diverse academic, professional, and personal backgrounds, and seek exceptional individuals who have made an impact in whatever path they have chosen. Our admissions process is holistic in that we consider all aspects of the application equally to determine an overall fit with your background, goals, and leadership potential to the Tepper School's culture, curriculum, and community. With this, sometimes strengths can outweigh some areas that may be average or perhaps on the weaker side.

I would recommend that you highlight your fit with the Tepper School, how you would make an impact here, and the role it plays in your future career. Also, it is important to "market" yourself in the application process. Highlight your strengths, leadership experience, and also help the Admissions team get to know you.

I hope this is helpful, and bets of luck on your application!

Best,
The Tepper Admissions Team

Hello Tepper AdCom Team,

I am interested to apply to Tepper for MBA for Fall 2013. I had a query which I hope you can help me with.

I have more than 2 years work experience in a research based job profile [With some technical publications as well ]
However recently I have left my job and have started working on my own online venture. I have done this to develop and test out some viable business ideas as well as explore my weaknesses in entrepreneurship so that I can work on improving them in the course of my MBA . I intend to develop the venture till matriculation i.e. almost a duration of one year. However during time of applications i.e. during November rounds , I won't have any hits yet to show for it.
I was wondering if you could provide me with an idea about how the admissions team will view this work done as valid work experience in my profile. Will they assume it as current unemployment or as self employed? What documents do I need for demonstrate the validity of my work experience in my venture

Thanks and Regards
Aditya

Hi Aditya,

Thank you for the post, and apologies for the delayed reply. All the best to you in the new venture! Happy to help with your questions. From a reporting perspective, we would consider you as currently self-employed at the time of your application. In terms of your application, I recognize that a lot would be 'in progress' so to speak at the time of your application. However, I think you would still be able to speak thoughtfully to some of the challenges/opportunities you are currently facing as you launch the venture. It's likely, too, that you can position many of the challenges as to why an MBA might be the next right step. In terms of other points of consideration, I would be prepared to speak clearly to the 'why now?' question - i.e. why not give the business some time to grow and develop before pursuing the degree. Additionally, if your plan is to launch another venture (or remain in the existing venture) immediately after the degree, I would recommend giving some thought to a solid back-up plan - i.e. if the conditions weren't ideal to launch a venture after the degree, what would your next career plan be?

Hope this is slightly helpful.

Best,
James

Hi,

I am from pakistan and have done a two years bachelors in Computer Science, followed immediately by a two year MBA. Therefore I wanted to ask if my MBA degree will disqualify me from the admission process at tepper.

I will like to point out here that in Pakistan 16 years of education can be completed through two routes, i.e. either by doing a four years bachelors degree ( usually engineering) or by doing a two year bachelors followed by a two year masters ( my case). Therefore my education is equal to 16 years according to US and UK standards. However a few admission consultants have put my chances of getting into a top US MBA programme at zero based on the MBA degree that i have done. Whereas i was under the impression that although the name of my degree is MBA however it is more of a BBA degree according to US standards.

Your input will be appreciated.

Hello Tepper Admissions,

Here is my profile in brief.

1. GMAT 620 (Will be retaking the GMAt in Nov). TOEFL (113). Bachelor of Engineering in Computer Science (76%). 10th ICSE (83%).
2. Total 2 years of experience: I am currently working at Yahoo!. prior to Yahoo! I was working for a mobile apps startup.
3. Founder of No 1 student community portal in state (500,000 students)
4. Founder of TechSpark, official multi disciplinary technical forum in college.
5. Installed water purification system in government school in Bangalore.
6. Winner of Business plan competition (in college, Economic Times Power of Ideas and at Yahoo!)
7. Helped implement social media branding strategy for a large Hospital.
8. Highschool in London.
9. Played soccer for school and college teams.
10. Played host at talk shows with CEOs (called Coffee with CEO) while in college.
11. Attempted to bootstrap own startup but it failed and eventually had to be shutdown.

I hope to ship a product to every household on the planet one day! Hence, I am looking for MBA college which can not only refine my entrepreneurship, business, marketing skills but also have plenty tech enthusiasts in the campus. Hence, I am very keen on Tepper (Carnegie mellon). Can you please tell me if I would be good fit for Tepper? It would be of immense help if you could advise on what areas I should elaborate on while writing my essays?

Regards
Avinash

Hi Admissions Team, I'm applyin to Tepper in Round 1. Could you please tell me the confirmation deadline for Round 1. Also, is there a deposit required too?
Thanks!

Hi Shubhraraj,

Thank you for the post. Very glad to hear that you are planning to apply. We look forward to working with you throughout the process. Round one decisions will be released on December 19th. Although I don't know the reply deadline yet, historically we've asked our round 1 admits to reply to their offer by the end of February. Historically, we have asked for a $1200 initial deposit at this time. All of this amount, save for $125 (the cost of the credential verification process last year) was applied to a student's account. I hope this is helpful. Please let me know if this is not what you were asking, and best of luck in the application process!

Best,
James

Hi Avinash,

Thank you for the introduction. From a curriculum and career goals interest, I would say that there is a terrific fit. One of the really great aspects of the Don Jones Center for Entrepreneurship is that, although it is housed in the Tepper School, it is very much a resource for all of CMU. As such, it's very common the entrepreneurial-minded business students meet and pair-up with students pursuing computer science, robotics, etc.

In terms of areas to expand upon in your essays, I would offer two suggestions. From your introduction, it appears as though you will have less than the average number of years experience. This is not a deal-breaker, but I would encourage you to emphasize the quality of your experiences to date and be proactive in addressing the 'why now' question in terms of pursuing the mba. Additionally, I would continue to expand upon the fit. You've got the academics - look towards the community or other aspects of the program and culture that resonate with you.

I hope this is slightly helpful. Best of luck to you in the process.

Best,
James