Calling all Berkeley-Haas Fall 2009 Applicants

I'm still debating whether or not to apply. I will only have 2.5 yrs we by the time I matriculate, which doesn't seem like it would be enough. Isn't Haas known for older students with more WE on avg?

I am going to have 3 years of WE on matriculation and I still plan to give it a shot. I noticed that they have several '05 grads in their Class of 2010 facebook group. They may be trending younger to be some degree as well. It's still definitely a stretch for me - but I want to give it a shot anyway because I think I'd really enjoy it there and the location is unbeatable considering my ideal job after graduation would be I-Banking in San Francisco.

Berkeley definitely trends "older" than other schools (Stanford comes to mind), but that does NOT mean they don't accept younger applicants. If you only have 2-3 years of WE, but they're great WE and you can write good essays about them, then you are very competitive.

Great to see some Haas applicants!

Hi kryzak,

My husband and I are both planning on applying to Berkley coming Fall. We visited the campus in April and absolutely loved it. But I am a little bit worried about my GMAT score, I have a 82% (quant), 76% (verbal) split , score - 670. My back ground is engineering and i have a Masters GPA of 3.8.

Will taking a course help my case? Or do you think i should rather focus on the application part?

Thanks.

hi prospect,

Your GMAT is below the mean of Haas, but your Masters GPA is very high (especially in Engineering). What is your undergrad GPA if you don't mind me asking, and was it in Engineering?

I think you may be fine if you ace the essays and recommendations. There are fewer women applicants in general, so that will give you some edge.

EDIT: If you are confident you can hit a 700, it might be worth a try.

Hi kryzak,

Thank you for your response. I did my undergraduate in India also in Engineering. I studied in a National Institute of Technology and we did not have a gpa system in school. I have a First class with Distinction ,this is the highest grade given to students.

Thanks.

Hi propect,

Your top grades in engineering school will definitely offset the slightly below average (Haas average that is) GMAT score. But the Indian background (even as a woman) will make it slightly more competitive, though not as competitive as a Male/Indian/IT. Many Indian applicants are engineers with good scores/GPAs and very high GMATs. So keep that in mind.

After knowing your background better, I would still suggest that you try to raise your GMAT score to the 700+ area if possible. But once you do that, I would spend a lot of time working on your essays to make sure you bring out your unique qualities and tell a good story.

Thanks kryzak.

kryzak,

If I were to paste my profile from Paul Bodine's page would you be willing to give me your thoughts? Thanks!

P

of course

Great! Here goes...

-Male, Caucasian, 25 at time of application
-3.4 GPA in architecture from University of Michigan
-730 GMAT (taken last August), 44 V (97%) 47 Q (81%) 6.0 AWA

Work Experience: 3.5 years (at time of application) as project designer at small Manhattan architecture firm (I'll go into more detail below).

Volunteer Experience: Ongoing working relationship (8+ months) with Manhattan nonprofit firm promoting urban agriculture and sustainable urban development. My role is to provide design expertise for architecture that would support agriculture or other environmentally responsible practices, then provide artwork to be used by the firm in its marketing materials. I currently devote about 10 hrs/week to this pursuit.

Extracurriculars: In college I worked a number of jobs, including a facilities job at the UM Law School (was promoted to student manager after about a year) and refereeing intramural sports. Also participated in numerous intramural sports while in school. I hadn't done much since college in this regard, however.

Goals: I am looking to divert my career path from architecture to real estate development. I am particularly interested in driving development that is environmentally and socially responsible, and hope to own my own real estate firm in the future.

Schools: Northwestern (extreme reach!), Berkeley (reach), UT-Austin, UNC, Arizona State, maybe one or two others that aren't too farfetched.

Right, about the work and leadership experience: I know that my lack of leadership experience will be my greatest weakness in the application review process. I have been the point man on a number of projects and my recommenders will attest to my work, but I haven't held a formal position of leadership. I recently spoke to my bosses about increasing my role as a leader and they were very accommodating. Also, I'm planning to take on more volunteer work in the very near future. Based on what I've read, though, I'm skeptical that my leadership profile will stand out significantly from other applicants at the top programs on my list. I'm primarily marketing myself as an individual with strong academics, an unconventional professional background and focused career goals.

With regard to Haas, does it look like I'll have a chance? Thanks a bunch, kryzak!

So, why isn't Ross MBA/Erb MS combo not on your list? Unless you dont want to come back to Ann Arbor.

I've given that a good deal of thought, and I've concluded two things: First, that I don't think that I want to go back to school for three years (the dual program is three, correct?) when I can accomplish what I want to accomplish in two. Second, I hold my undergrad years in Ann Arbor in very high regard - I loved being there for four years and I will always be thankful for the opportunities UM has granted me. Frankly, I don't want my positive memories of UM to be colored differently by a different experience received while getting my MBA.

On the other hand, Ann Arbor represents a place and culture, not to mention a climate, with which I know that I'm comfortable, so it's always in the back of my mind as a potential MBA location. Go blue!

Erb?

Now now NC, trying to recruit potential Haas people in a Haas thread? That's bad etiquette you know.

But anyway PHoyle, from your goals, I think Haas is a very good fit for you. The Net Impact awareness of your architectural work and volunteering will definitely stand out in the application and is a great fit for the socially responsible culture of Haas. The Real Estate program at Haas is also strong, combined with a top Architecture school where there may be joint classes with the business school (not sure, but I'm sure you can use your credits on a couple classes in that college).

With that said, you have a good understanding of your own candidacy and know what you need to emphasize. I'm sure if you look deeper into what you've done in school or at work (or your extracurriculars), you can find *some* kind of leadership. Remember, leadership does NOT have to be a formal position or something where you lead a huge group of people. I never had formal leadership positions at work, as all my leadership comes from volunteering groups within and outside of the company. The only leadership claim I have is unofficially leading a group of 15 engineers on a task for a few months, without the title. But I described many things I've done in a way that it demonstrates my understanding of how to lead a group (time management, delegation of work, planning, scheduling, how to deal with interpersonal problems, etc...)

with your background, I like your academics and GMAT, hovering above the mean. Your unusual background (not that many architecture professionals applying) and your perfect fit goals (with Haas's culture) should stand you out in the sea of applications.

I would call Haas a "cautious on par" school for you. The "cautious" comes from Haas' small class size (thus very low admit rate). I think if you focus a lot of your efforts on Haas (visiting, understanding the classes that will help you reach your goal, talking to the Net Impact and Sustainability clubs, and telling a very convincing story), you have a good chance of getting in. Of course, those things are NOT easy to do, so don't take it for granted. Start your essays and research now. I can get you in contact with some Net Impact people so you can start the discussion. Try to swing by for classes (if you're not too far away) or the summer info session at the end of July.

Since I also applied to Kellogg, I can say Kellogg is probably a reach school (not super-reach though) if you do the same research (visiting is not as important, but understanding their culture IS) on it. They're not as big on real estate and Net Impact, but the general program is so strong you'll do just fine there too.

As for your school list:

I would focus a lot of efforts on Kellogg and Haas. I think your profile will get you into at least one of the rest (Austin, UNC, and Arizona State) if you re-use parts of your essays from Kellogg and Haas.

I would probably recommend throwing in UCLA as a possible school for real estate, and maybe one of the East Coast schools (I think Cornell is good at real estate if you can stand living in Ithaca?).

You have a good enough profile to take a chance on the top 10 schools, you just have to cover your weakness (the leadership part) and make sure the rest of your application is flawless.

Hope that helps!

kryzak,

That helps a great deal, thank you. I view Haas as my top school right now; I think your input confirms that it offers a great program based on what I would like to do. Any edge I can get to get in, therefore, is greatly appreciated. If you don't mind giving me some Net Impact contacts, I'd be very grateful. Thanks again!

P

I have a very similar profile as you phoyle (I want to to sustainable land development as well), except I currently work in land development, and my degree was in history (UCLA). I do budget coordination for about 6 projects, but I want to move into the acquisition and design phases of development. I'm still toying with Haas myself, all the best!

Always nice to hear from someone with similar interests, Victory! What led you to development from a history background?