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

Hello, wondering that school already match you alumni in your interview invitation if u live outside of U.S?

Hey everyone,

I'm gonna break up the monotony of the interview invite jitters and provide a debrief of my interview. I interviewed the other day on campus with a current student. I thought my interviewer was really awesome, and I was super impressed by the questions asked + dialogue that ensued. I didn't feel like there was a standardized set of questions during this interview. Instead, everything was very free flowing. My advice is to really know your story and what your future outlook is. Have specific examples of failures, success, friction with a boss, friction with peers, leadership moment, regrets, what makes you unique, etc etc... basically all the typical behavioral questions. Make sure your stories are air tight because we dove pretty deep with each one. As long as you're being genuine and witty (if the conversation permits), there shouldn't be any issues. I actually enjoyed this interview a lot more than any other interview.

Overall, I feel great about the interview but who knows what metrics are really involved. Now it is just a waiting game. I am going to forget about all of this by focusing on other things until mid March rolls around. Hope this helps! Go kick some ass!

Thanks dude! Super helpful and congrats on being done and crushing the interview!

Wonder if it's a bad sign that my application has been "Under Review" for several weeks now...

I finally received my "app under review" message yesterday, although I submitted 2 weeks before the deadline. The fact that Haas has in fact rolling admission within a round means they lack admission staff and have to spread their work over longer period. I don't think it means something for us.

I definitely agree.
With growing number of applicants and more essays to read (Haas required 3 essays, more than any other schools I have applied to.) I would assume they may not work as fast as other adcoms. But I am sure they are doing a thorough job.

Just got an invite - so apparently this is still happening!
SF-based, applied 1/4, got the email 2/12 afternoon PST.

Congrats!
When did you get "app under review" mail?
What about CBS, what school are you leaning to?

FROM Haas Admissions Blog: Poets & Quants Interview with First Berkeley EMBA Valedictorian

Laura Adint, EMBA 14, describes her cohort of classmates in the Berkeley MBA for Executives Program as a tribe in a Poets & Quants article about the program's first graduating class. Laura, the class valedictorian, says that in two short years, the class became her family. She came to the program with her eye on a C-Suite position and did her due diligence in selecting a program, creating a spreadsheet to compare location, program focus, post-graduate employment. In the end, she applied only to Berkeley-Haas. She said she often learned just as much from her classmates and their experiences as she did the professors. “We all get better together,” Laura said. “You help people out and you learn from others.” Laura also described the Berkeley EMBA program immersion weeks, telling Poets & Quants that the Silicon Valley Immersion Week focused on entrepreneurship had definite impact. “There was a really big shifting point that week,” Adint said. “There were a lot of people who left feeling like they could start a startup in the valley. It made it very real and attainable.” “This was the best gift I have ever given myself,” said Laura. “It was a sacrifice for myself and my family but one I would absolutely do again." After spending some of the fall doing her own consulting, Adint recently started her new job as a senior director of sales operations at SugarCRM. You can read the full story about our first class valedictorian and about the Berkeley EMBA experience in this Poets & Quants article.

FROM Haas Admissions Blog: EMBA Immersions: Unrivaled Access, Unanticipated Growth

Could you use fresh insights on entrepreneurship and innovation? Leadership? Our Berkeley MBA for Executives students value the program for its practical application in their current positions and future career moves. And you can’t get much more practical than our unparalleledImmersion Weeks. Once each term in the Berkeley EMBA, you spend time steeped in a very different kind of classroom: the real world. These immersive and experiential learning opportunities are a full 25% of the program and, together, they’ve given our students surprising new insight into entrepreneurship, leadership, innovation, public policy, and international business. TheLeadership Communication Immersion Week is equal parts self-reflection, pushing your boundaries, and bonding with classmates early in your studies. Professor Mark Rittenberg helps students tap their potential to motivate and inspire others, empower their work groups, build a support system, and learn from both failure and success. “Eye-opening,” ‘fabulous,” “phenomenal” are some of the milder descriptions of ourSilicon Valley Immersion Week. Here’s what Nicole Farrar, EMBA 14, senior corporate Counsel, Paragon Legal, said: “Professor Toby Stuart used the case method to illustrate key lessons in entrepreneurship and how ideas make it—or as importantly, don’t make it—into successful startups. Being able to then talk with actual founders and CEOs, to hear their personal stories, made it all so much more real and attainable.” Companies visited during Berkeley EMBA Silicon Valley Immersion Week Honing the entrepreneurial—and intrapreneurial—mindset is also the aim of the Applied Innovation Immersion, a week focused on getting hands-on with the entire innovation life cycle. As Paul Simpson, EMBA 14, founder and CEO of SageTel International said, “By emphasizing the importance of the story behind the product, Professor Sara Beckman helped me understand that true innovation is understanding the customer and using their needs to define your solution.” Our International Immersion Week goes deep into a specific country and its business environment. In 2014, Professor Teck Ho, director of the Asia Business Center at Haas, led a trip to Shanghai, where students analyzed the market entry of US companies into China through lectures, site visits, and discussions with local business and government leaders. This year, students are headed to Brazil to explore that country’s entrepreneurship, multinational corporations, and sports marketing.   The final Immersion Week is designed to introduce students to the role of policymaking in business. The 2014 trek to Washington, D.C., was organized by former presidential advisor, Professor Laura Tyson. “We met corporate executives, Cabinet undersecretaries, the directors of policy centers, and of course, a certain chair of the Federal Reserve Bank (Haas Professor Emeritus Janet Yellen, pictured above with students)," said student Luke Johnson, vice president, Business Development & Growth Initiatives, Christus Health. He added, "Meeting with advocacy groups, policy makers, and regulatory leadership provided an amazing window into the intersection of business and government."  Are you ready to be immersed? Get a taste of the experience with our Silicon Valley Immersion video.

Got an Interview offer today! Also based in SF Bay Area. Got the email at 3:12 PST on Friday.

For reference, I submitted on the deadline. I got the "file ready for review" email on the 30th.

Has anyone else completed an on campus interview that has any tips to share? It seems like the interview is pretty straight forward and conversational, but I have heard from a couple of friends that they got grilled on their long term goals (like what exactly you'd be doing, what stakeholders you would engage with, what would your day to day look like, etc.) I have also heard that they ask you about the defining principles but have not seen these questions come up on the clear admit forum. Any ideas?

Would love to see responses to this

Does Berkeley eventually "release" applicants who don't get interview invites? How bad are the chances if we haven't heard by now? Thanks!

Yes, they can get very specific. It's hard to give you advice on this because they don't follow a template that fits everyone. Really know your story and goals. For example... tell me about a time you had friction with a boss... be prepared to be followed up with: how did your boss react when you did that, what did your peers think, did that affect morale in your workplace, what would you do differently, how is everything now between you and your boss, what did you learn, etc etc. Yes, you're right about defining principles. Be prepared for a question asking which is your favorite + a situation where you exemplified one.

Just relax and be yourself. I personally didn't over prepare for this interview because I felt the nature of the interview would hurt me if I did. I simply thought up some recent scenarios to fit what they might ask me and went from there. Big picture stuff. I think one reason they're prodding is to verify how genuine you are with your stories. Think of it as a first date where your common ground is you both think Haas is a super cool place. Dress nice, be polite, and be genuine.

Thanks cowabungaman7! I agree, I keep going feeling like I should prepare, but I felt like I did much better on my second b-school interview because I wasn't so rehearsed. Taking time to actually think about the question you are being asked makes for a much more real conversation. Sounds like you did well. Maybe I will see you at Haas in the Fall!

Nice one! When did your application go "under review"?