Marshall (USC) MBA.PM Class of 2017 Calling all applicants!

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640. although, i have a feeling i squeaked in with that score. overall, i've heard that they are tightening the criteria for applicants. i would recommend you retake the GMAT and resubmit your score if you've already applied. how many times have you taken it so far?

I was accepted with a 660. USC is accepting 25% less people for the part time program to try to boost their rankings. I know a couple of people with 640 and 650 that were waitlisted. I would suggest you retake the test.

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does anyone have a link to the letter that was sent out about Marshall accepting less students this year?

Dear MBA.PM students,

As an advance to our forthcoming Town Hall meeting on Wednesday Nov 20, I would like to mention briefly a few of the initiatives related to the program currently underway.

As you all know in recent US News rankings, our program came in at number 11, up from 16 in the previous ranking. This is excellent news and it shows we have some positive momentum. We are taking additional measures to make sure our program keeps climbing into the elite positions where it deserves to be.

In particular, we are going to raise the standards of our program substantially. That will mean a reduction in size that will take us from four cores to three (LA, Saturday, and Orange County, one each).

In addition, we are starting a revision of the curriculum. We have not undertaken a revision of our curriculum in a while and feel there are opportunities we can capitalize to further strengthen the program.

In the past, most of our MBA.PM students were sponsored by their firms. For a number of factors that affect all MBA programs alike and not only ours, employers are less likely to sponsor MBA degrees. We recognize this change and will start allocating scholarships to some of the new MBA.PM students.

Finally, we will make the program substantially more competitive. To guarantee we are getting the best possible students, we are already starting to conduct interviews in the recruiting process.

I look forward to our meeting and hope to see many of you there.

Sincerely,
Fernando Zapatero
Vice Dean for Graduate Programs
Robert G. Kirby Chair in Behavioral Finance
Professor of Finance and Business Economics
Marshall School of Business
University of Southern California
630 Childs Way
Popovich Hall 200
Los Angeles, CA 90089-2631

With the June 1 deadline coming up, has anyone heard anything about the number of open spaces left in the part time program? With the class size cut, its pretty nerve wrecking. I'm worried that I'm cutting it close to the deadline and risk being wait-listed or rejected. I just finished retaking the GMAT and am in the final stages of polishing my essay and resume. I hope to be able to submit my application soon. But reading a lot of these post has made me even more worried...

For what it's worth, only 49 people created a profile on the MBA.PM welcome site. The website has been up for a few weeks by now. I believe last years class size was 230. If we assume USC will cut the class by 25%, then they will target a class size of around ~173 people this year. I haven't created a profile yet and I assume a few other people are procrastinating on creating a profile, but I'm sure we are in the minority. Meaning there is still a lot of open seats available.

Also, I know a couple of people who were waitlisted by USC but were accepted into more "prestigious" MBA programs. They might be waitlisting more people this year and then taking them off the waitlist later depending on the class size and strength.

Any other updates on Marshall.PM? I am about to submit my application this week.... I am not sure why they went to this "rolling admissions" process and then decrease the class size. I guess they want more applicants to reject.

I got the call yesterday telling me I have been accepted! All the hard work these past few months have paid off. I was actually really surprised I heard back so soon. I only submitted my application last week. Quick turn around!

Hi amy. What day did you submit yours? I submitted yesterday and wonder if I will be reviewed in the same wave of apps or have to wait until june

Posted from my mobile device

Congrats! I just submitted my app yesterday. I hope I get a yay or nay soon. USC is #1 for me over Anderson.

Hey Marshall PM'ers! I have a close friend applying to the PM program and was curious if you had to have GMAT scores by the 1st? He wants to retake the test but has a score he could use for now.

He's similar to many of you and is reacting to the move by Marshall to make the program more competitive.

Thanks and Fight On!

Best of luck! I'll be a FT'er at Marshall and am trying to convince a friend to go with Marshall over Anderson for his PM degree. Care to share why the Marshall love?

(Of course I'll absolutely agree)

Fight on!

I submitted my application on 4/28. I know my recommendation and official transcript were sent earlier. Do you have everything that is required submitted? I was under the impression that they regularly review applications.

good luck!

Seriously, it truly doesn't matter. They are both looked at the same in SoCal, regardless of US News Rankings. USC is my #1 only because it's more conveniently located to my job.

I also went for undegrad and literally got a great bang for my buck. I got multiple job offers, even though I bypassed campus recruitment. Every single job I have worked at has always had a USC alumni or someone that thinks highly of USC for whatever reason. Even the USC haters, still respect the degree...lol...

Eventually, USC is going to put forth more effort and increase their MBA rankings. But, right now they're still relying on the overall reputation of the school.

I also wasn't impressed by those attending a UCLA FEMBA event, too many liberal arts folks with no real work experience. But, based on my super saturday interview it seems as though UCLA accepts A LOT of engineers, which is odd. I work with engineers all day, I'm not necessarily interested in talking technical stuff in business school. Just my thoughts though!

Thanks for the share. The Trojan Network really is something to behold. Hope to see you in the halls of Marshall next year - fight on!

Can some of you who were accepted share your GMAT scores? I want to apply. Trying to get a gauge of what the average score should be. I've been told ranges from 600-650 for the Part-Time Program.

I also want to apply for the OC MBA Program/Cohort

Has anyone else been accepted? I'm still biting my fingers waiting for a response...hahahaha