Hi
srivshreya,
Thank you for your kind words and follow-up note!
The three-year degree element is worth covering, so thank you for highlighting it. Beyond Stanford and Haas, I'd encourage you to look deeply into the requirements and FAQs for all of the programs you're considering, and if anything remains unclear, you should also reach out to those programs to inquire. As for Stanford and Haas, I read both of these to be fairly strict, but with a hint of flexibility.
Here's
another Haas response from an Admissions Chat four months ago:
"Hello Anonymous, with a three year Bachelor's degree, you are welcome to apply to the program, however your application might not be as competitive as individuals who have completed a four year Bachelor's degree. We usually suggest for applicants in a similar situation to complete a one year Master's degree or certificate program to have the same number of study as the majority of the applicants. Keep in mind we have a holistic overview process."
That response and Haas's email response to you leave the door open a little bit more than their official requirements and FAQs. Stanford's email response leaves the door open slightly, too, citing that they have "flexibility" in the same breath that they're telling you a three-year degree does not satisfy the official requirements.
In both cases (and potentially others, again you should check the rules for every single school), you are going to be at a competitive disadvantage but are welcome to apply. You'd basically be hoping that "McKinsey" helps provide enough credibility to make up for the three-year degree, and that they're willing to look past the academic elements of the requirement. And they will need to fall in your with your applications of course! The three-year degree does make things harder for you, which is tough with an already challenging list of schools.
Again, you should continue to vet the policy for every program you're considering, and it should factor into your school selection strategy. You can still apply to these programs, but understand that it's going to be more difficult than it would otherwise be. I would calibrate your school strategy accordingly, favoring programs that are open to it, and probably being a little more conservative with your overall strategy and specific school selection than I suggested in my previous post, when I did not explicitly address the three-year degree factor.
I will let you know if I have any future discussions that shed further light on the matter. Coming from McKinsey, you're in a little better of a situation than someone who has a three-year degree and nondescript or mediocre work experience. But it still puts you at a competitive disadvantage relative to if you had a four-year degree.
Best Regards,
Greg
srivshreya wrote:
Hi Greg,
Thanks for your response.
It is by far the most useful answer I have got.
One very important concern for me was that 2 of these schools - Stanford & Haas explicitly mention on the website that 3 year degree from India is not acceptable.
I mailed both adcoms and here are the replies:-
*****************HAAS***********************
Hello Shreya,
Thank you for your interest in the full-time MBA program at Berkeley Haas. Please note, you are eligible to apply with your 3-year degree, however you could be at a competitive disadvantage in the pool of applicants who primarily have 4-year degrees.
One of the best tools for learning more about our program is our website, which outlines the details of the MBA program as well as the application procedure:
Each applicant’s professional experience is reviewed along with academic aptitude, GMAT or GRE examination results, TOEFL or IELTS examination results (if applicable), and letters of recommendation. Generally speaking, most of the current MBA students have between 3 and 8 years of full-time professional experience following the completion of their undergraduate degree.
We encourage you to review the profile of our students at. This will give you a good reference point for measuring your qualifications in comparison.
Best wishes,
Pam Maestas
Full-Time Berkeley MBA Admissions
Haas School of Business
University of California, Berkeley
(510) 642-1405
******************GSB*********************************
Hello Shreya,
A U.S. bachelor’s degree or equivalent is required for admission to the Stanford MBA Program; yet our admissions committee has flexibility Please note the following for international degrees from India:
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal: Bachelor’s degree in engineering or medicine; master’s degree in all other fields. (Note: A three-year bachelor’s degree in any subject is not considered sufficient for graduate study at Stanford. The two-year master’s degree following the three-year bachelor’s degree from India is required.)
Information about our US Bachelor's degree equivalent requirement can be found in the "Admission" section of the MBA Program website. These are Stanford’s general requirements. While the preference is for a four-year equivalent, we have flexibility with these requirements and you are welcome to apply.
Kind regards,
Nancy
MBA Admissions Office
Stanford Graduate School of Business
**************************************************************************************
Now you have already mentioned that GSB is a long shot and their response is also more negative but do you think I should take a chance by applying.
Also on the age front, I will turn 24 by the time I apply and 25 when I join.
_________________
Greg Guglielmo
Founder | Avanti Prep
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