UC-Berkeley (Haas) MBA Application FAQ

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General Questions
What is the difference between the Full-Time, Evening & Weekend, and the Berkeley-Columbia Executive MBA Programs?The main difference between the programs is the profile of the students. The full-time students generally have about 5 years of work experience, Evening & Weekend students generally have about 8 years of work experience, and Berkeley-Columbia Executive MBA students generally have about 12 years of work experience. All programs are competitive.

Compare the programs here.
What is the best way for me to learn about the Berkeley MBA program?
Besides looking carefully over the website, we recommend visiting the campus. During your visit you can have lunch with a student, attend an information session, and attend a class.

We also participate in and periodically sponsor events for potential students in locations around the world.

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What is the structure of the Berkeley MBA program? How long does it take?The full-time Berkeley MBA program is a two year full-time degree program. The Berkeley MBA curriculum is anchored by twelve required core courses which students complete in the first year, including leadership, finance, accounting, operations, micro- and macro-economics, strategy, organizational behavior, data and decisions, leadership communication, marketing, and business ethics. The core courses, which make up about 40% of a typical student's course of study, are deliberately designed to build upon one another and provide a common foundation for all the students in the program. Elective courses comprise 60% of the Berkeley MBA curriculum, meaning that students begin to customize their own course of study very early in the program. Students take classes Monday through Thursday. Fridays are usually spent attending discussion sessions, career services workshops and other curricular and extra-curricular activities.For further details about the curriculum, please visit http://mba.haas.berkeley.edu/academics/curriculum.html.

What is the size of the first-year class?Our goal is to enroll 240 students in the Berkeley MBA Program each August. Each entering class is divided into four groups of 60 students. In the first semester, all students in the cohort take the same core classes. The cohort system provides a support system for first-year entering students.

Do you post transcripts of your online chats?Yes. Please visit our Online Chats for more frequently asked questions and answers!

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Financing Your MBA
What type of scholarship and financial aid are available?Almost 70% of Haas students receive some form of financial assistance, which can include federal and private loans, fellowships, instructorships, and assistantships.

The two largest scholarship programs are the Haas Merit Scholarship and Haas Achievement Award. Haas Merit Scholarships are awarded to the most outstanding applicants overall; all MBA applicants are routinely considered for these awards, and no special application is necessary. Haas Achievement Awards are awarded to applicants who have achieved success in spite of significant economic, educational, health-related or other obstacles. Haas Merit Scholarships and Haas Achievement Awards cover either 50% or 100% of tuition and required fees for both years of MBA study.

The most common form of financial assistance is student loans, largely from programs supported by the U.S. Federal Government. Further details about federal loan options are available on our website. International students are not eligible for this loan assistance, but may apply for limited loan support through our private loan programs. Haas does not fully fund any students, and we encourage all students to plan carefully to ensure adequate financing.

On our website you'll also find information about scholarships offered by the Haas School of Business as well as outside scholarship opportunities provided by a number of external organizations for which Berkeley MBA students are eligible.

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What opportunities exist for me to work off-campus in order to finance my MBA education? Due to the rigorous nature of the MBA curriculum, students in the full-time MBA program are not able to work off-campus during their first year. In some cases, second-year students have worked up to 10 hours per week, usually by continuing to work for the company at which they held their summer internship. More common is the opportunity for second-year students to serve as graduate student instructors (GSIs). Nearly 30% of our full-time MBA students serve in this role, which partially reduces their rate of tuition and also provides them with a small monthly stipend.

When should I apply for financial aid?Federal financial aid, in the form of loans, is available for MBA students who are either US citizens or US permanent residents. To apply, file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/. You can complete the FAFSA any time after January 1st, and we encourage you to file it prior to being admitted to Haas to help eliminate any processing delays. The UC Berkeley federal school code is 001312. Berkeley has a priority filing deadline of March 2nd to be considered for the Parent Grant or for undergraduate aid. This deadline does not affect loan eligibility for graduate students. To ensure timely processing of loan funds, students should complete the FAFSA as soon as possible.

International students are not eligible for federal loans. Private loan programs are available to international students, either with or without the use of a co-signer.

If you want to be considered for scholarship opportunities outside of the Haas Merit Scholarship and Haas Achievement Award, start researching now. Our list of outside scholarship opportunities provides information about scholarships offered by external organizations for which Berkeley MBA students are eligible.

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Applying to the Berkeley MBA Program
How many people apply to the Full-Time MBA Program each year?
The program receives approximately 3,700 applications in a typical year. In recent years, we have received as many as 4,500 applications and as few as 2,800 applications.

What are the application deadlines?
There are four Application Deadlines for fall 2010:

Round 1: For applications that are complete and submitted by October 13, 2010, decisions will be sent on January 13, 2011.
Round 2: For applications that are complete and submitted by December 2, 2010 decisions will be sent on March 3, 2011.
Round 3: For applications that are complete and submitted by January 20, 2011, decisions will be sent on April 21, 2011.
Round 4: For applications that are complete and submitted by March 16, 2011, decisions will be sent on May 26, 2011.

Note:
the GMAT and TOEFL must be taken on or before the designated deadline. Your complete online application must be submitted prior to 11:59 PM Pacific Standard Time the evening of the deadline. In addition, all supplemental materials must be postmarked on or before the deadline date

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In which Round should I apply? How important is it to apply in Round One?Applicants are encouraged to apply as early as possible, provided that you do not sacrifice the quality of your application to do so. If you find that you need more time to revise your essays or to retake the GMAT, for example, you should definitely take the extra time to do so. Do note, however, that we make most of our offers of admission from Rounds 1, 2, and 3. Only a small number of Round 4 applicants are offered admission each year.

Can I waive my application fee?U.S. citizens or permanent residents who demonstrate financial need are eligible to request a waiver of the application fee. We do not process fee waiver applications through the MBA Admissions Office. To request a waiver, please complete the online form and submit it with the required supporting materials by February 5, 2010 to the Graduate Division Office.

Please let admissions know if you have applied for a fee waiver. We are unable to process your application until we receive notice from Graduate Division that your fee waiver has been approved.

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Can I mail my supplemental materials (transcripts, degree certificates and letters of recommendation) directly to you? Where do I send these materials?We prefer that you upload copies of official transcripts or degree certificates with your online application; and submit your official letters of recommendation electronically with your online application. If you are invited to interview, you will be required to submit official transcripts and degree certificates by mail.

You may mail any supplemental materials to:
Full-Time MBA Admissions
Haas School of Business
University of California, Berkeley
430 Student Services Bldg #1902
Berkeley, CA 94720-1902

Transcripts & Degree Certificates: You may mail official copies or photocopies of official documents for review purposes. If you are invited to interview, you will be required to submit official copies by mail. We do not accept self-reported scores, only copies of official documents. Please do NOT email electronic versions of academic records to us. They will not be accepted. Furthermore, they contain confidential information and email is not secure and could expose you to risk. The Haas School of Business is not responsible for information including academic records that are emailed to us.

Letters of Recommendation: You may ask your recommender to complete the paper recommendation form to send directly to our office. We accept no more than two letters of recommendation with the letter writers’ signature across the seals of the envelope (unless submitted online by the recommenders).

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Should I call to confirm that my transcripts have arrived? What about my official test scores?Please refrain from contacting the admissions office to verify that we have received your official transcripts or test scores. You will receive an email once your application has been initially reviewed for completeness, approximately 3 - 6 weeks from the deadline for which you applied. If anything is missing, we will send you an email outlining the missing documents.

While we require official GMAT and/or TOEFL test scores, we initially review your application based on your self-reported score, which you indicate on your online application.

If I have received multiple bachelor's or master's degrees, which GPA do you consider?The admission committee reviews your entire academic record; however, the committee focuses more heavily on your first bachelor's degree.

If I have already completed MBA classes at another university may I waive some of the classes or transfer credit?We do not transfer MBA credit from other universities, so any work that you had completed at other institutions will not count toward a degree at UC Berkeley. You may waive out of core courses at the discretion of the faculty, but you must replace the waived course with another class.

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How can I reactivate my application if I have applied previously? Please see the reapplication instructions.

How do I upload my transcripts or degree certificates?See the application instructions for more information. PDFs of academic records may be uploaded via the application for each educational institution you list in the education section. We only accept PDF format for upload and ask that you determine the document will be legible and can print on an 8.5” x 11” piece of paper. Please scan BOTH sides of your transcripts. You may withdraw and re-upload your documents as often as you like, but due to security concerns you will not be able to preview your uploaded document. Please do not contact the admissions office to confirm that the upload was successful. If your documents are not legible or there were any problems during the upload, we will contact you as we prepare and set up your file for review.

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Test Scores
What is the required TOEFL or IELTS score for international applicants?The Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) is administered in three formats, internet-based, paper and pencil, and computer-based. If you take the internet-based version, you must earn a score of at least 68. If you take the paper and pencil version, your score must be at least 570 out of 677. And if you take the computer-based test, you must earn a score of at least 230 out of 300. For detailed information about the TOEFL please visit the TOEFL web site at http://www.toefl.org/

While TOEFL is preferred, you can submit scores from the Academic Modules of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) designed by the University of Cambridge Local Examinations Syndicate and administered by the British Council worldwide.

To register for the IELTS, consult the IELTS Web site or contact the office of the test center where you plan to take the test. You may also write the British Council, Bridgewater House, 58 Whitworth Street, Manchester, M1 6BB, U.K. or email the Council.

You are responsible for providing us with an official Test Report Form (TRF) of your IELTS. Remember to order the TRF when you register to take the test. Your most recent overall BAND score must be at least 7 on a 9-point scale.