Berkeley / Haas MBA News

Published: March 20, 2018

MBA Programs Promote Men as Allies for Gender Equity

On March 17, UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business hosted its 22nd annual Women in Leadership (WiL) Conference, which Clear Admit covered in depth here. The event was a rousing success that attracted more than 400 students, alumni, and professionals to campus to talk about women leaders and advance the conversation on gender quality and social justice. One of the keys to its success: allyship. Read more

Published: March 19, 2018

Anticipating Round 2 Decisions via Clear Admit’s LiveWire and MBA Chats

Throughout the rest of March, leading business schools will be rolling out their decisions to Round 2 MBA applicants. While many are eager for the gift of admission via phone, email or portal, waiting for a decision can push anxiety levels to full tilt for the Class of 2020 hopefuls. But, fear not, anxious applicants! At Clear Admit, we have two resources that are designed to help you navigate the next couple weeks: Clear Admit LiveWire and Clear Admit MBA Chats. Reports from Real Candidates on MBA LiveWire Keep your finger on the pulse of MBA Read more

Published: March 19, 2018

Chicago Booth Tops U.S. News 2019 MBA Ranking for First Time, Tied with HBS

They’re out, and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business can pop the bubbly this year. We’re talking, of course, about this year’s U.S. News & World Report ranking of the nation’s best MBA programs, released today. Chicago Booth has claimed its first-ever No. 1 rank. It tied for first with Harvard Business School (HBS), which has held or shared the No. 1 spot for four years running. The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, which tied HBS for first last year, slipped to third. Read more

Published: March 14, 2018

How Are Top Business Schools Promoting Women?

How to help more women advance in business school and the larger business world is a topic that deserves attention year round, but it does receive added airplay throughout the month of March, which is Women's History Month in the United States and includes the celebration of International Women’s Day globally. The reality is that the overall number of women in business school is still not close to 50/50, though many top programs and organizations such as the Forté Foundation are working to change that. The Financial Times’ new ranking of Top MBAs for Women, released earlier this month, celebrated some of this work, although it also made clear that more is needed. According to the report, women still only account for a third of students at 100 of the top MBA programs—the same number as five years ago. And, worse yet, there’s evidence that suggests women may be experience a greater pay gap after obtaining the MBA degree. Pre-MBA, women earn 91 percent what men make, but post-MBA they earn only 86 percent, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. With work still to be done to encourage women in business school and beyond, we want to take this opportunity to highlight what a few of the top MBA programs around the country are doing to keep moving the needle. Far from an exhaustive list of all that MBA programs are doing promote women in business, it is intended to provide just a taste of the many efforts underway. Read more

Published: March 14, 2018

Our Latest Podcast: Acing the Skype or Video Interview

Wrapping up our comprehensive coverage of how to prepare for interviews of every sort, the latest episode in the Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast series focuses on the Skype or video interview. An option widely available to MBA applicants who perhaps can’t travel to the business school they’re applying to, the Skype or video interview is also increasingly used by recruiters in the job search process. So brushing up on how best to prepare for this increasingly common interview format is valuable whether you’re in the thick of the MBA admissions process or just looking ahead toward your post-MBA career Read more

Published: March 12, 2018

March Madness Begins: Consortium MBA Draft Takes Place Today

No, it has nothing to do with basketball. A draft of another sort will take place today, but for some MBA applicants it could be as big as getting signed with the Golden State Warriors. We’re talking about the annual draft for the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management. Each year, the group’s member business schools offer tens of millions of dollars in fellowships to hundreds of MBA applicants, most under-represented minorities. Clear Admit’s DecisionWeek is brought to you by HBX. HBX brings the dynamism of the Harvard Business School classroom to online learning—preparing participants for the Read more

Published: March 11, 2018

Three Reasons to Apply to MBA Programs in Round 3

As we move through March, the Round 3 deadlines of leading MBA Programs are drawing near. Conventional wisdom in the MBA admissions world suggests it’s best to avoid the final rounds when applying to top business schools, but sometimes circumstances dictate otherwise. One thing to keep in mind is that all indications suggest that this year could actually be a good one in which to apply in R3. This is because a strong global economy and job market (particularly in the US and Europe) have led to declines in MBA application volume at many business schools. As such, several top programs will likely Read more

Published: March 5, 2018

What the Relaunch of the Berkeley Entrepreneurship Association Could Mean for Haas MBA Students

Entrepreneurship at the Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley is getting an upgrade. Right now the university is working to rebrand and relaunch the Berkeley Entrepreneurship Association (BEA). While the newly updated BEA isn’t available yet, it’s in the works and will have many exciting announcements over the next weeks and months. We were lucky enough to get an inside look at what’s coming to the BEA in a talk with Luca Cosentino, MBA’19, BEA president and co-chair and the man behind the re-launch. Here’s the inside scoop! Clear Admit: What is the Berkeley Entrepreneurship Read more

Published: March 5, 2018

Financial Times Reveals New Ranking of Top MBAs for Women

For years, there’s been a growing push for women to enter business and business school, and some change has occurred. In 2017, four in 10 applicants to two-year, full-time MBA programs were women, up from 33 percent in 2013 according to the Graduate Management Admissions Council. Unfortunately, that increase in applications has not been reflected within MBA cohorts. Women still only account for a third of the students accepted into the top 100 MBA programs, the same as it was five years ago. And there’s another issue as well: cost. Women, on average, earn around 91 percent of their Read more

Published: March 5, 2018

Our Five Favorite MBA Podcasts Right Now

Many business schools and MBA students have recently begun to produce podcasts, discussing the diverse range of student and graduate experiences as well as current trends and relevant topics in business. These podcasts are unique in that they provide a candid, first-person look at business school from those currently enrolled, allowing for an open platform to discuss business topics outside of the confines of the university. While this is a fairly new trend, there are several different podcasts out there for those who might be interested to learn more. We’ve assembled our five favorite MBA podcasts right now, and we’ll Read more

Published: February 27, 2018

Berkeley Haas Celebrates 8 Years of Defining Leadership Principles

If you want to get a feel for the culture of UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, look no further than its four Defining Leadership Principles (DLPs): Question the Status Quo, Confidence Without Attitude, Students Always, and Beyond Yourself. Introduced eight years ago, the DLPs have become a part of the fabric of the school. In fact, 75 percent of students from all three MBA programs and the undergraduate program cite them as a major reason they chose to attend. Not only that, 90 percent of Haas alumni surveyed from the past decade report being familiar with them and using them to navigate both their professional and personal lives. Earlier this month, as part of Haas Culture Day, the school celebrated the DLPs' eighth birthday, complete with cupcakes. Read more

Published: February 26, 2018

7 Top Takeaways from Leading Business School 2017 Employment Reports

There’s been a steady stream of salary and employment data from leading business schools over the past several months as one after another has released 2017 employment reports. We’ve shared a lot of it along the way, including special reports on Kellogg, McDonough, NYU Stern, Tuck, and Stanford. With results from nearly every top school now in, prospective MBA students can take heart that the news is pretty universally encouraging. Overall, data gathered about the Class of 2017 reveal growing salaries across all industries Read more

Published: February 26, 2018

MBA ApplyWire Spotlight: Applying to Business School in Round 3

As prime deadlines for this season pass, many are sharing their stories and concerns on ApplyWire, Clear Admit’s latest tool to aid in your admissions process. This week, since ApplyWire is also a place to receive advice, we're setting the spotlight on a candidate considering applying in Round 3. We take a closer look at a post from an applicant with admission to Emory / Goizueta and waiting to hear from UVA / Darden and UT Austin / McCombs, but also potentially targeting Berkeley / Haas, Northwestern / Kellogg, and Stanford GSB in Round 3. Read on for more details about the candidate’s background. Read more

Published: February 13, 2018

Five Tips for Keeping Love Alive in Business School

This is an oldie but a goodie from the Clear Admit archives—as applicable this Valentine’s Day as it was last year. Enjoy! As any business school student will tell you, the pressures of a top-tier MBA program can be overwhelming. And as anyone who’s been in a romantic relationship can attest, care and attention are required to keep things on track. Trying to tackle both simultaneously definitely presents some challenges, but couples from a range of leading schools assure us it can indeed be done. In honor of Valentine’s Day, they’ve generously shared their tips for keeping love alive in Read more

Published: January 29, 2018

Going Green: Can You Guess Which Business Schools Lead the Way?

Earlier this month, the Global Hub at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management earned LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification, becoming only the second building on the Northwestern campus to earn the U.S. Green Building Council’s highest green building rating. The 415,000-square-foot Global Hub, which opened in March 2017, was designed with a low carbon footprint in mind. It is the largest of Northwestern’s 12 LEED-certified buildings. “Achieving LEED Platinum certification for the Global Hub underscores Kellogg’s strong commitment to sustainability,” Kellogg Chief Operating Officer William Garrett said in a press release. “A world-class facility demands world-class practices, Read more

Published: January 28, 2018

2018 Financial Times MBA Rankings: Stanford GSB Dashes INSEAD Three-Peat Dreams

INSEAD hoped to top the Financial Times MBA rankings for the third year in a row, but it wasn’t to be. Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) gets top bragging rights this year, returning to the number-one spot it has held only once before, in 2012. INSEAD was knocked to number two, followed by the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, which held steady at number three. London Business School (LBS) reclaimed some ground this year—coming in fourth—after a rare fall last year out of the top five. Read more

Published: January 16, 2018

Berkeley Haas Transforms Tragedy into Social Good

In the wake of a heartbreaking tragedy, students at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business harnessed their empathy and initiative to create a chance to fund future underrepresented minority and social impact startups. The Haas EMBA Class of 2017 established the Sanaya Shah Memorial Fund to honor classmate Sumit Shah and his wife Astha Shah’s daughter Sanaya, who passed away after 52 days “due to complications from prematurity and a rare heart condition.” “She was our little warrior princess, a true fighter to the very end who never gave up,” Sumit said in Read more

Published: December 10, 2017

Admissions Tip: Round 2 Deadlines

Anyone who’s familiar with the MBA application process knows that December moves forward at an accelerated pace, mixing work, with holidays and application preparation. Come the New Year, Round 2 application deadlines come swiftly. To help this year’s Round Two applicants avoid the classic time crunch, today’s blog post offers some basic advice on how to approach the Round Two MBA deadlines at a reasonable pace. Let’s start by taking a quick look at a handful of the earliest deadlines for the top MBA programs: January 2, Michigan Ross January 3, Harvard, UPenn Wharton, Chicago Booth, Read more

Published: December 4, 2017

MBA ApplyWire Spotlight: Applying to Business School for Consulting

As Round 1 decisions roll out to MBA candidates, several are still seeking advice on ApplyWire, Clear Admit’s latest tool to aid in your admissions process. This week, we're shining the MBA ApplyWire spotlight on a candidate targeting consulting post-MBA. The MBA applicant has a family business background, has international experience and is targeting six schools, including Berkeley / Haas, Duke / Fuqua, Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, U. Chicago Booth, and Yale SOM. Read more

Published: November 13, 2017

MBA ApplyWire Spotlight: Seeking Advice on Business School Choice

As MBA hopefuls draw up lists of their target programs, many are seeking advice on ApplyWire, Clear Admit’s latest tool to aid in your admissions process. This week, we're shining the spotlight on a couple of candidates seeking advice about school choice. Read more

Published: November 12, 2017

New Haas Center Seeks to Tackle Gender, Equity, and Leadership Head On

As one headline after another alleges sexual harassment against women by men in power from Hollywood to Congress, the launch earlier this month UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business of a new Center for Gender, Equity, and Leadership (CGEL) seems more timely than ever. In fact, the idea for the center significantly predated the current media firestorm—and while its scope will certainly include sexual harassment, it will be significantly wider—addressing issues ranging from the persistent gender pay gap to inadequate maternity leave to the fact that currently only 5.6 percent of CEOs at S&P 500 companies are women. Since 2014, Kellie McElhaney has been teaching a course at Haas called “The Business Case for Investing in Women." Regularly over-subscribed, the immensely popular class won McElhaney, an associate adjunct professor at Haas, the Earl F. Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching. Students in the class were eager for data demonstrating that companies with greater numbers of women in leadership have higher share prices and better returns on equity and investment than companies with fewer women. In fact, so too were companies. And McElhaney delivered. Read more

Published: October 26, 2017

Kellogg Tops Economist 2017 MBA Rankings, Displacing Longstanding Leader and Neighbor Chicago Booth

There’s one thing that might soften the blow of Dean Sally Blount’s announcement earlier this fall that she’ll be leaving Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management at the end of this year. Try Kellogg being named the No. 1 full-time MBA program in the Economist’s 2017 ranking of global business schools, released yesterday. It’s just a small hop from the school’s second-place finish last year, but it’s a big deal to have dethroned rival and neighbor University of Chicago Booth School of Business, which had hung out at No. 1 for five years running. Though its year-over-year movement was modest, Kellogg’s been on quite a roller-coaster ride since its last No. 1 showing, in 2004. But the past five years have been a steady climb—from 23rd (2013) to 14th (2014) to 7th (2015) to second (2016) and now to first. According to the Economist, some of the factors contributing to Kellogg’s meteoric rise in the rankings include its facilities and collaborative culture. And indeed, Kellogg did open an amazing new Global Hub in the past year specifically designed to drive collaboration. Also cited were its great job placement stats—and the career services and mighty alumni network that help contribute to them—as well as the hefty 72 percent pay bump its graduates enjoy. Read more

Published: October 23, 2017

MBA ApplyWire Spotlight: Applying to Business School with Concerns about the GMAT

As MBA applicants set their sights on Round 2 applications, many are sharing their stories and concerns on ApplyWire, Clear Admit’s latest tool to aid in your admissions process. This week, since ApplyWire is also a place to receive advice, we're setting the spotlight on a candidate concerned about the GMAT. We take a closer look at a post from an applicant targeting Berkeley / Haas, Columbia, Indiana / Kelley, Michigan / Ross, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, U. Chicago Booth, UCLA Anderson, and UPenn / Wharton. Read on for more details about the candidate’s background. Admissions expert, Alex Brown, led off by addressing the candidate’s concerns: Read more

Published: October 11, 2017

ApplyWire Reveals Class of 2020 Post-MBA Industry Preferences, Highly Competitive GMAT Scores

As MBA applicants set their sights on top MBA programs, they have been sharing their target business schools, admissions stats, and post-MBA career goals in ApplyWire, Clear Admit’s latest admissions tool. As we’ve watched the entries roll in, we’ve recognized that they provide a unique early glimpse into the caliber of the most elite MBA applicants this year—offering insight into their qualifications, career plans, and school preferences. In this and subsequent posts, we plan to share some of the observations we’re drawing from the ApplyWire data. Through ApplyWire, applicants can receive feedback from fellow applicants and Clear Admit experts when they post profile information, such as where they are applying and their pre-MBA career, GMAT score, GPA, work experience, and post-MBA goals. Since ApplyWire launched in July 2017, hundreds of prospective applicants have posted their plans, and today we’re taking a closer look at the data to identify trends in terms of what industries current applicants hope to enter as correlated to their target schools. Of course, since ApplyWire only recently launched, we should note that any conclusions are based on a small sample size and not necessarily reflective of the entire applicant pool. Read more

Published: October 2, 2017

ApplyWire Spotlight: Moving from Law to Banking

As MBA applicants report admissions news on LiveWire, they’re also taking the time to share their plans on ApplyWire, Clear Admit’s latest tool to aid in your admissions process. This week, we’re setting the spotlight on a candidate planning to change careers from law to banking. We take a closer look at an attorney’s plans in applying to Berkeley / Haas, Duke / Fuqua, NYU / Stern, U. Chicago Booth, UCLA / Anderson, and UVA / Darden. Read on for more details about the candidate’s background. Initial feedback raised concerns about the GPA: Read more