Haas School of Business

2010/11

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U N I V E R S I T Y O F C A L I F O R N I A , B E R K E L E YH A A S S C H O O L O F B U S I N E S S

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, BERKELEY HAAS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

1 A B O U T T H E H A A S S C H O O L O F B U S I N E S S

AnnualReport2010/11

The Veritas Prep 2010-11 Annual Reportfor the Haas School at the University of California, BerkeleyWhen many people think of business school, they think of Ivy League and East Coast. However the West offers some strong contenders among the ranks of the very best MBA programs, including one of the most selective business schools in the world: the Haas School at the University of California, Berkeley, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Veritas Prep has tracked MBA admissions trends over the years and we remain amazed at how consistently UC Berkeley’s business school reports an acceptance rate that rivals that of the marquee-brand school to its south. With the high caliber of its program and a focus on leadership and innovation - and a slightly lower tuition rate for in-state residents - we see lots of interest in this “Public Ivy” and we are always excited when one of our clients is successful gaining admission to Berkeley’s business school.

To help you in your chances for success at Haas, we have developed this Veritas Prep Annual Report to provide insights into how Haas has built its reputation as one of the leading MBA programs in the country. In the pages that follow, you will find details about the UC Berkeley MBA and tips for how to present your profile in a way that maximizes your chances of success in the extremely selective admissions process. We also encourage you to reach out directly to the school by attending a local Haas information session or especially making the effort to visit campus and sit in on a class, as there is no substitute for that type of first-hand exposure to what they offer. Be sure to explore the Veritas Prep website for further information and resources to help you prepare your application to the Haas School of Business.

http://www.veritasprep.com



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“Producing people that are rigorous leaders, deep thinkers, that know how to drive innovation, entrepreneurial change in organizations, and growth as well, that’s really what we do here.”

Haas Dean Richard Lyons

What’s InsideAbout Haas School of Business ........................................................................................................3

What’s New at Haas ...................................................................................................................................7

What Makes Haas Different? ...............................................................................................................9

Admissions at Haas ...............................................................................................................................12

2010-11 Essays (for the Full-Time MBA Class of 2013) ....................................12

Haas Essay Strategies ...........................................................................................................14

Full-Time MBA Deadlines .................................................................................................15

Admissions Criteria ..............................................................................................................16

Haas Students ...........................................................................................................................................17

Haas Academics & Grading Policies .............................................................................................18

Notable Faculty at Haas .......................................................................................................................22

APPENDIX .....................................................................................................................................................24

Admissions Statistics ...........................................................................................................24

Visiting Haas .............................................................................................................................24

Costs & Financial Assistance at Haas .........................................................................26

Professional Recruitment at Haas ...............................................................................27

Employment Statistics .......................................................................................................28

Veritas Prep and Your Haas Application .....................................................................................29



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About Haas School of BusinessThe Haas School of Business is one of the several top-ranked programs at the University of California, Berkeley. UC Berkeley is noted for its prestigious engineering, natural science, and social science programs, as well as for its top-10 graduate programs in law and education - and of course business. UC Berkeley’s undergraduate programs are a major feeder into Haas and the University’s other graduate programs (though not usually straight after graduating from their bachelor’s program; Haas requires significant work experience before seriously considering an applicant). As the nation’s top public university, UC Berkeley is a leader in areas of national importance, such as social responsibility, clean energy, and technology. Haas has had five Nobel prize-winning economists on its faculty, including the 2009 winner Oliver Williamson (however only three are still teaching). Only Chicago Booth has more Nobel Laureates at a business school, with six. UC Berkeley has an impressive overall roster of 21 total Nobel Prize winners since 1939 (eight for physics, seven for chemistry, and one for literature), and 25 alumni winners.

Innovation and social responsibility are core values at Haas. In keeping with the school’s position in the Bay Area and just north of Silicon Valley, “Leading Through Innovation” is the school’s mission statement, and this concept permeates the program, with even more emphasis today on developing “innovative leaders” as reinforced through changes to the curriculum announced in Spring 2010. Haas has a tremendous emphasis on technology management - including new thinking in cleantech and sustainability - though students interested in many other areas, including consulting and finance, are also set up for success after going through its program. Nonprofit management and health administration are other key strengths at Haas.

While the city of Berkeley and the University itself has a long history of radicalism from the 1960s and very liberal policies, the Haas School is still a business school, teaching the fundamentals of business though in a new way. Haas is open to students of all political stripes, and some of the faculty are definitely on the conservative side. Regardless of your political affiliation, Haas is a welcoming place.

Haas was one of the first American business schools to hire a female dean, bringing (now professor) Laura Tyson in from 1998 to 2001, after her tenure working for the Clinton administration. However, Haas is today unfortunately trailing its peers in the proportion of female students, reporting only about 30% women enrolled (compared to Wharton, which shames Haas, at 40% women). This unfortunate low ratio of women to men is a byproduct of the fact that only about 32% of the applications to Haas are from women, and it is obviously unwilling to compromise its high standards in admissions just to raise this number. To its credit, almost a quarter of the faculty at Haas are women, which is significantly more than some other top schools (many schools do not even report this statistic).

Partly because of geography, and partly because of the state’s resident population mix, Haas (along with its sister school Anderson, at UCLA) has somewhat more of an emphasis on Asia and the Pacific Rim than you might find at its peer schools (those appearing in a similar spot on the major rankings, e.g., Michigan, Darden, etc.). At the same time, Haas is more of a regional MBA than most top ten schools: the Haas name is perhaps not as well known overseas as, say, Duke or MIT. Graduates may encounter a bit of a bias against a “state school” MBA among those not directly familiar with the intensity of a Haas education. And, much of the recruiting at Haas is more regional, with significantly more students settling locally or in the West than those moving farther away, which is opposite of the trend at most other schools.

With a new focus on leadership and ethics and some shifts in curriculum announced in Spring 2010 which are further discussed in the pages of this Annual Report, the Haas School at UC Berkeley has developed tailored programs and resources to ensure that students benefit from the cutting-edge thinking in and around the important themes of today.

“Haas defines the innovative leader as an individual who drives growth by putting new ideas into action in every corner and every function of his or her organization, and who does so responsibly. Leaders of this kind define what’s next, for our markets and for our societies.”

Haas School of Business



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“The Haas campus is often envied by the rest of the UC Berkeley community, as it is widely known to have the nicest facilities of any school at the University.“

The Haas School on CampusHaas students are often envied by the rest of the UC Berkeley community, as Haas is widely known to have the nicest facilities of any school on campus. The Haas building opened in 1995, making it one of the newest on campus. Haas has its own library, career center, auditorium, cafeteria, study area, and extremely large courtyard. Most of the classrooms are built to accommodate the intimate 60-65 person class sizes that Haas seeks to maintain. Each seat has a power connection for laptops, and the entire campus is Wi-Fi enabled. Seats in every classroom are organized in a circular fashion to facilitate discussion and interaction among students.

The campus is shared by the undergraduate program, as well as the evening/weekend and executive programs. However, the schedules are structured such that it very seldom feels crowded. Haas’ location at the east end of campus right next to the football stadium makes the school easily accessible. The faculty center is also located very close to the Haas school, and students often spend time eating, meeting, or attending company presentations there. The convenience and availability of resources on campus creates the best of both worlds for Haas students, as there is rarely a reason that students must go beyond campus, yet the proximity of Berkeley, San Francisco, and the greater Bay Area affords them a tremendous amount of culture and an endless supply of things to do.

Degree Programs at HaasHaas is notable for its emphasis on alternative programs beyond the standard full-time MBA. The school’s Evening & Weekend program features more graduate students (about 775) than the full-time program (about 500), and the Berkeley-Columbia EMBA program offers instruction to another 150 students. The school’s rigorous undergraduate program (about 700 students) is consistently ranked as one of the top such programs in the nation. Admissions for the full-time MBA is handled separately from the EWMBA and EMBA programs, and the applications have different essay questions, different deadlines, and different acceptance profiles.

Due to an increased focus on integration with other schools at UC Berkeley, Haas now offers a growing array of interdisciplinary programs and certificates that allow students to enjoy the small class sizes and diversified faculty as well as the greater university community. Haas students are encouraged and often expected to take advantage of the wealth of resources available at UC Berkeley.

Full-Time MBA About 240 MBA students graduate each year from the full-time two-year program at Haas. Over the latter half of the decade, Haas’ full-time MBA program has noticeably raised its profile and achieved top-tier status in all rankings, aligning its position with the undergraduate university and part-time programs at the business school. Admissions to the full-time MBA is definitely the most competitive among all the Haas options.

Certificates Instead of “majors” or “concentrations” which other schools have, full-time Haas students can opt to earn a Certificate in one of several areas:

1. Global Management

2. Real Estate

3. Health Management

4. Entrepreneurship

5. Technology

Each of these certificates supplement the MBA degree and can be requested via separate application. Students are eligible to earn a certificate after the completion of a designated number of courses and special projects. Part-time (EWMBA) students cannot participate in the certificate program.



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Evening & Weekend MBA (EWMBA) Despite the “E” in the name, this is closer to the standard MBA than an “executive” MBA. Students in the EWMBA might be slightly older than their full-time MBA counterparts, but not significantly older, such as is common with EMBA programs. EWMBA students attend class, as you would expect, on the evenings, or on the weekends (there are separate cohorts for each). The EWMBA program can usually be completed in about three years total (six semesters) though this can be accelerated or lengthened under certain circumstances. EWMBA students also have the option to apply after the first year to the standard full-time MBA and complete their education much more quickly, although only a very few such transfers are approved each year. The total EWMBA program is 42 semester units, compared to 51 semester units for the full-time program; the Berkeley MBA credential is the same for both.

UCLA Anderson has a similarly-structured program to the EWMBA, with an equally-unfortunate acronym of FEMBA, for Fully-Employed MBA. It is not uncommon for students to “commute” (by plane) to both of these programs, and so EWMBA students may find some of their colleagues travel in from Southern California or even Seattle, at the same time that Bay Area residents could be headed down to LA for the FEMBA program every week. With the rigors of the Berkeley curriculum and the frequent group projects - along with the day-to-day responsibilities of a full-time job which all students hold down - it is certainly easier to participate in the EWMBA program for those who live in the Bay Area.

Acceptance to the EWMBA program is definitely less competitive than that for the standard full-time two-year MBA, primarily because there are simply fewer candidates (a large number of standard MBA students come from out of the area to attend school for those two years). Last year, Haas received about 730 EWMBA applications for the 240 available spots.

Specialized StudiesMany full-time day and EWMBA students choose to construct a program around one of Haas’ “Areas of Concentration” or general management fundamentals. These are not formal majors but in effect allow students to create their own specialized education. These concentrations include:

1. Accounting

2. Business & Public Policy

3. Economic Analysis & Public Policy

4. Finance

5. Management of Organizations

6. Marketing

7. Operations & Information Technology Management

Haas also offers concentrated study in a number of specialized fields (called Areas of Special Interest):

• Corporate Social Responsibility

• Energy and Clean Technology

• Nonprofit and Public Leadership

Finally, leveraging the schools’ partnership on their EMBA program (see below), Berkeley and Columbia offer an exchange program for second-year (full-time) students to spend a semester at each other’s campus. This is an ideal opportunity especially for Haas students interested in a career in finance.



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“Whether it is producing more fuel-efficient autos or creating new business processes, innovative leaders are the ones who will deliver into our idea-driven economy and create opportunity from the major challenges facing us within the lifetimes of our children.”

Dean Richard Lyons

Joint Degree ProgramsHaas offers several joint-degree programs for their full-time MBA students in partnership with schools both on the main UC Berkeley campus and the larger UC system (with Hastings Law). Applicants must apply to both schools and be accepted independently at each, though the application to the second school need not be concurrent with the first. (EWMBA students cannot participate in such concurrent programs.)

• JD/MBA Program. Suited for students with an interest in both law and management, the four-year JD/MBA program pairs an MBA from Haas with a JD from either UC Berke-ley’s Boalt Hall School of Law or the UC Hastings College of the Law (located in San Francisco). This is a unique arrangement in that it allows Haas students to pursue the consolidated degree from two programs - one far more selective and difficult to get into (Boalt) than the other (Hastings). In either case, the first year is typically spent at the law school, the second at Haas, and the third and fourth at both. Admission must be secured through a separate application process to the law school.

• MBA/MPH Program in Health Management. The MBA/MPH is the most popular joint degree at Haas, due in large part to the fact that students can acquire both an MBA and a Masters of Public Health in just two and a half years. The degree combina-tion specifically aims to train leaders who will one day work in a management capacity within healthcare organizations. Coursework taken through both programs is support-ed by the opportunity to do two unique internships.

• MBA/MA Program in International and Area Studies. A program designed to broaden global knowledge and perspective (part of Haas’ efforts in both global reach as well as cross-platform education), the MBA/MA-IAS program runs three years and adds international courses, language classes, and area studies (from a variety of UC Berkeley programs) to traditional business school classes. Applications to this program may be submitted during a student’s first year at Haas.

The Berkeley-Columbia Executive MBA is one of many EMBA options at Columbia but the only one offered at Haas. A key advantage to this joint program is that because graduates fulfill the requirements of both schools, they earn degrees from each and are therefore alumni of each as well, simultaneously gaining access to the resources and privileges (and alumni networks) of two strong programs on two coasts. Admissions management for the Berkeley-Columbia EMBA seems to be centered mostly on the Berkeley campus.

Masters in Financial Engineering Haas is part of a very unique niche program that offers an intensive, one-year Masters program in financial engineering that is taught by faculty members from Haas, UCLA Anderson, and UC Irvine. The program includes a 12-week internship and an applied finance project with a major financial firm.

PhD As a premier research institution, it makes sense that Haas would be popular for advanced studies. A small number of doctoral students are admitted to the very rigorous program each year, with about 65 in residence at any given time.

Undergraduate Haas is one of relatively few top business schools that also offers undergraduate education (Wharton and Chicago do also, among some others). About 700 undergrads are studying at Haas each year. Admission to this program is also competitive. Haas seems to look favorably on undergrad alumni applying to their full-time MBA - at least, after several years in the workforce to build up a career base (extensive work experience is a requirement for admission to Haas).

This Annual Report covers strategies and insights geared towards the full-time and part-time programs (the standard day MBA and the EWMBA). However, candidates for any UC Berkeley program may benefit from studying the recommendations offered on essay questions below (deadlines and admissions policies are different though).



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What’s New at HaasHaas Dean Richard Lyons took over his post in mid-2008, and by Spring 2010, his influence on the school was obvious with the release of a new “strategic plan”, the most student-impacting aspect of that being changes to the curriculum. Applicants to Haas will need to be aware of the school’s new expression of longstanding community values. Dean Lyons spent his first year on the job engaging with the Haas community and researching where the school should go next, particularly in reaction to the economic crisis of 2008 that coincided with his appointment. At least in part, the changed economic landscape has determined the path the school is moving on today.

The bulk of the changes at Haas revolve around the “Guiding Principles” that they advocate as the core of their culture and teaching philosophy (see side panel for Haas’ descriptions of each):

• Question the Status Quo

• Confidence Without Attitude

• Students Always

• Beyond Yourself

These principles are not new at Haas; articulating them this way is. Dean Lyons felt it would be disingenuous to identify an ideal for the culture and then create it. Instead, his efforts have been around identifying what the Haas culture already is, and then doing a better job of marketing it as a major point of differentiation for the school. Haas is attempting to define what makes them different, as they feel that being “usefully different” (to quote Dean Lyons) is a hallmark of successful companies today.

And, not much has changed in the actual curriculum at the school. To some extent this feels like a marketing and re-branding exercise. None of these core values is at all new to Haas, though the articulation of them definitely is. However, it’s surprisingly difficult to find these “defining principles” anywhere on the main Haas website unless you dig into the media coverage and press releases trumpeting the changes, or view the strategic plan itself (which has its own dedicated microsite) - or, of course, you start to tackle the essay questions, where they’re featured prominently.

The four Haas Defining Principles are:

• Question the Status Quo“We lead by championing bold ideas, taking intelligent risks and accepting sensible failures. This means speaking our minds even when it challenges convention. We thrive at the world’s epicenter of innovation.”

• Confidence Without Attitude“We make decisions based on evidence and analysis, giving us the confidence to act without arrogance. We lead through trust and collaboration.”

• Students Always“We are a community designed for curiosity and lifelong pursuit of personal and intellectual growth. This is not a place for those who feel they have learned all they need to learn.”

• Beyond Yourself“We shape our world by lead-ing ethically and responsibly. As stewards of our enterprises, we take the longer view in our de-cisions and actions. This often means putting larger interests above our own.”

These principles are a reflection of the type of student Haas accepts, and the way they develop those students into innovative leaders.



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Other recent announcements at Haas include:

• Changes to the curriculum to better reflect and support the “defining principles” at the school. These include a new required course called Problem Find-ing and Problem Solving, along with changes to two existing core courses, Leading People, and Leadership and Communications. Haas has also repackaged components of the core into what they’re calling BILD: Berkeley Innovative Leader Development. An experiential learning course is also now required. While Haas has touted this as a “revamped curriculum” and we do appreciate the changes, on the whole it seems more like tweaking and enhancements to us. These changes are not at the same level, for example, as the overhaul that Stanford did in 2007, or the new flexibility that Columbia introduced into their program in 2008. Students in both the Haas Full-time and the Evenings & Weekends programs are benefiting from these changes starting with the Fall 2010 entering classes.

• New Executive Director positions created in both the Finance and the Marketing departments to serve as liaisons between the Haas faculty and the busi-ness world. This is evidence of a renewed focus on reinforcing these two traditionally weaker areas at Haas. These new hires are tasked with strengthening relationships with alumni and business leaders to generate new opportunities (read: JOBS) for graduates, as well as creating a bridge for thought leaders and researchers to collaborate, to help the school keep its curriculum cutting-edge.

• A range of additions to the faculty including new professors in the Management of Organizations, Economic Analysis, Marketing, Operations and IT, Accounting, and Public Policy groups.

• Membership in The Consortium, an organization to promote diversity in the upper echelons of business by encouraging U.S. minorities to apply to business school. Haas was a member of the Consortium in the 1990s however the school had to withdraw as a result of California laws against preferential treatment based on race and ethnicities. The Consortium has since modified its mission in a way that allowed Haas to re-join in 2010. The Consortium offers a streamlined application to its member schools (also including Tuck, NYU, and Duke, among many others) with different application policies and deadlines and a reduced application fee. (See www.cgsm.org for details.)

• Improved facilities, including enhancements to the library in 2009 and the new Koret Interactive Learning Center, with additional plans announced to rework the physical space of the business school. The Koret Center opened in Spring 2010 and includes a 70-seat tech-enabled classroom including video conferencing and breakout rooms. Other initiatives announced as part of Lyon’s strategic plan includes expansion of facili-ties, renovation of Cheit Hall, and a redesigned courtyard area for students to better engage with the overall campus community. Work on these projects has not yet com-menced and a completion date has not been announced.

• Changes to staff on the respective admissions teams. In mid-2010, Peter John-son, long-time Director of Admissions for the Full-Time program, left and Stephanie Fujii, who has been on the admissions team since the mid-2000s, has taken over as the new director. Also, some members of the EWMBA admissions team have taken on new or additional assignments internally at the school, so there has been some juggling on that side and with the Berkeley-Columbia EMBA admissions team, too. Veritas Prep doesn’t anticipate any impact to applicants from these changes in staffing.

“The archetype of the Innovative Leader is deeply anchored in the distinctive culture at Berkeley, and is tightly woven into the curriculum. ”

Haas Dean Richard Lyons

http://www.cgsm.org



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A key distinction at Haas is the focus on technology and the school’s ability to place students into the tech industry.

What Makes Haas Different?The Haas Culture Much of this Annual Report is focusing on the culture at Haas. How that culture translates for students is in extensive collaboration inside and outside of the classroom. Teamwork is the cornerstone of the Haas experience. Small groups are formed in practically all classes, allowing students to exercise different team roles based on their interests and areas of expertise. Versatility is often a prized attribute of Haas students in the eyes of employers, and is one reason why the school places graduates into such a broad range of industries and functions.

Innovation The Haas tagline for some time has been Leading through Innovation, and the Innovative Leader is now a hallmark of the school’s marketing message. The school combines theoretical and experiential learning opportunities to develop confidence and judgment for real-life situations. Industry thought leader Henry Chesbrough is a professor at Haas, and a deep set of electives in open innovation, product development, and design are natural complements to the strong entrepreneurship support expected from a top business school.

Technology While “innovation” is not limited just to high tech, a key distinction at Haas is the focus on technology and the school’s ability to place students into the tech industry. Haas sends over 25% of each graduating class into the tech sector, which is high compared to other top tech programs like MIT and Stanford but about the same in absolute number of placements. This is of course enabled by the school’s proximity to Silicon Valley as well as the wealth of resources available on the larger Berkeley campus, particularly in the engineering school. Haas offers a distinctive Management of Technology certificate (open not just to business and engineering students but other UC Berkeley grad students as well, such as those in Environmental Design). The Haas Technology Club is one of the largest and most active student groups on campus. The Haas School even has a CIO (Chief Information Officer) featured on the Leadership page of its website.

Besides the expected focus on innovation in software and management of Web 2.0 and social media, Haas also supports student interest in areas less common at other top business schools, including:

• Cleantech The Haas School’s emphasis, combined with Berkeley’s tradition for innova-tion, leads to unique programs such as the school’s push for the commercialization and advancement of clean technology. Student members of the Berkeley Energy and Resources Collaborative have teamed up with scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley Na-tional Lab (LBNL) to create a program called Cleantech to Market (C2M) which sends five student teams out each year to study the commercial opportunities that might arise out of the various clean energy technologies under development at LBNL.

• DigitalMedia Another focus of interest among many students is entertainment and the convergence to digital forms. Haas students are very active in the Berkeley Center for New Media and the Digital Media and Entertainment Club, which puts on the annu-al >Play Digital Media Conference. The DMEC also hosts on-campus speakers and orga-nizes career treks to New York and Los Angeles (you can find the DMEC on Facebook).

• Berkeley offers opportunities unheard of at other schools, especially in the areas of nanotechnology and biotechnology. The campus-wide Nano Club hosts the Berke-ley Nanotechnology Forum every year, and electives in biotech are available at Haas.

• Experiential Learning Haas now has an experiential learning requirement as part of the revised curriculum. Opportunities range from Haas@Work, which puts student groups into actual company projects, to the International Business Development (IBD) program, a global management consulting initiative. Haas provides students with two overlapping skill sets: an ongoing emphasis on leadership and a toolkit of knowledge and relationships that provide the foundation for effective decision making.

http://www.facebook.com/berkeleydmec



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Social Responsibility and Social Entrepreneurship Haas prides itself on being the preeminent institution for research, teaching, experiential learning, and community outreach in areas of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Woven into the core curriculum, Haas offers more than a dozen different programs and initiatives around social responsibility and business sustainability. Nonprofit management is also a focus here. With the University’s radical history and the very liberal government and policies in the surrounding City of Berkeley, it is to be expected that many are attracted to Haas because of an interest in changing the world. This is a positive quality that can be nurtured through the ecosystem of the Haas School, including the Center for Nonprofit and Public Leadership and a specialized curriculum, plus a range of social venture courses.

Global Reach Nearly every business school currently espouses a “global perspective,” but Haas is one of the few that combines its international focus with its emphasis on experiential learning. The International Business Development program places about 150 students a year in all corners of the globe for three-week consulting projects. This program allows students to confront and solve business challenges in unknown business settings, forcing them to apply innovative thinking and problem solving skills while developing a global business mindset. While the MBA itself is sometimes seen as a little regional - most graduates stay on the West Coast after finishing the program - Haas has an expanding network of connections in the business and academic communities around the world and 31% of full-time MBA students come from foreign lands.



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The Haas School Is a Good Fit for You If...• You’re a little older. Haas is pretty strict about requiring extensive work experience in stu-

dents. The average age of a Haas student is 29 - compared to just 26 for Harvard students.

• You’re interested in the business of technology. Whether you want to develop software, or develop a software company, Haas is a great place to expand your exper-tise in the areas of product development and product management, the management of innovation, and bringing new technology ideas to market.

• You might pursue a career in cleantech. Few other business schools offer any cur-riculum at all in the field of renewable energy or cleantech, and even fewer have dem-onstrated a commitment to leading these fields forward into the future.

• You’re interested in healthcare. Haas has great support for educating future leaders in healthcare. Berkeley is known for its joint MBA/MPH (Master’s in Public Health) program, and they offer a Graduate Program in Health Management as well. Haas is a natural fit for someone interested in tackling some of the biggest problems facing the world.

• You want to start a nonprofit or social venture. One of the strongest business schools for nonprofit management has traditionally been Yale. Haas has similar strengths, with somewhat different emphasis on the innovation side. Someone considering an ap-plication to Yale for nonprofit might want to also consider Haas for similar reasons.

• You want to stay on the West Coast after graduating. While Haas does have a good percentage of international students (about 30%), many of whom return to their home countries after graduating, a large number of Haas alumni reside up and down the West Coast, from Los Angeles to Seattle. Much of the recruiting at Haas is a little more regional than other top schools. While it’s certainly possible to take the Haas MBA to other parts of the country or the world, Haas has fewer connections to Wall Street and it can be a little tougher for students to break into East Coast financial firms from Berkeley.

• You’ve got a high GMAT score. Haas students’ GMAT scores tend to be strong. The reported 80% range of scores has been 680 to 760 for several years running. This is topped only by Harvard, who reports an 80% range of 680 to 770. The mean GMAT score at Haas is now 718 (compared to Harvard’s last-reported 719 and Stanford’s 726). NYU and Yale are the only other schools with comparable profiles, reporting average GMAT scores of 715 and 722 respectively.

• You’re a woman or a U.S. minority. As other top schools are doing, Haas is reaching out to women and to underrepresented ethnic groups, through programs and orga-nizations such as the Forte Foundation and The Consortium. Haas hosts a Women’s Workshop and a Diversity Weekend in an effort to spread the word about its programs to these different groups. While Haas does not lower its standards for female or minor-ity applicants, they do seem to be interested in improving the proportions of students in these categories and may give such candidates a closer look.


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A D M I S S I O N S A T H A A S

Admissions at Haas 2010-11 Essays (for the Full-Time MBA Class of 2013)Haas requires an extensive set of essays as part of their application process, requiring two quite long essays, four short answers, a series of supplemental questions, and some optional ones. The only real change in the questions asked of this year’s applicants to the full-time MBA is one new question focusing on the four “defining principles” previously discussed.

The essays required for the Full-Time MBA are presented below along with our suggestions for how to approach them. There is some overlap between those asked for the EWMBA program, which will help applicants to both programs. Note that we present these essay questions in a different order than what you will see on the Haas website. Also, Haas calls these the “Fall 2011 questions” meaning that they are questions for applicants to the MBA program that matriculates then (class of 2013).

Required Essays

1 Give us an example of a situation in which you displayedleadership. (500 words)

This question carries over from previous years. Right out of the gate, Haas wants you to show how you are a leader. This should give you a clear idea of how important this trait is to the Haas admissions office when evaluating applicants. You don’t need to have a big job title or have a team of ten people reporting to you. Think about any time when you showed leadership - maybe by overcoming an obstacle, or by helping a colleague who was strug-gling - regardless of your role or the circumstances.

2 What are your post-MBA short-term and long-term career goals? How do your professional experiences relate to these goals? How will an MBA

from Berkeley help you achieve these specific career goals? (1,000 words)This is a pretty standard question that has been a mainstay of the Haas application for several years: Where do you see yourself in a few years (and beyond that), and why do you need an MBA to get there? Specifically, why do you need a Haas MBA to get there?

The way that Haas has phrased this question actually can help you not only with this ap-plication but potentially with other schools’ career goals questions, too. Most specifically, you’ll want to identify the skills and experience that you bring to the table: What have you already built out as the foundation (your “professional experiences”) that you can leverage in the pursuit of your stated future goals? This is a long essay, so you can go into some details on what has brought you to this point in your career and how you’re really ready for the next step.

The details are also important in how you lay out the future goals. Give the reader a clear understanding of what you want to do, and be sure and tie in specific references to the unique elements of the Haas MBA that will support you in your pursuit of those goals.

The work you do on this career goals essay can likely be utilized to some extent for other schools, too, so if you’re applying to multiple schools this season, you may want to tackle this Haas question first, to lay the groundwork for your efforts on those others. Fleshing out your plans fully for this essay should serve you well as you adapt the content to other (usu-ally shorter) career goals essays.


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Short Answers (250 words each; all are required)

1 What are you most passionate about? Why?This question was new last year. It reminds us of Stanford’s perennial “What matters most

to you, and why?” question. The key is to write about something that you really, really care about. A good litmus test is this: How knowledgeable are you about the subject? Many applicants will be tempted to go bold and say something like “Fighting hunger is what I’m most passionate about,” because they feel like that’s just what one is supposed to say - but then they can’t back it up with facts… and passion. Admissions officers will see right through this, so keep it real!

2 Tell us about your most significant accomplishment.This question has been featured for several years now. All things being equal, a story from

your professional life may serve you best, but don’t feel that your significant accomplish-ment MUST be from the workplace - especially since that required essay on leadership is likely showcasing a big accomplishment in your career.

3 At Haas, our distinctive culture is defined by four key prin-ciples - question the status quo; confidence without attitude;

students always; and beyond yourself. Give an example of when you have demonstrated one of these principles.

The big change in this year’s Haas questions is right here. In reflection of their new state-ment of these defining principles, they are challenging their applicants to express their fit with the Haas culture. This question replaces one from last year that asked about in-novation and “creating positive change in a group or organization” so the essays that Haas receives perhaps won’t be that different. The trickiest part in this essay? Figuring out ex-actly what these “principles” mean. While it is beyond scope of this Annual Report to slice and dice each of these very thought-provoking ideals, we encourage you to spend time reflecting on these values and to take this question very seriously - it is the most important question that Haas is asking this year. Do not attempt to wing it on this one. Spend some time thinking through the definitions and come up with a concrete example that illustrates how you embody one of them. And do not get too ambitious here, either: limit yourself to just one, as the question suggests. You do not have sufficient space in this essay to fully explore more than one story.

4 There are many ways to learn about our program, what steps have you taken to learn about the Berkeley MBA?

Last year had a similar question, with this (rather ungrammatical) version being reworded to remove a subquestion that had asked, “what factors have influenced your decision to ap-ply” to Haas. An answer to that should be in evidence elsewhere in your essays, so be sure to integrate those “why Haas” details along the way. For this question, you simply need to discuss the effort you’ve made to learn about the school, including contact with students or alumni, attendance at information sessions, etc. The Haas admissions team seeks evi-dence that you’ve really done your homework on the school. NYU is the only other school that has a similar question - a reflection of the importance both these schools place on their culture and collaborative communities.

Supplemental Questions Haas also has a series of Supplemental Questions which are not essays per se, but instead are answers filled out in their online application. Be concise in these. The school is not looking for pages and pages of detail here. Short lists in many cases are absolutely fine. The focus on strong academics and quant skills should not be overlooked. Haas has one of the highest average GMAT scores of any school, and with the incredible strength of the economics faculty (all those Nobel winners), it’s not a place for lightweights. They don’t expect applicants to be perfect across the board but they do look for evidence of intellectual capacity and academic achievement. These supplemental questions are an opportunity to present the admissions committee with evidence of those abilities that come from perhaps less traditional aspects of your life, so feel free to explore any areas that are noteworthy in this section in order to provide a big-picture view of your profile.


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“Provide answers [to essay questions] that reflect who you are, and what you are interested in, personally and professionally. For your first draft, try to address each question as though you were talking with a friend, and edit those responses to refine them.”

Haas Admissions

Veritas Prep clients working on their Haas applications will receive expert guidance on each of these essay questions - including the challenging “defining principles” topics. Head Consultants help our clients understand how to highlight strengths and weaknesses as well as unique elements within the confines of each question, while also addressing each of the key Haas School admissions themes. Our consultants help clients decide whether to make use of the optional essay and ensure that all essay responses are in keeping with what Berkeley is looking for in its applicants. Veritas Prep’s Haas Specialists are brought on board in each Haas client engagement to help educate clients on the unique attributes of UC Berkeley’s MBA program.

Optional Essay

1 (Optional) Please feel free to provide a statement concerning any information you would like to add to your application that

you haven’t addressed elsewhere.Our advice for this type of question is always the same: Only use this question as necessary to explain circumstances or provide additional information on a weakness that isn’t covered elsewhere. If you do write the optional essay - for Haas or any other school - make sure you keep it short and sweet. State your case, explain the situation, and end it. No need to harp on a minor weakness and sound like you’re making excuses when you don’t need any.

Haas Essay StrategiesWord Counts Haas allows ample space to tell your story. For the longest required essay on career goals, there’s no excuse to go over limit; 1,000 words should be plenty of space to communicate your plans.

For the short-answer responses for the full-time program application, it’s acceptable to go over limit very slightly, just don’t go overboard. The Haas Evenings & Weekend program has essays allowing 250-500 words. For these, you really shouldn’t go past the 500-word mark, given how they are expressing a range of acceptable length limits.

Be Genuine For all schools, it’s important to answer questions honestly and with authenticity. Haas has some helpful tips on how to go about this: “Provide answers that reflect who you are, and what you are interested in, personally and professionally. For your first draft, try to address each question as though you were talking with a friend, and edit those responses to refine them.”

Demonstrate Interest To be successful at this ultra-selective school, it’s important not just to answer the essay questions directly (you’d be surprised how many people fail to do even that!) but also you need to convince the Haas admissions committee that you’re really excited about the school. Sometimes people “misunderestimate” Berkeley and assume it can serve as a “safety school” - the thinking being, “If I don’t get into Stanford or Harvard, I’ll get into Haas.” But Haas actually has an acceptance rate that is very close to those two! Haas often turns down candidates who appear very well qualified on paper, but who just did not convey enough enthusiasm for the school. You must show Haas that you’re the right kind of person for them and that you really want to go there. This can come through in the level of detail and the contact points provided in the “steps taken to learn about us” as much as it can in presenting a strong story to demonstrate fit with the culture in the “defining principles” essay.

You need to convince the Haas admissions committee that you’re really excited about the school.


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Full-Time MBA DeadlinesUnlike most top business schools, the Haas Full-Time MBA application cycle features four application rounds, rather than the more common three-round system. Veritas Prep strongly recommends applying in rounds 1 or 2 if possible. A strong Round 3 application still has a good chance, however there are not many spots left by the time March rolls around, and so chances of success decrease dramatically in Round 4. (Chances of admission to the EWMBA program are the same for all of its three rounds; and the Berkeley-Columbia EMBA is on a rolling process.)

Please note that the dates below are for the Full-Time MBA only; the EWMBA program has a different application cycle with its own set of three deadlines. In all cases it is to your advantage to submit as early as you can.

The GMAT and the TOEFL exams (if required) must be taken on or before the round deadline in order for the application to be considered.

Round 1DeadlineOctober 13, 2010NotificationJanuary 13, 2011

Round 2DeadlineDecember 2, 2010 NotificationMarch 3, 2011

Round 3DeadlineJanuary 20, 2011NotificationApril 21, 2011

Round 4DeadlineMarch 16, 2011NotificationMay 26, 2011

Note that it is not uncommon to receive an interview invitation even as late as a few days before the notification date. In other cases, applicants have been put on the waitlist on the notification date without first being interviewed, and then subsequently interviewed and sometimes even accepted. The Haas process is not rolling however Haas also does not adhere to strict internal milestones throughout the application cycle. This means that applicants must simply be patient! No news is not necessarily good nor bad news at Haas; little can be inferred from the events (or non-events) that a candidate experiences after submitting.


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Admissions CriteriaAs already discussed, Haas stresses its “leading through innovation” mantra in students and looks for key characteristics in applicants to show cultural fit. Showcasing this fit requires extra care and thought in an application (see: the extensive slate of essay questions above), but also creates a unique opportunity to express meaningful ways in which Haas matches your own philosophy and style. For instance, part of the “innovation” element is that Haas prides itself - much in the way that NYU Stern does - on being a place where careers can be furthered, but also launched or reset. Not all top business schools in the current economic climate have been as openly encouraging to career changers, yet Haas stresses this openness.

Extracurricular involvement and leadership is another key element of the Haas admission criteria; similar to Wharton, Haas fosters a high level of involvement in its students and expects applicants to have been previously involved in their communities. This applies to on-campus leadership in college as well as a desire to “make the world a better place.”

Beyond these elements, Haas looks for a lot of the usual angles in the admissions process, including academic ability (particularly analytical skills), strong letters of recommendation, and an interview indicative of fit. On top of the “on-paper” evaluation, some weight is given to applicants who demonstrate determination and resilience. Not only that, but persuading the admissions committee that Haas is indeed a top pick for the applicant can be a deciding factor and should be conveyed convincingly.

GMAT. Bucking the trend at other top schools, Haas still only accepts the GMAT and not the GRE. This is true for all MBA programs offered at Haas (including the Berkeley-Columbia EMBA).

TOEFL. A frequent source of consternation among international candidates interested in Haas is that the school has stricter requirements for the TOEFL than any other top business school. Haas requires applicants to take the TOEFL if the country where they earned their undergraduate degree is non-English speaking. Other business schools only require the TOEFL when the course of instruction at their university was not done in English. The Berkeley policy means that candidates whose last degree was conferred at a university in India must take the TOEFL. (If you are an Indian candidate with an undergraduate degree from an Indian school and a Master’s degree from a school in the U.S., Canada, Australia, or the UK, then you would not need to take the TOEFL.)

Undergraduate education. Another potential glitch for some applicants is that Berkeley does not accept the three-year degree from many international universities (particularly Indian) as meeting its educational prerequisite. Many other business schools are willing to evaluate an application from a candidate with only a three-year undergraduate education. At Haas, it must be a four-year bachelor’s, or a bachelor’s plus a two-year master’s degree. The good news here is that if you are an Indian candidate with a Master’s degree earned in the U.S. or another English-speaking country, then you not only meet the educational requirements, you also do not need to take the TOEFL.

Interviews. Haas conducts interviews both on campus (mostly by second-year students) and off campus (usually by an alumna/us). In both instances, the interview is “blind” in the sense that the interviewer does not have access to the candidate’s application materials except for the resume. The interview is almost always required as part of the application process. Relative to other schools, a lower percentage of candidates are interviewed, so it is generally a great sign if a student receives an invitation to interview.

“We do not reserve a set number of places in the class for each application round. [C]hances of admission are about the same in Round 1 and Round 2. You can even feel comfortable applying in Round 3, as many applicants will receive offers in this round. By the time we reach Round 4, however, there are usually only a few places remaining in the class, and chances of admission may be significantly diminished ”

Haas Admissions, discussing the Full-Time application rounds

“We hope you’ll use your interview as an opportunity to bring your paper application to life and learn more about the Berkeley MBA experience.”

Corinne Kang, Associate Director of Admissions

Contact InformationFull-time MBA AdmissionsHaas School of BusinessUniversity of California, Berkeley430 Student Services Building #1902Berkeley, CA 94720-1902

Street Address

2220 Piedmont AvenueBerkeley, CA 94720-1902phone: (510) 642-1405fax: (510) 643-6659Office Hours: Monday through Friday 9:00am - 4:00pm PT


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Haas StudentsHaas is home to 500 full-time MBA students in a total population of over 2,200. The remainder is composed of part-timers (nearly 800), EMBA candidates (over 100), Ph.D. students (nearly 100), and undergraduates (close to 700). Therefore, despite the relatively small class size of 250, Haas feels like a much larger program - certainly bigger than other “small” schools like Tuck and Yale SOM. Although the student population is extremely diverse and features a strong international representation, Haas annually has a relatively smaller female class than other top programs. Haas students tend to embrace some of the general flavor of the larger Berkeley community, but for the most part, the full-time MBA program shares more in common with other business schools such as Stern, Tuck, or Ross than it does with the rest of the UC Berkeley campus.

Student OrganizationsAs an important complement to coursework, students get involved in clubs and community service. Haas hosts over 50 clubs on campus, sponsored by the MBA Association (MBAA), which serves as a liaison between the student body of the business school and the school’s administration. Involvement is a big element of the Haas culture and is something that the admissions committee looks for in a candidate. Haas students can expect to dive right in and contribute, as the number of prominent activities at times seems to dwarf the corresponding population. Some of the most popular and important clubs and organizations at the school include:

• Haas Technology Club

• Berkeley Solutions Group

• Challenge for Charity

• Haas Student Ambassadors

• Haas Entrepreneurs Association

• Wine Industry Club

Student StatsTotal Haas Enrollment ..............2,264

Full-Time MBA Enrollment ........494

Average Age .........................................29

Female Students ........................... 30%

Minority Students ......................... 30%

International Students ............... 39%

Average years of work experience ................................... 5

The full-time MBA program at Haas shares more in common with other business schools such as Stern, Tuck, or Ross than it does with the rest of the UC Berkeley campus.


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H A A S A C A D E M I C S A N D G R A D I N G P O L I C I E S

Haas Academics & Grading PoliciesTeaching PhilosophyThe Haas School’s guiding philosophy for its MBA program is to provide a heavily experiential learning environment that will fit the school’s “leading through innovation” approach and produce graduates who possess “confidence without attitude.” Haas professors are luminaries and world-class researchers and authors, yet the instruction in classrooms tends to be very practical in nature (rather than steeped in theory, as some might expect). Most classes at Haas feature some amount of lecturing, but also include a heavy dose of case studies, project work, computer simulations, behavior modeling, and guest speakers.

Class OrganizationDuring the first year at Haas, the 250 students who make up the incoming class are divided into four cohorts of 60 to 65 students. The Gold, Blue, Oski, and Axe cohorts are launched at the pre-term “Cohort Olympics” and each cohort will take all first semester core classes as a group, allowing the members to easily bond and get to know their classmates. Each cohort is divided into study groups of four to six members, and these groups will stay together through all first-semester classes. This predetermined grouping approach creates diverse cohorts and teams in terms of background and skills. Shuffling of cohorts is done before the second semester, allowing students to get to know more of their classmates intimately throughout the first year.

Grading PoliciesThe students at Haas vote each year whether or not to have a non-disclosure policy with respect to grades, and in most years, the vote is in favor of the non-disclosure policy. As a result, students are not required to provide future employers with their grades, which fosters the intended culture of collaboration and teamwork among the students. However, beginning with the 2006 incoming class, an academic honors program was implemented to recognize the top 10% in each graduating class, measured by GPA. This provides an opportunity for the most exceptional group to be recognized while maintaining the culture of collaboration.

The grading system varies from professor to professor. Some professors use a relatively strict curve, while others provide grades based on performance relative to absolute measures. Typically, grades are based on a weighting of projects (including smaller assignments), exams (midterm and final), and class participation. Professors will be open and transparent with respect to their grading policies in the introduction to the class.

Course EnrollmentOne particular element of life at Haas that students get to know well is the course bidding system, in which Haas students bid on elective courses using points. Students receive 1,000 points each semester and must allocate them based on the courses they want to take and the professors from which they most want to learn. If a course can fit 50 students, then the 50 students who bid the highest will all get in, at their bidding price, allowing students to get into their classes of interest.

The bidding system forces students to make choices - often, those choices are based on who is teaching a course. At times, students will have to decide between taking a highly ranked professor (students review professors after each class, and these reviews are public) or taking a less dynamic professor for a desired class. Of course, many classes are offered several times a year and the popular ones are taught most semesters, so the likelihood of getting into a specific class that is of interest is extremely high. One of the advantages to Haas’ small full-time class is that students often have an easier time getting into courses they wish to take than at some of the larger MBA programs.

“The innovative leadership archetype is based on a set of specific competencies - such as becoming adept at experimentation and problem framing - that together will give you the knowledge to be successful in the 21st century.”

Haas School of Business

Some professors use a relatively strict curve, while others provide grades based on performance relative to absolute measures.


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Core ClassesThe core curriculum at Haas has essentially been rebranded to BILD - Berkeley Innovative Leader Development. The bulk of the courses are the same, with some ongoing modifications to create a more integrated learning experience. Most of the core courses are required during the first year of the program, although some may be waived by taking an exam before classes begin.

These 12 classes are mandatory within the core curriculum:

• Data and Decisions

• Economics for Business Decision Making (microeconomics)

• Leading People [revised with the 2010 changes]

• Problem Finding, Problem Solving [new with the 2010 changes]

• Financial Accounting

• Introduction to Finance

• Marketing Management

• Leadership Communications [revised with the 2010 changes]

• Operations Management

• Macroeconomics in the Global Economy

• Strategic Leadership

• Ethics and Responsibility in Business

Experiential Learning OptionsHaas students also now have an experiential learning requirement, with a menu of options to choose from. These experiential classes were quite popular already and so adding this as a mandatory component didn’t change the experience for many students. Some of these courses are described in further detail below.

• Haas@Work

• Social Sector Solutions

• International Business Development

• Clean Tech to Market

• Corporate Social Responsibility

• Managing New Product Development

• Entrepreneurship

• Team-Initiated BILD Project


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Haas@WorkHaas@Work is “applied corporate innovation” (to use Dean Lyons’ words). This experiential learning option gives students access to potential employers - and the opportunity to solve real problems - by working on a business challenge that a client organization faces. First, student teams are required to submit recommendations to address the challenge. Then the solution that is chosen is implemented over the course of a semester by the team. It is a great way to apply many of the theories learned in the classroom and build experience within a certain discipline, organization, and industry.

Young Entrepreneurs at HaasGiven Haas’ commitment to community service, the Young Entrepreneurs at Haas (YEAH) program provides an opportunity for Haas students to make an impact on the local community. In YEAH, Haas students mentor underserved students in 6th through 12th grades from nearby communities. Haas students have an opportunity to mentor these younger students through various business projects in order to educate them about business elements and to inspire them to enter college and pursue their business interests.

Berkeley Business Plan CompetitionThe interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial emphasis at UC Berkeley shines through in this entrepreneurship event at Haas. Students, alumni members, and researchers across the university participate in this premier business plan competition hosted by the Haas School. $45,000 in cash prizes are awarded to winners of this competition based on the reviews of top venture capitalists from the Bay Area, as well as the audience. The business plan competition provides students an opportunity to showcase their innovative ideas and a thoughtful review of the business case through the creation and presentation of a business plan.

Global Social Venture Competition (GSVC)The largest and oldest student-led business plan competition for social ventures, the GSVC provides mentoring, exposure and prizes for leaders of social enterprises from around the world. Since its inception in 1999, the GSVC has awarded more than $250,000 to these emerging social enterprises.

Dean’s Speaker SeriesThe Dean’s Speaker Series brings highly distinguished business leaders to Haas to share some of their experiences and lessons. An opportunity to hear some of these individuals speak in person is extremely rare, and the reputation and relationships of the Haas School continues to attract prestigious business minds such as Vinod Khosla (the Founder and Partner of Khosla Ventures), Mark Hurd (CEO & Chairman of Hewlett-Packard), and Paul Otellini (CEO of Intel).

Exchange ProgramsHaas has agreements with top business schools in Europe and Asia, as well as with Columbia Business School, to allow its students to study there. Unlike many schools, Haas also opens up its exchange programs to more than just its full-time MBA students. In addition to second-year full-time students, Evening/Weekend MBA students who have completed their core coursework requirements may also participate in the exchange program during fall semester.


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The Haas faculty is divided into 8 academic groups

1. Accounting

2. Business and Public Policy

3. Economic Analysis and Public Policy

4. Finance

5. Management of Organizations

6. Marketing

7. Operations and Information Technology Management

8. Real Estate

Elective Courses Initiated by Haas StudentsStudent-initiated elective courses are a tradition at Haas. Every semester, Haas offers several courses that are initiated and run by students with faculty guidance. Typically, such courses focus on a specific theme or industry. Recent student-initiated courses include:

• Social Entrepreneurship

• Life as an Entrepreneur

• The Private Equity Deal

• Real Estate Speaker Series

• Microfinance

• Careers in Marketing

• Wine Industry

• Investment Speaker Series

• Careers in Sports

• Careers in Consulting

• Biobusiness Speaker Series

• Product Management

• Topics in Technology

• Private Philanthropy

• Alternative Energy Speaker Series


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N O T A B L E F A C U L T Y A T H A A S

“With a laid-back presentation style and an ‘aw shucks’ demeanor that belies his prominence in academia, Professor Aaker is very approachable and a favorite among students at Haas.”

“Professor Ho is known for being a dynamic and entertaining teacher, and students appreciate how practical his courses are, as Professor Ho’s primary teaching method is all about applying theories to real-life scenarios.”

Notable Faculty at HaasThe Haas faculty is populated with many prominent business leaders, researchers, and teachers. Among Haas students, there are a handful of professors who are considered a “must have” for a class, due to their reputation both as educators and as experts. This list isn’t merely a collection of famous names, but rather the instructors that Berkeley students deem to be essential for the full experience. Faculty evaluations are completed periodically and faculty evaluations are available to students for the classes they are considering. The most popular professors include:

David AakerE.T. Grether Professor of Marketing and Public PolicyProfessor Aaker is the creator of the Aaker Model, which is a four-fold perspective on the idea of building brands. He is also the author of Building Strong Brands, which was published in 1996 and remains a key text in this area of study. In fact, many credit Professor Aaker with bringing “brand equity” out of the sole realm of trademark lawyers and to the forefront for marketing professionals. With a laid-back presentation style and an “aw shucks” demeanor that belies his prominence in academia, Professor Aaker is very approachable and a favorite among students at Haas. Candidates who would like to get a taste for Professor Aaker’s style can watch a video of him giving a lecture on his most recent book, Spanning Silos.

Jerry Engel

Chair of the New Venture Creation and Venture Capital ProgramProfessor Engel is the Executive Director of Haas’ Entrepreneurship Program as well as the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, which he founded in 1991. He is also a General Partner with Monitor Ventures, specializing in high tech entrepreneurship and venture capital, which consistently puts him front and center in the VC world. His Venture Capital and Private Equity course is one of the most popular at Haas, and a bidding war erupts each year over seats for this class. Professor Engel is known for bringing as many perspectives as possible to the classroom, from cutting- edge new cases to high profile investment professionals.

Rashi Glazer

Co-Director, Center for Marketing and TechnologyProfessor Glazer has received the Earl F. Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching twice. He teaches the marketing class in the first year core and, although he is known for “cold calling,” is extremely well liked among students. He intentionally uses very old case studies to demonstrate that the fundamental principles of marketing have not changed over time. This approach is designed to give students a platform for understanding and implement effective marketing strategies, regardless of constantly changing technologies.

Teck HoWilliam Halford Jr. Family Chair in Marketing Director of Asian Business CenterProfessor Ho has received the Earl F. Cheit Award for Excellence in Teaching several times, and teaches class for both the MBA program as well as for the Center for UC Berkeley Executive Education. His pricing class is arguably the most sought after class in the entire MBA program. Professor Ho is known for being a dynamic and entertaining teacher, and students appreciate how practical his courses are, as Professor Ho’s primary teaching method is all about applying theories to real-life scenarios.

Steven TadelisAssociate Professor, EconomicsProfessor Tadelis is a Barbara and Gerson Bakar Faculty Fellow most recognizable for teaching Haas’ core course in Microeconomics. Along with Professor Glazier (Marketing), Professor Tadelis is a huge favorite among professors of core classes. Formerly a fan favorite in the Econ department at Stanford (where his Game Theory class was enormously popular), Professor Tadelis came to Haas in 2005 and immediately became the kind of professor that gets mentioned in every student chat and building tour as a classroom favorite. Part of this is due to his witty and engaging teaching style, but another major factor in his popularity is that he uses very interesting and unique examples to bring theoretical principles to life.


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N O T A B L E F A C U L T Y A T H A A S

Suneel UdpaLecturer, Haas Accounting GroupProfessor Udpa teaches both the Accounting core course as well as the highly recommended Managerial Accounting course. Part of the reason he is such a noteworthy professor is that his classes are loved by students despite the fact that the subject matter is a bit dry. Most “must take” professors - at any business school - teach subjects that tend to be more exciting to students, such as marketing, entrepreneurship, or investments. It is no small achievement that Professor Udpa is able to make accounting such a memorable experience for students. As one student said, “If you can make Accounting fun, you can do anything.” A recent Haas graduate compared going to Professor Udpa’s class to attending a stand-up show at a comedy club. Professor Udpa is also extremely friendly, welcoming, and accessible, and is one of the first professors to reach out to a new student and put that person at ease. Therefore, it is no surprise that there is actually a “Suneel Udpa Fan Club” on campus (complete with t-shirts).

“A recent Haas graduate compared going to Professor Udpa’s class to attending a stand-up show at a comedy club.”


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A P P E N D I X

APPENDIXVisiting HaasOne of the best ways for candidates to truly determine whether Haas is a proper fit is to visit the campus and get a feel for the academic environment, student life, and overall campus culture. Additionally, visiting the school offers the opportunity for face-to-face contact with current students, professors, and admission representatives. Since Friday is a day off for most students (a lot of extracurricular activities take place on Fridays) it is best to plan a visit for another weekday.

Haas offers a variety of ways for candidates to come and experience the school for themselves:

Campus Tours. In addition to the marvelous UC Berkeley tour, Haas offers a shorter tour specific to the business school. The tour is usually combined with the lunch program and takes about 15-20 minutes.

Information Sessions. Information sessions are offered throughout the academic year. These sessions are led by the Haas Student Ambassadors, and are attended by at least one member of the admissions committee. This is a great opportunity to receive official answers about admissions and applications.

Class Visits. This program allows prospective students to attend any of the classes offered by Haas (registration required). Accompanied by a student, the applicant may attend one of the many classes in session as a way to experience the in-class atmosphere. Most classes are 60 to 90 minutes long and take place Monday through Thursday.

Lunch Program. Candidates have the opportunity to have lunch with a current Haas student and discuss any additional questions on their mind. These sessions are recommended as an effective way to learn from the first-hand perspective of a student, and are often more relaxed as they move outside of the admissions office and into a more social setting.

Outreach Events. Like nearly all business schools and academic programs, Haas offers a variety of opportunities to engage with members of the school’s community outside of Berkeley in many major metro areas. Learn more about these events and get some more electronic content (podcasts, blogs, chats, forums) online.

Admissions Statistics

Applications ....................................3,627 (about 400 less than prior year)Acceptance Rate ............................ 12% (similar over several years)

Yield ....................................................... 58% (slightly higher from last year)

Percentage of Interviewed Applicants .......................................... 27%

Average GMAT score .....................718

80th Percentile GMAT Range ............................................680-760

Average GPA ......................................3.56


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A P P E N D I X

Haas and Social Media. Haas has a wide range of online websites and channels through which prospective students may engage. Most if not all student clubs have websites and/or Facebook pages. As would be expected, the Haas community overall has embraced social media, with Dean Lyons being an active presence on Twitter and YouTube.

• Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/UCBerkeleyHaas - fairly active including lots of student/community focused posts and photos and alumni announcements (not just admissions); separate Facebook pages for the Berkeley-Columbia EMBA and some stu-dent clubs can also be found through this main page

• Twitter - http://twitter.com/UCBerkeley_Haas - expect lots of activity from the admis-sions team during recruiting season (mostly fall/winter). Dean Lyons also tweets as “richlyons” ( http://twitter.com/richlyons )

• YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/user/UCBerkeleyHaas - a wide range of content including video announcements such as the recent Nobel Prize from Economics pro-fessor Oliver Williamson to segments from the Berkeley Entrepreneurs Forum and a number of videos from Dean Lyons. Dean Lyons has a whole series of videos and other communications posted on a separate page of the Haas website here http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/haas/about/dean/deanmessage_archive01.html

• LinkedIn - a private LinkedIn group is also maintained for Haas alumni

• Haas website - http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/ - this is the main website. Organization is not great in that it’s quite easy to get disoriented in between the separate sections for the Full-Time MBA and the EWMBA programs; be sure to doublecheck the logo that appears in the top left corner to know which set of application requirements and curricula you’re reviewing. The overall Haas website has an amazingly deep set of content. If you’re look-ing to learn about the Defining Principles that the essay questions ask about, go to the Strategic Plan microsite here http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/strategicplan/

• Admissions Blog - http://berkeleymba.blogspot.com/ - posts from the admissions staff for the full-time program.

• And of course the Veritas Prep Blog is an active resource for Haas-specific information and targeted business school admissions strategies, available for free and updated every weekday.

http://www.facebook.com/UCBerkeleyHaas

http://twitter.com/UCBerkeley_Haas

http://www.youtube.com/user/UCBerkeleyHaas

http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/haas/about/dean/deanmessage_archive01.html

http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/haas/about/dean/deanmessage_archive01.html

http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/

http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/strategicplan/

http://berkeleymba.blogspot.com/

http://www.veritasprep.com/blog/tag/haas


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Costs & Financial Assistance at Haas

Tuition and CostsThe following table shows the projected annual costs for the 2010-11 academic year (information released by Haas) for the full-time MBA program:

FEES CA RESIDENT NON-RESIDENT

UC Registration Fees $39,670 $35,392

Non-Resident Tuition n/a $12,245

Health Insurance (may be waived with proof of coverage) $2,010 $2,010

TOTAL FEES $41,680 $49,647

Living cost estimates are the same for all students.

Financial Assistance OptionsHaas presents the following options for exploring financial assistance:

Haas Merit-Based Scholarships. Haas offers merit scholarships for a variety of amounts, all the way up to “full tuition and fees.” No application is required, as all applicants are considered upon acceptance. The criteria is based on recognition of having “exceptional merit” and “career potential.” Since the criteria is similar to that used for admissions, generally the upper echelon of admitted students receive these scholarship offers.

Haas Achievement awards. The Haas Achievement awards are need-based as they are given to “individuals who have achieved tremendous success in spite of significant economic, educational, health-related, or other obstacles.” Like the merit scholarships, these awards are given at the time of admission and the amounts are varied.

Outside Funding Options. The financial aid office has developed a database of out of school scholarships that might be of assistance for incoming students.

Federal LoansAs with most graduate programs, Haas makes available a series of federal loan programs that represent the bulk of each student’s financial assistance:

Federal Stafford Loan - Available to U.S. citizens and permanent residents. The maximum dollar amount is $20,500 and the subsidized amount can be up to $8,500, depending on financial need.

Federal Perkins Loan - An interest-free loan while in school, it is a smaller loan program (up to $6,000 per year) available to qualified students who are U.S. citizens and permanent residents.

Federal Graduate PLUS Loans - This loan can cover cost of attendance after other assistance has been calculated, provided the student qualifies and is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

Haas offers the standard private loan options for U.S. residents and permanent residents. Visit the Haas financial aid office website for more info.

Living CostsRent & Utilities .........................................$10,431

Food .................................................................$5,054

Transportation ............................................$2,821

Personal ........................................................ $1,920

Total living costs .....................................$20,226

Books & Supplies .......................................$2,500

Total estimated California resident: .......................................................$64,406

Total estimated non-resident: ......$72,373

http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/mba/finaid/Scholarship.htm

http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/mba/finaid/prvtmba.htm


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Professional Recruitment at HaasThe Chetkovich Career Center works with a wide range of companies, across industries and geographies, to help them find great talent at the Haas school. A wealth of resources and assistance are provided by the center to ensure students are placed in great internships, jobs and careers:

• Interview Preparation

• Resume/Cover Letter Review

• Online Job Search and Resume Submission (Careernet)

• Company Presentations

• Career-related Workshops

• Career Advisors

• Career Fairs

The Career Center continues to provide alumni with similar resources and assistance throughout their careers as well.


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Employment StatisticsHaas graduates work in a variety of industries, functions, and locations. Haas is one of the most balanced programs with regard to function, sending a proportional number of grads into finance, marketing, and consulting jobs. One of the most noteworthy things about the school’s employment trends is that almost a third of students go into the tech industry. Finally, as one might expect given the school’s Bay Area location, over 60% of graduates stay in the Bay Area, with almost 3/4 staying in the West for their first job.

Function

Industry

Location

General Management 11%

Real Estate 5%

Other 4%

Operations 1%

Finance 18% Marketing 22%

BizDev/Strategy 11%

Consulting28%

Nonprofit/EducationGovt 6%

FinancialServices 12%

Consulting 24%

Consumer Products/Retail 5%

Energy 11%

Real Estate 6%Biotech/Pharma/Healthcare 3%

Other 1%Media/Entertainment 1%

Technology31%

US West(non BA) 12%

Oceania 1%Asia 10%

Latin America 1%Canada 2%

Europe 4%US Northeast 5%

US Other (Midwest,South, etc.) 4%

Bay Area 62%

SalariesAverage ......................................$107,451

Signing bonus average ...... $22,140

Major EmployersMajor companies across the globe recruit Haas graduates and many of the most common employers are similar to those that recruit at other top business schools. The following companies have been frequent and steady employers of Haas graduates.

• Amazon.com

• Deloitte Consulting

• McKinsey & Co.

• Boston Consulting Company

• Yahoo!

• Apple

• Chevron

• Del Monte Foods

• Google

• PG&E Corporation


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Veritas Prep and Your Haas ApplicationVeritas Prep has a distinguished track record helping our clients gain acceptance to one of the world’s truly elite business schools. The secret to our success, as always, is in first ensuring that Haas is a proper fit for the client, and then assisting the client in expressing that unique fit in the most articulate and impactful way possible.

Our TeamOur team of Haas consultants includes former admission representatives, alumni interviewers, members of influential student groups, and, of course, accomplished professionals in a variety of fields. With multiple Haas consultants on our admission consulting team, we are able to provide customized services to clients based on background, timing, and needs. Our Haas consultants have career experience in a variety of industries and functions.

Each client who works with Veritas Prep on a Haas comprehensive package will receive a customized team of consultants: a Head Consultant and a Haas Specialist.

Head Consultant. All of our Head Consultants have experience as admissions representatives that afford each of them a unique perspective on the applicant pool and how candidates must position themselves to express proper fit and to stand out in an increasingly competitive process. The Head Consultant will guide the client through every step of the process: from the initial Diagnostic Session to submission of the application.

Haas Specialist. Every comprehensive package client who chooses Haas will also receive a Haas Specialist who is either a current student or recent graduate of the school. This individual will ensure that essay responses are both topical and aligned thematically with the things that matter to Haas. In addition to helping clients find specific courses, programs, clubs, and professors that match their interests, the Haas Specialist will also comb through each question and answer to ensure that the response is properly aligned with the qualities that Haas seeks in a candidate.

For more on Veritas Prep’s incredible team and the individuals who serve as our Haas consultants, please visit the Consultant Profiles page of our website.

Our Haas ServicesThe Haas School of Business is always one of the most popular school selections among our clients due to its reputation as a leader in the areas of health care, real estate, entrepreneurship, technology, and social responsibility. However, the Veritas Prep approach is built upon identifying the right fit for each client, regardless of the generic qualities of the business school. Only once we have verified a proper match do we begin to build the candidate’s personal marketing platform and piece together the perfect Haas application.

Diagnostic Session. Our Diagnostic Session - the first step in our comprehensive packages as well as a stand-alone service - assures that each client’s goals and prospects are properly aligned. Once we have helped ensure that the client is making sound choices with regard to each business school application, we start building a timeline and a strategy specifically tailored for a Haas engagement.

Personalized MBA Game Plan. Each client’s Head Consultant will create a Personalized MBA Game Plan, a strategic approach based on the client’s professional, academic, and personal history. Those elements will become the foundation of the Haas application story, allowing the client to demonstrate leadership, innovation, maturity, teamwork skills, analytical ability, and potential for academic excellence. A major component of the Game Plan is the identification of each candidate’s strengths and weaknesses - as well as truly unique qualities - relative to the Haas applicant pool (this applies to nearly all of the elite business schools). This will create an application platform from which to work and will help mold and shape the strategy of how to address application components such as the resumé, essays, and letters of recommendation.

“Thank you for your wonderfully warm and enthusiastic help with my MBA applications. I wanted to let you know that I got into Haas, Cornell, UCLA, MIT and Columbia! I feel fortunate, as working with you was one of the most rewarding parts of my application process.”

Kathryn Knight


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Innovation. Haas’ theme of “Leading through Innovation” is put into action from day one of the application process. The applicants (and of course the students) are challenged to think differently and to foster an atmosphere of innovation. Many Haas programs are aimed at fresh thinking, and solving business problem differently. The head consultant will work with students to ensure that proper care and attention are given to innovative ideas and creative thinking. From the first essay to the last recommendation, innovative thinking and embracing fast moving environments will serve as the cornerstone for the Haas application.

Team Achievement. Many elite business schools waive at teamwork as a fundamental factor, but Haas’ approach is focused on team achievements, not work experience and individual accomplishments alone. Our approach to Haas applications is to ensure that the client displays teamwork and team achievements and discusses team learning experiences that the applicant can bring to enrich the experiences of fellow students.

Balance and Perfection. Once the themes of innovation and team achievement have been installed as the backbone of the Haas application, the Veritas Prep Head Consultant and Haas Specialist will team up to ensure that all of the questions have been properly answered, that the resumé and essay questions have been crafted with style and efficiency, and that all of the key business school themes have been addressed in a balanced way throughout the application. It’s not easy applying to one of the most popular schools in the country, but our consulting team will ensure that Veritas Prep clients give themselves the best chance of admissions success through the most accurate, engaging, and persuasive portrayal of their candidacy that they can possibly create. This is true of our approach to all schools, but particularly at Haas, where two critical themes - innovation and teamwork - must resonate so strongly and consistently throughout the application.

“From the first essay to the last recommendation, innovative thinking and embracing fast moving environments will serve as the cornerstone for the Haas application.”

Veritas Prep clients give themselves the best chance of admissions success through the most accurate, engaging, and persuasive portrayal of their candidacy that they can possibly create.


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About Veritas PrepFounded in 2002, Veritas Prep has emerged as a global leader in GMAT® education and MBA admissions consulting. The company’s business school team includes more than 300 graduates of the world’s elite MBA programs, managed from its headquarters in Malibu, California.

The Veritas Prep consulting model is built on adding value to a student’s application process by providing both mentorship and expertise. The business school admissions process has become increasingly competitive and applicants must do everything possible to showcase their value. Our consultants assist applicants in presenting their unique stories in the most professional and meaningful way possible. In a sense, our consultants are translators — helping an applicant discover raw materials and information and then helping that candidate articulate a unique story in a language that admissions committees understand. More than anything, Veritas Prep gives candidates a sense of ownership and control over the process. Quality of work, attention to detail, care for the client, and integrity are the lynchpins of a successful consultation.

In addition to elite MBA admissions consulting services, Veritas Prep also offers the finest GMAT preparation available in the industry, as well as admissions consulting for law school, medical school, and graduate school.

For a complete list of Veritas Prep’s many services, please visit our website.

“Success Favors the Prepared“

http://www.veritasprep.com

Documents

Haas School of Business