Haas Expands Accelerated Access Deferred MBA Admissions Program
About a year ago, Haas School of Business at the University of California-Berkeley launched its deferred admission path for the inter-university Haas Accelerated Access program.
This allowed only undergraduates in their final year and some graduate students in other disciplines to apply early for a spot in their full-time MBA program. According to Morgan Bernstein, director of strategic initiatives, said it was inevitable expanding this opportunity. This month the Haas School announced that the Haas Accelerated Access program is now expanding to allow qualifying candidates from any school.
The Haas Accelerated Access program allows students in their final year to complete the business school application process and gain conditional admission. If accepted, these students can start their studies at Berkeley Haas two to five years of deferment. This year the full-time MBA deadlines are April 5 and June 10.
One of the reasons for this expansion is to appeal to applicants from diverse backgrounds and interests. The interest from candidates other than the undergraduate business programs.
According to Eric Askins, head of admissions , “the number of folks who were interested coming from a humanities background... and some of the broader different disciplines on campus, was interesting for us.”
Askins further said, “We’re looking for broad perspectives in the program. I think that the idea that you need business fundamentals in order to consider the program narrows the field for us. We’re looking for change-makers.”
Another reason for Haas’ Accelerated Access program expansion, is the upward trend of applications to the full-time MBA program. This is what Haas saw this past fall and winter. “Our first year was always intended to be a pilot year,” Askins said, “Everything is going according to plan.”
Interested in applying to the Haas Accelerated Access program?
According to Askins, a strong applicant for deferred admission is someone “...who has got a map. And they’re going to tell us about that map. They’re going to say, ‘This is where I’m going, and this is what I want to accomplish.’ And the beauty of this program is, they can then curate what those two to three to four to five years’ experience is going to be in, between the offer and the matriculation."
"Instead of saying, ‘I want to get into EY, and at my two-year mark, I want to get that promotion, so I am well-positioned to go to business school, then become a consultant,’ you’re getting people to say, ‘Well, I need to acquire the following skills. And I can do that by exploring this space that’s not a fast-track to promotion, but it’s going to give me the tools to get to this goal.’ It’s about following your passion and having the freedom to do that.”
So how can you - as an applicant to Haas - learn more about Haas' view on path-bending leadership?
First, read this article "Haas School of Business: Building Innovative Leaders http://haas.berkeley.edu/strategicplan/deanarticle.pdf > Consider it a primer.
Then watch this video-taped discussion to hear Haas faculty and alumni give their assessment of path-bending leadership.