Round 1 Apps Up 13% At Michigan Ross

Ross School of Business

MOCK CLASSES NOW A PART OF THE DAY VISIT AT ROSS

On campus, the exercise is observed by admission staffers and students. The exercise is also held in four international locations—most likely New Delhi, Sao Paulo, Tokyo and Shanghai this year– when it is observed by Ross alumni who write up reports and send them back to admissions staff for their admit-or-reject decisions. “That gives us a glimpse on how they work together, how they communicate, and how they present,” explains Kwon.

Initially, Kwan and her staff believed that international students who would be least comfortable speaking in public would opt out of the exercise but that turned out not to be the case. “We thought we would only see the high TOEFL scores opt in,” she says. “Instead, we learned that TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language) is an imperfect gauge of communcation skills. I have talked about this with ETS (Educational Testing Service). But for business schools, I’ve concluded it is an imperfect gauge of how well a student can communicate and perform at business school.”

Visiting applicants then have lunch with students who were observing the team exercises, a Q&A with current MBA students, and finally a chance to attend a mock class, generally taught by core faculty. The mock classes were added to the schedule, says Kwon, because it was difficult to bring 40 to 75 applicants to campus and give them a chance to witness an actual class. “Now they can all sit together and not just be a handful of applicants in a random class.”

A REASON FOR APPLICANTS TO STAY ON THEIR TOES

“They are not done until about 3:30 p.m. if they choose to opt in to these other portions after lunch. A lot of applicants stay to explore Ann Arbor or connect with students in their homes. We create a Google group for them before they arrive so they can connect with each. A lot of them are getting to know each other even before they are students here. We find that they also are excited to see people they already know through the team exercise.”

Lest applicants believe the informal portions of the day are risk fee, they should know that they are being observed and potentially reported upon. “We are getting additional input from everyone who engages with the applicant,” reveals Kwon. The inteview dates are held every Monday, Friday and Satruday in February for round two candidates and in November for round one applicants.

The admission changes require significant investment, so much so that Kwon and her team of admission staffers have debated whether to continue the exercise. Admissions has to train 90 MBA student interviewers on campus and nearly 200 alumni interviewers across the world. For each interview day, the school has to line up close to a dozen students for a student-panel and tours and then another two dozen students for the team exercise. Now Kwon believes the exercise is well worth the trouble.

DON’T MISS: ROSS RIGHT BEHIND BIG TWO IN TOTAL PAY FOR 2016 or MEET THE MBA CLASS OF 2018 AT MICHIGAN’S ROSS SCHOOL