Backstage With Auburn, Washington Foster, SMU Cox & Minnesota Carlson’s Online MBA

Allen: Right. Thank you. And I’m going to follow up and I’m going to put you to the front now. You get a couple of questions at the front. And we’ll reverse it.

Melton: I knew that was coming.

Allen: Jodey will have some time to think about some questions here instead of just having them. But when you talk about looking at the whole application and the applicant and residential full-time MBA programs, culture and fit are just really important. I want to know how your school assesses those sorts of things, culture and fit and goes beyond the numbers and the application. And also we have our first question from the Q and A. So after this is a two-part question. Sorry to go with your first one first, it’s two parts, but there’s that front end. And then can you talk a little bit about GMAT waivers and how your school handles any sort of GMAT waivers?

Melton: Sure. The first question was really around culture and fit and how we’re assessing that for applicants. Throughout the admissions process and the application, there’s a couple of different things. One I would really look at first is the essays. We do have two essays in the application, and we’re really looking to get to know candidates, who you authentically are, what your views are, what your goals are to make sure that it aligns not only with an MBA curriculum and what an MBA education can bring you, but also that some of those aspects around community and leadership and helping others is really something that you value as a candidate as well. And then once you get to the interview stage, that’s something that we’re gonna be talking a lot about with you. We want to get to know what you’re like in terms of teams, how you interact in teams. Are you self-reflective? Are you learning from other people? Are you open to other opinions? Because we do want students who are gonna come in, certainly with a point of view, but also know that they have so much to learn from their classmates. Those are some of the things within the application process. Another thing that I always stress with candidates, and this is a reason why I love that we’re here today, with Poets and Quants, is that we want to get to know students through the application process. Whether that’s attending events, whether that’s talking with us on the phone or via email, I mean we truly do want to get to know candidates throughout that process so that we can answer questions and tell you a lot about us and what we’re looking for, and then also understand how you would fit that. In terms of the GMAT waiver process, yes, SMU Cox for the online MBA program does have a GMAT and GRE waiver process for individuals that meet certain criteria. That’s all detailed on our website, of course now with COVID and so many testing centers being shut down and different testing criteria, we are extending GMAT and GRE waivers for all of our applicants for fall 2020, as well as the January 2021 cohort. And we’ll be making those, we’ll be reassessing that situation as time goes on, if we’re gonna be extending that further into 2021.

Allen: Gotcha. Thank you. And thanks for going first this time.

Melton: No, my pleasure, thanks for asking me to go first.

Allen: Okay, Natalie, same question. What’s the culture like at Minnesota Carlson? What are you all trying to build? And how does that fit into assessing applicants?

Dillon: I think Jillian hit on a lot of the major themes that we’re also looking for as well. That opportunity to be self-aware, knowing what you’re looking for with your career goals, how does that align with an MBA curriculum and that how does that align also with what the Carlson school can offer you through the online MBA program? Really a lot of students always ask, do I need to have clear cut goals of what my next step might be? And you don’t have to just giving us somewhat of an idea of, what do you want to take advantage of in terms of the network or the specializations or the resources while you’re in the program, is what we’re really looking for in that personal statement. And then again, we’re also just looking that you have thought through what you are wanting to gain out of that community and that network. How do you want to leverage those connections? How do you want to be a member of the community? Because I always say to candidates, this is also a lifelong experience. It’s not just the time that you’re in the program, but it’s also when you’re an alum. And when you might come back for more career coaching as an alum, what does that look like? And what does that mean? I think one other unique portion outside of the written essays that I might be a little bit different as an institution than my fellow colleagues, is we do not do a required interview. We actually do a video question instead. Our computer data-based application actually will automatically pick one of 20 typical interview-style questions you’d get in an MBA interview. You get two minutes to prep with that question. You can write down your notes on a notecard really quick and then you get two minutes to respond to it. I really talk with students about this is your time to be having a coffee conversation with an admissions committee member. It’s really showing that personality, showing who you are as an individual because it gives us a good inside look of who you might be when we’re on a Zoom meeting with our fellow classmates, working on a project. It gives us that good insight also in the delivery option where you’re gonna be seeing majority of your coursework and curriculum. In terms of GMAT/GRE waivers, very similarly, we’ve had a set process for quite a while that we’re gonna look at things like your previous academic record, your work experience, and then what are you doing that’s quantitative or analytically focused in terms of your workplace? And obviously that looks really different depending on your industry or functional area. It’s just an extra process that you do prior to admissions. We’ll give you feedback to say, yes, you can move forward without taking a GMAT or GRE or a lot of the times, especially in the place of COVID-19, right now we’ve kind of been starting to use a middle-level decision. There’s a couple other great resources that we’ll have students just take to prep for the curriculum. And then just provide that as an application material or just saying, we really would like to see a score. We’ll work with you on an individual basis. We’ve continued that same process through COVID-19 and what I really encourage for candidates that have questions, especially about testing. And as Jillian said, we want to get to know you. We want this to be a conversation. So reach out to us, schedule an appointment. If you have questions about that, don’t be afraid to ask and we’ll give you full candidness of what we’re trying to plan for as universities is we’re all facing big changes coming up in the next year.

Allen: Thank you. All right, Jim, you’re up.

Parrish: Nathan, I don’t know if you’re ever gonna go outside of the front or am I gonna have a first question? I’m trying to make myself prepared. But I’ll answer this one right now.

Allen: We’ll see.

Parrish: You’re a wild card. I think it’s a great topic right now because I believe my colleagues would agree that we’re talking and having really good, strong conversations about next year’s planning for admission as this year is pretty much taken care of for the fall. But we’re having some robust conversations with our admissions team about that personal statement and how important that is. I think we’re even tracking towards more of a professional statement. Business school is a professional school. It is something that is highly valued. And we want to make sure that you can tell us about, a little bit about you, but also that professional nature of what you have in terms of how you’re going to blend in with the incoming students. I believe that that professional statement that is part of your admissions packet is very important because it does separate you. It does tell us more of a story about you and I would spend a great deal of time looking at that. In terms of culture and fit, obviously that’s a major, major thing, we want to make sure it’s a right fit for us looking at you as a candidate, but it also has to be a right fit for you. There are all different types of programs out there, and we want to have a conversation with you to see what the right fit is. It may be a different program here in the Harbert College that we have. Like my colleagues, I would echo that having those relationships and establishing that information now is critical because you need to know what’s out there and what’s available to you. Your research now taking the time to have conversations with our admissions professionals and our team here at Auburn will be very appropriate, as you kind of gather your list, doing your research, your due diligence, to make sure you find the right fit, not only from a school perspective but also from a modality and delivery model, because there could be some other options at the school that you are looking at. And those conversations would yield that information. In terms of a GMAT or GRE, again, I would echo what Natalie and Jillian said. We are keeping those in place because of the uncertainty of the world around us for our January 2021 intake. Our descriptions of what a waiver will qualify, what will qualify you for a waiver rather is on our website. And we’re still finalizing the details for fall 2021 admission. Again, the conversations that can happen with the admissions teams at each university will open up some doors and open up some insights to kind of keep abreast of the changes. Because as we all know, things are changing rapidly around us. But it’s important to have those relationships and those relationships will establish you and find out what the right fit is as you take the next steps.

Allen: Great. Thank you. Alright, Jodey, how about Washington Foster?

Farwell: Yeah, you bet. I’ve only been here like I said for about a year. I have to tell you that my very first day on campus, I got to meet Frank Hodge, who’s the Dean of the Foster School of Business, and come to find out he and I went to high school together in a small town, Moscow, Idaho. It was such a blessing because I know the values and beliefs that Frank has, we grew up in, the same culture. It was really neat to be able to know that from the top down, that’s the kind of culture we were gonna have here at Foster. And I see that with my associate director or Dean and try to push that culture down through my staff, as well. Same thing as everybody else, we’re looking for the same things in terms of the admission process. I always tell the students when I’m interviewing them, of course, we look holistically at them from an academic standpoint. We’re looking at what their goals are, what their career path has been, how they’re progressing within their career. What their day-to-day responsibilities are, all those things, just like you all are. But ultimately at the end of the interview, what I’m really trying to assess is what kind of human being they are. Are they the kind of human that cares about the greater good? Are they here just to get an MBA for themselves? Are they really here to contribute to the cohort? And like Natalie said, this is a lifelong experience. You’re gonna be part of us as a family for forever. We really look at that in terms of trying to assess the culture. That’s the kind of students we want in here, students that care literally more about sustainability and caring about the environment and caring about making the world a better place and care about DEI issues. That’s the kind of thing that we’re really looking for. Especially given the kind of culture that we’re in today. Yes, of course, all the other things too. And we’re lucky too, as you guys had mentioned it, as part of your admissions process, it’s getting to know, Jillian mentioned this too, getting to know the student, it’s my favorite thing. And I’m always so sad if it doesn’t work out and they don’t become a student here. And because I feel like I know them now cause we have information sessions and we have this thing called the Taste of Hybrid, which is like a simulated Foster live Zoom experience. So they can see what that’s like. We have virtual open houses and alumni panels, so they can talk to the alumni and ask them questions. We have all these events to try to really get them to know our programs so well so that the decision-making process is easy for them. They decide if it’s a fit or not. We don’t want there to be any unanswered questions when it comes to decision time. We get so invested my whole staff does the interviewing or participates in the virtual open houses or the career fairs and all this kind of things. And then they get an interview with me or someone else on my staff, my Associate Director, or my Student Services Manager. They know all of us by the time we get to decision time. And it’s this wonderful experience. I think Jim mentioned too, the students have to be prepared if they come to the interview process and they haven’t intended to be as advanced and they really haven’t done their due diligence. Then yeah, maybe they’re not a student that’s either ready for an MBA program or ready for our program. Absolutely. And then in terms of the GMAT thing. Yes, we require the GMAT and GRE. This year we started accepting the executive assessment. I don’t know if you guys have done that too. I think that is a wonderful, wonderful thing. I have pushed it hard mainly because when we require the GMAT and students, you just see the dread on their face, oh, I don’t want to have to prep for it. And all that. And I tell them about the EA and how it’s really more of a business analysis test. You’re not gonna have to pull back trigonometry from 20 years ago or vocabulary words that you’re never gonna use. It’s just not that kind of test. I’m so excited that we get to offer the executive assessment. And that was my Associate Dean that really pushed that for us. Yes, we do offer waivers, this is the first time we’ve ever done that due to COVID. Generally, we do not offer waivers. And we, like Jim too, are still in the process of determining ongoing what the policy will be for us offering waivers. And it is extensive business experience, maybe an advanced degree, those are the kinds of things that we look at in terms of candidates we would offer a waiver to.