Berkeley / Haas MBA News

Get the latest MBA news from Berkeley / Haas.

Published: June 2, 2013

UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business Hires Two New Permanent Finance Professors

Two visiting finance professors have joined the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley as permanent faculty members, one from Kellogg and another from Chicago Booth, Haas announced last week. Professor Annette Vissing-Jørgensen, formerly a professor at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, and Assistant ProfessorAdair Morse, formerly an associate professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, have been visiting faculty members at Haas since July 2012. Both are known for their insightful research and award-winning teaching, the school notes. Read more

Published: May 16, 2013

UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business Welcomes Inaugural Executive MBA Class

Members of the first class of the Berkeley MBA for Executives Program will take in majestic views of San Francisco Bay tonight while enjoying dinner and hearing from a Nobel Laureate, all part of orientation for the new 19-month program, which began on Wednesday. Haas launched the new program after reaching a mutual decision last year with Columbia Business School to end the joint Berkeley-Columbia Executive MBA Program. Based in Berkeley, Haas’s new program will include three off-site blocks, one in Washington, DC, one in Shanghai and one in Silicon Valley. The school's Berkeley Innovative Leader Development (BILD) curriculum, introduced as part of the full-time MBA program in 2010, will serve as the basis for the new executive MBA program. Read more

Published: April 11, 2013

UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business Spotlights Student Startups

An MBA student at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business made the case for why business school can be an ideal place for entrepreneurs to get startups off the ground as part of an article in Forbes this week. At the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley many students have the same idea, and in acknowledgement the school has launched a new series to spotlight student ventures. Andre Marquis, executive director of the Lester Center for Entrepreneurship, underscored how valuable time at Haas can be for budding entrepreneurs. “The best way to create entrepreneurial leaders is to give them the experience of building startups while they are here,” he said in the latest issue of BerkeleyHaas magazine. Read more

Published: April 8, 2013

Berkeley / Haas MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 3 / Second-Year student / On-Campus

I was greeted by a 2nd year student to conduct my on-campus interview. The interview was blind, but the interviewer did have a copy of my resume which she had briefly read-over before beginning the interview. They started off by asking me to introduce myself and talk about my resume with a specific focus of my current job/role. After that, she asked me about why I wanted an MBA, what I hoped to do it with, and why specifically I was interested in Haas. After those questions, they began probing into more of the behavioral questions around my working style, Read more

Published: March 4, 2013

Berkeley / Haas MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Alum / Off-campus

The alum that interviewed me was aware of my information beforehand, so he asked many questions regarding my past experiences and my studies. Nonetheless, he first told me to talk 5 minutes about my resume and then he started with the questions: Tell me about this job which you listed in your resume. What did you learn? Have you ever had any bad experiences in your past job? Why did you choose Haas for the MBA? Is there anything that you did not mention in your application that you would like the adcom to know? What do you do Read more

Published: March 4, 2013

Berkeley / Haas MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / On Campus / Alum

Mine was a blind interview with an alum. Seeing that he was young, I became a little less nervous. The interview started with him asking me “Where are you from?” and “Please walk me through your resume”. He asked me why I wanted an MBA and why did I choose Haas. After that, he asked about my short and long term goals, and how an MBA would help me achieve those goals. He asked me if I had any trouble working in a team, and to describe a bad experience working in teams. Asked me about my leadership skills and Read more

Published: March 4, 2013

Berkeley / Haas MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Alum / On-Campus

The interview lasted about 30 minutes. The questions they asked me were: Walk me through your resume. Asked some specific questions about my experiences and seemed to be testing my technical and market knowledge. Why MBA? What are your short and long term goals? Why Haas? Tell me about a time when you displayed good teamwork. Tell me your leadership style. Was there any other question I wished he had asked me. Very comfortable interview overall! Read more

Published: February 28, 2013

Berkeley / Haas MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Alumnus / Off-campus

Interview scheduled with an alum in a coffee shop He explained the what a blind interview was, and told me the duration was 45min. He then asked me: “Tell me about a time when you were given constructive feedback. How did you respond?” “Have you ever experienced conflict with someone on your team? How did you resolve it?” “Tell me about your experiencing managing people. Have you managed direct reports?” “What kind of leader are you?” “Tell me about challenges you’ve faced you have faced at your workplace and how you resolved them?” “Which book are you currently Read more

Published: February 27, 2013

Berkeley / Haas MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Adcom / On Campus

I had the first round of the interview on campus, and to be honest it lasted less than I had expected (30 minutes). I was a bit nervous at first, but when I finished I was calm and I felt the interview was very promising. They asked all kind of questions: Why Haas? What excited me most about the program? My long-term plans Discussion on the state and future of the sector What my most embarrassing moment in my professional career had been Walk them through my resume my leadership experience My goals What do I know about Strategy Consulting? Read more

Published: February 25, 2013

Berkeley / Haas MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 Consortium / Alumna / Off-campus

We interviewed at a local Starbucks and it was fairly conversational and friendly. The focus was more so on my background and behavioral questions along with a focus on “why Haas?”. It was a blind interview and so she had not seen anything until we got there, I brought a resume for her to reference and review. I think the graduates of Haas really make an effort to stay in touch with the school and are very willing to vet the future students to ensure that the tight community stays in tact. The alumna followed a few pages of outlined Read more

Published: January 20, 2013

Berkeley / Haas MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Alumnus / Off-campus

I visited my alum at her workplace after Haas put us in touch via email. The interview overall was extremely laid-back and low pressure. It was very friendly but also a very low energy interview (I’m sure this is just the personality of the interviewer). I was surprised how straight-forward the interview was, very little probing. All the predictable questions were asked and very few others. Overall, the interview certainly did not endear me to the school but I felt like I was able to communicate anything that I wanted to. Here are some questions: Tell me about yourself and Read more

Published: January 17, 2013

Berkeley / Haas MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 Consortium / Alumnus / Off-campus

We met in a coffee table in the corridor of his office floor. He was very friendly and seemed engaged in our conversation. I have to admit that I was a little uncomfortable due to the location and close proximity to his coworkers in an open office area. He started by introducing himself (academic background, nationality, brief work experience, and concentration while at Haas) 1) Tell me about yourself. “Sorry I didn’t have a chance of looking at your resume” 2) what do you do as an engineer…. 2.1) what’s your role 2.2) do you get Read more

Published: December 10, 2012

Berkeley / Haas MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 / Alum / Off-Campus

I was interviewed by a somewhat recent alum at a local coffee shop. The interview was very pleasant, but the interviewer stuck to a fairly strict script based on what the school sent out. Questions asked: Tell me about yourself Talk about your experience in quant heavy courses Tell me about your responsibilities in your current position/role Why do you want an MBA and why is now the best time for you Why do you want your MBA from Berkeley What are you interested in doing at Haas I thought the interview went well and there was a lot Read more

Published: August 8, 2012

Admissions Director Q&A: Stephanie Fujii of the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley

Our 2014 interview with Stephanie Fujii, the director of admissions at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, is now available. Stephanie Fujii has been director of admissions at the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley since August 2010, ably filling the shoes of outgoing director Peter Johnson, who had been with Haas for more than a decade. That she had no trouble taking on the new role comes as no surprise. Fujii is not new to admissions, nor is she new to Haas. She has been a part of the Haas admissions team for the past seven years, serving previously as senior associate director. Before that she worked in the nonprofit sector in eldercare, after receiving an MBA of her own from Haas. “It is exciting to be part of the process and to meet people on the road and help them understand what makes our program unique,” she says. Prior to business school she was in HR consulting and while a student at Berkeley she was a Haas Student Ambassador, which involved working closely with admissions to plan student events. Read more

Published: February 23, 2012

Berkeley / Haas MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Off Campus / Alum (Consortium Applicant)

I live in LA and given my hectic work schedule, I could not really afford to go to Berkeley, so I arrange for a local interview. I contacted my interviewer and we agreed to meet over lunch at a restaurant in Hollywood near his office. The interviewer was a recent alum (Class of 2011). The interviewer was very friendly and welcoming. I brought copies of my resume but he already had a copy with him. The interview was very casual and he was probably younger than I was. Overall, it was very conversational and we kept on being interrupted by Read more

Published: February 22, 2012

Berkeley / Haas MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Off Campus / Alum

I interviewed off-campus in January. The interview was in a conference room at the alum’s office; we had set-up the meeting after exchanging emails. The interviewer was very friendly and welcoming. To start the interviewer asked me for my resume and we dove right into the questions: Tell me about yourself What do you do? Why MBA? Why Haas? What do you want to do after your MBA? How will you contribute to the program? After covering the questions, we spent about 10-15 minutes covering questions I had. The school’s principle of “Confidence without attitude” was definitely palpable. Fingers crossed! Read more

Published: February 21, 2012

Berkeley / Haas MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Off Campus / Alum (Consortium Applicant)

Had an interview off-campus with an alumnus of the program. The alumnus was very friendly and easy to talk to – I felt good after the interview and he left me with a great impression of the program. Overall, I’d be familiar with the culture at Haas and their defining principles. Good luck interviewing with Haas! Started with small talk. Walk me through your resume Why Haas? Let’s talk about the four defining principles. Tell me about a time where you had to convince a team of your opinion. What would you change about your company if you were CEO? Read more

Published: February 19, 2012

Berkeley / Haas MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 2 / Off-campus / Alum

I had an in-person interview with a Haas alumni in my home town. We organized the time/location over email and met in the city. He hasn’t been at Haas for a very long time (10+ years!). He was very lovely and we chatted about this and that for ~10 mins. We then started the formal interview questions. He took notes on his laptop which was very disconcerting! Questions: Take me through your resume: He had a copy. I took about 10 mins. He got a little impatient towards the end so I suggest wrapping it up a bit quicker. Why Read more

Published: February 5, 2012

Berkeley / Haas MBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 (Consortium) / On Campus / Alum

Blind interview with an alum during Super Saturday – they tried to pair people with similar backgrounds or interests List of interview questions: Where are you from? Walk me through your resume? Why an MBA? What do you want to do after your MBA? (long-term and short-term goals) Why Haas? What is your greatest leadership experience? Tell me about a difficult team experience. Are there any questions for me (the alum)? Commentary: Very conversational Was very quick Interview was also combined with 3 other events (career panel, student panel, and team-building exercise) and a lunch with current perspectives and 1 Read more

Published: January 25, 2012

Berkeley / Haas EWMBA Admissions Interview Questions: Round 1 Evening & Weekend program / Adcom / On-campus

I interviewed for the EWMBA program at Haas Berkeley and following was my experience. The atmosphere was very good. Not too many people in the building possibly because it was around the finals week. The interview was application based. Interviewed with member of adcom. She was very friendly and put me to ease easily. Interview length: 1 hour Interview Questions: Walk me through your resume What are your short term and long term goals. Describe some of the leadership experiences Explain a circumstance when you had to convince someone to support you idea What will you bring to the Haas Read more

Berkeley / Haas

Class Size: 295

Women: 42%

MEdiAN GMAT: 730

MEAN GPA: 3.65

Livewire Decisionwire Interview Reports Essay Topic Analysis MBA Admissions Deadlines View Full Profile

MBA Applywire

January 20, 2025 6:40pm ET

Applying: Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, Stanford GSB, UPenn / Wharton

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: McKinsey & Company Consultant

Post-MBA Target Industry: Venture Capital, Media Companies: Other , Other

GMAT: 745

GPA: 3.93

Years of Work Experience: 3.5

Location: Los Angeles, California

January 20, 2025 5:53pm ET

Applying: Babson / Olin, Cornell / Johnson, Duke / Fuqua, Emory / Goizueta, Georgetown / McDonough, Illinois / Gies, Indiana / Kelley, Ohio State / Fisher, UNC Kenan-Flagler, Undecided, UVA / Darden

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Military

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Technology, Other Companies: Accenture , Booz Allen Hamilton

GPA: 3.8

Years of Work Experience: 20

Post MBA Location: Florida

Notes:

Currently employed full time with a small defense contractor. I’m attached to a Flight Test squadron to advise and assist the Air Force in flight operations, long range and short range testing, resources, manning, scheduling, and collaborate with outside agencies and vendors.

Looking to stay within the Aero and Defense sector.

January 20, 2025 11:52am ET

Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Columbia, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, Michigan / Ross, Northwestern / Kellogg, Stanford GSB, U. Chicago Booth, Yale SOM

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Real Estate

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Consumer Goods, Non Profit/SI, Other Companies: Deloitte , McKinsey , 3M , Coca Cola , Unilever

GRE: 328

GPA: 3.05

Years of Work Experience: 7

Location: Nigeria

Post MBA Location: United States of America

Notes:

I would appreciate if given pointers as to the kind of questions to ask while attending virtual events and how to successfully gain application fee waiver. Thank you.

January 19, 2025 11:24am ET

Applying: Cornell / Johnson, Dartmouth / Tuck, Michigan / Ross, U. Chicago Booth, UCLA Anderson, UT Austin / McCombs

Pre-MBA Career: Production Supervisor

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Consumer Goods Companies: Bain , BCG , McKinsey

GPA: 2.9

Years of Work Experience: 5

Location: Southern California

Post MBA Location: Midwest

Notes:

Low GPA due to having to work full time during schooling to support my family and also career change. I was originally in Engineering undergrad then switched to Finance and achieved much higher grades.

I have taken a practice GMAT and I am aiming for a ~675+ to hopefully offset GPA.

M 30, Hispanic American, First-gen, I would apply through the Consortium, also a part of the Big Brother program mentor.

3 years of credit specialist experience and 2 years of production supervisor experience, all within the same company. 5 more years of general production jobs where I had some leadership experience but nothing too notable.

I'm not absolutely locked into only attending those schools, but I know they have great placements in Consulting. How would everyone rate my chances?

January 16, 2025 2:59am ET

Applying: Columbia, Dartmouth / Tuck, Michigan / Ross, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, U. Chicago Booth, UPenn / Wharton, UVA / Darden, Yale SOM

Pre-MBA Career: Financial Services, Wholesale Banking

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting

GPA: 4.0

Years of Work Experience: 2

Location: Bangladesh

Post MBA Location: United States (preferably Boston, NY, Chicago, or Seattle)

Notes:

Hi Alex and Graham, huge fan of your podcast. Love the work that you are doing, especially with the candidate profile reviews

- Female from outside the capital city in Bangladesh; 23-year-old; to accumulate 3 years of full-time work experience at matriculation in Fall 26. Also completed HBS CoRE with high honors (99th Percentile). Prepping for the GRE now and expecting a score of 330 ish, with a skew towards quant.

- Graduated with 4.0 in Econ (Minor: Finance and Math) from an international women's college in Bangladesh; extensively involved as Tutor (Math and Science Center) and Teaching Assistant (for 8 courses) during my undergrad; Secretary at the SDG Club. Have done internships and global mgmt. programs internationally, but remotely given it was during peak Covid.

- Working as an Assistant Vice President in one of the largest multinational banks; I manage the largest client of my office and oversee accounts; I also work actively on several CSR projects of my organization, including a major initiative that involves my Alma Mater. Managing a team of 3 at work now despite being the youngest in the team

- Target is to get into Top 15 MBA programs at the US with a substantial scholarship. I recognize that the Work Exp will be a major barrier. Please suggest ways in which I can maximize my chances. My goal is to do consulting with an MBB firm in the Short Term and then move to Non-profit/Social Impact (either in Consulting with orgs such as Dalberg, or at the likes of Gates Foundation etc.) focusing on women empowerment/ education.

- Planning to apply in R1 to 5 ish schools (Mix of M7, Top 10, 10-15 range) and then in R2 to 3 ish, targeting a total of 8 applications

Would love to get covered in one of your future episodes. Happy to share more about my profile and ambitions. Thanks a ton!

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MBA LiveWire

January 20, 2025 10:58pm ET

Applied to Michigan / Ross

Round: Round 2

Received via email

GPA: 8.81/10 (3.82 WES Converted)

GRE: 326

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Entrepreneurship

Application Location: India

January 20, 2025 10:57pm ET

Applied to UVA / Darden

Round: Round 2

Received via email

GPA: 8.81/10 (3.82 WES converted)

GRE: 326

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Entrepreneurship

Application Location: India

January 20, 2025 10:55pm ET

Interview Invite to Vanderbilt / Owen

Round: Round 2

Received via email on January 12, 2025

GPA: 8.81/10 (3.82 WES Converted)

GRE: 326

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Entrepreneurship

Application Location: India

January 20, 2025 4:01pm ET

Applying to UVA / Darden

Round: Round 2

Received via portal

EA: 149

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Entrepreneurship

Application Location: Chile

Note:

Applied on January 4th

January 20, 2025 3:30pm ET

Interview Invite to UVA / Darden

Round: Round 2

Received via email on January 14, 2025

GPA: 3.6

GRE: 320

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Entrepreneurship

Application Location: Atlanta, GA

Note:

HBCU grad. IB/VC/Startup experience.

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