How To Secure Deferred MBA Admissions At The Top 7 Programs

"… Last month, Wharton expanded its MBA deferred admissions program to include students outside the University of Pennsylvania undergrad program for the first time. Now, non-UPenn students have a chance to secure a coveted place in a future Wharton MBA cohort before going to a few years of work experience before enrolling.

This is great news for academic rock stars with lofty aspirations. As opposed to the traditional path to the MBA, in which you spend roughly three to six years earning real-world career experience before applying, deferred admissions programs offer a guaranteed path to business school before diving into the workforce.

This evolution is further evidence that elite MBA programs are themselves vying to secure a competitive advantage by recruiting top talent for their future communities. The ranks of top deferred admissions programs include MIT Sloan (which made its debut earlier this year), as well as HBS 2+2, Stanford GSB Deferred Enrollment, the Chicago Booth Scholars Program, Yale Silver Scholars, and Darden Future Years Scholar Program to offer rising stars a jumpstart on the MBA." …

https://poetsandquants.com/2019/10/22/how-to-secure-deferred-mba-admission-at-the-top-7-programs/?pq-category=admissions&pq-category-2=sponsored-blogs

It will be interesting to see the yield realized by these deferred admissions programs as life often gets in the way of well intentioned plans.

In addition to making connections with future business leaders, the main advantage of earning an M-7 degree is the opportunity it gives one to switch employers or to switch industries. As the deferred programs are all 2 year full time MBA programs, many accepted to these programs may not want to leave their current employment several years down the road.

To me, deferred admission candidates to M-7 MBA programs dilute the value of an M-7 degree. Currently, the primary consideration for gaining entry into an M-7 MBA program is based upon one’s post undergraduate work history & work successes. Deferred admissions criteria switch the focus of admissions to one’s undergraduate academic performance & one’s standardized test scores.

This is little more than a cry of desperation from the top fulltime , two year MBA programs due to declining interest.

The cynic in me says that such programs are mostly targeting those who tend to be under-represented (including women*) in b-school. It keeps them from applying to the competition.

*yes, Wharton is now up to 47%, but I have no doubt that they’d love to say that they were at parity. But the competition, HBS, is only up to 43% women, so HBS would love to steal some top female stars with Wharton/Penn degrees.

@Dave_Berry Thank you for this! I had no idea this was even available. My daughter talked about getting an MBA (4-5 years after college graduation) when she was in high school. She is a senior in college now. I just sent the link to her!

Absent a severe economic recession, I suspect that MBA programs will experience substantial change over the next 5 years because the traditional fulltime, two year MBA programs have priced themselves out of the market thereby opening doors for alternative graduate business degree programs.

In fact, several well known fulltime MBA programs have recently closed down in favor of offering just a part-time MBA option as well as offering several one year specialty masters degrees.

The costs of attending a fulltime, two year MBA program are shocking. Stanford’s Graduate School of Business estimates that the cost of attendance for the traditional two year MBA program is over $225,000. When one adds in the loss of income for about two years, the true COA can exceed $450,000–assuming that the accepted candidate was earning $112,500 per year at the time of matriculation. Many will be earning much more than $112,500 per year after having been in the post undergraduate work force for three, four or five years.

In fact, there are over ten fulltime, top MBA programs that estimate the cost of attendance exceeds $200,000 per year plus loss of income for two years–which is often referred to as “opportunity cost”.

Alternatives to the two year, fulltime, on-campus MBA programs include: One year specialty masters degree programs, and both online and on-campus part-time MBA programs. Additionally, if one needs to respond quickly to rapid changes in the workplace, there are thousands of online certificate programs available through continuing education arms of universities.

Publisher- I read an article similar to what you’ve posted (don’t remember if it was Fortune or Business Week) back in 1980 when I was applying to business school. This is not new. AND- I went with loans at a time when interest rates were 12% and higher depending on what you qualified for (remember those years?).

I think the true shakeout is going to come from the low end programs, not the Stanford/Wharton MBA’s. There are dozens of schools with low admissions standards, low residency requirements, and minimal quant work granting MBA’s. It’s going to be hard to justify-- even at a low sticker price- those programs over time.

I’ve interviewed many students from these programs. The difference between a second year at U Chicago and a second year at University of New Haven is night and day. Large corporate employers know the difference.

@blossom: Even the M-7 schools are experiencing downturns in applications.

Costs have risen well above the rate of inflation.

Changes are coming. 1980 has few, if any, similarities to what is transpiring today. There were no online options & there were no one year specialty masters programs in 1980.

It is not the no name MBA programs which have been shutting down their fulltime programs. If I recall correctly, the University of Iowa and, maybe, Wake Forest have closed their fulltime programs. There are two others which I cannot recall.

P.S. @blossom: I see that you were the first to respond to my thread detailing the downturn in applications to top ranked MBA programs.

From your comments, it is unlikely that we will find common ground. If your experience is from 1980, or even the 1980s, then times have changed.

Applications down at Top 25 MBA Programs:

Indiana-Kelley–down 31.5%
UNC–Keenan-Flagler–down 24.7%
Emory–Goizueta–down 24.2%
Dartmouth–Tuck–down 22.5%

UCLA–Anderson–down 17.7%
Yale SOM–down 15.6%
Northwestern–Kellogg–down 15.5%
Duke–Fuqua–down 14.6%

UCal-Berkeley (Haas)–down 9.7%
NYU–Stern–down 7%
Texas-Austin–down 6.6%
Georgetown–down 6.9%

Harvard–down 6.7%
Stanford–down 5.8%
Penn-Wharton–down 5.4%

Columbia–down 2.5%
USC–down 5%

Chicago–Booth up 3.4%, but down 5.2% over the last 3 years.

Due primarily to strong economy & high COA. Also affected by online options & dramatic growth of one year specialty masters degrees.

In short, the two year, fulltime MBA programs are diminishing in size due to lower demand & unaffordability.

Applications to grad school, especially a business school, are always down when the economy is booming. When the next recession hits, applications will go back up. The M7 have nothing to worry about in the near long term.

@Publisher My D intends to apply for HBS 2+2 senior year. Do you know whether she can apply to multiple deferred admission MBA programs?

@itsgettingreal: Agree with respect to application & enrollment surges during recessions. That is why I wrote:" Absent a severe economic recession…" in post #4 above. And, I probably should not have included the word “severe”.

But, even during a recession, applicants to top MBA programs have to consider the ever rising costs of tuition & fees which currently exceed $70,000 per year at many elite MBA programs. Of course, room & board & lost income remain as additional costs of attendance.

As to whether one can apply to multiple deferred admission MBA programs is a great & timely question since some programs are now accepting applications from students in undergraduate or masters programs regardless of school that the applicant is currently attending.

I cannot answer that question with certainty. My best guess is that one can apply to multiple deferred admission MBA programs so long as the targeted MBA programs accept deferred admission applications from students attending other schools.

A related question is whether one can apply to any other MBA programs once one has accepted a deferred offer of admission. I do not know the answer. It may depend upon the terms of the program to which one was accepted as a deferred admit.

For example: What if one gains deferred admission to Virginia-Darden, then a couple of years later wants to shoot for Harvard or Stanford MBA programs ? Can the deferred admission be held as an insurance policy while attempting “to better” one’s position by applying to a higher ranked MBA program ?

Another issue to consider is whether employers will be reluctant to hire or to promote ot to invest in those who are going to leave in a few years to attend an MBA program as a deffered admit.

Employers understand that a primary benefit of attending an M-7 MBA program is the ability for an M-7 MBA graduate to switch employers and to switch industries so why invest in such an individual ?

@itsgettingreal: The answer to your question is yes, one can apply to multiple deferred admission MBA programs.

Among her options:

Harvard
Stanford
Yale SOM
Penn-Wharton
MIT-Sloan
Virginia-Darden
Chicago-Booth

P.S. I have not read about each program in detail. My answer is based on information from Harvard’s website & from Poets & Quants.

Another reason attributed to the lower number of applicants is an even greater drop in foreign applications at many MBA programs. This is due to visa concerns and a significant drop from mainland Chinese for obvious reasons.

@Publisher, yes, work experience matters. But prospective employers would be able to see that.

Top b-schools are betting the deferred admits will also do well when they start their work career after undergrad.

Those undergrads that already have a FT offer after a summer internship at a top company likely would have a leg up in the application process.