Chat with MBA Admissions — October 11, 2011

Thanks for joining us to talk about the Rady School and our MBA program. We look forward to your questions.

Do you have an idea of when the 2011 class profiles will be published on Rady's website?

We expect the FT entering profile to be up shortly - and we have a pdf version we can send you, if you'd like to see it sooner. Email MBA Admissions at MBAadmissions@ucsd.edu.

Rady website lists great summer internships opportunities and strong career planning support for the students. Are most of the summer internships in the San Diego area or are there opportunities in other areas in California? International?

Most are here since most students prefer to stay here for the summer, which is really what drives that. We always have students elsewhere in California, especially in the Bay Area. We've got an active Rady alumni chapter there, and an annual student trek there to visit companies. We do get internship listings from elsewhere, and Careers maintains a very broad recruiter db for resume books, etc, so is very able to help if you want another location. We have had students intern in other US locations and abroa.

One of the advantages of our small student body is that Careers knows each student individually and works with your specific interests and goals in mind.

If you attended UCSD as an undergraduate, does that mean your application will receive any preference or automatic acceptance?

We consider the educational institution that you attended as an undergraduate, as well as the coursework you completed. We do not, however, give special preference to UCSD undergraduates solely based on the fact that you attended UCSD.

I am very interested in Rady and would like to visit UCSD to learn more about the program. I am planning on a visit to the school and hope to visit a class as well. Is there anything else you would suggest that would be helpful to learn about the MBA program at Rady?

We don't have formal concentrations. You may choose from electives based on your educational and career interest: that may lead you to focus in a functional area like marketing or finance - or it might lead you to take a broad selection of electives.

From a career transition standpoint, could you discuss the strengths and weakness of the Full-Time vs FlexMBA program?

A class visit is a great way to obtain a better feel of the campus and culture at Rady. We also would be happy to arrange for you to meet with one of our current students while on campus, and meet with a member of our Admissions team should you have additional questions you'd like to ask us in person. In addition, I encourage you to visit our website and fill out the form under "Request Info", which will add you to our database so that you receive the most up-to-date information about our upcoming events on- and off-campus (such as information sessions, informal mixers with current students, graduate fairs, and more).

Can you tell us more about the L2M workshops? I see in a sample FT schedule that there is a L2M course, and then two L2M workshops.

The L2M sequence focuses on innovation and how innovation reaches the marketplace: how do new products, new services, new business models, new companies achieve commercial success. L2M, the first course, is really about how to apply the core disciplines of business to the innovation process: how do you source ideas, evaluate ideas from all angles, identify potential markets, and look at the best business model for a particular situation and innovation. In the workshop, teams form around specific innovations and play those forward, ultimately writing a business plan and presenting that to a panel. What's distinctive about the sequence is that students evaluate and choose the innovations they work on - Rady provides lots of access to possibilities, but we don't "vet" projects. We believe that the evaluation and decision-making process is really where much of the critical learning occurs.

If I give you a good business idea, the process of writing a business plan for it is (relatively) simple - the hard part of innovation is deciding which ideas and innovations are worth writing a business plan about. L2M is designed to provide you with an intensive experience of working through that process, with a "safety net" under you, in the form of faculty support, as network of business community advisors and coaches, etc.

One other comment on L2M: our students and alumni - and our corporate partners - have really confirmed for us that this process of evaluating opportunities and making data-driven business decisions in conditions of uncertainty is directly relevant to many roles. You can see the entrepreneurial connection - but this is also exactly the kind of decision-making that drive many roles in established companies: it's what you do in new product development, in business development, in strategic planning, in many types of project management, in venture capital……companies always have more potential opportunities than they can actually pursue, and are always having to make these complex decisions.

Can you provide me with examples of people we should get letters of recommendation from? I've been out college for over 10 years; therefore, past teachers will not be possible.

The letters of recommendation ideally will come from people who will be able to speak to your abilities, character and accomplishments. Thus, mentors, employers, colleagues and so forth could be possible sources. Thoughtful, informed commentary about your readiness for an MBA at Rady is what we are looking for.

Can you please review the ideal candidate for your MBA program? And what is your acceptance rate vs. applicants rejected?

We look at three broad areas in considering applicants. First: are you academically and intellectually prepared? Rady is a rigorous program, and we want to be sure that you will be academically successful. Second: why an MBA? Why Rady? Why now? There isn't a "right answer" to this; what we really want to understand is what your own self-evaluation has showed you about why an MBA is the right choice for you at this point in your life and career - and then why Rady, with our particular interest in innovation and our highly collaborative environment, is the right place for you. Third, we want to know what personal attributes you bring: what are your teamwork and leadership skills? Your creativity and initiative? Your integrity?

Are there any opportunities for consulting projects at Rady? I'm particularly interested in consulting, or coaching, entrepreneurs with small businesses.

Yes, lots! We have a number of ways this happens: each year there are several Business Consulting Projects courses, and typically at least some of the companies sponsoring projects are small or emerging companies. Some L2M projects may also come from entrepreneurs or inventors who want a Rady L2M team to take on the business planning process for them. We have a Technology Commercialization elective that involves working with companies in a local tech incubator. And we have the Rady Innovation Fellows program, which provides funding for Rady MBA students to work with various commercialization project or entrepreneurial ventures.

What about GMAT scores? Is there an minimum test score that is required in order to be accepted?

There is not a minimum GMAT score. However, on average, our Full-Time MBA student's score between a 610-740. The GMAT is one of numerous factors taken into consideration when the Admissions Committee is evaluating your application

What sorts of roles do graduates get into within the healthcare sector?

This depends a bit on prior background - we have some students who come to us with MD or other medical practitioner degrees and who are seeking ways to combine that with business; we have other students who are simply interested in the health care or related industry areas. The options and opportunities will be a bit different for these two groups. We've seen students move from medical practice into a more managerial or business role in health care setting, start or join entrepreneurial ventures that leverage their medical training. We've also seen students from non-medical background take on roles in financial or operational analysis, where their MBA analytical skills are very useful. We also have a lot of student interest in technology as it applies to health care delivery - San Diego is a real center for wireless health care.

Thank you everyone for joining us this afternoon. We enjoyed answering your questions, and look forward to speaking with you again. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact us directly at: MBAadmissions@ucsd.edu