How to get into Berkeley Haas MBA Program?

Founded in 1898, Haas School of Business of the University of California is the second oldest B-school in the US and one of the most popular public universities, situated in Berkeley, California.

The school has been home to some prestigious faculty like Adolph Miller and Wesley Clair Mitchell (the father of business cycle analysis). Today, the faculty at Haas, the University of California for MBA, is filled with Nobel Laureates and other active members from various industries. This assures that Haas Berkeley MBA students get the best of both worlds- scholastic knowledge or the practical approach.

Getting into Haas Berkeley MBA is more intricate than just filling out the applications, answering essay questions and providing recommendations. To better understand the Haas MBA class profile, you must understand the types of programs that Haas offers so you know which one to apply to.

Types of Haas Berkeley MBA Program

Haas offers three MBA programs to cater to three types of MBA aspirants.

• Full-time MBA: For aspirants that wish to achieve a full-time MBA experience, have less professional experience or wish to switch careers, Haas has the Full-time Program for MBA at Berkeley University.
• Evening MBA: For applicants that wish to earn an MBA without keeping their professional careers on hold, Haas has the Evening and Weekend MBA.
• Executive MBA: The Executive MBA at Haas is meant to cater to high-level executives who wish to gain more skills for professional growth.

Haas Berkeley Ranking

Berkeley Haas is one of the few public schools in the US that enjoy elite status when it comes to business education. Other public schools that fall below Haas Berkeley’s ranking are Kenan Flagler, McCombs, Kelley, and Foster.

UC Berkeley MBA Fees

Although a Public institution, Haas MBA can be quite costly. The fees for MBA at Berkeley University differ among residents of California and non-residents of the state, including international applicants.

Here’s a table to help you better understand how housing, tuition, and other variable costs will add up for the first year. This depiction is for 2023.

Disclaimer: The fees and estimates are retrieved from the official website of the b-school. Applicants are advised to check the official B-school website before applying, as these are subject to change.

As you can see, the total cost of an MBA at Haas School of Business easily costs upwards of $200,000. However, that should not get you worried. Various scholarships and financing options are available to help you sail through the 2-year program.

Haas School of Business Scholarships and Loans

Haas School of Business offers various scholarships to deserving candidates. These include both need-based and merit-based scholarships. Note that you don’t have to apply for scholarships separately. All the applicants are automatically considered for these grants. You are notified when announcing your admission status if you’ve been accepted for a particular scholarship. There are also various UC Berkeley scholarships for international students.

Some of the prominent scholarships offered are;

1. Need-Based Scholarships
   • Berkely MBA Grant
   • Jimenez Family Fellowship
2. Merit-Based Scholarships
   • Berkeley Haas Scholarships
   • Galloway MBA Fellowship
   • Brian Maxwell Fellowship
   • Torres Family Fellowship

While some are only available to US residents, others are strictly dedicated to international students and immigrants.

If you are not able to secure a scholarship, don’t worry. UC Berkeley also offers LRAP or Loan Repayment Assistance Program deserving students. Apart from this, applicants can opt for various private and international student loans to cover the cost of their MBA.

Haas MBA Class Profile

The class profile of a business school can help MBA applicants estimate their chances of getting admitted into their MBA program based on their scores and profiles. Check out the Haas MBA class profile for the class of 2023, along with important details such as Haas School of Business GMAT score, GRE Scores, average work experience and more.

Haas School of Business Acceptance Rate

While Haas School of Business doesn’t reveal details about its acceptance rate, Poets&Quants figures suggest the Haas School of Business acceptance rate to range between 15-20%. Note the school receives roughly 3670 applications each year, which is quite high considering a small class size of 291.

The Haas MBA Application Process for Full-Time Program

The Haas MBA application process is very similar to a typical business school application process. It includes filling out the application form and submitting the required documents before the Haas MBA deadline. The form can be saved and accessed multiple times before you finally decide to submit your online application.

You will have to pay a non-refundable application fee to submit the Haas MBA application. The application fee for the UC Berkeley MBA is $200. Do check the b-school website for any changes in the fees.

However, an application fee waiver is available to a citizen or permanent resident of the US who is active in service at AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, or the US Military. Also, a financial need-based application fee waiver is available to those covered under Estimated Family Contribution.

Haas MBA Deadline 2022-23

Haas has only one intake each year in the fall. For this, the school conducts 3 rounds of admissions. Let’s take a look at the Haas MBA deadline dates for 2022-23

Disclaimer: These dates have been retrieved from the official b-school website. Applicants are advised to check the latest dates on the website as they may be subject to change. 

While there are 3 Rounds of admissions, international applicants are advised to apply by Round 1 or Roun2 as most seats are taken by this Round.

Tips to Get into Berkeley Haas MBA Program

Besides the Haas school of business GMAT score, there are some things that all business school applications require. From showcasing various skills to extra-curricular activities, MBA applications can seem similar across the board for all business schools. However, every business school has unique characteristics that change the focus of its applications.

While INSEAD focuses on a global mindset, Michigan Ross focuses on teamwork. These various focuses also change the way an application should be approached.

Here is a detailed version of what Berkeley Haas’ admissions committee focuses on during MBA applications.

1. Show your Passion

Berkeley Haas’ Stephanie Fujii told an online portal in a 2015 interview about how the class is brought together through their common goals and passion. She revealed that the new clubs and how the class students would interact with each other are assessed through the essays applicants write.

So, apart from the cultural fit, your essay is also analyzed to see how you would fit with the rest of the applicant pool and your potential batchmates through the passion that comes forth from your essays.

Another reason for mentioning the causes you are passionate about is that it shows your character. How driven are you? What motivates you? And can Haas provide you with an environment to cultivate that motivation correctly?

All these questions can only be answered once the admissions committee knows what drives you other than your career.

2. Don’t Answer Essay Questions for the Admissions Committee

Pay close attention to this point.

Your Berkeley Haas essays aren’t for the admissions committee to see how well you can re-invent yourself and fit into the Haas mold. They are strictly to know you as a candidate. Your essays shouldn’t be a compilation of things you believe the admissions committee wants to hear.

It should be a genuine and authentic account of how Haas Berkeley MBA can benefit you and your career as a community and an MBA Program. I know it is an over-used statement in MBA applications, but being vulnerable and authentic is the way to go. You must formulate your essays properly, ensuring all the right accomplishments and experiences are highlighted. But you should also know when to own up to your flaws and discuss the lessons you learned from them.

Because this is what your experience at Haas Berkeley MBA would be like. You’ll succeed in some endeavors and will have to learn from hit and trial in others. But, if your Berkeley Haas MBA application turns out as a saga of your accomplishments and portrays you as a ‘GOD’ with no flaws or shortcomings, Haas will be quick to move it to the reject pile. Unfortunately, many MBA applicants believe business schools are looking for this ‘perfect candidate,’ which is where they go wrong.

3. Research Haas Day in and Day Out

Researching Haas is not for the applications directly. It is mostly pre or post-application work.

The pre-applications leg of your research should be about why Haas should be the school you apply to. Think of yourself as the customer. Ask all the questions you would ask if Haas was a tier 4 business school. When students apply to tier-1 schools, they have the mindset of ‘Am I good enough for the school?’ when you should really be asking, ‘Is Haas good enough for my goals?’.

The pre-application process is all about knowing UC Berkeley MBA requirements and how the school can help you gain the growth that you wish to achieve in your personal and professional life. If you were to be admitted to a not-so-well-known business school and pay huge tuition over that, you will ask every question that mankind has ever come up with to make sure you’re making the right decision. So, look at Haas in the same way.

Once you have these answers down, your Haas MBA application will be smooth sailing. You will know exactly ‘Why Haas?’, or ‘How do you fit into Haas’ culture?’.

The post-application leg is a bit more complicated. Here, you need to answer why Haas should invest their time in you. This is when you need to start looking at Haas as the tier one business school it is. Now is the time to ask questions like ‘How can you add to Haas’ community and the MBA Program?’. For this, you will require to gain in-depth knowledge about the student experience at Haas.

The school will even help you with this leg by providing student ambassadors who will answer your questions. Make sure you use this opportunity for what it’s worth and ask any questions that you have remaining, however, make sure you don’t ask questions you can find answers to from a Google search.

Since the student ambassadors are an extended part of the admissions team, the committee will also look at the types of questions you ask them to see just how curious you are about the school and how extensive your research has been.

4. Be Self-aware

Admissions committee members of Haas have revealed, in certain interviews, that students who weren’t self-aware have lost out on their chance to get admission to Haas Berkeley MBA even though they had exceptional profiles.

An admissions committee member revealed that a student had missed mentioning a promotion (s)he was soon going to receive. The student would have been accepted to the school even without the promotion as (s)he had an exceptional profile. However, when the admissions committee learned about the lapse, they had no other option but to reject the applicant.

Thus, not being self-aware can be a huge error in your Haas MBA application process.

5. Commit to the Culture

The culture at Berkeley Haas is a major factor in the admissions committee’s decision-making. If a student isn’t a cultural fit, they will most probably be rejected by the school.

The culture, however, is not limited to social engagement. Haas has a great focus on community and the idea of creating leaders that wish to impact the world in a socially and ethically responsible way. Thus, a real commitment to Haas’ culture comes through a lot of community involvement.

Simply put, ‘being woke’ is almost necessary to truly fit into the culture and community at Haas Berkeley MBA. The school doesn’t mind if you want to make a lot of money through its MBA degree. In fact, it wants you to do so, which might sound cheesy, but it wants you to have the mindset of doing so while ‘making the world a better place.

So, if you have any community experience in your application, make sure to utilize it to all its worth.

Starting Compensation after Haas’ Full-Time MBA Program

If you look at the Employment Report of Berkeley Haas’ MBA class of 2021 below, you will see numbers that resonate with the previous years.

Disclaimer: Check the Employment Report 2021 for more details.  The median salary for the Berkeley Haas MBA class profile of 2021 was $149,000, which might sound low compared to the schools it shares the top 10 business schools’ slots with. But it isn’t. Before I tell you why take a quick look at the compensation for the graduating class of 2021

While Haas is known to be the popular University of California for MBA to rank in the top 10 slots on business school lists across the US, it provides compensations that seem to be closer to other public schools a little lower on the same lists.

However, looks can be deceiving. The employment report by Haas does not show a very important factor- when added makes the ROI of the school much higher. Unlike Harvard and Wharton, Haas does not reveal the ‘Other Promised Compensation’ that its students receive. A majority of Haas’ class receives bonds and stock options in other promised compensation, and this information is left out of the employment reports.

Thus, this preview of what the school can offer in terms of post-MBA compensation is exactly that, a preview.

FAQ

1. How hard is it to get into Haas MBA?

Despite being a public university, Haas Berkeley MBA can be quite competitive. With an acceptance rate of around 15-20%, it certainly isn’t the easiest b-school to get into. However, the school does admit a significant number of international students each year, making it surely a school that you should target. Build a good profile and score well, and you should be able to get admission to Haas School of Business.

2. What is a good GMAT score for Haas?

The Haas School of Business GMAT score average for the class of 2023 was 726. However, applicants shouldn’t only look at the average scores to understand if they have a chance or not. For instance, the GMAT range for the class of 2023 was 690-760. This means as long as your GMAT score is around 700, you do deserve a chance.

3. How do I get into Berkeley Haas MBA?

The Haas MBA application process is very similar to any other B-school in the US. The list of UC Berkeley MBA requirements for admissions includes the following steps-

1. Create your MBA application account on Haas Website
2. Upload your University Transcripts
3. Upload your Resume
4. Submit Your GMAT/GRE scores
5. Submit English proficiency test results like TOEFL/IELTS
6. Submit Your Essays on the topic mentioned by the b-school
7. Submit 2 Letters of Recommendation
8. Take interview if selected 
9. Pay the fee

4. Does UC Berkeley Give Full Scholarships?

Yes, Berkeley Haas offers various need-based and merit-based scholarships to deserving candidates. Also, there are various UC Berkeley scholarships for international students and immigrants. Do note that applicants don’t have to apply separately for scholarships. All are automatically considered for the scholarships. Apart from that, applicants can also consider loans to cover the cost. However, applicants should only exercise this option after exhausting all the scholarship options.

5. How much does an MBA at Berkeley cost?

The UC Berkeley MBA fees could easily be around $76000. Applicants are advised to check the b-school website before applying for the latest information. Apart from the tuition, there are other costs involved which can take the cost of 1-year to be around $115,000. Thus, for a 2-year program, the cost could be upwards of $200,000.