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Getting Accepted to UNC Kenan Flagler Business School

Established as the Department of Commerce of UNC-Chapel Hill’s College of Arts in 1919, the business school did not receive its name, Kenan-Flagler Business School, till 1991. It was renamed after the benefactors of the school, husband and wife, Henry Morrison Flagler and Mary Lily Kenan Flagler.

According to the business school, the core values- excellence, leadership, integrity, community and teamwork are rooted deep within the students and faculty.

The school boasts of a diverse yet close-knit culture and takes active measures to hire people from different backgrounds. Kenan-Flagler Business school is also known for revisiting and revising its policies to be more inclusive on the regular.

This is indicative of the business school’s rich culture and high-frequency social events. From MBA galas to faculty socials, fall and spring community service days to pool parties during the ASW, Kenan-Flagler encourages not only the MBA students but also their families to feel like a part of the close-knit community.

If that isn’t enough to pursue someone to be a part of this vibrant business school, Chapel Hill, where the school is situated, is one of the top college towns in the US.

Kenan Flagler Cost of Attendance 2021

Living Expenses Per month Per Academic Year
Books N/A $1,002
Food $556 $5,004
Health insurance $291 $2,616
Housing $1,528 $13,756
Miscellaneous $215 $1,934
Direct Loan Fee N/A $258
Grad PLUS Loan Fee N/A $1,961
Travel $140 $1,260
Total $2,730 $27,792
Tuition and mandatory fees $51,152 (North Carolina Residents) $66,840 (Non-North Carolina Residents)
Total (with yearly living expenses) $78,944 (North Carolina Residents) $94,632 (Non-North Carolina Residents)

Kenan Flagler Application Process 2021

Application Checklist Requirement
Essay Questions The application consists of the following questions:

1. Discuss your immediate post-MBA professional goals. How will your professional experience, when combined with a Kelley MBA degree, allow you to achieve these goals? Should the short-term goals you have identified not materialize, what alternate career paths might you consider? (500 words)

2. Respond to one of the following short essay prompts. (300 words)

a. My greatest memory is…

b. I’m most afraid of…

c. My greatest challenge has been…

d. I’m most proud of…

3. Share a brief fact about yourself that your classmates would find interesting, surprising, or noteworthy. (25 words)

Optional: Is there anything else that you think we should know as we evaluate your application? If you believe your credentials and essays represent you fairly, you shouldn’t feel obligated to answer this question. (300 words)

Professional Resume A current professional resume, max 2 pages, must be attached to the application.
Letters of Recommendation The Letters of Recommendations are available as a form which will be sent to your selected recommenders. Each applicant must submit two LORs; from a current supervisor, or a professional or social acquaintance who can add value to your candidacy. 
Transcripts The applicant must provide unofficial (scanned) transcripts from all of their post-secondary (post-high school) educational institutes. Official copies are requested only post-acceptance into the MBA course. following are the transcripts required if applies:

  1. The institution(s) at which you were conferred a degree
  2. Institutions that are noted as transfer credit on any transcript
  3. Summer sessions or extension programs
  4. Any other institutions at which you took one or more courses
GMAT/GRE The applicant must report their unofficial GMAT/GRE score on the application while submitting the application and an official score reported if accepted to the program.

GMAT: D40-HL-72

GRE: 5046

TOEFL/IELTS/PTE Every applicant who earned an undergraduate or graduate degree from a college or university in the US, Hong Kong, India, or and English speaking country where the medium of instruction was English is not required to submit TOEFL/IELTS/PTE scores during the application process.
Application Fee USD 150

Kenan Flagler Application Deadlines 2021

Round Application
Deadline
Decision
Notification
Round 1 October 13, 2020 December 14, 2020
Round 2 January 5, 2021 March 8, 2021
Round 3 March 1, 2021 April 12, 2021
Round 4 April 12, 2021 May 24, 2021

What does the Kenan Flagler admissions committee look for?

Know your essay answers

Admissions committee members at UNC have often shared disbelief at how many students can’t answer the “Why MBA?” question even remotely as well as they did in their essays.

This suggests two things to the admissions committee:

  1. Your essay was revamped by someone to the extent that you probably won’t recognize it yourself.
  2. You have amazing written communication, and the time to ponder on your essays helped.

In either case, your chances of getting accepted to UNC have dropped drastically.

If your essay had been written by anyone who is not you, it is a direct violation of the honour code and requires an applicant being disqualified from the running to a place in UNC’s MBA class. If your verbal communication isn’t precise and clear, you won’t be able to succeed under the rigour of the UNC MBA Program.

This makes it imperative for applicants to UNC that they understand their MBA essay answers. Understanding your essay answers rather than cramming them will help you answer questions, posed in any way, authentically.

Be today what you want your future to look like

The title of this point might seem philosophical, but it’s not.

The admissions committee isn’t looking at your history because they are interested in your past. They are using your history as a way to predict your future. Before investing resources to turn you from a UNC MBA applicant to a UNC MBA Graduate, the need to know whether you will be able to optimize the UNC MBA experience.

For example, being late to the interview might not end up in the interview being cancelled, but it will definitely affect the admissions committee’s outlook towards you. They will question how this applicant’s tardiness might affect the group projects or recruitments on the UNC campus.

Similarly, an MBA applicant with no clear timeline for their MBA goals shows the school that they might not be able to hit the ground running like their classmates who have the next 5 years of their lives mapped out.

Take a holistic approach

No one part of your UNC MBA application will outweigh the other. Amazing essays don’t make up for low GMAT scores. Glowing letters of recommendations don’t cover up a lack of extracurricular activities.

UNC favours a well-rounded profile more than a profile that spikes in a certain area. While creating your MBA profile for UNC, being your authentic self is another very important factor. It is an additional aspect that makes your MBA profile stand out to the admissions committee.

Read Also:

The 11 Mistakes Holding you Back from Getting your Dream MBA Business School Admit

3-Year Undergrad Degree? Master’s Program you can apply to with a three-year bachelor degree

MBA Application Tips: Interview with Former Partner Boston Consulting Group

For over 15+ years as an Entrepreneur, and India’s Top Educationist, Jatin has led a range of initiatives in the Education Industry. In this role, he has created many successful educational services and products geared towards generating success for professionals aspiring to join IVY League and global Top Tier Universities for MBA Programs, Masters Programs, and undergraduate courses. He is the Founder and CEO of PythaGURUS Education, and has been recognized as a thought leader in the Higher education sector. Economic Times, Hindustan Times, Times of India, India Today, Business Today, Tribune, and many other national newspapers have recognized his work, and have given him numerous opportunities to be a regular columnist. He has also served as a panelist for NDTV, and other national news channels.

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