The Fuqua School of Business is seeing a huge increase in the number of regular MBA program applications, while it appears applications to the Global Executive MBA program will not suffer adversely from either recession woes or terrorism fears.
The school, which offers four deadlines for admission from Nov. 1 through March 15, has received about 1,970 applications after two rounds, an increase of 60 percent. Liz Riley, director of admissions, cautioned that increase could drop when applications arrive for the next two deadlines, but hoped the increase will remain. "This is absolutely unusual, for Fuqua at least," Riley said. "I think it's an indication of what's happening market-wide."
The Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, for example, saw a 68 percent increase in its regular MBA program.
Riley said the downturn in the economy has led to a greater number of applicants seeking spots in business schools nationwide. She added, however, that Fuqua's recent strides toward becoming a top-tier business school have paid dividends.
"Part of it is Fuqua's reputation has really started to go up significantly in the past few years, especially in the rankings," said Dan Nagy, assistant dean and director of MBA programs. "You're on every good candidate's radar screen."
More importantly, Nagy said, is what the increase in applications means for Fuqua.
"It clearly gives you lots of options," he said. "I think the student profile on the statistics will go up for sure--the GMAT scores, average GPA and all those things will rise, like they have been [doing]."
For instance, Nagy said the next class' average score on the Graduate Management Admission Test will likely be 700 or even higher. Currently, the average is 690.
Although Fuqua administrators remain excited about the potential daytime MBA increases, other programs may not see such sharp jumps.
Nagy said the weekend MBA program's application pool, for which the deadline has already passed, is up only about 10 to 12 percent this year.
Administrators had previously worried what the impact of Sept. 11's terrorist attacks, as well as the recession, would be on the school's international programs. Nagy said that although it is too early to tell how those factors will affect the Global Executive and the Cross-Continent MBA programs, early signs indicate application rates will remain about the same.
The Global Executive MBA program, which involves travel to different sites across the globe, is a program tailored for executives in corporations that often pay for their tuition. Administrators had worried the internationally top-ranked program might suffer as companies cut costs and potential students worry about travel.
In October, some companies even prohibited their employees from flying, one of a number of complications for those programs.
"There was certainly some uncertainty about how people would respond in terms of whether they and their companies would continue to be as supportive this year for the executive MBA programs as they have in previous years," said John Payne, senior deputy dean.
Nagy said a more concrete assessment for the Global MBA program could be made in early February, as Jan. 15 is the final deadline for applications to that program.
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