The EWMBA Admissions Committee wants YOU

The EWMBAA Admissions Committee is actively involved in creating and coordinating the admissions experience for the class of prospective and incoming students. We work in conjunction with the Program Office Admissions Team to welcome new Haas students, particularly with welcome calls and receptions and the noteworthy Orientation weekend.

We’re looking for you as an EWMBA student to join our the committee this year, so you can help in meeting and shaping bonds and relationships with our future classmates. You’ll get a peek into the future of the Haas student body and become an integral resource to unifying and strengthening the Haas we know today.

Please click here to apply today.

The deadline is November 30th, 2009. We look forward to your applications and working closely with you. Application results will be made available to you before Finals and the new committee will on-board in early January.

For further questions, please contact the interim co-chairs, Shikha Maheshwari (shikha_maheshwari@mba.berkeley.edu) or Tim Lee (tim_lee@mba.berkeley.edu).

The EWMBA Admissions committee

As we wind down after yet another successful orientation, its my pleasure to introduce the admissions committee members for the year.

Orientation highlights - day 3

Students were up early dressed up for the Dean Lyons' talk and of course cramming the Coors case.

Prof. LaBlanc did the case discussion in his inimitable style - good mix of energy, information and some top notch humor. For the first yearites this was a primer in cold calling. The excitement of the class room atmosphere became evident in this orientation case study - way to go!!!

And with Dean Lyons' talk it was another great ending to another great orientation year!!!

Hearty welcome to the incoming class!

Orientation highlights - day 2

The late after party did not prevent breakfast tables from filling up - swarms of newcomers in the blue shirts (except for the one guy who slept in it the previous night!!!)

Team building: The castle building was the event. Man, it gets competitive when you put them in groups. The castle and the eggs in them - but the creative part this time was that some of the groups hardboiled the eggs to face the challenges of the cannon balls. I can't believe they lost points for that - they must be getting bonusses for creativity.

Leadership keynote: Shantanu shared his insights and leadership philosophies with the newcomers and the other Haas students who still hadn't recovered from the corporate finance finals. Very insightful and inspiring. Shantanu is indeed a true symbol of the Haas spirit and values.

Group picture: Pretty in blue!!!

Evening festivities: Quite an evening of fun and socializing, with a few really feeling the stress of having to prepare for the case next day.

Day two just flew so fast (and so will year one)

Orientation highlights - Day 1

Wow, It only keeps getting better! The same place - double tree at Berkeley Marina. But every year we walk in and mix with a new set of people joining the Haas family it feels like we have touched a new level of excitement.

Student services and career services workshops : Its amazing how they consistently keep the presentation top notch. Both were great events to kick start the orientation in high gear.

One Haas presentation: MBA could be full-time, part time or executive. But the brand is one. A cool presentation with student volunteers sharing their valuable insights.

Cohort introduction and student life panel: For the first time the groups broke into cohorts to get to know the gang that they would be spending the rest of the year much more closely. Ice breakers brought out some individuals with really special talents and unique experiences. Thanks to the students panel volunteers who shared their insights and aided the newcomers with tips on tackling the EWMBA challenge.

Dinner: The nice menu apart, Dave had the elegant speech rallying the incoming class to get out of the comfort zone and make the best of the program. The alumni speaker Sangeeta broken it down in her 7 step strategy to a successful MBA program. Excellent speech.

After party: Should I even write about this?

Great start to another great year at Haas.

Class of 2012 - Orientation

Welcome to Haas!

The buzz could definitely be felt during Day 1 of Orientation for the Class of 2012. Energy and excitement abounded as the people crowded around the Island Ballroom at the Doubletree Hotel at the Berkeley Marina awaiting the start of the dinner reception.

Some of our newbies....

Our wonderful guest speaker for the evening, Sangeeta, (surrounded by all the guys) from the class of 2006, gave welcoming remarks and tips for surviving the first year.

Thanks to all of the volunteers who helped make this a great orientation for everyone. We didn't get pictures of everyone, but managed to catch a few of you in the midst of the events for the evening.

Thanks to the welcome call volunteers

The new initiative and process of welcome calls has worked out great. The admissions committee had a serious goal to reach out to all admits via email and follow up with a phone conversation.

The success must be attributed to the volunteers. While round 1 was managed by the committee members, round 2 had a lot of students from the first and second years who were eager to reach out to the new admits and help them with the questions and queries about the program and about life at Haas in general. So a huge thanks to all those who pitched in. We are sure this is going to be an ongoing tradition at Haas from now on.

The admits were thrilled to get contacts in the current student community. And for those who called, this was a great reminder of the path they had walked in the past. The richness of information and insight passed on to those joining the Haas family was precious. Great job in getting the welcome emails and calls wrapped up.

Class of 2012

It appears like it was only last week that the class of 2011 rolled up the sleeves and walked into the Rock Band contest at the orientation, but its a year already.

Round 2 admissions results have gone out! There is a new admissions committee in action!!! A new brand of volunteers are adding flair to the process unlike any year before.

Both the first round and second round welcome receptions were well attended. There was that usual air of enthusiasm and cheer.

Its time to be planning for the orientation for the Class of 2012. Hurrah.

Class 2011 New Student Orientation Day 3

All great parties eventually have to end. At breakfast, the bleary-eyed Class 2011 slowly showed up for breakfast (I think many even skipped it), and received the last few piece of information. At about noon, we sent everybody home to get ready for the official first day of class, which starts next day (ouch!).

Congratulations again Class 2011!!! Welcome to Haas!

Class 2011 New Student Orientation Day 2

Today is the FUN day. Right after breakfast, the group migrated towards an open space to get a taste of their first Haas teamwork experience. Students were grouped into teams of 10. Each team was given less than one hour and very limited supply to come up with, in their collective mind, the most enduring and creative chateaus that would protect the five eggs assigned to them. The finished chateaus were then lined up in front of the crowd, to face fierce tennis ball air-fun attack, initiated by their classmates.

This was when all the superficial kindness quickly deteriorate, and everybody's true color came out. (my favorite part of the program)

After the very intense yet exciting team building exercise, the crowd was taken to the Haas campus for case study exercise and campus life panels. Sharianne did a great job leading the campus tour, while I managed the student club workshop. This year we had the following clubs and officers presenting their organization: EWMBAA (Jasmin Young), Consulting Club (Malik Kaman), Marketing Club (Chris Petersen), Finance Club (Max Chernikov), Real Estate Club (Sureentha Venigalla), Net Impact (Mike Lee), and General Management Club (Bhatha Muthiah).

At dinner time, the crowd went back to Double Tree for the peak of the day - the Dinner Festivity! The scene this year was "the 80's Rock". I was so well entertained by the superb creativity demonstrated at the party. Well, the pictures tell the story, more photos can be found on: http://share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=0AbOXDls4buGLoA&emid=sharshar&linkid=link3

Class 2011 New Student Orientation Day 1

Today is the opening day for 2008 Beijing Olympic, and the Haas EWMBA Class 2011 New Student Orientation.

The three-day-long Orientation is mandatory for all EWMBA students. It offers an opportunity for students to befriend one another quickly, and to received fastrack training (and mental preparation) for the upcoming years. In the past three years, the orientation has took place at the beautiful waterfront hotel - DoubleTree Berkeley Marina.

The evening started with students checking into the hotel, and the line quickly backed up just around dinner time (every year the senior students critique the suboptimal operation logic of the check-in process, but nobody ever took the initiative to conduct a free consulting session for Double Tree). The dinner hosted various speakers, including our new Dean - Professor Richard Lyons, the EWMBA Program Staffs, and an alum guest speaker Anarug Mairal, EWMBA05', from Orbees Medical.

The agenda varies every year, however is always the highlight event of the Admission Committee. This year we have the following committee members participate throughout the entire orientation - Sharianne Loui, Phil Liu, Chris Lin, Jasmin Young (on loan from the EWMBA Board), and myself. In my personal option, there is nothing more rewarding than to share my Haas experience with the new students and to witness them succeed in the program. It takes a lot of effort to help plan and actually participate in the events; however for someone who enjoys coaching and networking, Admission Committee is a top choice.


The agenda for the Class 2011 New Student Orientation is the following:

Friday, August 8, 2008

5:00pm Check-in at the Double Tree (Admission Committee Task: assist the program office staff in setup and process management)
7:30pm Introduction/Welcoming Remarks by the Dean of Haas School of Business
7:45pm Dinner (Admission Committee Task: situate one volunteer per table, offer current student perspective and facilitate networking)
8:30pm Speakers: Executive Director Evening & Weekend MBA Program; Alumni Speaker


Saturday, August 9, 2008

8:00am Breakfast (Admission Committee Task: mingle with new students, offer current student perspective and facilitate networking)
9:00am Student Services Panel
10:00am Team Building Activity (Admission Committee Task: make annoying comments and useless suggestions on people's designs; take pictures and look seasoned)
12:00pm Lunch (Admission Committee Task: mingle with new students, offer current student perspective and facilitate networking)
1:15pm Shuttles leave to the Haas School of Business
1:30pm Group Photo (Admission Committee does not take part in this)
2:00pm Case Study Exercises, Campus Tour, Q&A with Financial Aid, and Student Club Workshop (Admission Committee Task: lead the campus tour and student club workshop)
5:30pm Shuttle departs campus to the Double Tree
7:00pm Dinner Festivities: Human Bingo & Rock Band Competition (Admission Committee Task: mingle with new students, manage the Rock Band Competition)

Sunday, August 10, 2008

8:00am Check out of the Double Tree
9:00am Breakfast (Admission Committee Task: mingle with new students, offer current student perspective, facilitate networking, and notify new students that the good time is now over)
9:30am Career Center Workshop
10:30am Leading Through Innovation Presentation
11:35am Haas Alumni Network
11:40am Closing Remarks by the Program Director

July 2008 Information Session

Three third-year students - Mohit, Kalid, and I, participated in today's Information Session to provide student perspectives, and to address questions for perspective students.

All EWMBA information sessions staff at least one student guest speaker to share the following personal points of view:
- Why you chose Haas
- How you manage your work/life/school balance
- Benefits of the program, your personal ROI

For today's session, I shared the following:
"Why did I choose Haas - At the time I decided to take my career to the next level with an MBA degree, I was with Genentech, which in year 2005 was the best company to work for. I needed a program that is rigorous yet flexible so I did not have to give up my income, tenure, and internal opportunities that my company might have to offer. Secondly, considering the vast amount of time, energy, and financial capital associated with obtaining a MBA, I would either go to the best program available or don't go at all. With these two criteria, it was a no-brainer for me to go with the Haas EWMBA program.

How do I manage work/life/balance - First year was intense, I spent 25-30 hours per week in average, in additional to lecture hours. You ought to prioritize your life, might have to halt your hobbies or vacation for a while. You also need to be very creative in finding bit and piece of time and utilize them well. Plan your days well and pick teams which you can work with efficiently and effectively. Form carpools and take public transportation with classmates so you can discuss cases during commute, do homework at lunch hours. However every second you spent would be worth it, given the vast amount of experience, knowledge, and skill set you will develop.

Benefit of the program and my personal return of investment - In my opinion, the benefit of the program are three-folds: 1. it drastically expanded my horizon and offered me a set of business tools, which allowed me to speak the same languages as my senior executives; 2. it offers me an extensive professional and personal network. Remember, the moment you are accepted into the Haas family, you have immediate access to 240 talented, passionate, and supportive leaders and future leaders, and will build a strong and ever lasting bond with them; 3. It harnessed my potential and helped me see what I am capable of. Many opportunities now have been opened to me because of the Hass EWMBA program."

I welcome all of you who are interested in the Haas EWMBA program, to attend at least one information session. And stay after the session to speak to our current students. You will not be disappointed with the information they have to share.

To access a list of future EWMBA Information Session, please follow the link: https://ssl.haas.berkeley.edu/admissions/eventsew/

Planning for New Student Orientation Starts

The highlight of the year for the Admission Committee is the 3-day New Student Orientation occurs in August every year.

Typically the planning starts months ahead since the committee needs to conduct brainstorming followed by detailing out the logistics. Today is our first meeting, and the core planning committee composed of: Sharianne, Phil, Swati, Chris, and myself. Our contact in the Program Office is Siu Yung Wong (aka Mr. Wong), Siu Yung is the main person who makes the orientation happen.

The followings are the scope for the Admission Committee:
1. Assist in the selection and recruiting of a guest speaker for Friday night.
2. Organize and execute the Saturday night entertainment event.
3. Organize and execute campus tours. Recruit and train volunteers, plan detailed logistics.
4. Organize and execute student club workshop. Recruit club officers, plan detailed logistics.
5. Assist the Program Office staff in facilitating the overall flow of the event.
6. Serve as the student ambassadors during check-in, breakfasts, lunches, and dinners.

There are lots of work ahead of us, however after today's first meeting, it is apparent that we have an extremely engaging and capable team that will make this orientation a great success!

Second Round Admissions Calls

The second round admitted students got the good news this past week. Admisssions Committee volunteers called to congratulate them, answer questions, and encourage them to attend the welcome reception. After the welcome reception, the next big project for the committee is preparation for orientation.

Q&A

Interviews for the second round applicants are still going on. We had another series of Saturday interviews. This time the interviewees were mainly from out of town. Many of the applicants planned to fly to the Bay Area for Saturday classes, while others planned to relocate if he or she is accepted into the program. Three of the applicants came in from Washington DC. All of them planned to relocate. It would be a hellish commute otherwise.

A number of the current EWMBA students were on hand to give tours of the Haas campus, introduce the prospective students to professors and answer any questions about the EWMBA program.

Some of the questions asked by the prospective students included:
"Are there any vegetarian restaurants?"
-Um, yes. Welcome to Berkeley.

"Can you explain the bidding system for classes?"
-They are for the elective classes. You need to get through the core classes first.

And the most popular question of the day,
"How much time do you spend on homework outside of class?"
-A lot.

The Ides of March

The second round application deadline has passed and the review process is underway. About 40 of the applicants for the Class of 2011 came in for interviews on March 15th. While that may not have been a good day for Julius Caesar, it may prove to be an auspicious day for some of the applicants.

Stacey, Sharianne, Philip and I acted as student ambassadors for the event. We gave tours of the Haas campus and answered any questions that the applicants may have had about the EWMBA program. The applicants asked many great questions and were very enthusiastic about EWMBA program.

I was that applicant sitting in the waiting room not too long ago. It was interesting to be on the other side.

I had a few thoughts about the interview process. This is not a job interview—it’s worse. The EWMBA application process is long and takes many steps. Applicants need to write several essays, get letters of recommendation and take the GMAT. After all that, only two-thirds of the applicants are invited for an interview. The interview is a chance for the admissions committee to get to know the applicant. This is the applicant’s chance to shine.

Here are some things to consider before an MBA interview.

• Be gracious.
• Ask questions. This is a good chance to interact with people from the EWMBA program.
• Wear a suit. Men should wear a tie. If you don’t own a suit, then buy one. It may even be considered as tax-deductible. There will be plenty of occasions when wearing a suit is required during the EWMBA program.
• Smile and say, “Thank you.”

2008 Admissions Committee

Stacey Fang
Committee Co-Chair







Chris Lin
Committee Co-Chair










Phil Liu
Executive Committee Member











Sharianne
Executive Committee Member










Diana Lai


Committee Liaison





Phil Xiang












Gilbert Lee












Lin Yang