enrollment in business schools
A new program to help increase the numbers of minority students at leading graduate business schools throughout the world has been launched by the Yale School of Management (Yale SOM) and Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), a New York-based nonprofit organization.
The new program was inspired by a 2001 study undertaken by MLT and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), which showed that African Americans, Latinos and Native Americans are significantly under-represented at the top 50 M.B.A. programs -- especially in comparison to leading colleges and other graduate programs, such as law and medical schools. While students from those three groups comprise 14% of all those receiving bachelor's degrees at the leading 100 colleges and 12% to 13% of all students at the top 50 medical and law schools, they represented only 6% of all students at the top 50 M.B.A. programs.
The study also concluded that minorities, especially African Americans, are less successful than non-minorities in the M.B.A. application progress, due in part to lower average GMAT test scores and undergraduate graduate point averages, as well as less-savvy application strategies and essay submissions.
The first group of participants in the M.B.A. Preparation Program -- 75 students who plan to apply to business schools in the fall of 2003 -- are taking part in two instructional seminars on the Yale SOM campus. The first event, held on June 15, was sponsored by the investment banking firm Credit Suisse First Boston. The second will be held Sept. 22-23.
In the seminars, admissions officers from M.B.A. programs at Yale, Cornell, New York and Stanford universities and the University of California at Berkeley will help participants assess their strengths and weaknesses, detail the critical elements of the application process and develop six- to nine-month action plans leading to the submission process. MLT staff and volunteers will also provide participants with individualized counseling during the summer and fall to ensure successful completion of their application process. The areas on which the program will focus are GMAT preparation, essay and interview planning, leadership development, quantitative coursework and M.B.A. program research.
"We expect this initiative to prepare a broader pool of talented minorities to be successful applicants to the Yale School of Management," says James R. Stevens, director of admissions at Yale SOM. "Applications from minority candidates to Yale's business school are up 60% this year. Our alliance with MLT is an important component of our sustained effort to bring even more diversity to the Yale M.B.A. program and to the organizations that hire our graduates."
John Rice, founder and president of MLT, adds: "Our M.B.A. Preparation Program will reduce some vexing achievement gaps in the application process and help many more minorities take a critical step towards business and community leadership positions.
"With the overall number of M.B.A. applications on the rise, it is that much more imperative for minorities to have very competitive academic and professional credentials as well as compelling, well-crafted applications. Yale's lead role in this initiative sends a strong message to prospective applicants as well as other graduate business schools nationwide."
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