The Good News and the Bad News

It's time for a little dose of reality. I know, no fair. Over the last two days I have provided info about the great Walton graduate assistantships and internships. That was the good news. Now it's time for the bad news.

There has been an unprecedented increase in MBA applications this year. For example, at the first admissions committee meeting last year, we admitted 12 students and this year, same time, we admitted 22. Of these 22 offers of admission, 19 have accepted.

In January of 2009, we enrolled 37 new MBA students. We have been slowly growing the program each year as our applicant pool has grown. My original goal for January of 2010 was 40-42. We are realistically now looking at a class of 45. We plan for the program to reach a maximum class size of 50.

While the number of enrolled students is growing, it doesn't necessarily mean that the number of assistantships is also. The number of assistantships we have available each year is directly dependent upon the needs of our corporate partners.

So, to summarize all of this wonderful news - due to the current economic situation of this country, it is a very good time to consider graduate school. Hence, MBA applications are on the rise. This means programs are more competitive and therefore, funding in these programs is also more competitive.

Our final application deadline is September 15. However, I do not recommend waiting until that deadline if you are seeking an assistantship. Submit all application materials as soon as possible. Our plan is to review completed folders monthly over the summer. To see a complete list of admissions requirements, go to: http://gsb.uark.edu/622.asp.

To end on a positive note, the funding provided by the Walton College to its graduate students is very generous and not typical of graduate programs. Most MBA programs offer limited, if any, finanial assistance to their students.

I will be out of the office beginning tomorrow, Thursday, May 21st and not returning until Wednesday, May 27th. Return next week for new and exciting posts.