Let's talk MBA for a minute.

I wanted to address a situation that we (and other graduate schools of business) are currently facing. On the one hand, it's a good problem to have and on the other, it is frustrating for everyone involved.

What am I talking about? This year the Walton GSB has experienced a significant increase in MBA applications. This is good; I am not complaining. Also, we have experienced a decrease in the number of graduate assistantships (GA) we have available to our incoming MBA students. The same phenomena is responsible for both effects - increase in applications, decrease in financial funding available. The phenomena that I am referring to is the current economic situation our country is experiencing.

Our applications are up because of the current employment situations of many people. This is a good time to go to grad school. The number of GAs we have is down for the same reason. We depend on many corporate partners to hire our GAs. If these corporate partners are experiencing cutbacks, they are unable to sponsor a GA (or 2 or 3).

So, let me tell you what is happening this year. We have more students, than we have had in the past, starting the program in January who have not been awarded a GA. This is not because they are not deserving; to the contrary this class has broken all previous records. Currently, the average GMAT is 642 (previous high was 630), average age is 27 (previous high was 26), and they average nearly 5 years of work experience (previous high was 3.5).

Hence the frustration - for our students and us. The exceptionality of this class is a direct result of the economy. In better circumstances, many of these incoming students would not have chosen to leave their current employment situation to return to grad school. But, and this is a big but, we have to take the bad right along with the good. We have an outstanding class coming in yet we have less money than ever to award them.

We, here in the Walton GSB, are not rolling over. Steps are being taken to find new corporate partners. We want to reward our students with an assistantship. They are most deserving. So, we are not giving up yet. Cross your fingers.