GSB Admissions Update

We are rolling in PhD applications. In 2009, we experienced a 46% increase in PhD apps over 2008. Application deadline for our PhD programs is January 15. They are pouring in right now. The Departments will be ready with admissions offers by the end of January. Fellowship deadline is February 1 so PhD decisions are made very early. We do generally get a few late applications. These are typically not eligible for University fellowships. By the time we process all PhD applications in February, I am expecting to see numbers similar to the 2009 admission cycle. One important note is that we do have fewer spots available for 2010. In 2008, we enrolled 21 students and in 2009 we enrolled 20 PhD students. We are a very small College and anticipate only having space for about 15 new PhD students for fall 2010.

Regena Jedlicka processes all incoming admissions documents for the Graduate School of Business. She is the one who puts admission folders together. This is her busiest time of year. All programs have spring deadlines so, not only are we getting PhD apps right now, but we are also receiving MIS, MBA, MAcc, and MAEcon. The Master of Arts in Economics application deadline is also January 15. Master of Information Systems has a deadline of February 1 and Master of Accountancy's deadline is March 1. April 1 is the deadline for our part-time MBA and it is also early decision deadline for our full-time MBA. Regena processed nearly 600 (up 37% over 2008) applications for fall 2009 (this includes the MBA program that began in January). This 600 didn't come in to our office in equal increments over 12 months; the bulk arrives between the months of December and March. So this time of year gets a little hectic in GSB Admissions.

Please be patient with us as we compile your admission materials. Sometimes we get a little bogged down. We make every effort to notify all applicants of the materials missing from their folders; however, we only do this once. It is up to you to make sure the missing materials are submitted. Be sure to check in with us, prior to the deadline, to determine if your file is ready to go to committee. The easiest way to do this is to email us at gsb@walton.uark.edu. Keep in mind that we get a lot of applications and it may take a few days to get back to you so don't wait until right before the deadline to submit your materials.

The University is closed December 23, 2009 through January 3, 2010. It is best to try to submit PhD applications prior to the holidays. The University experiences a backlog of mail during the time we are closed. It also take Regena several days, once we get back, to process all of the material that came in over the two weeks we were closed.

One of the unfortunate results of my having a good recruiting year is that I make Regena's job more challenging. The better I do my job, the more applications we get. This is a good problem to have and we welcome it. So...APPLY, APPLY, APPLY.