Evaluating Program Fit? An EMBA Consultation Can Help

By Susan Petty
Berkeley EMBA 15 student Jaya Srinivasan

While a website can provide a lot of information and insight about EMBA programs, sometimes you just want to know about your fit with a particular program—given your specific circumstances. That’s when a personal consultation with an admissions officer can help.

Previously, David Firth Eagland discussed what he got out of an EMBA personal consultation. Now, Jayanthi Srinivasan, who wondered if it might be too late in her career to consider an EMBA, shares her perspective.

Jayanthi (who goes by Jay) had attended a number of info sessions and other events, but thought an EMBA consultation would be particularly helpful. “I wanted to understand how the general information I was getting would really apply to me and to where I am in my career and personal life,” she says.

She set up an appointment with the Berkeley MBA for Executive Program Admissions Office to find out how well she might fit in. “I worried that I might be a bit late to the game and that, given my years of experience, I might not get enough out of it,” says Jay, director of product management at Avaya.

“I really wanted to understand fit and whether this program could take me where I need to go,” says Jay, who is exploring social entrepreneurship. “I also wanted to understand the mindset in admissions, how they view someone like me wanting to do this.”

She says Haas culture came through in the conversation. “I came away with a strong understanding that at Berkeley-Haas, it’s not only about what the professors teach, but what classmates learn from each other with their diverse wealth of experience.”

“Susan Petty (associate director of admissions) truly listened and helped me recognize all that I would bring to that mix, including a Students Always orientation in line with the Haas Defining Principles,” says Jay. “It made it clear that this is where I want to be.”

“There are certain assumptions I made about EMBA programs,” Jay says. “Being very candid with Susan allowed me to see myself through the eyes of an admissions officer and test those assumptions.”

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Posted on February 9, 2015
Themes: Haas culture  |  Applying
Susan Petty
Susan is Director of Admissions for the Berkeley MBA for Executives Program. She has nearly twenty years of experience in marketing and advertising, having worked in several different industries including technology, travel, healthcare -- and many others from her media planning days at J. Walter Thompson where her clients included Chevron, Kaiser Permanente, Nestle, and Ford. She enjoys advising prospective students and guiding them through their personal MBA experience.