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Discover all you need to know about UNC Kenan-Flagler’s MBA program [Show Summary]
UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School is a leading MBA program located in North Carolina, an emerging business hotspot. Danielle Richie, UNC’s MBA Admissions Director, describes the qualities that make up the dynamic student body and shares her tips on how to get in.
Interview with Danielle Richie, Dir. of Full-Time MBA Admissions and Student Recruitment at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School [Show Notes]
Welcome to the 496th episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for joining me. Before we get to our wonderful guest, you’re invited to take the free six-question quiz at accepted.com/mapmba to see how prepared you are to actually apply. You’ll also gain access to relevant other resources, both free and paid, that can help you develop an application strategy for acceptance.
It gives me great pleasure to have for the first time on Admissions Straight Talk Danielle Richie, Director of Full-Time MBA Admissions and Student Recruitment at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. Danielle earned her Bachelor’s in Public Relations at Oswego and her Master’s in Communications at Syracuse University. She has worked in higher ed admissions and administration at Utica College, Syracuse University, Bentley University, and of course, UNC Kenan-Flagler, where she moved to in 2018 as Senior Associate Director for MBA Admissions and Recruiting. In November 2021, almost exactly a year ago, she became Director of Full-Time MBA Admissions and Recruiting.
Can you give an overview of UNC Kenan-Flagler’s full-time MBA program, focusing on its more distinctive elements? [2:27]
UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School is located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. We are a two-year MBA program at 62 credits. There are 15 core classes where candidates get the breadth of business. We have 12 concentrations that students can select from to gain more in-depth knowledge. These vary from business analytics to consulting, marketing, healthcare, real estate, and so on and so forth. You really get to create your own journey, if you will, with an MBA from Kenan-Flagler. We are STEM-designated, and it does not matter which concentration you pursue. You actually don’t even have to, and about 20% of our students will just do a general MBA and they’ll pick and choose from over 125 different electives to make up their program. We do require an internship between year one and year two. A lot of our students will do a “traditional internship” where they will apply and go on to work six to eight weeks in the summer with a company.
What’s new at Kenan-Flagler? [3:41]
There are a lot of exciting things going on at Kenan-Flagler. We had our groundbreaking ceremony in September for a new building that will open up in 2024. We’re very excited about that. We’re not looking to expand the MBA program, but the building that we’re in currently was opened in 1997. We do want to grow our undergrad business program by doubling it, so we are building that facility. Jamie Dimon from JP Morgan Chase came and was one of our guest speakers.
We also just launched our Charlotte MBA Executive Program, located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It’s about two hours from Chapel Hill and is an executive format that working professionals can use to earn their MBA. That’s in-person and is targeted to applicants from North Carolina as well as South Carolina because Charlotte is close to the South Carolina border. As Charlotte continues to grow, especially in the financial space, we saw that it was a great opportunity to offer the Charlotte MBA, as well as some executive development opportunities off campus.
Can you highlight the modular system? [5:31]
We call them mods and prospective students always ask, “What’s a mod?” A mod is essentially seven to eight weeks of classes that you take. You’re in Mod 1 when you start class. By October break, you’ll be taking your final exams, and then you start Mod 2 after you get back from fall break. In the spring, we offer Mod 3 and Mod 4. We tell our first year students it’s like drinking from a fire hose for Mod 1 because you’re going to be taking a lot of quantitative core classes and starting the recruiting process for internships and your job search, as well as just starting the MBA program and relocating to Chapel Hill. It’s a lot, but the modular format allows us and our students to focus on the quant to prepare them for their internship. In year two, they really focus on the electives and make the MBA their own.
Does the modular format continue in year two? [6:35]
It does. We also offer some classes that are on the weekends, so it’s not a full mod length, but it would be a weekend course. That’s more for our electives than it is for our core classes.
I noticed that roughly 15% of the graduating class went into healthcare. That’s obviously a strength of UNC. What are the opportunities, both curricular and co-curricular, for those interested in healthcare at UNC? [6:51]
Healthcare continues to grow. Where we’re located in Chapel Hill, life sciences is one of the three fastest-growing industries. UNC has a large healthcare system, plus the Duke healthcare system is close by. We have companies like GSK in the area, so healthcare continues to grow and it’s something that we always will need to have, but it’s always developing and we need to have leaders thinking about healthcare beyond the medical side. There’s a wide variety of course offerings that we have for students to take, whether they’re interested in healthcare analytics, healthcare marketing, or something else. There are courses in new drug development and challenges within healthcare.
Pretty much, it’s a course focused on the system overview. We look at global healthcare as well, so it’s not just focusing here in the U.S., but we are giving an international lens. There’s the Center for Business of Healthcare, and that really leverages the diversity and the depth of health sciences across the UNC-Chapel Hill system.
We also have the MBA Healthcare Academy, which just launched, and that’s really focused on learning that connects students in academics, co-curricular activities, and social opportunities as well. We have a student-run conference that focuses on healthcare. In addition to that, there are healthcare career tracks.
When COVID hit in March 2020, our campus shut down and our students were on their two-week spring break. When they came back for Mod 4, there was already an elective course being offered on COVID and how it’s disrupting healthcare as well as business needs. I sat in it just to experience what our students learn, and it was really interesting to put that business perspective on it.
Kenan-Flagler touts both its experiential learning and STEM designation. Can you touch on those? [9:15]
I mentioned a little bit earlier that we require an internship. We call it applied work experience. It gives you the theoretical, and you can apply the practical. In addition to that, we have STAR, which stands for Student Teams Achieving Results. It’s a consulting-based experiential learning opportunity where students work in small teams as consultants. They have typically three to four MBA students and about two undergrads, but they’re at the junior or senior level, so they’re upperclassmen. They get to work on a variety of projects. Once they get into their teams, they find out who they’ll be working with. They might be paired up with a company like Domino’s, whose CEO is an MBA alum from UNC, and they will work with them throughout a semester, they will pitch a solution on the project, and the company will go back and implement it.
It allows candidates to continue to build their resumes while they’re in the classroom, and it gives them an opportunity to have additional talking points when connecting with recruiters about some of their experiences. Lastly, which I think is really important, it cultivates relationships and expands their network. Some of these STAR projects have turned into job offers for candidates. It’s amazing to see the companies coming back to recruit our students.
In addition to that, we have our global immersion electives where students will take a class and then they travel abroad for between 10 to 14 days. Each location is themed-based. Perhaps, it’s going to be real estate-focused in Argentina and Peru. It’s not a vacation, but a time to learn how business is done globally, which is going to help them in their career long term as well.
What don’t people know about Kenan-Flagler that you would like them to know? [11:36]
That’s a really good question. One of the things that we get asked quite often is, “Where’s Chapel Hill, North Carolina?” Sometimes, I think we’re at a disadvantage because we’re not in a large city like New York, Boston, Chicago, or even LA, but we are in a great accessible area. There is another school located right down the road from us in Durham, North Carolina, known as Duke. We also have NC State and Wake Forest University nearby.
There are a lot of recruiters who are coming to campus to recruit our students, so it’s not off the beaten path. In addition to that, it’s very accessible. Whether you’re looking to travel abroad or even to the East Coast or the West Coast, the airport is 20 minutes away. It’s a short drive to Atlanta. If you want to go to Charlotte, North Carolina, DC, or even New York, it’s very accessible. You can drive two hours one way and you’ll be at the Outer Banks. You can drive three hours the other way and you’ll be in the mountains in Asheville. There’s a little bit of everything, regardless of what you’re interested in. There’s a plethora of things to choose from without having the distractions or expenses of a large city.
Do you see UNC Kenan-Flagler accepting the Executive Assessment or other aptitude tests in the near future? [13:21]
We offer standardized test waivers and if a candidate has taken a professional exam or the Executive Assessment, they can submit that to be considered as part of the review process to see if they are approved for a test waiver or not. We are going to continue that process and accept those test scores, but there hasn’t been too much discussion yet if we will accept the Executive Assessment in place of GMAT or GRE. If someone is denied a standardized test waiver, they still will have to submit a GMAT or GRE right now.
Is there any difference in acceptance rate for those who receive test waivers as opposed to those who applied with a test score? [14:06]
There really isn’t. A lot of candidates ask, “Will I be at a disadvantage if I don’t submit my test score?” The answer is no. We will still consider candidates for admission and fellowships the same way as someone that does submit test scores. One thing that we ask candidates when they are applying for a standardized test waiver is what their career goals are. We know that there are some industries or functional areas that require a standardized test score so we want to make sure that we’re upfront. Even though you might be approved for a test waiver for our application, you potentially might have to still take a standardized test for recruiting. However, you can use the tools that you learn in the classroom, almost as GMAT or GRE prep, to take the test as well.
Approximately what percentage of applicants apply with the test waiver? [15:04]
We’re still seeing a lot of candidates taking tests. I think because the trend of business schools accepting standardized test waivers is new, we are still seeing a lot of candidates taking the GMAT or GRE. They might not have taken it in the past year, but within the past five. The at-home version makes it easier as well. Regardless of what format you take, we just encourage you to submit your best score. As schools, we don’t see which format you choose. But I would say it might be a 70/30 split of those taking the test still.
What happens to an application after applicants hit submit? How are applications processed and evaluated? [15:52]
We’re very transparent. Once you hit submit, candidates will receive an email indicating we’ve received it. We go through a two-reader evaluation. The first reader will have access to the application minus any notes and or standardized test scores, so they’re really getting to know the applicant.
An interviewer is going to be a different person. Our interviews are behavioral-based questions and are 30 minutes in length. The interviewer has access to the resume and essays and transcripts.
Then you have a second reader who looks at everything, including standardized tests and notes from reader one and the interviewer, and then they make a recommendation. Then, we go into committee. At any given point, applications are being evaluated at least three, if not four to five times, by different people to remove any biases. We really want to look at it from a holistic approach. If a candidate submitted a test score or not doesn’t matter because we don’t factor that in until the last part of it.
Are interviews by invitation? [17:16]
Yes. We do a blind interview invite process before reader one evaluates.
So nobody evaluates the application before you issue an interview invitation? [17:39]
No.
That’s interesting. How do you decide who gets an interview invitation? [17:44]
We do it a little bit differently. We truly do it blindly but we also have something in place where we will go back and check anybody who was not invited at first. We do that evaluation because we know how much time a candidate puts into applying to school. To expedite that process but still have that quality check in place, we do the blind interview invite so that candidates can start the interview process, but we also are going back and making sure that there’s nobody that we missed. That’s at least two different people that are looking at the files and seeing, “Okay, do we want to invite? Do we not want to invite?” and we’ll discuss that as well.
If it’s a blind interview invitation, is it based on grades or test scores? [18:30]
No, we’ll look at everything. We look at work experience and a GPA if they have that. There’s a wide variety of data sets that we’ll look at. There’s an algorithm that we have in our system on the back end based on our historical data. We evaluate that every year. We will reverse engineer it because we know the type of candidates that excel in our classes. There are some things that a system can’t pick up. It’s that human component. We want to pick that up. When we’re evaluating candidates, we look for IQ, but it’s very important that we look for EQ as well.
What is the interview like at UNC? Is it virtual or in-person? [19:35]
It is 30 minutes of behavioral questions. Right now, we are virtual-only for interviews. As we slowly open doors, we will welcome back candidates in the near future. But for now, we will do them virtually. In some cities that we travel to, we will do it in person if we are there. We’re just not there yet to open that up on campus so, we’re keeping it virtual for now. We offer interviews Monday through Saturday. Once a candidate gets an invite, they’ll have a calendar where they can select the date and time that works best for them.
What are the most common mistakes that you see applicants make during the application process? [20:24]
Not being themselves. I mentioned that human component earlier, and I feel like that’s another thing. Everyone has a professional side, yes, but there’s that personal side to who you are. I feel like sometimes that’s lacking in an application. It would be great to fully see and know a candidate throughout the application process. Bringing in that human side and that EQ is really important. If you have extracurriculars, that’s absolutely something you should put on your resume and talk to. When you have extracurriculars, maybe you’re part of a team, maybe you have volunteer experience, those types of things, the committee would love to know about that and see how you are outside of work too, because there’s so much more to you than just your job title.
What advice do you have for re-applicants? [21:46]
For re-applicants, I would say the best piece of advice is to practice self-awareness. Look back at the application that you submitted and look at the school profile. Talk to other candidates to get a feel for who the school looks for in applicants and in students. Don’t just resubmit the same application and essay that you submitted the year prior. There have to be some distinct features to your application. We actually ask our re-applicants to submit another essay, and it asks them, “What’s different about your application? Why now?” And so, that self-awareness piece is really important because we’re asking them to bring that out and see the work they’ve done. It’s more than just a test score. It really is.
What would you say to applicants who want to apply this cycle but are concerned about the possibility of a recession? [22:42]
That R word. It’s been a talking point for many of us in MBA admissions. I would say be prepared as much as possible. Start thinking about plans. Have a plan A and a plan B. Right now, there’s no date in mind but we know that a recession is going to hit. We’re seeing high costs and inflation is going up. We also understand, for international students, the currency conversion to US dollars. It’s really important to start thinking about plan A and plan B, because what if your plan A is to wait three years to get your MBA, but you lose your job in the meantime? Start your research now and try to connect with alums. Maybe there are industry leaders that you haven’t connected with and you want to. Understand the industry might change as well with the recession, so just trying to plan as much in advance is extremely important for candidates that are considering pursuing an MBA now or in three or four years from now. The one thing to know is that when you get your MBA, there’s going to be ROI. It’s just a question of when you’ll see that in a recession.
What candidates would you like to see more of at Kenan-Flagler? [24:33]
We’re a top 20 MBA program. When you think top 20, you probably think of super competitive, as I like to say, sharks. We’re not sharks. We’re dolphins. We have high IQ and high EQ. I would love to continue to see more of that. Our students pride themselves on the Carolina Way, which is giving back, supporting each other, and being really collaborative. That’s something that I would love to see continue on. We know that students change through generations but we hope those qualities remain.
If you were an applicant thinking ahead to a 2023 or 2024 application, what is the one thing you would do now to prepare yourself to apply? [25:44]
Start reflecting on who you are. The MBA application process can make you feel vulnerable at times, and some people might not be comfortable with that. You can learn a lot about yourself. Just start thinking and writing things down about who you are, both at work and outside of work. Think about what kind of leader you strive to be. It can seem daunting at times when you have to think about yourself. We all know we’re our own worst enemy, so we may not see ourselves the way that others see us. It’s really important to do that reflection process earlier so that you’re not struggling in the long run. It’s so valuable, even outside of the application process. You can apply that to so many things in your career and in your personal life as well.
What would you have liked me to ask you? [26:48]
I think you’ve covered a lot of what we look for in Kenan-Flagler. That’s really important because it’s all about fit when candidates are looking at MBA programs. You’ve touched base on a little bit of everything that we have so, I appreciate that. There’s really nothing that comes to mind that I wish you asked that you haven’t.
Where can listeners and potential applicants learn more about Kenan-Flagler full-time MBA program? [27:23]
You can check out our website at https://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/.
We are also hosting events off campus as well as on campus. If any candidate has questions, please reach out to me and the fantastic full-time MBA admissions team. We’d be happy to help you as well as celebrate all the little short wins along the way in the application process.
Related links:
- UNC Kenan-Flagler Full-time MBA
- UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2022 – 2023]
- A Kenan-Flagler Student Discusses Industrial Engineering, Healthcare and Business
- Accepted’s MBA Admissions Consulting Services
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