Acceptance Rates at Claremont MBA Programs

Substantial changes in the acceptance rate for Claremont MBA programs reflect the growing demand for business-centric education. The school touts well-rounded graduates who are prepared for the business world. Recent changes have helped liberal arts students from Claremont's McKenna College realize the real-world applications of one of the nation's best MBA programs at the Peter I Drucker and Masatoshi Ito Graduate School. Moreover, a growing number of those graduate students bring international experience to the MBA programs, which helps all students develop broader, more global perspectives.

Claremont MBA Programs Experience Changes in Acceptance Rates

At a glance, Claremont's MBA program acceptance rate appeared to drop off, in 2007, to a low of 16 percent. The Graduate School attendance rates may have dipped, but the actual attendance continued to grow. The rates themselves were lower than normal largely because the statistics did not include students who fall under the new Robert A. Day 4+1 BA/MBA program.

Claremont's Robert A. Day 4+1 BA/MBA Program

Across the country, the best business schools have expanded their MBA degrees to include an additional year of required study for certain certified public accountant (CPA) certificates. To facilitate the changes, Claremont adapted its MBA degree course curriculum into the Day Program. In this program, students begin their MBA degree coursework during their senior year. Participating students receive their BA degree from the McKenna School and then complete their MBA degree coursework the following year.

These students are often overlooked in statistical data that normally focuses on new, matriculating entrants. The students are already enrolled at Claremont and continue their studies into the MBA degree program. Because they do not actually stop in between, they technically are not the newly accepted students that are included in the school's overall acceptance rate.

A large number of students are still adjusting to the new challenges they face under Claremont's three component program. First, they must complete the liberal arts program at Claremont's McKenna School. The second component supplements the liberal arts foundation with business-related skills. Finally, students complete two summer internships, which give them the real-world experience necessary to effectively apply their MBA degree.

Claremont's New MBA Policy Globalizes the Degree and Courses

Claremont's new "need-blind" admissions policy ignores students' financial situations during admissions consideration. One of the best aspects of the policy is that international students now make up roughly 31 percent of the MBA program's student body. As the global marketplace expands its reach, graduates of Claremont's MBA degree programs become more internationally savvy.