Down to the Wire: Upcoming EMBA Program Deadlines

It might feel more like the holiday season than back-to-school time—but with EMBA programs, application deadlines are something to start thinking about now.

To help you sort which schools have the most urgent, upcoming deadlines to consider, Ivy Exec has the breakdown. But even if your top-choice program is not on this list, it can take weeks and even months to nail down your essays and recommendations—so it’s never too soon to start.

No Time to Waste

If the MIT Sloan School of Management is on your wish list for Executive MBA programs, get started immediately. The first deadline is just weeks away on January 4^th, 2016. You’ll need a resume, a 500-word statement of purpose, three 500-word essays, and two letters of recommendation—a third one is optional. MIT will also expect official transcripts and an organizational chart of your company to show where you stand. You may then be invited to an in-person interview, indicating that you’ve reached one of the final levels of consideration. The admissions committee recommends applying early within the admissions cycle in order to received the earliest possible decision. The committee says it generally makes its decisions within four to six weeks of receiving an application.

For UC Irvine, you’ve narrowly missed the program’s December 1^st, 2015 deadline for priority consideration—however, there’s still time to be considered when the first round of applications are due February 1^st, 2016. UC Irvine sometimes requires a GMAT or GRE score and will request that one is provided if necessary after reviewing your application. The program also requires eight years or more experience in the workplace—preferably in a management role—a resume, several essays, a required interview and two letters of recommendation.

Download a brochure or contact admissions for more information at MIT’s ranking page here and UC Irvine’s ranking page here. 

Priority Status 

If you want your application to receive the VIP treatment, the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University has a priority deadline fast approaching: January 31^st, 2016. You’ll need to fill out the program’s application form and submit a one-page essay describing your career and decision to pursue an EMBA, official transcripts from any other undergraduate or graduate programs you’ve completed, GMAT scores and two letters of recommendations from executive colleagues. Only serious applications will receive an interview, according to the program’s admissions page.

With ESADE in Barcelona, you still have plenty of time to gather your application materials for the early decision deadline of April 30^th, 2016. The program requires you to have at least four years of professional experience. You’ll have to submit official transcripts and a letter of support or recommendation from your employer. The program requires a GMAT or GRE score but for those applicants who have neither, ESADE offers a specialized test exclusively for its program candidates. However, the test is only offered in Spanish and can only be taken in person on select dates in Barcelona or Madrid.

Download a brochure or contact admissions for more information at Vanderbilt’s ranking page here and ESADE’s ranking page here.

Rolling, rolling, rolling 

With the high-pressure lifestyle of an executive, worrying about a pressing Executive MBA deadline might not be for you. In that case, several schools offer rolling deadlines to provide the flexibility you may require.

The Samuel Curtis Johnson School of Management at Cornell offers an Ivy League school with a flexible admissions schedule. What’s more, the program does not require a GMAT score—although the admissions committee may ask some applicants to take it anyway. If you have taken the GMAT, you may choose to submit your score at your discretion. Additionally, you’ll need to submit a resume, an application form, an organizational chart of your company showing your position, three personal essays and a fourth optional statement all written to specific topics provided in the application, official transcripts for any post-secondary education and two letters of recommendation—one of which must come from your immediate supervisor. A third letter of recommendation may be submitted if you so choose. Applicants will then complete a phone or in-person interview. The admissions committee says that it makes its decisions within two to three weeks of its interviews with applicants.

In addition to offering a rolling admissions deadline, IE’s application process is somewhat streamlined. You’ll be required to fill out an online application and submit a GMAT or GRE score. In absence of those test scores, you can opt for the IE admissions test. Unlike ESADE’s tailor-made test, the IE test is available in both English and Spanish and is offered in several, major US cities on select dates.

Rutgers has an unusual approach by which applicants first complete a form on its admissions website that provides you “with a timely indication of the likelihood of your acceptance” into the program. This so-called “initial application” asks you to fill in your prior education, current job, past GPAs and GMAT scores. After that, if the program gives you the green light, you’ll be invited for an interview. If you pass that level of consideration, you’ll need to submit two letters of recommendation.

The Joseph M. Katz Graduate School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh also offers a rolling deadline up until March 15^th, 2016. Whenever you do submit an application, however, it must be complete and not missing any required elements. You’ll need to fill out the application form and submit one personal essay, two recommendations, a resume, official GMAT or GRE scores and any university transcripts.

Download a brochure or contact admissions for more information at Cornell’s ranking page here, IE’s ranking page here, Rutgers’ ranking page here and Katz’s ranking page here.