The Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California has a host of advantages that stretch beyond its location in sunny California. It makes a place for itself most times in the top 30 rankings of B Schools in the US and is overall a well rated school. The application essays are not exactly trend settings and include the usual goals and leadership questions- however- it is up to the applicant to ensure that his/her essays stand out- how you do it is not a big problem if you think well and at length about the questions being asked

Application Deadline for the intake of fall 2016:

Round 1 : Oct 19, 2015
Round 2 : Jan 8, 2016
Round 3 : April 8,2016

Requirements :

• Four-year undergraduate degree, or equivalent, from an accredited institution
• A completed online application
• Official academic transcripts. Upload unofficial copies of your academic transcripts with your application in addition to sending official academic transcripts to USC. See below for more information.
• Official GMAT or GRE score report. GMAT is preferred. Scores are valid for five years. You must have taken the GMAT or GRE exam by the time you submit an application. The program code for our Full-Time MBA program is 389-9C-23. The GRE code for USC Marshall MBA is 4852. The GMAT or GRE requirement will not be waived under any circumstance. We recommend uploading unofficial copies of your GMAT or GRE scores with your application in addition to sending official scores to USC. If you took the GRE, you can predict a GMAT score using the GRE Comparison Tool for Business Schools. GMAT or GRE must have been taken on or after August 1, 2011.
• Two letters of recommendation, which must be submitted online. See below for information.
• Application fee: $150.
• International applicants (if applicable) : official Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) score report. Review the USC policy to determine if this requirement applies to you. Must have been taken on or before August 1, 2014.
• A professional résumé.
• Two required essays, as outlined in the online application. A third, optional, available to provide any additional information you wish to convey to the Admissions Committee.

Essay Questions:

1. Please complete both sections in no more than 700 words combined :

a. What is your immediate short-term goal post-graduation from the USC Marshall MBA program? (Please include industry and function information in your answer).

b. How will USC Marshall enable you to develop or improve your skills in order to reach your goals?

2. Tell us about a time when you went beyond what was defined, established, or expected. (200 words)

3. Optional Essay : Please provide any additional information that you believe is important and/or will address any areas of concern that will be beneficial to the Admissions Committee in considering your application. (250 words)

4. Re-application Essay : Please describe any significant professional, personal, or academic growth since your last application to the USC Marshall School of Business. Discuss your specific professional goals and how the USC Marshall Full-Time MBA Program will help you achieve these goals. (500-700 word)

Class profile :

Class size : 222
Average GPA : 3.3
Average Age : 28
International students : 29%

Estimated expenses :

	FIRST-YEAR**	SECOND-YEAR**
Tuition (based on 2014-2015 tuition)	59,184	49,320
Fees	10,000	4,000
Books / Supplies	1,350	1,344
Room / Board*	17,889	17,889
Personal	2,000	2,000
Transportation	2800	2800
Total Cost	$93,223	$77,353

Sample Essays :

The Marshall MBA Prime Program prepares students for doing business in a global Economy. Describe a cross-cultural experience that challenged you. How did you meet this challenge and what did you learn from this experience?

In today's flat world, business thrives in an atmosphere of instant communication and cultural flexibility. Working in a global economy means close interaction with people from different cultures. While this presents a marvelous opportunity to enlarge the sphere of one's influence, it also presents definite challenges. I have always found been comfortable with diversity and cross cultural interactions, owing to my active involvement in personality development camps held by NGOs in various parts of India and similar activities.

My most challenging engagement till now has been during my ............................. was working as a member of Offshore Research & Development Team of '..................................... This included understanding the requirements of the change requests, discussing the code logic which can be the most effective solution for the problem at hand, scalability and security of the solution and proposed innovations etc.

Understanding the requirements perfectly was very crucial to implementing the change requests correctly. A slight mismatch would have meant that the less than perfect quality of the deliverables would have adversely effected the organization's reputation. In my prior projects, I had learnt that interacting with people from different cultures really requires an effort to understand their behavior, and some insight into their culture. For coordinating with the US team, we were required to be flexible with our working hours to make up for the time lag between the two countries.

In this scenario, I decided to keep myself open to new perceptions, willing to take feedback on how to improve my ................................. and pro active about gathering information. The organization helped and the e-learning sessions on cross-cultural sensitivity for US based clients were of great help. The visits of a few senior ............................................to our office in India improved the interaction tremendously. During the extended knowledge sharing sessions with them .............................., I found a rapport developing, which forged friendly ties. These increased the co-ordination in carrying out the tasks.

Furthermore, to ease effective communication with the client, we set up a daily conference call to be quick in catching up with the current project issues. These daily discussions ruled out possibilities of misunderstanding which sometimes transpired due to extended e-mail communication. They also led to instant brainstorming and exploration of issues which dramatically impacted the final delivery.

We learned numerous programming nuances during these sessions. Our bonds with the US ..................................... culture and work scenario has shown me the total work focus, vitality and professionalism. Finally, having been in virtual teams for the most part of the client engagements, I feel my soft skills and people skills have increased tremendously. I feel that this experience really has helped to alleviate my initial hesitation in a cross cultural exchange, honed my skills and increased my comfort level tremendously. My communication has gained clarity and brought new learning to make me a more able person.