Helpful Tips

Many applicants encounter challenges during the application process. This information will assist you as
you navigate through the application process and addresses several important topics including:

Incomplete Applications
Each year a number of MBA applicants miss their desired deadline because they submit an incomplete application. A complete application includes the following items:
• the online application
• $60 application fee
• one official copy of all transcripts, with official or notarized translations for international transcripts
• two letters of recommendation
• official GMAT score from Educational Testing Services (ETS)
• International applicants should also provide an official TOEFL score, and the Certification of Finance Form.

A representative of the Masters Program Office will contact you via electronic mail approximately two weeks after your application is received to confirm receipt and application status. Applicants outside the US should allow more time for delivery.

GMAT
If you have previously taken the GMAT but have not requested ETS to send an official copy to the University of Maryland at College Park, contact them at http://www.gmac.com or at (609) 771-7330. The Admissions Committee will only review complete applications, which include the official GMAT score.

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Undergraduate Academic History
The University of Maryland Graduate School requires all admitted students to have an undergraduate grade point average of at least 2.80/4.00. Applicants who have a grade point average below 2.80 are encouraged to use the optional fourth essay to address this point.

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Status Check
The Masters Program Office does not release decisions before the decision deadline. If you have received a card from the Graduate School providing you with a number or Web site that allows you to check your status, please realize that the only information you will receive is "application pending". On the day your decision is due, you may call the status check line at (301) 403-0554 and secure your decision. The Masters Program Office will not release your decision via telephone. Moreover, the Masters Program Office will not release your decision to friends, family members, or third parties unless you have provided written authorization.

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Requesting A Deferral
Admitted students begin their MBA program in the semester for which they have applied. If a student needs to request a deferral for an emergency medical reason, the admissions committee will consider requests on a case-by-case basis.

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Calculus Requirement
A course in calculus is a prerequisite to the MBA program and must be met before the program begins in August. Applicants may apply before completing the requirement. This requirement can be met only with course work completed in the last five years at an accredited institution, and must include functions, limits and continuity, first and second derivative, and techniques of integration.

If you have not taken a calculus course, you may fulfill the calculus requirement at any accredited institution. Online credit courses from accredited institutions are acceptable.

If your performance on the quantitative section of the GMAT was at or above the 75th percentile, you can be waived from the calculus requirement.

To verify if a course is acceptable, you may fax the course description to the attention of LeAnne Dagnall, Masters Program Office at (301) 314-9862.

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TOEFL
Applicants are strongly encouraged to include a photocopy of their TOEFL report with the application materials. Do not assume that your TOEFL score will be reported to the University in a timely manner simply because you have taken the test. If you have a copy of your TOEFL score, please include a copy with your application materials. The Admissions Committee will not review your file without the TOEFL.

If you are a non-native English speaker, you are exempt from presenting a TOEFL score if and only if you have earned a degree from an institution in Australia, English-speaking Canada, the Commonwealth Caribbean, Ghana, Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, or the United States. Applicants from Singapore may be exempt from TOEFL if they have receive an O level pass in English and can demonstrate proof.

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Certification of Finance Form
While the University of Maryland at College Park cannot issue a Form I-20 or Form IAP-66 to students enrolled in the Evening MBA or Weekend MBA, all applicants who are not US citizens or permanent residents are requested to complete the Certification of Finance Form.

Please indicate at the top of the form your current immigration status in the United States, and sign the form certifying the information is create. Include in your application packet a photocopy of the first page of your passport and a photocopy of your immigration visa.

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