Haas as Freshman

basketballkid124
Tue, 22 May 2012 04:48:04 +0000

You are correct: you can apply to Haas as a freshman, given that you have 60 units by the end of freshman year (including AP units) and given that you have completed all of the Haas pre-requisites by the end of your freshman year (which can be fulfilled by sufficient AP scores). The biggest hurdle in this route is the one you point out: you will be looked at, as an applicant, relative to other applicants with applications that have one more year’s worth of development.

If you are intent on applying to Haas as a freshman, you need to have a big impact as a freshman, especially in the fall before the app is due (you can always discuss your spring plans, but these are inherently less concrete given that they are anticipated rather than complete). I’d recommend aggressively pursuing several (explore a lot if you like, but settle on just a few) activities, anything from a combination of student clubs, jobs, internships, etc. They do not have to be related to business, but you do need to have a big impact and involve leadership. Also note that Haas will only be able to consider your fall GPA (rather than three full semesters), so this is crucial as well.

Ultimately, I’d say that this route is extremely risky. You can always apply as a freshman, and (if your priority is graduating as early as possible) just major in economics (since you’ll have already finished most of the pre-requisites for that major too), finish the upper-division requirements, and then graduate. However, if your priority is Haas, then you’re chances get a lot better if you wait to apply as a sophomore.