Frequently Asked Questions
Access FAQs
Who is eligible to become an Access member?
Any candidate applying to business school (MBA) or a specialized MS/PhD this upcoming admissions cycle with a demonstrated commitment to promoting ethnic and gender inclusion. You should be planning to apply in this application cycle.
What is an underrepresented minority (URM)?
As stated above, an underrepresented minority (URM) is defined as someone who identifies as African American, American Indian, Alaskan Native, and/or LatinX and aligned with our school partners. You are not required to be a URM to be in the Access program.
Are there any financial requirements?
Nope! Access is a free program for all members. You are provided discounts for supplemental admissions services, but there are no obligations for purchasing any services.
What are the deadlines for joining?
You can join Access now! The sooner you join, the more you’ll get out of the program.
What B-School application timeline(s) does Access help with?
Access was built for URMs and women who are applying to programs with application deadlines in September or January of the current application season (traditionally round 1 or round 2). The Access curriculum is currently not customizable for application deadlines outside of that timeframe, and the Access community is best built and served when its members are operating on the same timeline.
Does Access service those applying to alternate MBA programs, including but not limited to Deferred Admissions MBA, Executive MBA, and Part-Time MBA programs?
Yes, as long as the program application deadlines are in September or January.
Does Access assist Round 3 applicants?
No, Access is built to support those applying in September or January.
What if I end up not applying to school?
Things happen. We can’t force you to go to school, but we expect you to have made that decision prior to applying because Access is for current-year applicants. If you’re not sure, it’s probably best to wait to join Access until you are ready.
Who are your school partners?
Our growing school partner list: Babson Olin, Berkeley Haas, Carnegie Mellon Tepper, Columbia GSB, Cornell Johnson, Dartmouth Tuck, Duke Fuqua, Emory Goizueta, Fordham Gabelli, Georgetown McDonough, Harvard Business School, IE Business School, Indiana Kelley, Michigan Ross, MIT Sloan, Northwestern Kellogg, Notre Dame Mendoza, NYU Stern, Rochester Simon, SMU Cox, Stanford GSB, UCLA Anderson, UPenn Wharton, USC Moore, UTA McCombs, UVA Darden, UW Foster, Vanderbilt Owen, and Yale SOM.
Interested in becoming a partner? Click here.
Who are your strategic partners?
Our growing corporate partner list: AIBL, ApplicantLab, The Consortium, Firsthand, GMAC, Juno, Magoosh, MBA iQ, MPOWER Financing, Prospanica, and Sherpa Prep.
Interested in becoming a partner? Click here.
Why are your partners providing services for free or at deep discounts?
Because they’re dope.
Who can attend Access events?
For the first time ever, non-Access-members are now welcome to register for one FREE Access webinar event.
You can now attend one of our events to receive MBA admissions guidance, peer support, ask questions, and network with students and professionals. We know that once you experience our Access family, you will be excited to become a full Access member (completely free) and you will be invited to attend all future Access events.
If I miss a webinar, can I access a recording?
We record all of our webinars and publish the recording links to a comprehensive sheet. Our members receive the link to this sheet in our monthly newsletters.
If I try to register for a webinar and receive a message that says, “This meeting is for authorized registrants only,” what should I do?
Make sure that you are logged into your Zoom account that is linked to the email that you are trying to register with. You can check which Zoom account you're currently logged into by opening Zoom in a separate tab.
How do I find out about exclusive school offers?
Our members receive the link to our published sheet of school offers in our monthly newsletters. These offers include school contacts, application fee waivers, Access-specific scholarships, and more!
How do I qualify for an Access scholarship?
Access scholarships are awarded to Access members who are admitted to one of our partner schools. Scholarship recipients are made aware of the award by their enrolled program. To qualify for an Access scholarship, you must be an Access member at the time of application. Our partners may award Access members with various financial and engagement benefits throughout the application cycle; to stay updated on each partner offering please refer to our website and newsletter for the latest partner offerings.
Which schools offer Access-specific scholarships?
Last year, nearly one third of Access partner schools offered Access-specific scholarships. Our members will receive updates as we solidify our partner offers for the upcoming application cycle. Join Access and stay tuned if you want to learn more!
Which schools provide Access members with application fee waivers?
Last year, half of our partner schools offered application fee waivers. Our members will receive updates as we solidify our partner offers for the upcoming application cycle. Join Access and stay tuned if you want to learn more!
What programs are offered through Access?
Access (Free): free resources, access to schools, curated content, and test prep and admissions consulting discounts.
Access+ (Low Cost): Self-paced admissions curriculum with options for synchronous learning. Access to a curated curriculum, MBA Admissions Database (100+ resources), a peer MBA community, mentorship, and MORE.
The Access Fellowship (Highly Selective/Free): For those URMs and women who have a demonstrated resource need (financial, community, or network), you can apply to the fellowship to receive free test prep, free admissions coaching, test vouchers, mentors, exclusive access to schools, and peer-based learning teams.
What opportunities does Access provide to applicants based outside of the United States?
Access and Access+ are open to applicants based outside of the United States who meet program eligibility criteria. Please watch this video (linked) to hear more from one of the co-founders of Access, Eric Allen.
What happens if I am denied membership?
What happens if I am denied membership?
If you are denied membership to Access, please check the membership eligibility to see where you may not have met certain requirements; we understand this can be frustrating as we would love to serve all applicants. We have established clear membership criteria that we won't reconsider on a case-by-case basis, however, we provide a list of free resources below, under "What if I don't qualify for Access?".
What if I don’t qualify for Access?
We would still love to support you by providing the following resources. Hopefully you’ll find these links helpful!
Free GRE practice tests:
Free GMAT practice tests:
Test and Application Prep Programs
How do I get my Admit.me score report?
You can take the Admit.me Index to get your score report.
Access+ FAQs
Who is eligible to become an Access+ member?
Only Access members are eligible for Access+, so please see the definition of Access membership. In addition, you have to be in the application year for an MBA or specialized MS/PhD in a business-related field. To verify your Access membership, the subscription form will ask for your Access Application Submission ID.
How do I find my Access Application Submission ID?
If you joined Access before January 2023, you should have automatically received an email with the subject Thanks for completing the Access Application upon submitting the registration form. A PDF version of your application was attached to the email, which included your unique submission ID number at the bottom.
If you joined Access in January 2023 or later, you should have automatically received an email with the subject Your Access Application Has Been Received upon submitting the registration form. The text of that email should contain your submission ID.
What are the deadlines for subscribing?
Check out the Subscription Calendar on our Access+ page for more information!
How much does Access+ cost?
The Access+ subscription price and cost breakdown can be found on the Access+ page! Please note that subscription payment is non-refundable, non-transferable, and non-negotiable.
What does Access+ include?
Subscription to Access+ includes access to an exclusive Slack channel for Access+ members and mentors, a comprehensive self-guided MBA admissions curriculum and complementary resources, and office hours and real talks with experts. In addition, Access+ subscribers will be provided with admissions mentors (current and recent MBA grads) and learning teams of other Access+. Fellows get to learn and grow in this admissions process with a cohort of other Fellows that will hold you accountable and inspire you to make it through the admissions process! For a full list of the resources you receive, click here.
What does the curriculum for Access+ cover?
The Access+ curriculum is self-paced and covers the following:
Monthly tasks (such as test updates & learning team meetings)
Test updates do not include test prep, although we do offer test prep discounts to our Access members!
Application components
Our curriculum includes everything you need to do in order to hit submit on your application(s), i.e. personal branding, resume, and essays.
Mentorship
Touchpoints with the Fellowship Staff
Professional development
The main Access+ page mentions application fee waivers for 4 schools. Is there a list of these schools?
Four is the average number of partner fee waivers we see members use, but you can use more or less depending on where you're applying and which schools are offering this opportunity.
Access Fellowship FAQs
Who is eligible to become an Access Fellowship recipient?
Only U.S.-based Access members (regardless of citizenship) are eligible for the Access Fellowship. To apply to the Fellowship, you must meet the demographic requirement of living in the United States, be an Access member, and plan on applying this application cycle. The Access Fellowship is best suited to those living in the United States due to mandatory time zone-based events and the program's commitment to fostering an in-person and virtual community.
How do I find my Access Application Submission ID?
If you joined Access before January 2023, you should have automatically received an email with the subject Thanks for completing the Access Application upon submitting the registration form. A PDF version of your application was attached to the email, which included your unique submission ID number at the bottom.
If you joined Access in January 2023 or later, you should have automatically received an email with the subject Your Access Application Has Been Received upon submitting the registration form. The text of that email should contain your submission ID.
Are there any financial requirements?
Nope! The Access Fellowship is a free program. However, financial need is a consideration for acceptance to the fellowship. You are provided discounts for supplemental admissions services, but there are no obligations for purchasing any services. Keep in mind, you will be asked to take any required standardized tests and there is a cost associated with those tests.
What are the deadlines for applying?
Check out the Application Calendar on our Access Fellowship page for more information!
What does the Fellowship include?
As an Access Fellow, you get access to free Magoosh test prep and admissions consulting as well as live & pre-recorded webinars. In addition, Fellows will be provided with admissions mentors (current and recent MBA grads) and learning teams of other Fellows. Fellows get to learn and grow in this admissions process with a cohort of other Fellows that will hold you accountable and inspire you to make it through the admissions process! For a full list of the resources you receive, click here.
What does the Fellowship expect of me?
We expect excellence. We want you to have high expectations of yourself and your outcomes and we want you to work hard to achieve your goals. We want you to inspire others in your cohort through your hard work, encouragement and guidance. In addition, we want you to take this very seriously and put in the effort needed to yield an exceptional application. We want Fellows to be the best applicants, students, and leaders in the business community!
Why did you create the Fellowship?
Put simply, it was requested by our users. There are clearly very strong programs for this same demographic, but nothing focused on application-year support with best-in-class test prep, admissions, and career services companies. We spoke with applicants who experienced multiple programs that provided solid exposure, networking opportunities, and lots of fun, but the applicants remained confused and uncertain about how to execute on the application process. Eric has been in the admissions space for almost 15 years and Wendy was a first generation applicant that saw a huge need to serve under-resourced candidates, so here we are!
What is the time commitment for the Fellowship?
There will be 5 mandatory Saturday events (orientation, 3 school sessions, 1 interview prep/post-submit in January). Dates will be given at orientation. Every other Tuesday @ 8PM ET we will be meeting for Master Classes, Mentor Workshops, Partner webinars. Fellowship recipients will be allowed three total absences for these Tuesday events. One Thursday @ 12PM ET each month we will host optional Office Hours. This is in addition to mandatory learning team meetings and 4 learning team leader meetings (team leaders & community chairs only)
What does the curriculum for the Access Fellowship cover?
The Access Fellowship curriculum covers the following:
Monthly tasks (such as test updates & learning team meetings)
Test updates do not include test prep, although we do offer free Magoosh to our Access Fellows!
Application components
Our curriculum includes everything you need to do in order to hit submit on your application(s), i.e. personal branding, resume, and essays.
Mentorship
Touchpoints with the Fellowship Staff
Professional development
Note that Access Fellows are held accountable to curriculum deadlines by Access Staff.
How is the Access Fellowship different from other fellowship programs?
We built this around one thing: helping you navigate the admissions process. We took best-in-class admissions partners and brought them together to help you! We don’t spend money on marketing, branding, nor do we worry about competing against other programs in our space. There are other great organizations out there like Consortium, Forte, Riordan, MLT, Toigo etc. targeting this demographic. We think we are largely complementary to these programs and we welcome any applicants who are currently participating or alumni of these programs.
What do I do if I need help or have questions?
Read the information again (it may be in there). If not, email us at access@magoosh.com for all Access related questions or fellows@magoosh.com for all Access Fellowship related questions. Please note, if the answer to your question is on the website, we will make fun of you.