MIB policy tweak

An eagle-eyed reader yesterday picked up on what appeared to be a blog error, but actually reflects some news.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I wrote that there is no midyear (January) admission for MIB students.  Then last week that changed, to allow prospective MIB students the option of applying to start their degree studies in January.  The eagle-eyed reader had spotted the new deadline/enrollment information on other pages of the website.

What was going on behind the scenes?  Not all that much, to be honest.  Over the life of this relatively new program, there had been a few students who started in January instead of September.  That is, they were admitted for September, but something kept them from enrolling in the planned semester.  (The explanations were usually visa problems or personal emergencies.  Students with other issues would have been advised to defer their enrollment for a year, to the following September.)  Although there are some challenges for MIBers who start in January (for example, they don’t meet their classmates in the pre-session), the challenges turn out to be surmountable, and we made the decision to allow students to make their own decision on when to enroll.

We still anticipate that the majority of MIB students will start in September, but we will no longer mandate it.  If January is the right time for you to start your studies, we invite you to apply to either the MALD or MIB program.  And, since the application is ready for you (and is due October 15 for January enrollment), feel free to get started on those essays!