Who Should Apply

The National School curriculum has been designed for men and women currently performing management level functions in the financial services industry, and who have been identified by their institutions as having the potential to assume broader responsibilities.

The candidate’s education, employment back-ground, variety of job assignments and supervisory experience are fully considered by the National School administration in determining an applicant’s acceptance to an entering class.

Class Profile

Classes are limited in size and represent the “stars” of the financial services industry. The profile of a typical class includes the following:

• Years of experience — an average of 12 years with financial institutions
• Job titles – branch manager to president, with the majority at vice president level
• Education – 20% hold Masters or MBAs, 88% hold a B.A. or B.S.
• Institutions represented -community banks, commercial banks, federal agencies, cooperative banks and financial services groups
• Specialties – finance, retail banking, consumer, mortgage, commercial lending, marketing, operations, compliance, auditing, training, personnel, investments and business development
• Age/gender – average age is 37; 40% female, 60% male

The Application Process

Application deadline for the incoming class is April 28, 2006. To be considered for acceptance, the candidate should submit the following:

1. A completed application form.
2. A statement of objectives. Each candidate must submit an outline of his or her career objectives and reasons for applying to the National School.
3. A confidential letter of recommendation from the CEO of the candidate’s institution sent directly to the National School Director.
   
   This letter should include the following:
   • An evaluation of the candidate’s achievements, abilities, motivation, initiative and potential for advancement.
   
   • The objective of the institution in recommending this candidate.
   
   • An acknowledgment by the CEO of the time commitment and effort that the candidate is undertaking in the two years of the program and the assurance of support of the candidate from the institution and its senior management.
    
4. A non-refundable application fee of $300.

Advanced Placement Option

Consideration is made for individuals with both management experience and MBAs to test out of the first year of the National School. To qualify for this advanced placement (AP), the applicant must:

• Have more than five years management experience in financial institutions;
• Have received an MBA from an accredited institution within the last 10 years;
• Submit an application with the standard $300 fee and a testing fee of $1000; and
• Complete an assigned reading packet and achieve a passing grade on a special web-based entrance exam scheduled for early June (proctored at the applicant’s sponsoring institution).

Successful applicants will be admitted with advanced placement into the current second year National School class and will be invoiced for the tuition, textbooks, room and board for the summer session of 2005. They will have cut one year out of the program by skipping the first residence session, saved more than $3,500 plus travel expenses for the first session, and will not be required to write the first four assignments. However, AP grads will not be eligible for admission into ACB’s Executive MBA program. CPE credits and ACE recommended credits would also be affected by this election.