But it might argue that California does not face the "compelling and extraordinary conditions" the law requires before stricter standards can be imposed.

Scott Shrum, director of M.B.A. admissions research of Veritas Prep, an admissions firm in Malibu, Calif., suggests finding ways to make your candidacy even stronger while waiting for a final answer.

It was 1964 and a degree was one of the conditions of employment so Mr Geffen told his bosses he had studied at the University of California, Los Angeles.