Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast Clear Admit

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the MBA application deadlines and interview releases for this season. This week Round 3 continues with several application deadlines, and UPenn / Wharton and Duke / Fuqua are scheduled to release interview invite decisions.

Graham started with a story of his random meeting with a podcast listener (and current Wharton student), who he met at a car rental agency.

Graham then highlighted the May 15th event we are hosting in Chicago, which will be Clear Admit’s first in-person MBA candidate event. Signups are here: https://www.bit.ly/cachicagofair Graham also noted the Spring Online Webinar series that Clear Admit is hosting, with signups here: https://www.bit.ly/caspringwebinars

We then had a discussion about the recently published 2024 U.S. News MBA ranking of U.S. based MBA programs. For the second year in row, there is a significant emphasis on career outcomes in this ranking, rather than an emphasis on the quality of the incoming class. Some of the order of the ranking appears to be off, as a consequence of this.

Graham highlighted a recently published admissions tip focused on the waitlist, which also provides direct access to a video that we hosted for the Admissions Academy. This video is now freely available for all to watch.

Graham then noted three Real Humans Alumni pieces, alums from: Cornell / Johnson working at Amazon, Columbia working at Google, and Georgetown / McDonough working at Johnson & Johnson.

For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry.

This week’s first MBA admissions candidate is applying next season. They have decent numbers, with a 3.72 GPA and 326 GRE. They have 3 years of work experience in consulting. We discussed what they might do to improve their overall profile, over the next several months.

This week’s second MBA candidate has recently left their work, to take a break, before starting business school. They appear to have a strong professional record at top tech companies, and a decent GPA. They have gained a test waiver to the programs they are targeting; we are not convinced that’s the right approach.

The final MBA candidate for this week is deciding between Northwestern / Kellogg, Duke / Fuqua (with money) and IESE. They also need to consider their spouse’s options, as they weigh whether to do an MBA in Europe or the United States.

This episode was recorded in Schenectady, New York, USA and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who’ve been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

As usual, this week's MBA Admissions podcast kicks off with a discussion of all the latest MBA application deadline and decision release news for this season. Last week, MIT / Sloan released its Round 2 final decisions. Cornell / Johnson also released some of their final decisions. This week Round 3 continues with several application deadlines.

Graham promoted the MBA applicant survey we now have in the field. We are trying to encourage as high a response rate as we can get. The survey is at https://www.bit.ly/caspringsurvey Graham also noted the May 15th event we are hosting in Chicago, which will be Clear Admit’s first in-person MBA candidate event. Signups are here: https://www.bit.ly/cachicagofair

Graham highlighted two recently published admissions tips focused on how candidates should decide between different MBA program offers, and how to get the most out of the admitted students events that many top MBA programs offer in the month of April. These events are very important to attend for two broad reasons: to help candidates make their final decisions, as well as to begin the process of transitioning to the new MBA adventure.

Graham then noted three Real Humans Alumni pieces, alums from London Business School working at Uber, Maryland / Smith working at Merck, and UPenn / Wharton working at General Mills.

For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry.

This week’s first MBA admissions candidate applied to London Business School this season, but was rejected after the interview phase. They have a 319 GRE score and a 3.1 GPA. While they appear to have a strong professional background, we are encouraging them to retake the GRE, ahead of next season.

This week’s second MBA candidate also has a 3.1 GPA, but there GMAT is a little better, at 710. They also have a very decent professional background, as well as very interesting extra-curricular activities and interests. Their target is Duke / Fuqua’s early action round. We think there is a strong potential benefit from retaking the GMAT, if they can gain 20-30 points.

The final MBA candidate for this week is deciding between UCLA / Anderson with some scholarship and UNC / Kenan Flagler with a full scholarship. We think the decision really boils down to where they want to be, geographically, post MBA.

This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who’ve been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began with our usual rundown of MBA application deadlines and decision releases for this season. Last week we saw several top MBA programs release their final Round 2 decisions. This week, MIT / Sloan and Cornell / Johnson are among those releasing decisions. There are also several Round 3 application deadlines.

Graham highlighted the new Spring survey that Clear Admit is running, to get a better sense of how MBA candidates select their target programs. Answering this survey really helps Clear Admit better understand the MBA community, and provides great insights for top MBA programs. The survey is here: https://bit.ly/caspringsurvey

Graham then mentioned a new Clear Admit event, which is an in-person MBA admissions fair, to be held in Chicago on May 15. Most of the top MBA programs will be in attendance. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/cachicagofair

Graham highlighted three Real Humans Alumni pieces: alums from IMD working at Bain, Ohio / Fisher working at JPMorgan Chase, and NYU / Stern working at Hulu.

Finally we discussed the second in Clear Admit's series of post-MBA career reports. This one focuses on consulting careers, and not only which programs send the most candidates into consulting careers, but also which programs have a stronger focus on MBB (McKinsey, Bain, BCG) consulting.

For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry.

This week’s first MBA admissions candidate has very strong numbers, with a 334 GRE and a 3.83 GPA. They have four years of experience, most recently as part of the legal team at a Private Equity firm. They want to pursue the MBA to return to private equity, on the investment side. We think this is very doable, but might be worth looking at investment banking as a short term goal.

This week’s second MBA candidate has been a lawyer for eight years, and wants to use the MBA to pivot to consulting in the short term, then a strategy or general counsel role in the longer term. They have a strong GPA of 3.75, but perhaps are a little light on the quant side. They still need to take the GMAT, so a very strong score will help.

The final MBA candidate for this week is deciding between Berkeley / Haas and Texas/McCombs, with a $35k scholarship. They have free tuition based on the GI bill. They want to do consulting, post MBA. They also have additional personal reasons that makes this decision a little more complicated.

This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who’ve been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the MBA application deadlines and decision notifications for this season. Interview invites for Round 2 are now coming to an end as schools have shifted into handing out admissions decisions. Speaking of which, UPenn / Wharton, Yale SOM, Harvard, London Business School, Stanford, Northwestern / Kellogg, and Washington / Foster are releasing their final Round 2 results next week.  Best of luck to everyone awaiting word!

Graham highlighted the new Spring survey that Clear Admit is running, to get a better sense of how MBA candidates select their target programs. Answering this survey really helps Clear Admit better understand the MBA community, and provides great insights for top MBA programs. The survey is here: https://bit.ly/caspringsurvey Graham then mentioned a Clear Admit event, with CMU / Tepper, which focuses on the MBA for non-traditional candidates. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/nontradMBA

Graham also shared tidbits from four Real Humans Alumni pieces: alums from Harvard, working at PepsiCo, Stanford working at Uber, Berkeley / Haas working at Nike and Yale SOM working at EY-Parthenon.

Finally we discussed the first in Clear Admit's series of post-MBA career reports. This one focuses on finance careers, and shows quite clearly which are the best MBA programs for buy-side finance roles, as well as for roles in investment banking.

For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry.

This week’s first MBA admissions candidate has very respectable numbers, with a 730 GMAT and 3.54 GPA. They began their career in oil and gas, and more recently are working in the area of carbon capture. They are really targeting the very top programs, which we think they have a realistic chance to attain.

This week’s second MBA candidate has an outstanding profile, all around. They have a fantastic GPA, complemented by a 730 GMAT. They have very decent work experience, with progressive roles, and their additional volunteer activities look good, too. We recommend they stick to one post-MBA short term goal, while targeting the very best MBA programs and considering geography as well.

The final MBA candidate for this week is deciding between Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua and UVA / Darden. They have a very good scholarship offer from Fuqua, which may tip the balance in their favor. They are still waiting to hear back from Northwestern / Kellogg.

This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who’ve been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the wave of Round 2 MBA application decisions that are forthcoming. Interview invites are now dwindling for Round 2 as we approach the end of Round 2. Georgetown / McDonough, IESE, Emory / Goizueta, Chicago / Booth, Berkeley / Haas, Texas / McCombs, UCLA / Anderson and INSEAD are releasing their final Round 2 decisions this week.

Graham highlighted two recently published admissions tips focused on Round 2 waitlists, and financing the MBA. The latter was written by Juno, which operates a platform to group admitted MBA candidates and source low interest rate student loans.

Graham then noted four Real Humans Alumni pieces: alums from California Irvine / Merage working at Johnson & Johnson, Notre Dame / Mendoza working at Amazon, Rice / Jones working at Goldman Sachs and Duke / Fuqua working at Kearney.

Finally, Graham highlighted a recently published piece on INSEAD, which had a focus on International Women’s Day.

For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry.

This week’s first MBA admissions candidate has a very interesting profile having graduated from FIT, with a strong GPA; she is also a first-generation college graduate and has seven years of experience. We are very concerned with her lower GRE score of 304. Any increase in that score should have a very positive impact on MBA options.

This week’s second MBA candidate has a very good academic profile, along with a 326 GRE. They are very focused on the education sector, with a long term goal of starting their own school. We really like the profile, and wonder if they should also add Harvard and Stanford to their list of target programs.

The final MBA candidate for this week has several offers from top-30 programs, with significant scholarships. They are also on the waitlist for UNC / Kenan Flagler. They only have two years of experience and are considering whether to attend next season, or to wait and reapply.

This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who’ve been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the MBA application deadlines and interview releases for this season. Interview invites continue for some top MBA programs, but we are getting towards the end of the cycle and closer to Round 2 decisions. UV / Darden, Michigan / Ross, Duke / Fuqua, UNC / Kenan Flagler, and Dartmouth / Tuck are releasing their final Round 2 decisions next week.

Graham highlighted a recently published admissions tip focused on the background check process for admitted candidates. He then noted three Real Humans Alumni pieces, alums from Rochester / Simon, working at Google, Texas / McCombs working at Bain, and Emory / Goizueta working at Microsoft.

Finally, Graham highlighted a Friday’s from the Frontline story that focused on Michigan / Ross’s hosting the Climate CAP MBA summit. This led to a short discussion on the increasing interest, among top MBA programs, for issues related to climate transformation.

For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry.

This week’s first MBA admissions candidate has a super GRE of 340, but unfortunately has a poor academic record, due to the onset of depression. They now have six years of work experience in the oil and gas sector. We think they will have a few challenges to mitigate the undergraduate record, but it is doable.

This week’s second MBA candidate has an education background and has served as a teacher, with  a special interest in climate change. They want to pursue the MBA to transition into the business of sustainability. They still need to take the GMAT or GRE, and we think that doing very well on the test will be very important.

The final MBA candidate for this week is deciding between London Business School and Columbia Business School. They are from China and want to work in consulting in the Middle East. They already have an engineering degree from Columbia, and Columbia has offered them a significant scholarship.

This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who’ve been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!