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Published: May 28, 2024
MBA Admissions Tip: Choosing Between Business Schools
As late round decisions roll out, many successful MBA applicants face the enviable – but often agonizing — decision of choosing between programs. Though we know that those of you in this position will already be juggling an overwhelming amount of information about the schools on your short lists, we wanted to offer a few pointers to consider as you identify and evaluate the most important facts and factors in choosing between business schools. Immerse yourself. Business school campuses have opened back up for visits in the wake of Covid-19. If you have not yet visited campus, go to the Read more
Published: May 27, 2024
SMU Cox MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Adcom / Zoom
1. Introduce yourself. 2. Why SMU and why MBA? 3. Post graduation plans? 4. Back-up post graduation plans? 5. What’s one of the most difficult things about your job? 6. How you’ve dealt with feedback from a senior you didn’t agree with? 7. A time a project didn’t go to plan and you failed. 8. How you would manage your time [at school]? 9. Day in the life of you at work (tasks etc). 10. How would you contribute to the Cox community? 11. How you would work in a Read more
Published: May 27, 2024
Real Humans of BCG: Carmen Del Valle, Northwestern Kellogg MBA ’23, Management Consultant
Carmen Del Valle was passionate about her work helping historically marginalized and underserved people find success. To enhance her decision-making and quantitative skills and broaden her perspective on problem-solving, she decided to pursue an MBA. In this Real Humans: Alumni, Del Valle tells us how Northwestern Kellogg met both her short-term goals of getting into consulting and her long-term goals of merging her professional and personal passions. Read on to learn how Kellogg’s leadership opportunities and entrepreneurship resources prepared her for success at Boston Consulting Group. Carmen Del Valle, Northwestern Kellogg MBA ’23, Management Read more
Published: May 26, 2024
MBA Wire Taps 354—Low GPA, LATAM. Low GPA, strong GMAT. London Business School vs Fuqua.
Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began with a quick report from Graham on how Clear Admit’s first ever in-person event for applicants went in Chicago; spoiler alert: it was a great success!  Alex then followed with an update on the latest MBA application decision releases for this season: this week, a few top MBA programs are releasing final decisions for Rounds 3 and 4, including Cornell / Johnson and Georgetown / McDonough; Harvard and UPenn / Wharton are releasing interview invites for their deferred admissions rounds. Graham highlighted the final spring Read more
Published: May 26, 2024
The Week Ahead: Interview Invitations & Decisions, May 27-31, 2024
Welcome back to the series, The Week Ahead, in which we provide a brief rundown of what is happening in MBA admissions this week! Deferred Enrollment & Late Round News Tuesday, May 28, UPenn / Wharton is scheduled to release its interview decisions for its deferred admissions program. Wednesday, May 29, Georgetown / McDonough is scheduled to release its Round 4 decisions. HBS is scheduled to release its 2+2 interview invitations or early release decisions. Friday, May 31, Cornell / Johnson is scheduled to release its final notifications for Round 3. How “The Wires” Can Help Visit MBA LiveWire for Read more
Published: May 23, 2024
Change Your Career with the Georgetown McDonough Flex MBA
Sponsored Content The Flex MBA at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business is a catalyst for professionals looking to pivot their careers, offering a comprehensive curriculum and career support tailored to individual goals. Designed for working professionals, the Flex MBA degree is delivered on a timeline—24 to 60 months— that allows students a seamless balance among school, life, and work. The program is taught by the same faculty, follows the same core MBA courses, and confers the same degree as Georgetown’s full-time MBA. Moreover, the MBA Career Center is there every step of the way for Flex MBA Read more
Published: May 23, 2024
An Ecosystem of Support: One Tuck MBA’s Path to Entrepreneurship
Sponsored Content Dartmouth Tuck’s MBA program stands out for its robust entrepreneurship offerings, catering to students eager to dive into the world of startups and innovation. In the last 15 years, approximately 10 to 12 percent of Tuck students have embarked on starting or joining an early-stage company immediately after completing their studies. At the heart of Tuck’s entrepreneurial ecosystem is its Center for Entrepreneurship, a dynamic hub that provides students with invaluable resources, mentorship opportunities, and funding support for their entrepreneurial endeavors. Tuck’s MBA curriculum is carefully crafted to include courses covering essential topics Read more
Published: May 23, 2024
Fridays from the Frontline: Building Climate Capable Leaders at the 2024 Kellogg Climate Conference
In this Fridays from the Frontline, we get an inside look at the 2024 Kellogg Climate Conference from two current Northwestern Kellogg MBA students, Nandita Baloo and Chris Basara, who co-chaired the event. Read on to learn about the robust offerings and networking opportunities during the conference, all with the aim of strategizing for a better future. Building Climate Capable Leaders at the 2024 Kellogg Climate Conference By conference co-chairs and Two-Year MBA students Chris Basara ’24 and Nandita Baloo ’24 The Kellogg Climate Conference team hosted the 2 Read more
Published: May 23, 2024
Weekly Refresh: Latest MBA Essay Questions, Analyzed – Plus Deadlines
Welcome to Weekly Refresh, a roundup of admissions advice and updates on the Clear Admit site. We are officially kicking off the 2024-2025 admissions cycle with a few deadlines and essay advice. Essay Tips Drafting your application essays? See the latest of our experts’ advice in our Essay Topic Analysis. The following schools recently released their essays—click for our advice: Berkeley Haas London Business School Deadlines Released See the admissions deadlines that have rolled out: Berkeley / Haas Read more
Published: May 22, 2024
Real Humans of Entrepreneurship: Timothy Go, IESE MBA ’12, Co-founder, BuildIt
If you want to spearhead a startup venture, you need rigor, grit and the skills to tackle complex business problems. In this installment of  Real Humans: Alumni, entrepreneur Timothy Go talks about how the MBA program at IESE gave him a well-rounded business education and instilled a values-driven style of leadership he needed to move from a technical role to a commercial role. Read on to learn how Go used what he learned in the IESE MBA to co-found a construction start-up. Timothy Go, IESE MBA ’12, Co-founder of BuildIt Age: 40 Hometown: Read more
Published: May 21, 2024
Babson Olin MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 3 / Adcom / Virtual
1. Tell me about yourself. 2. Why MBA? Why Babson? 3. What’s your leadership style and give examples of when you showed them. 4. What are your strengths and weaknesses? 5. Will you return to your country or remain in the US? What companies are you targeting? 6. What will happen to your small business during your MBA? 7. What do you do for fun? 8. What other schools are you applying to? 9. How will you finance your MBA? Read more
Published: May 21, 2024
MBA Admissions Tip: Volunteer Experience
While there are many elements to the MBA application, there is one that candidates often underestimate: volunteer experience. We’re sharing this MBA Admissions Tip now so you can consider volunteer opportunities in time for your applications–and to ensure you have experience to enrich the b-school community. Why volunteer experience is important in your MBA application In order to understand why this category is important, candidates should keep in mind that the adcom is responsible for crafting a dynamic class each year. The aim is to admit individuals who will support a vibrant campus community and step into leadership positions. In Read more
Published: May 20, 2024
Real Humans of Pfizer: Jordan Daniel Lantz, Duke Fuqua MBA ’22, Senior Manager
In this edition of Real Humans: Alumni, Jordan Daniel Lantz shares how he wanted to pair his principles and values with effective business acumen to make positive change. To accomplish his goal, he pursued an MBA at Duke Fuqua. Lantz found Fuqua’s MBA program inclusive and welcoming for LGBTQIA+ students and essential for evaluating his current capabilities and challenging him to grow. Read his story to see how his Duke MBA experience prepared him for the impactful work he would find at Pfizer.  Jordan Daniel Lantz, Duke Fuqua MBA ’22, Read more
Published: May 19, 2024
Northeastern D’Amore-McKim MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 3 / Kira Assessment
Kira assessment: I had to redo mine since I had issues the first time, but it’s one video and one written. 1. Video: A time you faced a major/unexpected setback that seemed impossible to solve. How did you approach and what was the outcome? 2. Video: A time I had to review a well-laid out plan due to some setbacks 3. Written: Do you agree or disagree with the statement “financial success is the sole indicator of business success”? 4. Written: Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? Please explain the reasoning behind your Read more
Published: May 19, 2024
Case Western Weatherhead MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 3 / Adcom / Zoom
School: Case Western Reserve: Weatherhead Interviewer: Dan Rein Program: FTMBA – Short and long-term goals? – Why CWRU? – The thing you’re most proud of in life. – How you are as a leader? Talk about yourself in leadership roles. – Tell me a time that you had to deal with an ethical issue. – If you worked with a group of people and they didn’t perform well, what will you do? – What are the weaknesses you’d like to address in the program? Read more
Published: May 19, 2024
MBA Wire Taps 353—Income equality issues. Big tech or consulting. Columbia vs Stern.
Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the latest MBA application deadlines and interview releases as the 2023-24 admissions season draws to a close. This week, a few top MBA programs are releasing final decisions for Round 3, including Stanford and Chicago / Booth. Graham highlighted the Spring Online Webinar series that Clear Admit is hosting. The second event in the series is on Wednesday, and includes Dartmouth / Tuck, Yale SOM, UVA / Darden, and UNC / Kenan / Flagler. Signups are here: https://www.bit.ly/caspringwebinars Graham then highlighted a Read more
Published: May 19, 2024
The Week Ahead: Late Round Admissions Decisions, May 20-24, 2024
Welcome back to the series, The Week Ahead, in which we provide a brief rundown of what is happening in MBA admissions this week! Rounds 3 and 4 underway. Late round decisions continue to roll out. Monday, May 20, IESE is scheduled to release its Round 3 decisions. UNC / Kenan-Flagler is scheduled to release its Round 4 decisions. Thursday, May 23, Stanford GSB and Chicago / Booth are scheduled to release their Round 3 decisions. How “The Wires” Can Help Visit MBA LiveWire for the latest “buzz” about MBA admissions, including interview invitations and decision notifications. There are 5 Ways MBA Read more
Published: May 16, 2024
UCLA Anderson MBA Class of 2023 Employment Report: Rising Salaries in California and Across the U.S.
The UCLA Anderson Class of 2023 MBA employment report is out, and the cohort made some significant gains in the job market.  Out of 365 graduates, 312 (or 85.5 percent) sought employment. Roughly 75 percent of those seeking employment received job offers by graduation, and nearly 87 percent received an offer by three months of graduation. Job acceptances reached 85.6 percent by three months after graduation. Out of the 11 percent reporting not seeking employment, 4.4 percent were starting their own businesses. Read more
Published: May 15, 2024
Real Humans of Amazon: Martina Crane, CBS MBA ’22, Senior Product Manager, Generative AI Guild
In this installment of our Real Humans: Alumni series, we meet Martina Crane, a technologist with an insatiable curiosity and passionate creativity. Crane had mastered major entertainment events for international entertainment icons, but wanted to indulge in her interests in technology and purpose-driven work. The MBA program at Columbia Business School promised diverse courses and colleagues, top leaders and innovators as guest speakers, and the expertise of the career office and clubs to aid in her transition from entertainment to tech. Read below for more on how CBS prepared Crane for her new career Read more
Published: May 14, 2024
Duke Fuqua Students Win $22k Prize in US Department of Energy Competition
Duke Fuqua’s student team, OptiGen, took home a $22,000 award from the EnergyTech University Prize (EnergyTech UP) 2024’s National Pitch Event in April.  “The EnergyTech University Prize provides a unique opportunity for students to think creatively and deeply about how to translate cutting-edge energy technologies into successful businesses,” says Professor David Brown of Duke Fuqua. “We must have this kind of entrepreneurship in spades to solve the climate crisis: climate tech innovations can only make their needed impact if supported by sound business models.” Announced by Read more
Published: May 14, 2024
MBA Admissions Tip: Background Checks
As late round decision notifications roll out from MBA programs, we know that many of our readers will be asking about the background checks conducted by leading business schools. Here are some quick facts to help explain this part of the MBA admissions process: 1. What are background checks? Background checks involve the verification of information that a candidate has provided in his or her MBA applications. Although the process varies from school to school, it usually includes checking that an applicant attended the undergraduate (or graduate) school(s) that he or she claims to have attended, received the grades indicated Read more
Published: May 13, 2024
Real Humans of Xbox: Noha Sahnoune, Chicago Booth MBA ’23, Growth and Content Demand
When you can describe your pre-MBA career as a series of adventures, what could possibly top that? For Noha Sahnoune, it was the gaming industry. In this installment of our Real Humans: Alumni series, Sahnoune shares her journey to her goal of a career at the intersection of the quantitative and creative, and how Chicago Booth‘s focus on data and analytics, community, and location in the great city of Chicago helped her develop relevant skills. Read her story here to find out how she landed a thrilling role at Xbox.  Read more
Published: May 12, 2024
CBS MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 3 / Second-Year Student / Zoom
Conversational interview with a current student. Questions asked: – Walk me through your resume. – Why MBA? – Why Columbia? – What can you contribute to this school? – What clubs are you looking to join? Read more
Published: May 12, 2024
Chicago Booth MBA Interview Questions & Report: Round 3 / Second-Year Student / Zoom
Interviewer was very nice, was genuinely interested in my answers, shared his thoughts and joked around a bit. Interview was 45 minutes long with the first 30 minutes of him asking me questions and then the last 15 for me to ask him questions. Started off by introducing himself then asked the following questions: – Tell me about yourself. – Short and long-term goals? – Why Booth? – How will you contribute to Booth? – Tell me about a time you dealt with a challenge in a team. – Tell me about a surprising piece Read more
Published: May 12, 2024
MBA Wire Taps 352—Stanford or bust? First round targets. Anderson vs Marshall.
Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began with a discussion of our BIG event in Chicago on Wednesday May 15th; please join us if you can, by signing up here: https://www.bit.ly/cachicagofair  We then turned to a discussion of the week ahead; several programs are releasing final decisions for Round 3, including UPenn / Wharton, USC / Marshall, MIT / Sloan, Yale SOM, Oxford / Said, UCLA / Anderson and Washington / Foster. Graham then highlighted the Spring Online Webinar series that Clear Admit is hosting. The second event in the series is Read more

MBA Applywire

7
November 26, 2024 6:16am ET
Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Dartmouth / Tuck, Harvard Business School, Michigan / Ross, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, UCLA Anderson
Pre-MBA Career: Software Engineer
Post-MBA Target Industry: Other
GRE: 331
GPA: 3.2
Years of Work Experience: 4.5
Location: United States
Notes:

I am aiming to pivot from Software Engineering to Product Management. My undergrad degree was in Computer Science from an Ivy League school where I was a D1 varsity athlete. EC's outside of that are pretty slim, although I am involved with charities and volunteer organizations sporadically. Have organized and led a small handful of hobby groups among friends and colleagues as well. Work experience includes solid brand recognition, and my previous 2.5 YoE are in the music/entertainment industry.
2
November 26, 2024 5:48am ET
Applying: Columbia, NYU Stern
Pre-MBA Career: product Manager in Entertainment
Post-MBA Target Industry: Undecided
GPA: 3.57
Years of Work Experience: 3
Location: New York
Notes:

I am a woman of color and a Product Manager at a major streaming service with three years of experience thus far. I hold a degree in Cinematography from a CUNY school and began my career as an NBCUniversal Page. Since then, I’ve worked for prominent media companies like NBCU, Peacock, A+E Networks, and Paramount+. While I didn’t initially plan on pursuing an MBA, my career trajectory has naturally led me in that direction due to my rapid career growth. I’m preparing for the GMAT (focus edition) with a target score of 655 or higher.

As a non-traditional candidate, are there any potential red flags in my profile? Additionally, are there other MBA programs I should consider? Thank you!
9
November 26, 2024 12:03am ET
Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Columbia, Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, NYU Stern, Stanford GSB, U. Chicago Booth, UPenn / Wharton, Yale SOM
Pre-MBA Career: Government Affairs at technology startup
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Technology Companies: Bain , BCG , McKinsey , Amazon , Apple , Facebook , Google , LinkedIn , Microsoft , Tesla , Uber
GMAT: 770
GPA: 3.4
Years of Work Experience: 3
6
November 25, 2024 11:01am ET
Applying: Arizona State / W.P. Carey, Georgetown / McDonough, Indiana / Kelley, U. Washington / Foster, UCLA Anderson, USC / Marshall
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Military: Acquisition Program Manager
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Technology Companies: Accenture , Bain , Deloitte , McKinsey , Amazon , Apple , Facebook , Google , IBM , Lenova , LinkedIn , Microsoft , Oracle
GRE: 317
GPA: 2.43
Years of Work Experience: 9
Location: Los Angeles
Post MBA Location: West Coast
Notes:

Undergrad was at a Service Academy. Also earned a Masters of Science with a GPA of 4.0, Project Management Professional certification holder, and volunteered for two years at service to schools helping veterans get into an undergraduate program.
2
November 25, 2024 7:58am ET
Applying: Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB
Pre-MBA Career: Equity Research at Goldman Sachs, and long only Asset Management (healthcare sector)
Post-MBA Target Industry: Asset Management, inc. HF Companies: Fidelity
GMAT: 735
GPA: 3.6
Years of Work Experience: 5
Location: San Francisco CA
Post MBA Location: San Francisco CA
Notes:

I took a gap year in college and switched majors taking longer to graduate so I’m 30, would matriculate at 32 and graduate at 34. Seems like I’m an outlier and worried I’m too old.
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MBA LiveWire

November 26, 2024 2:43pm ET
Interview Invite to NYU Stern
Round: Round 2
Received via email on November 24, 2024
GPA: 3.8
GRE: 324
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Consulting
Application Location: United States
November 26, 2024 2:22pm ET
Accepted to NYU Stern
Round: Round 1
Received via portal November 26, 2024
GPA: 9.48
GMAT: 705
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Finance
Application Location: India
Note:

Interview 11/12
November 26, 2024 2:21pm ET
Interview Invite to Duke / Fuqua
Round: Round 1
Received via email on November 13, 2024
GMAT: 735
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Finance
Application Location: India
Note:

Interviewed on 11/22.
November 26, 2024 2:19pm ET
Accepted to NYU Stern
Round: Round 1
Received via email November 26, 2024
GMAT: 735
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Finance
Application Location: India
Note:

Interviewed on 11/7.
November 26, 2024 2:18pm ET
Accepted to NYU Stern
Round: Round 1
Received via email November 26, 2024
GPA: 3.6
GMAT: 675
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
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