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Published: March 26, 2018
April Fills Up with MBA Admitted Students’ Weekends
Spring has officially sprung, which means that business schools around the country have geared up to host their admitted student welcome events. In doing so, top schools aim to attract the best and brightest by giving them an early look at what their programs and institutions have to offer. Read more
Published: March 25, 2018
Clear Admit and Prodigy Finance Host Webinar on Financing Your MBA Abroad
Recently, Clear Admit teamed up with community-funded loan provider Prodigy Finance for an informative webinar about financing an MBA for students who will be earning the degree outside their home country.  We were pleased have had a number of registrants who joined this webinar on March 14th and took part in a lively Q&A session at the conclusion of the presentation. Magali Duque, the relationship manager at Prodigy Finance, took a lead on the webinar by touching on many key points including: How the borrowing process works for international student loans Who is eligible for Prodigy loans What Prodigy offers Read more
Published: March 25, 2018
Financing Your MBA, Part I: What’s an MBA Going to Cost
As more and more of you are receiving your admissions results from all your hard work during the MBA application process, we wanted to turn our attention to how you’ll manage financing your MBA. If you’ve got a spare couple hundred thousand dollars in your bank account, then you can probably skip this series. For everyone else, read on. In this post and a handful to follow, we’ll provide a broad overview of the various costs a typical MBA student faces and the types of funding opportunities currently available. Down the line, we’ll take a closer look at the financial aid processes at Read more
Published: March 24, 2018
Chicago Booth Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Second-Year Student / On-Campus
The following U. Chicago Booth MBA admissions interview questions and report were submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant. Good luck to them! Did interview during BoothLive event. Blind interview with a second-year student. I thought it was a very relaxed interview mostly just a free flowing conversation. My interviewer started with an intro of himself and then we started with me doing the same. We spent a good chunk of time talking about my career progression and what I actually did (my job isn’t a traditional MBA feeder job and is very specific to an industry). Spent some Read more
Published: March 24, 2018
UPenn / Wharton Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Adcom / Off-Campus Hub
The following UPenn / Wharton interview questions and report were submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant. Good luck to them! I was invited for a team-based discussion (TBD) at a local off-campus location at McKinsey office. I made sure to arrive 30 minutes early so that I could blend in and break the ice with my team. We had a nice chat for about 15 mins before we were approached by the adcom member who briefed us on the TBD format and what to expect. Soon after we were invited into a spacious conference room where we got seated Read more
Published: March 23, 2018
UC Berkeley Haas Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Alumnus / Off-Campus
The following Berkeley / Haas MBA admissions interview questions & report were submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant. Good luck to them! Received interview invite very late in the Round – two weeks before decision date. I signed up via the portal in my area and an alum reached out to me via email to schedule a location and exact time. We met in a local Starbucks. Interview was fairly relaxed and largely centered on my resume. Questions Questions I was asked included: Why did you choose your school for undergrad? Why did you choose your first job Read more
Published: March 23, 2018
Michigan / Ross MBA Interview Questions: Round 1 / Alumnus / Off-Campus
The following Michigan Ross MBA interview questions & report were submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant. Good luck to them! Met my interviewer in a local coffee shop, it lasted around 30 minutes. The questions were fairly standard and the interview felt conversational. The questions I was asked included: -Walk me through your resume. -Why MBA? -Why Ross? -Tell me about X bullet on your resume, it sounds like that must have been challenging with the client, how did you and your team approach that? -Tell me about a challenge you faced and how you approached Read more
Published: March 21, 2018
UC Berkeley Haas Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / Alumnus / On Campus
The following Berkeley / Haas MBA interview questions & report were submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 2 applicant. Good luck to them! I attended the super saturday, where adcom planned a whole day of activities. My interview happens during the later part of the day. Before my interview we just finished a group exercise. So naturally my interview started off by discussing the group exercise. Then the standard interview starts. say you are in mba class, you have 5 people in your team, one is not motivated, one alway dominates, and the client complianed about the work you submit, Read more
Published: March 21, 2018
Michigan / Ross MBA Interview Questions: Round 2 / Second-year student / On-campus
The following Michigan Ross MBA interview questions & report were submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant. Good luck to them! Interview with student on campus as well as team exercise. Team exercise was super fun and truly nothing to be worried about…you’re given 5-6 words and have to pitch a problem and solution based on that. Remember to be a team player! My interviewer on the other hand was a bit intense. She was typing furiously throughout the interview and seemed more interested in getting through her list of questions vs actually getting to know me as a person. She Read more
Published: March 21, 2018
Chicago Booth Interview Questions & Report: Round 2/ Second-year student/on campus
The following U. Chicago Booth interview questions and report were submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 2 applicant. Good luck to them! I met my interviewer on the class visit before, which is funny. So I used that as a conversation starter. Questions are: Tell me abt urself Why mba why now Mba fear of missing out, how do you prioritize, walk me through your decision making process what’s your Back up plan a specific question on resume example of Failure example of most stressful time what do you want to Read more
Published: March 21, 2018
Michigan / Ross MBA Interview Questions: Round 1 / Second-year student / Skype
The following Michigan Ross MBA interview questions & report were submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant. Good luck to them! I was offered to interview over Skype with a 2Y student whose identity was not disclosed before the call. The student initiated the Skype call and it was very warm and friendly from the start. After briefly sharing the flow of the call, we dug right in. He only had access to my resume and started with the usual question of “Walk me through your resume”. During my answer he asked a few clarifying questions regarding my startup work experience. Read more
Published: March 21, 2018
Chicago Booth Interview Questions & Report: Round 1/ Second-year student / On-Campus
The following U. Chicago Booth interview questions and report were submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant. Good luck to them! I interviewed during Booth Live so was able to attend a class, tour, sessions etc on the day of my interview. If possible, I recommend interviewing on that day if you can. I interviewed with a second year student first thing in the morning. The tone of the interview was a bit more serious than others I did, but the interviewer was very polite. The questions I was asked included: -Walk me through your resume. -Why MBA? Read more
Published: March 21, 2018
MBA News You Need: UNC and Duke Unite on Entrepreneurship, Yale Announces Two African MBA Scholarships, and More
Each week we collect all the MBA news that’s fit to print to give you a quick overview of the latest trending topics from top schools around the world. Here’s your quick MBA News You Need digest for the week of March 22, 2018. UNC and Duke Unite to Sponsor Residencies for Entrepreneurship Thought Leaders The University of North Carolina and Duke have always been fierce rivals. But when it comes to supporting students, the schools are on the same page. Most recently, the schools came together to sponsor residencies for four thought leaders in entrepreneurship. “We are Read more
Published: March 20, 2018
UPenn / Wharton Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / Adcom / Off-Campus Hub
The following UPenn / Wharton interview questions and report were submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 2 applicant. Good luck to them! I arrived at the location 20 minutes earlier and had the opportunity to chat with 2 of the 4 other candidates that were to participate to the interview. The admission representative was also in the lobby where we were waiting – though indeed we did not who she was… My TBD team was quite diverse: a US trader, a UK consultant , a German portfolio manager and an Indian eutrepreneur . I felt pretty relaxed during the Read more
Published: March 20, 2018
8 Key Takeaways from the 2019 U.S. News MBA Ranking
As reported here this morning, Chicago Booth has claimed its first-ever No. 1 rank in the U.S. News & World Report MBA Ranking, released today. It tied for first with Harvard Business School (HBS), which has held or shared the No. 1 spot for four years running. The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, which tied HBS for first last year, slipped to third. Stanford Graduate School of Business, meanwhile, remained constant in fourth place for a second year. Last year, the California school was in a three-way tie Read more
Published: March 20, 2018
NYU Stern Interview Questions & Report: R2 / Adcom / Off-Campus interview in Mumbai
The following NYU / Stern interview questions and report were submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 2 MBA applicant. Good luck to them! The interviewer (Associate Director of Admissions) started off with normal talks: how are you, where are you from, what do you love about this city etc.? Then he asked me about my interests and hobbies (weird I know that he started with extracurriculars, but I guess it descended from my answer to what I love about the city). We discussed at lengths about my interests and what drives them. The interviewer had prepared few questions Read more
Published: March 20, 2018
HBS New Venture Competition Receives Record Entries to Social Enterprise Track
The annual Harvard Business School (HBS) New Venture Competition—and its more than $300,000 in cash prizes—always attracts plenty of interest. Sponsored by the Rock Center for Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise Initiative, it offers HBS students the opportunity to enter ventures in one of two tracks: Business Track: For ventures that drives substantial market value and economic returns. Social Enterprise Track: For ventures that drive social change through nonprofit, for-profit, and hybrid models. This year, there were a record 69 entries for the Social Enterprise Track—20 more than last year! Read more
Published: March 20, 2018
MBA Programs Promote Men as Allies for Gender Equity
On March 17, UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business hosted its 22nd annual Women in Leadership (WiL) Conference, which Clear Admit covered in depth here. The event was a rousing success that attracted more than 400 students, alumni, and professionals to campus to talk about women leaders and advance the conversation on gender quality and social justice. One of the keys to its success: allyship. Read more
Published: March 20, 2018
Georgetown McDonough Launches Implicit Bias Training Program for MBA Students
Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business puts a premium on the ethical and social dimensions of business, both in terms of its curriculum and its expectations of MBAs. The Graduate Women in Business (GWIB) student club seeks actively to uphold McDonough's attitude toward social responsibility. In 2017, GWIB announced the launch of its implicit bias training program. Read more
Published: March 19, 2018
Anticipating Round 2 Decisions via Clear Admit’s LiveWire and MBA Chats
Throughout the rest of March, leading business schools will be rolling out their decisions to Round 2 MBA applicants. While many are eager for the gift of admission via phone, email or portal, waiting for a decision can push anxiety levels to full tilt for the Class of 2020 hopefuls. But, fear not, anxious applicants! At Clear Admit, we have two resources that are designed to help you navigate the next couple weeks: Clear Admit LiveWire and Clear Admit MBA Chats. Reports from Real Candidates on MBA LiveWire Keep your finger on the pulse of MBA Read more
Published: March 19, 2018
UC Berkeley Haas Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / Alumnus / Off-campus
The following Berkeley / Haas MBA interview questions & report were submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 2 applicant. Good luck to them! Had the interview with Haas alum on Mar. 16th afternoon in Boston. As being said, the Haas alum is very nice and approachable, and we chatted about 50mins. Tell me about yourself. Some questions around experience/resume, why you chose the major and job. Short term and long term career goal Why Haas How to manage team conflict How to make the decision if you are admitted a couple of programs Clear Admit Resources Preparing for your Read more
Published: March 19, 2018
MIT Sloan Student Travel Goes Carbon Conscious with Jetset Offset Program
Over spring break, 100 MIT Sloan students will travel the world to study while immersing themselves in different cultures. It’s a wonderful opportunity with one problem. There’s a pretty significant carbon impact—300 metric tons of carbon dioxide to be exact. But now, a new Jetset Offset pilot program could help lessen that negative impact. When we fly, we can’t choose the energy efficiency of our plane, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t travel. Instead, it means we should try to lessen our impact on the environment by purchasing carbon offsets, and that’s exactly what the Jetset Offset program does. Read more
Published: March 19, 2018
Chicago Booth Tops U.S. News 2019 MBA Ranking for First Time, Tied with HBS
They’re out, and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business can pop the bubbly this year. We’re talking, of course, about this year’s U.S. News & World Report ranking of the nation’s best MBA programs, released today. Chicago Booth has claimed its first-ever No. 1 rank. It tied for first with Harvard Business School (HBS), which has held or shared the No. 1 spot for four years running. The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, which tied HBS for first last year, slipped to third. Read more
Published: March 19, 2018
MBA DecisionWire Spotlight: Applying to Business School for the Non Profit Sector
In this week’s MBA DecisionWire Spotlight, which recounts MBA candidates’ choices as shared in Clear Admit’s DecisionWire, we're setting the spotlight on a candidate choosing a business school for the non profit sector. We take a closer look at a post from a candidate considering Cornell / Johnson, Georgetown / McDonough, or NYU Stern. Read on for more details about the applicant’s background.   Initial feedback turned to Johnson: Read more
Published: March 18, 2018
Our Latest Podcast: Making the Most of MBA Rankings
U.S. News & World Report is scheduled to release its annual MBA rankings tomorrow, and many of you have already taken part in our contest to guess the order of the top-10 schools. Though limited to business schools in the United States, the U.S. News ranking is widely regarded in the graduate management education space as one of the most credible of the many MBA rankings out there. But like all MBA rankings, the results published by U.S. News tomorrow should serve as just one data point among many in the thorough research you conduct to determine the best business school Read more

MBA Applywire

5
January 14, 2025 12:01am ET
Applying: Duke / Fuqua, Northwestern / Kellogg, U. Chicago Booth, UPenn / Wharton, UVA / Darden
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Private Equity tax consulting
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting Companies: Bain , BCG , McKinsey
GMAT: 675
GPA: 3.95
Years of Work Experience: 9
Location: Bangalore, India
Post MBA Location: East Coast
Notes:

I have primarily worked with venture funds and startups covering a range of tax advisory projects from M&A, due diligence, venture fund setup etc. I want to go beyond tax and step into strategy consulting roles, with a focus on fund strategy and portfolio acceleration in private equity.

Extracurricular : Involved with Rotaract for 2.5 years, taken part in multiple corporate responsibility initiatives at the firm , volunteer in pet rescue initiatives for the community
4
January 13, 2025 11:26pm ET
Applying: Columbia, Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, UPenn / Wharton
Pre-MBA Career: Consulting at MBB; will continue with consulting post-MBA as I am considering firm sponsorship
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Venture Capital Companies: Bain , BCG , McKinsey , Andressen Horowitz , Sequoia Capital , Other
GRE: 335
GPA: 3.94
Years of Work Experience: 2
Location: India
Post MBA Location: NY, Chicago, Boston
Notes:

- South Asian (Non-Indian), Male, 25 year old

- Bachelor in Finance and Economics (1st in Class) Graduated May 2023

- Activities:
Debating (Coached National Debate Team to its best performance in the World Championship, 3x Asian Top 10 debater, won/competed in finals of Oxford Intervarsity, UCL Intervarsity, Durham-Oxford-Cambridge Open, and many more prestigious competitions, Mentored 100+ debaters across 15 countries and advised Debate Organizations in Australia and China).
Non Profit (Founding member of a student org; Conducted 5 city-wide projects on Food Security, Clothing for the poor in Winter, and Improving sanitation in slums that received national coverage)

- More on Work: My focus is on Growth Tech (Startups and fast scaling businesses) and Public Sector practice area. I have led the writing of a report we co-published with a client (my name is on the acknowledgement section). The client and Partners loved my work and have now staffed me in writing another report for the same client. Evals are highly positive and have endorsements from 2 Senior Partners in the org (who are happy to write my recc)

- What I am doing outside of work now: I had a merit scholarship offer from LBS for its MiM program upon graduation. I have been helping folks from my country get into top tier early career master's programs pro-bono (Most people here cannot afford Western Admissions consultants as the charges are exorbitant for us given the country is an LDC). Since joining work, I have continued to work as a selector for National Debate Team and I take pro-bono sessions for disadvantaged schools. I have also taken sessions at local consulting firms to teach them what I have learned from my MBB experience (I am the first from my country to make it to an MBB after a local undergrad; MBBs do not have offices in my country)

- Future Plan: Continue at MBB and specialize in Venture Capital/ Startups. I have a very good network with VCs and founders in my home country. I would love to raise a fund to help the startup ecosystem of my country in the future or work in the capacity of mentoring founders.

- Target: Full-rides to top schools such as HBS, Wharton, CBS, Sloan. Looking for tips to develop my profile for 2027 Fall entry. I believe that I have what it takes to make it to an M7 but would love to take the 2 years to solidify my profile so that I can be in the mix for a good scholarship

Interests: Martial Arts, Reading (I have read books from Wharton Professors such as Adam Grant, Angela Duckworth, and Katy Milkman) Weightlifting, Marathon Running (I am aware this is super cliche haha)

Side-note: My GRE split is 166 Q (84%ile), 169 V (99%ile), and 5.5 AWA (98%ile). I can improve my Quant to 169-170 but I doubt the extra effort needed now will make a material difference. Would love to have your thoughts
6
January 13, 2025 2:37pm ET
Applying: Harvard Business School, INSEAD, London Business School, MIT Sloan, Stanford GSB, UPenn / Wharton
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Consulting - Government
Post-MBA Target Industry: Technology, Undecided Companies: Google , Microsoft
GRE: 338
GPA: 3.66
Years of Work Experience: 4
Location: US
Post MBA Location: Undecided
Notes:

Background in design. Graduate degree in design from Harvard. Transitioned public sector consulting and planning work.
3
January 13, 2025 6:32am ET
Applying: Columbia, NYU Stern, U. Chicago Booth
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Consulting
Post-MBA Target Industry: Investment Banking, Private Equity
GRE: 323
GPA: 3.0
Years of Work Experience: 7
Location: Uzbekistan
Post MBA Location: NYC
2
January 12, 2025 11:33pm ET
Applying: Dartmouth / Tuck, UVA / Darden
Pre-MBA Career: Construction and real estate
Post-MBA Target Industry: Other
GMAT: 665
GPA: 7/10
Years of Work Experience: 5
Location: India
Post MBA Location: India
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MBA LiveWire

January 15, 2025 9:32pm ET
Interview Invite to UVA / Darden
Round: Round 2
Received via email January 15, 2025
GPA: 3.58
GRE: 328
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Marketing
Application Location: USA
January 15, 2025 8:42pm ET
Interview Invite to Dartmouth / Tuck
Round: Round 2
Received via email January 15, 2025
GMAT: 695
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Healthcare
Application Location: China
Note:

Pre-MBA, Pharmaceutical company R&D
January 15, 2025 6:52pm ET
Interview Invite to UVA / Darden
Round: Round 2
Received via email January 15, 2025
GPA: 3.07
GRE: 327
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Finance
Application Location: Seattle
Note:

Consortium, SOF Military
January 15, 2025 6:14pm ET
Interview Invite to UVA / Darden
Round: Round 2
Received via email January 15, 2025
GPA: 3.35
GRE: 331
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Application Location: CA, USA
January 15, 2025 5:28pm ET
Interview Invite to Notre Dame / Mendoza
Round: Round 2
Received via email January 15, 2025
GPA: 3.81
GRE: 332
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Consulting
Application Location: Chicago
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