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Published: June 1, 2017
Fridays from the Frontline: UCLA Anderson FEMBA Student on Why the Future Must Be More Female
This week’s post comes to us from sunny Southern California and UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. Its author, Sana Rahim, is a student in UCLA Anderson’s fully employed MBA (FEMBA) program while also working as a sales manager at McMaster Carr. Despite the competing demands of work and school, she also finds time to serve as a strategic consultant for social impact at the Price Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. And this summer she will be on fellowship at the United Nations in Istanbul to work toward sustainable development goals. The preceding sentences alone suggest that Rahim Read more
Published: May 31, 2017
Annual Celebration Honors Stanford GSB Social Impact Student Leaders
“As I’ve said before, making money is the easy part—it’s making the world a better place that is the hard part.” They are the words of Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) Dean Emeritus Arjay Miller, 101, spoken last week as part of a ceremony honoring GSB students for their commitment to social change. “I wanted to encourage students to find unique ways to overcome social challenges, and I’m thrilled with the change these programs have inspired over the past few years,” he continued. Read more
Published: May 30, 2017
Rob Adams Announced as New UW Foster Entrepreneurship Center Director
For years the Buerk Center for Entrepreneurship has integrated entrepreneurship into the very fabric of the University of Washington, particularly its Foster School of Business. Now, with Seattle angel investor, startup mentor, and former Cisco acquisitions manager Rob Adams as the next director, there are more great things to come. Adams succeeds Connie Bourassa-Shaw, who will be stepping down at the end of June to take her place as the part-time executive director of the Foster School’s new Master of Science in Entrepreneurship degree program. Read more
Published: May 29, 2017
Owen Graduate School Renovating With Future in Mind
Earlier this month, speaking to 329 members of the Owen Graduate School of Business Class of 2017, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman recalled the recent past. A ‘93 Owen alum, Friedman fondly remembered her time as a student, dropping references to AOL floppy disks, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Meatloaf’s biggest hits. Beyond Friedman’s nostalgic flair, her commencement speech also emphasized how important innovation will be for Owen’s new MBAs. Read more
Published: May 25, 2017
INSEAD Interview Questions & Report: Round 1 / Alumnus / Off-campus
The following INSEAD interview questions report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant who was accepted. Congratulations to them! My first alumni interview went rather well – I called him in advance to schedule and he was very responsive. He even told me that it was ok to wear jeans and that it would be very casual. I went to his office in London around 15 min in advance. I printed out a copy of my CV and the first 12 page of the PDF just to show that I was ‘prepared.’ Questions, First Interview Describe my current job Your Read more
Published: May 25, 2017
Admissions Director Soojin Kwon Shares the Skinny on Ross’s New Application Essays
Soojin Kwon, who leads MBA admissions at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, began her most recent Director’s Blog by suggesting that things are quiet on campus right now—only to reveal big news about planned changes to its approach to essay questions this year. Soojin Kwon, Ross director of admissions The two are connected, of course. It’s the relatively quiet time—when students jet off for global immersion courses around the world or gear up for summer internships every bit as far flung—that the Admission Committee can finally catch its breath, review its process, and really examine what’s working and where there might be opportunity to change things up a little. Read more
Published: May 25, 2017
Fridays from the Frontline: Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone at HBS
Today we are pleased to share a recent post from the Harvard Business School (HBS) “MBA Voices” student blog, written by newly minted HBS MBA LaToya Marc. She walked across stage this week to receive her degree, culminating a busy two years in which she balanced the pressures of coursework, recruiting, and extensive involvement in student clubs with motherhood. Marc served as co-president of the Student Association, which she says was her most rewarding experience while at HBS. (Click here to see her addressing her fellow classmates on Class Day with Libby L. Hoaglin, her Student Association co-president.) She also pushed through plenty of anxiety—like many of her fellow classmates, she confesses to worrying that she was an “admissions mistake”—to speak up in class and defend her points of view as part of HBS’s signature case method of learning. Read more
Published: May 24, 2017
Oxford Saïd Expands New Global Leadership Council & Responsible Business Forum
Like many leading MBA programs in the global arena, the University of Oxford Saïd Business School is continually working to enhance its opportunities for students, professors, and alumni. Most recently, the school expanded its global reach with the establishment of a new Global Leadership Council, which has the goal of advancing the school’s business education model. In addition, the second annual Responsible Business Forum provided a platform for the next generation of business leaders to address social and environmental issues. Both the council and the forum brought together global companies and educational stakeholders to support the development of mutually beneficial relationships. Read more
Published: May 23, 2017
$20 Million Alumni Gift Expands Social Sector Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Chicago Booth
The University of Chicago Booth School of Business has received a $20 million alumni gift that will expand social innovation and entrepreneurship research and programming, the school announced earlier this week. The gift comes from Tandean Rustandy, MBA’07—founder of a successful Indonesian ceramic tile manufacturing company—and the school’s Social Enterprise Initiative has been renamed the Rustandy Center for Social Sector Innovation to reflect his generosity and its expanded mission. Read more
Published: May 22, 2017
Bain, LinkedIn Partner to Help Get More Women to the Top in Business
Despite outnumbering male college graduates and making up 40 percent of the classes at several top MBA programs, women represent just 25.1 percent of senior managers and executives at S&P 500 companies and a paltry 4.4 percent of CEOs, according to Catalyst, a nonprofit organization promoting inclusive workplaces for women. What gives? Leading consulting firm Bain & Company partnered with LinkedIn in late 2016 to answer that very question—and come up with recommendations for how to effect change. Together, Bain and LinkedIn conducted a survey of 8,400 men and women on LinkedIn who work for U.S. companies and hold at least a bachelor’s degree. They asked this group—which included everyone from entry-level employees to top leaders at firms spanning all major industries—about their career aspirations and how confident they felt in their ability to reach the executive level. Analysis of the results revealed that though men and women have similar aspirations when they graduate from college, women’s aspirations and confidence dropped significantly a few years into their careers. Read more
Published: May 22, 2017
MBA DecisionWire Spotlight: Georgetown / McDonough, Indiana / Kelley or Washington U. Olin for Finance
In this edition of MBA DecisionWire Spotlight, which highlights MBA candidates’ choices as shared in Clear Admit’s DecisionWire, we take a closer look at a candidate’s choice among Georgetown / McDonough, Indiana / Kelley or Washington U. Olin for finance. Each offer came with scholarships as well. The candidate expanded on his future career plans in the initial post: Feedback began with some thought-provoking questions: Read more
Published: May 18, 2017
Fridays from the Frontline: Johnson MBA Immersion Program Helps Build Confidence Through Skill Acquisition
A hallmark of the Johnson Graduate School of Management, which is part of the larger Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, is its intensive immersion program. In the spring of their first year, Johnson MBA students take part in a hands-on semester of integrated course and field work focused on a particular industry or functional role. Johnson currently offers seven immersions—in Capital Markets and Asset Management, Investment Banking, Managerial Finance, Strategic Operations, Strategic Marketing, Digital Technology, and Sustainable Global Enterprise—as well as a Customized Immersion that allows students to create their own intensive courses of study. Read more
Published: May 17, 2017
Is Trump Rhetoric Driving Prospective International Business School Students to Canada?
Graduate management education has become increasingly global, but fewer prospective business school students from outside the United States cite America as their most preferred study destination than have in the past, according to a recent report from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). Anti-immigrant rhetoric and uncertainty around potential changes to student and work visas—coupled with growing numbers of high-quality programs in other parts of the world—have driven the decreased appeal of U.S. programs, GMAC’s data suggests. More prospective students than ever—nearly three in five (59 percent)—intend to apply to programs outside of their country of residence, according to the 2017 mba.com Prospective Student Survey Report, released this week by GMAC. That’s up from 44 percent in 2009. Those looking beyond their own country’s borders do so in pursuit of a higher-quality education (says 63 percent of respondents), better odds of securing international employment (58 percent), and to build an international network (51 percent). And a third of candidates (34 percent) who prefer to study outside their country of citizenship say they also hope to land a job in the country where they go to school. Read more
Published: May 17, 2017
McCombs Donations Create New Opportunities in Marketing, Real Estate
Two recent donations to UT Austin’s McCombs School of Business totaling $7 million promise to open up new opportunities for students and professors in marketing and real estate. In both cases, the gifts will be used to improve the school and advance its programming. Read more
Published: May 16, 2017
Business School Whisperer Edward Snyder to Take Sabbatical from Yale SOM
Yale School of Management (SOM) Dean Edward Snyder today announced his plans to take a sabbatical starting August 1, 2017, the school reports. Though he will continue to work on strategic projects, he will step away from daily management responsibilities. Anjani Jain, who is currently senior associate dean for the MBA program, will serve as acting dean. Yale SOM Dean Edward Snyder Snyder has been at the helm at Yale SOM since 2011, having been reappointed to a second five-year term in January 2016. In announcing his reappointment, Yale University President Peter Salovey praised Snyder for the impressive gains the school had already made under his leadership. “We have seen the School of Management flourish along many dimensions—notably among them, the spectacular new Edward P. Evans Hall; the strategic expansion of the school’s programs, both degree and non-degree; the opening of Yale Center Beijing, which is managed by SOM on behalf of the university; and the development of a strong SOM team, internally and externally,” Salovey said in a statement. Read more
Published: May 16, 2017
Are Specialized Master’s Programs Cannibalizing MBA Programs?
Business schools have been launching increasing numbers of non-MBA business master’s degrees—but not without worry that these very offerings could be gobbling up prospective applicants to their MBA programs. Responding to these concerns among its member schools, the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) added new questions to its 2017 mba.com Prospective Students Survey to find out. Based on analysis released yesterday of responses from more than 11,000 individuals who registered on mba.com between February and December 2016, schools may be able to breathe a sigh of relief. “We have heard schools asking, ‘Are we cannibalizing our Read more
Published: May 15, 2017
Darden Adds New August Deadline for Future Year Admissions MBA Program
The University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business is offering college seniors a rare second chance to make a first impression—announcing this week that it has added an August 1st deadline for its Future Year Admissions MBA Program. The program, first announced last summer, is geared toward undergraduate students in their final year of study or students who have gone on directly from college into a fifth-year master’s program. It originally featured a single May 1st deadline, but Katherine Alford, who leads admissions for the new program, shared in a video yesterday that Read more
Published: May 15, 2017
MBA DecisionWire Spotlight: Cornell / Johnson or Michigan / Ross for Consulting
In this post for MBA DecisionWire Spotlight, which highlights MBA candidates’ choices as shared in Clear Admit’s DecisionWire, we walk through responses to someone debating between Cornell / Johnson and Michigan / Ross for consulting. The community opened up with comments on prioritizing fit: Read more
Published: May 14, 2017
7 Continents, 7 Marathons, 1 Student at Georgetown McDonough
Finding balance in your life during an MBA program can be a challenge, which makes time management is one of the most important skills for MBA candidates and students to develop. It’s difficult enough to attend classes and complete assignments, and most students also juggle club involvement, competitions, family, and leisure activities. And then there are students like Nick Stukel, an MD/MBA ’18 student at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. Nick Stukel Not only does Stukel manage his MBA program and personal life, he also balances medical school, running marathons, and heading his nonprofit Read more
Published: May 11, 2017
Fridays from the Frontline: 5 Things I Learned About Succeeding in Silicon Valley as a Woman
Today’s post comes to us from Nancy Hoque, an evening & weekend MBA student at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. A former solutions architect designing mission-critical communications for the U.S. military, Hoque is also founder of a modest scarf fashion startup for Muslim women. At Haas, she’s played an active role, serving as vice president of Haas Tech Club and the Women in Leadership Club, as well as a Haas Lean-In Ambassador. She’ll spend her summer working in product marketing management for next-generation cyber security at Symantec. Longer term, she hopes her MBA will prepare her for a leadership role Read more
Published: May 11, 2017
Wharton’s Mother’s Day Graduation Is Both Fitting and Bittersweet for One MBA Mom
That graduation for the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School MBA Class of 2017 falls on Mother’s Day could not be more poignant for impending graduate Divinity Matovu. Her path to business school—and her journey while there—has been indelibly marked both by her own mother and by being a mother herself. A Wisconsin native who studied political science and African-American studies as an undergraduate at the University of Southern California (USC), hers was far from the traditional route to Wharton. For starters, she is a first-generation college graduate, the daughter of a truck-driving father and a machinist mom. That said, her mom’s entrepreneurial instincts ran deep—and their examples lodged firm in her daughter. Read more
Published: May 11, 2017
Stanford GSB Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / Alumnus / Off-Campus
The following Stanford GSB interview questions and report were submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 2 applicant. Good luck to them! 1 Alumnus. Met at his office. Interview started 10 minutes late but lasted for exactly 60 minutes (which can be broken down into: 5 of minutes breaking the ice, 45 minutes of interview and 10 minutes of me asking a question and wrapping up). Friendly environment. Here are the questions, in order asked, to the best of my memory: A) Introduction 1. Let me introduce myself B) Future 2. Why MBA? 3. Why GSB? 4. Read more
Published: May 11, 2017
Harvard Business School Interview Questions & Report: Round 2 / Adcom / Off-Campus Hub
The following Harvard Business School / HBS interview questions and report were submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 2 applicant who was admitted. Congratulations to them! Only 1 interviewer. Friendly but fast-paced environment. Here are the main questions in order asked: A) Introduction 1. Let me introduce myself 2. When did you arrive here? B) Education 3. So, let’s start at [university]. Why did you study [major]? 4. You did a thesis on [x]. Why did you choose this subject? C) Professional Experience 5. So, you worked at the [company x]. How/why did you Read more
Published: May 11, 2017
MBA Applicant Spotlight: Prioritizing Fit to Choose Between Haas, Booth, Kellogg, and ASU
In this edition of MBA Applicant Spotlight, we catch up with Michael Sahm, a healthcare professional who submitted half a dozen business school applications and found success at Chicago Booth, Northwestern / Kellogg, Berkeley / Haas, and Arizona / Carey. Sahm has worked in the healthcare industry for seven years, first as a management consultant and now at Tenet Healthcare, one of America’s largest healthcare providers. He really enjoys the healthcare space and hopes to explore career opportunities in healthcare venture finance or healthcare tech after business school. As an undergraduate, he earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California, where he was a Dean’s Scholar. Where did you apply?  What were the results? I applied to six MBA programs—HBS, Stanford GSB, Chicago Booth, Kellogg, Berkeley Haas, and Arizona State. I was rejected at HBS and Stanford (no interviews) and accepted to Booth, Kellogg, Berkeley, and ASU. Read more
Published: May 10, 2017
The MBA Rankings Debate
As reported earlier this week by the Wall Street Journal, deans and research faculty at more than 20 business schools are urging their peers at other schools to refuse to participate in academic rankings published by leading media outlets such as Bloomberg BusinessWeek, the Financial Times, and the Economist. “Rather than ‘acquiesce to methods of comparison we know to be fundamentally misleading,’ the administrators are urging their peers at other schools to stop participating in a process they say rates programs on an overly narrow set of criteria,” read the Journal article, published May 9th. Deans and faculty from USC Marshall School of Business, UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, and OSU Fisher College of Business are among those protesting the approaches used by media outlets to aggregate multiple factors into a single ordinal rank—and they are airing their grievances in the form of a research paper scheduled for publication in the May issue of Decision Sciences Journal. Read more

MBA Applywire

4
November 29, 2024 6:18am ET
Applying: Northwestern / Kellogg, NYU Stern, U. Chicago Booth, UPenn / Wharton
Pre-MBA Career: Investment Analyst Endowment
Post-MBA Target Industry: Investment Banking, Asset Management, inc. HF Companies: JP Morgan , Morgan Stanley , Blackrock , Goldman Sachs
GMAT: 760
GPA: 3.44
Years of Work Experience: 3.5
Location: Chicago
Post MBA Location: Chicago/NYC
Notes:

I currently do direct startup investments and M&A for a healthcare system, and lead coverage of equities in their endowment $15B AUM. I want to peruse an MBA to do a PE secondaries or emerging market research. I have a CFA level 2 so I feel like the former is more doable than the latter.
1
November 28, 2024 10:49pm ET
Applying: Arizona State / W.P. Carey
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Accountant
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting Companies: Booz Allen Hamilton , Ernst & Young
GRE: 311
GPA: 3.22
Years of Work Experience: 2.5
Location: Ghana
Post MBA Location: Accountant/Public
6
November 28, 2024 8:12am ET
Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, Stanford GSB, UPenn / Wharton
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Consulting
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Technology
GMAT: 645
GPA: 84%
Years of Work Experience: 3
Location: Brazil
5
November 27, 2024 5:44pm ET
Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Duke / Fuqua, MIT Sloan, Stanford GSB, UPenn / Wharton
Pre-MBA Career: Corporate Communication Specialist
Post-MBA Target Industry: Other
GPA: 3.9
Years of Work Experience: 6
Location: Indonesia
4
November 27, 2024 12:00pm ET
Applying: Berkeley / Haas, London Business School, Northwestern / Kellogg, Stanford GSB
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Eingeneer
Post-MBA Target Industry: Other
GMAT: 675
GPA: 3,5
Years of Work Experience: 4.8
Location: Chile
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MBA LiveWire

November 29, 2024 5:22pm ET
Accepted to NYU Stern
Round: Round 1
Received via email on November 25, 2024
GPA: 3.65
GRE: 339
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Non Profit / Social Impact
Application Location: USA
November 29, 2024 1:53pm ET
Accepted to London Business School
Round: Round 1
Received via email on November 25, 2024
GPA: 3.8
GRE: 333
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Finance
Application Location: New York
November 29, 2024 9:05am ET
Accepted to Cornell / Johnson
Round: Round 1
Received via phone on November 25, 2024
GPA: 3.52
GMAT: 635
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Consulting
Application Location: Northeast
Note:

Received a call on Nov. 26. Prior background is work in communications/marketing.
November 29, 2024 5:15am ET
Accepted to UVA / Darden
Round: Early Decision
Received via phone on October 15, 2024
GPA: 67%
GMAT: 705
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Consulting
Application Location: India
November 29, 2024 2:45am ET
Accepted to Cornell / Johnson
Round: Round 1
Received via email on November 26, 2024
GMAT: 740
Program Type: One Year Program
Target Career: Entrepreneurship
Application Location: India
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