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Published: December 20, 2015
Northwestern / Kellogg Interview Report: Round 1 / Alumnus / Off-campus
The following Northwestern / Kellogg interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant who was waitlisted. Interviewed with an alumni in Singapore. It lasted about 75 minutes. The interviewer was very friendly and we started the interview with some chat on my family and campus visit. 1. Conflict in the team 2. Weaknesses? 3. Short and long term career goal 4. Why MBA/Kellogg? 5. How can I contribute to Kellogg? 6. A situation to make a decision without enough information 7. A situation about ethical dilemma Read more
Published: December 17, 2015
UPenn / Wharton Interview Report: Round 1 / Second-year Student / On-Campus
The following UPenn / Wharton interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant who was admitted. Congratulations to them! My day at Wharton started with lunch in a large classroom. I was able to network with a few current students, and more importantly, other applicants. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND being chatty with a bunch of the applicants. As it turns out, I was able to network with every single person that ended up being in my group, which made for a pleasant and more comfortable experience. You have time in the admissions office both before and after lunch as Read more
Published: December 17, 2015
Duke / Fuqua MBA Interview Report: Round 1 / Second-year student / On-campus
The following Duke / Fuqua MBA interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant who was admitted. Congratulations to them! I arrived on campus and waited in the lobby to be interviewed. My original interviewer did not show up, so the “backup” for the time-slot was asked to cover – I was impressed with their scheduling that they were able to fix the problem so quickly. The new interviewer had not seen my résumé (it appears the original interviewer had prepared some questions in advance), and so the interview became very conversational, with them asking Read more
Published: December 17, 2015
Northwestern / Kellogg MBA Interview Report: Round 1 / First-year student / On-campus
The following Northwestern / Kellogg MBA interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant who admitted. Congratulations to them! I interviewed on a Saturday with a student. They say students have as much pull as admissions folks, but if you really want an adcom, definitely interview during the week. I did the Preview Day on Friday – it was lovely. I totally fell in love with Kellogg. It was so well-run and the people were awesome. It also helped provided me with great content for the interview. I highly recommend attending. About 10 of Read more
Published: December 17, 2015
MIT Sloan MBA Interview Report: Round 1 / Adcom / On-Campus
The following MIT Sloan MBA interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant. I interviewed at 6 schools, and this was my most stressful experience. Most of my friends had a similar experience in that they left not knowing how it went. I personally left thinking it didn’t go too great. I felt the least confident in this interview due to the nature of it and the personality of the admissions officer. Once I finally located the interview room after some tense minutes in the rain, I waited my turn with other applicants. I was impressed with Read more
Published: December 17, 2015
Michigan / Ross MBA Interview Report: Round 1 / Second-year student / On-Campus
The following Michigan / Ross MBA interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant who was admitted. Congratulations to them! The interview day overall was a very pleasant experience. After a brief welcome session, we were broken up into two groups. I was to interview in the first group and was taken into another building where I met my interviewer, a second-year student. He was friendly and spent most of the time asking me questions and jotting down my responses. The questions asked were as follows: -Why MBA? -Résumé walk through Read more
Published: December 17, 2015
Fridays from the Frontline: A Successful Round 1 Applicant Shares His Tips on Managing the Process
This week we are delighted to feature the following post from Preston Landers, a senior consultant for Deloitte Digital who has just completed the application process for business school. As you’ll read, he applied to seven leading MBA programs, got interviews at six and has now been admitted at three. He humbly calls himself an amateur, but we think the advice he offers is spot on. Our thanks to Landers, whose frequent posts on Reddit’s MBA thread spurred us to ask him to contribute something here on Clear Admit. And a hearty congratulations for a job well done! We Read more
Published: December 17, 2015
Kellogg MBA Interview Report: Round 1 / Alum / Off-Campus
The following Northwestern / Kellogg MBA interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant. Very straightforward behavioral interview with challenging interviewer who was persistent with follow-ups and feedback. He was honest and conscientious. The most off-putting element of the interview was the fact that he was willing to provide feedback on answers immediately after they were given, thus creating a more tense feeling. Questions focused on growth-centric element of Kellogg and how this applied to my experiences and aspirations. Compared to other interviews I’ve had, Kellogg focused more on future expected outcomes rather than past performance. Read more
Published: December 17, 2015
Michigan / Ross MBA Interview Report: Round 1 / Second-year Student / On-Campus
The following Michigan / Ross MBA interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant. By far the most laid-back interview setting I experienced in Round 1. This interview took place in a student meeting, and felt like we were collaborating on a group project. Interviewer was not intimidating in any way, and seemed to take a personal interest in my living situation and individual goals. Prior to the interview, Ross puts on a very comprehensive pre-interview presentation on the day of the event. Admissions Director Soo-Jin Kwon is present for the event and comes around to network Read more
Published: December 16, 2015
Who Got In, Who Got Waitlisted, Who Got Dinged: LiveWire Results for HBS and Chicago Booth
Clear Admit’s MBA LiveWire has been ON FIRE these past two weeks with Round 1 applicants sharing their triumph and defeat in the MBA admissions process at top schools. With 18 schools releasing decisions this week—Wharton, Darden, MIT Sloan, Ross and Tuck among them—we expect record activity to continue, and we’ll be keeping tabs on the decisions as they roll in. In the meantime, we’re digging into some of the data shared last week, specifically with regard to how applicants fared at Read more
Published: December 16, 2015
MIT Sloan MBA Interview Report: Round 1 / Adcom / On-Campus
The following MIT Sloan MBA interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant. Questions: How long have you been at [current company]? Talk to me about the transition from [previous company] to [current company]. How is your role different or similar between the two? What do you enjoy most about your job at [current company]? What is most difficult about working at [current company]? Tell me about a time that you had to bring a team on-board with your decision. Tell me about a time that you had Read more
Published: December 15, 2015
UCLA Anderson Hosts Global Investment Leader Who Believes in Social Responsibility
This post has been republished in its entirety from its original source, metromba.com. UCLA Anderson School of Management’s Center for Global Management recently welcomed George R. Roberts, co-chair and CEO of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. LP (KKR), as part of its Robertson Lecture Series on Global Business Leadership. Dean Judy Olian hosted the talk. The inaugural installment of the series, which took place in the Spring of 2014, featured General Stanley McChrystal, former U.S. Commander in Afghanistan and current owner of a business consulting firm in Alexandria, VA. Read more
Published: December 15, 2015
Wharton School Professors Address the Value of Social Impact Investing
This post has been republished in its entirety from its original source, metromba.com. Two professors from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School recently published research debunking widely-held assumptions that social impact investing delivers low returns. The study, entitled “Great Expectations: Mission Preservation and Financial Performance in Impact Investments,” was supervised by Professors David Musto, finance department chair, and Christopher Geczy, adjunct professor of finance and academic director of the Wharton Wealth Management Initiative and the Levy Equity Management Center. Their findings, which revealed that impact funds can indeed achieve a positive financial return, were published by the Wharton Social Impact Initiative (WSII).  Read more
Published: December 15, 2015
MIT Sloan MBA Interview Report: Round 1 / Adcom / On-Campus
The following MIT Sloan MBA interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant who was admitted. Congratulations to them! My interview lasted about 45 minutes and the interviewer was extremely nice. I was expecting more behavioral questions but she ended up asking me a lot about my work. I was also told that interviewers will ask probing questions regarding my résumé/essays and also ask follow-up questions about my interview responses, but that wasn’t the case. I didn’t get any questions about my résumé or essay, and the interviewer had written down a list of questions beforehand in a Read more
Published: December 15, 2015
UVA / Darden MBA Interview Report: Round 1 / Second-year Student / On-Campus
The following UVA / Darden MBA interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant who was admitted. Congratulations to them! I arrived and waited in the lobby of admissions, networking with other interview candidates. There were about 20 of us. All of the interviewers (both adcom and 2nd years) came out and found their candidates to take to a private interview room. The interview was as expected from previous accounts. The interviewer explained the format for the first 5 minutes. Then gave me 25 minutes to tell my story. It ended with 10 minutes of Q&A about the Read more
Published: December 14, 2015
UPenn / Wharton MBA Interview Report: Round 1 / Second-year student / On Campus
The following UPenn / Wharton MBA interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant. Good luck to them! I showed up about 30 mins early. This paid dividends because I was able to meet several individuals before entering the TBD. Fortunately, I actually had a mini-conversation with each person in my group prior to the TBD, which facilitated a more comfortable flow for the discussion. My strategy going into the TBD was to volunteer to be timer; however, someone else chose that so I volunteered to hold the group accountable throughout the conversation to ensure our plan Read more
Published: December 14, 2015
MIT Sloan MBA Interview Report: Round 1 / Adcom / On-Campus
The following MIT Sloan MBA interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant. Good luck to them! My interview was with an admissions officer. While it was a bit less conversational than interviews with students, it was still fairly casual and they were very friendly. I was asked: 1) What’s new since your application? 2) Why MBA? 3) Why Sloan? 4) Talk about a time a coworker’s work wasn’t up to standard and how you handled it. 5) Talk about a time when morale was low and how you Read more
Published: December 14, 2015
UPenn / Wharton MBA Interview Report: Round 1 / Second-year student / On-Campus
The following UPenn / Wharton MBA interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant. Good luck to them! Everyone was hanging out in the waiting room when a couple of second-year students came out and called a few names including mine for our discussion group. Everyone in the waiting room was introducing each other and making small talk so I actually had a little rapport with some of the people in my group already, which I found really helpful. We went into a small room and all six of us interviewees sat around a table with the Read more
Published: December 14, 2015
How to Know If an MBA Is Right for You
At the most basic level, the question most MBA candidates inevitably begin with is, “Why should I pursue an MBA?” A seemingly simple question, it is possibly the most significant one to consider on the path to a graduate degree. But much of the answer depends on weighing your individual pros versus cons—and addressing common myths about an MBA. One of the first misconceptions on the road to an MBA is about qualifications. Many are convinced that only those with business-related undergraduate degrees can get into a good school. Others feel that their test scores, work experience or prior coursework would limit their appeal to admissions departments. In truth, any prospective student can be qualified with the right commitment and preparation. Read more
Published: December 14, 2015
UPenn / Wharton MBA Interview Report: Round 1 / Second-year student / On-Campus
The following UPenn / Wharton MBA interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant. Good luck to them! The TBD was punctual and to the point. No time was wasted as we all started with introductions that included your pitch for the expo/conference to hold at Wharton, right after the committee introduced themselves (2 second-year students). Everyone’s pitch took about an average of 50 seconds so we had enough time to discuss, come to a conclusion, and present to the committee with everyone contributing all within the allotted time. Our team tried to mesh a Read more
Published: December 14, 2015
MIT Sloan MBA Interview Report: Round 1 / Adcom / On campus
The following MIT Sloan MBA interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant. Good luck to them! The Sloan admissions office was bustling on the day I interviewed, with multiple students interviewing in each 30-minute time slot. I met with an adcom who seemed relatively new to Sloan but used to do consulting recruiting. Unlike many interviews, this one was NOT focused on 1) why I wanted an MBA, 2) why I wanted to get into Sloan, or 3) what I intended to do with my MBA. Rather, this seemed like someone walked into a Read more
Published: December 13, 2015
First-Years at Johnson Take on Twitter’s Biggest Woes in Integrative Case Competition
The entire Class of 2017 divided up into 60 teams to tackle thorny issues confronting social media giant Twitter as part of the 9th annual Integrative Case Competition at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. Four finalist teams battled it out for cash prizes and bragging rights on December 3rd to close out the first semester of their first MBA semester. “It is the role of great institutions of higher learning to help great corporate institutions solve great problems,” Drew Pascarella, faculty lead for the competition, said in a statement. “You are challenged to assess, value and propose a tangible and actionable solution for one of the world’s most talked-about companies: Twitter.” Read more
Published: December 13, 2015
Duke / Fuqua MBA Interview Report: Round 2 / Alumnus / Off-Campus
The following Duke / Fuqua MBA interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant. This Interview Archive has been a really helpful resource, so in the spirit of Team Fuqua… Note: I’m American living overseas. The alumnus is a national of the country. We met in a café. She only had my résumé, which she had received prior to the interview. The interview was conversational, rather than strict Q&A, so one question flowed to the next in general categories. Sometimes a lot of time passed in discussion without a question being asked. Overall it was very friendly. Read more
Published: December 12, 2015
London Business School MBA Interview Report: Round 1 / Alumnus / Off-campus
The following London Business School MBA interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a Round 1 applicant who was admitted. Congratulations to them! If you are reading this report as you prepare for your LBS interview, firstly – congratulate yourself for making it this far – you deserve a pat on the back! Making it this far is no easy feat, and you should take a moment to reflect on your accomplishment. Now channel this positive energy & confidence into the next steps, i.e. cracking your interview. I won’t deny, I was definitely nervous going into my interview – Read more
Published: December 10, 2015
Fridays from the Frontline: A Wharton Alum Takes Issue with Fellow Alum Donald Trump
Presidential candidate Donald Trump has continued to grab headlines in the past week, most recently for his call for a "total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States until our country's representatives can figure out what is going on." His comments have drawn strong reactions, including from opponents such as Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter, who said in an address to the media Tuesday, “We have no place for that kind of ignorance and tolerance and lack of understanding of what our country is about.” Trump’s supporters, too, have also been quite vocal, and his popularity in the polls continues. In a national telephone poll conducted December 4th through 10th by the New York Times/CBS News, seven in 10 voters likely to vote in the Republican primary felt Trump was well equipped to respond to the threat of terrorism, with four in 10 saying they were “very confident” in his response. In this category, Trump led all other candidates, both Democratic and Republican. Read more

MBA Applywire

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
4
November 27, 2024 9:07am ET
Applying: Duke / Fuqua, Michigan / Ross, Northwestern / Kellogg, NYU Stern
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Finance Manager
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting Companies: Accenture , AT Kearney , Bain , BCG , Deloitte , Ernst & Young , McKinsey , PWC
GMAT: 690
GPA: 3.79
Years of Work Experience: 2
7
November 27, 2024 9:07am ET
Applying: Carnegie Mellon / Tepper, Duke / Fuqua, Michigan / Ross, Notre Dame / Mendoza, UNC Kenan-Flagler, UVA / Darden, Vanderbilt / Owen
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Banking
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Commercial Banking Companies: Accenture , AT Kearney , Bain , PWC , Bank of America
GRE: 306
GPA: 3.64
Years of Work Experience: 5
Location: Africa
Notes:

Recently wrote the GRE. It's not a super score but I will probably apply with it anyway. I am still considering retaking the test, as the next time I can take it is around the Round 2 deadline.

My educational background is in social sciences, so wasn't very quant-heavy. Looking at taking an additional quant course to back up my GRE score as the exam fee is about 10x the minimum wage in my country. Any suggestion is welcomed.
5
November 27, 2024 6:51am ET
Applying: Dartmouth / Tuck, Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, UPenn / Wharton, Yale SOM
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Program Manager, Humanitarian INGO
Post-MBA Target Industry: Entrepreneurship, Non Profit/SI
GMAT: 685
GPA: 3.27
Years of Work Experience: 4
Location: US Citizen (positioned abroad)
Notes:

Long time listener first time caller. Love the podcast! Adding my profile just because I want to be part of the community.

R2 applicant for Fall 2025 entry.

Background: mid-to-late 20s US citizen, lower-income single parent upbringing.

Work experience: currently a manager at a humanitarian INGO in active / post-conflict settings (think Afghanistan, Yemen, etc.) with several million in project budget under management and overseeing multiple teams. Will have been in emergency aid for 2 years upon matriculation, career before that was 1 year quantitative analyst ---> 1 year teaching English abroad. High impact job, recently promoted.

Academics: 3.27 cumulative. Small state school for first year with a 4.0. Transferred to an Ivy, but had to work full time to support family, had just above a 3.0 at the Ivy. I've also done a masters since at a top 5 UK (shout-out to Alex!) with distinction (3.9+ equivalent). Additionally, took Calculus this year (got an A-) to give schools a bit more reassurance on quant abilities since my quant record in college had its ups and downs, and to demonstrate respect for the rigors of the Y1 MBA curriculum.

Test: took the GMAT only once, 685 (86V 82Q 84D). First mock exam was a 625 with a terrible quant score, but brought quant up to 76th percentile with a couple months of study. Internet is too slow to take online, so only had one chance to do it in-person while I was on leave -- retake physically impossible even if I wanted to.

ECs: Very focused on social entrepreneurship. Have also been helping teach / support one of the foreign language programs at the state school I originally went to and transferred out of. Community service award as well, and mountain climber.

Post-MBA goal is social entrepreneurship that can help people in crisis contexts.

I've listened to enough Wire Taps to guess exactly what the advice will be: "You might want to cast a wider net due to the lower GPA, right now you're only targeting top schools." -- Absolutely fair call. However, what I want to do is extremely difficult and will require a ton of resources. I've selected the programs I think best fit my goals / have a strong social and entrepreneurial mission. I don't particularly mind getting dinged everywhere and reapplying next year if need be.

Long post, thanks for reading! Have a great holiday!
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MBA LiveWire

November 28, 2024 10:17am ET
Interview Invite to Indiana / Kelley
Round: Round 1
Received via email on October 16, 2024
GPA: 83%
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Finance
Application Location: Nigeria
November 28, 2024 10:15am ET
Interview Invite to Emory / Goizueta
Round: Round 1
Received via email on November 07, 2024
GPA: 83%
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Finance
Application Location: Nigeria
November 28, 2024 9:53am ET
Interview Invite to INSEAD
Round: Round 2
Received via email on November 26, 2024
GMAT: 655
Program Type: One Year Program
Target Career: Consulting
Application Location: France
November 28, 2024 3:34am ET
Interview Invite to Boston College / Carroll
Round: Round 1
Received via portal on October 29, 2024
GPA: 3.18
GRE: 302
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: General Management
November 28, 2024 2:23am ET
Accepted to NYU Stern
Round: Round 1
Received via email on November 25, 2024
GPA: 3.42
GMAT: 685
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Application Location: Nyc
Note:

Interview 9/7 call and email 11/26. No scholarship
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