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Published: August 10, 2015
GMAT Tip: Calculating GMAT Scores
1 + 1 = 2 except when it equals 3. Right? For most assessments, the process of evaluating one’s performance is pretty formulaic. Scores on most high school and university exams are based on the percentage of questions answered correctly. On the SAT (though changing in 2016), a student’s score is calculated by taking the number of correct responses, subtracting the number of incorrect responses multiplied by 0.25 and then using a lookup table to find a correlating score.  However, the GMAT has perplexed test takers for decades with its quant and verbal score scales of 0-60 and even less Read more
Published: August 9, 2015
UT McCombs Launches New LinkedIn Recommendation Option for MBA Applicants
Beginning this application season, the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin will let MBA applicants use recommendations from their LinkedIn profiles in lieu of traditional letters submitted by recommenders directly to the school. This new option, which went live with the McCombs’s 2015-16 full-time MBA application late last week, is a first among leading business schools. Feedback from previous applicants and admissions consultants drove the change, says Rodrigo Malta, McCombs director of MBA admissions. “We gather input from applicants at the end of each season, and one of the main pain points we identified were letters of recommendation,” he says. Every school was doing it differently, requiring applicants to go to recommenders with multiple requests. “AIGAC (the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants) also gave us feedback about how painful the recommendation letter process was to both applicants and recommenders, even driving some applicants to draft and submit letters on behalf of their recommenders,” he continued. Read more
Published: August 7, 2015
Goizueta Launches Study Of Global Accelerators
This post has been republished in entirety from its original source, metromba.com. The Social Enterprise @ Goizueta program at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School has partnered with the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) to launch a study of global accelerators. Called the Global Accelerator Learning Initiative (GALI), it aims to perform a comprehensive analysis and market assessment of business accelerators. Randall Kempner, ANDE executive director, announced the new initiative on July 25th at the Annual Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES) during a moderated session on entrepreneurship.  Read more
Published: August 6, 2015
Financing Your MBA, Part V
While loans are a necessary fact of life for many MBA students, it pays to investigate the full range of scholarship, fellowship and other programs that can provide additional means of financing your MBA. These options have the significant advantage of not needing to be repaid. Individual business schools have an array of scholarship programs for applicants, which we’ll address in subsequent posts in this series. For today, we’ll instead highlight non-school-specific private scholarships intended for select groups. Read more
Published: August 5, 2015
LiveWire Data Offers Interesting Insights into Admissions Results
Clear Admit launched its MBA LiveWire feature in December 2014, giving applicants unique real-time insight into how their peers are faring in the admissions process at 33 leading MBA programs around the world. Perhaps most fun, LiveWire lets people share the good news when they are accepted to their target school. It also gives those still waiting to hear a heads up that decisions are rolling out. But more than that, seeing the self-reported GMAT scores and GPAs of other applicants also enables those who follow LiveWire to benchmark their own credentials against their peers. Now, with almost eight months of collected data, LiveWire also provides a means of analyzing prior admissions cycles. In fact, we have just undertaken the first analysis of LiveWire responses, and the scatterplot here showcases what we’ve found. Read more
Published: August 5, 2015
Admissions Director Q&A: Sara Neher of UVA’s Darden School of Business
We recently caught up with Sara Neher, director of MBA admissions at Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (UVA), who had just returned from a family trip to celebrate her dad’s 70th birthday in the mountains of Colorado. Trading one beautiful environment for another, she’s back now in Charlottesville and ready to dive into the MBA admissions cycle just as it begins to heat up. Neher, who celebrates her ninth anniversary as director of admissions this month, says she initially turned down an invitation to work at Darden. After five years in sales at Proctor & Gamble—including completing an MBA at Emory’s Goizueta School of Business while working—she returned to her home state and undergraduate alma mater to work for the Jefferson Scholars Foundation, which offers merit-based scholarship aid to exceptional undergraduates, graduate students and professors to come study and teach at UVA. During that time, the foundation launched a scholarship program with Darden for MBA students. “I met the dean—everyone was speaking my MBA language—and they said they had a vacancy at Darden in admissions,” she recalls. To which she replied, “No, I love my job.” Read more
Published: August 3, 2015
Leadership? At Kenan-Flagler, There’s an App for That
Leadership development is a primary focus at top business schools all over the world, with professors, core courses, initiatives and centers all devoted to shaping MBA students into the leaders of tomorrow. The Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is taking things to a new level with the launch of its Leadership App, a digital tool designed to deliver the school’s signature leadership development content directly to students on their iPads. Kenan-Flagler launched its leadership initiative in 2005 to give its MBA students a competitive advantage in the job market, according to Mindy Storrie, director of leadership development at UNC Kenan-Flagler. In the ten years since, the school has customized the leadership content for all of its degree programs. Read more
Published: August 3, 2015
GMAT Tip: 5 Things Current Undergrads Should Do Before Heading Back to School
As summer starts to wind down, many college students are frantically trying to squeeze in a few more weekends at the beach before heading back to the dorms and classrooms. But for anyone thinking about business school or a graduate management degree, there are some things you can do before graduation to help make the path to grad school a little easier. 1. Consider enrolling in “free” quant. Take a look at your current transcript and course load. If you’ve managed to make it through your undergraduate experience (intentionally or not!) without setting foot in the math department, you might Read more
Published: August 2, 2015
Yale SOM Hosts Pre-Application Seminar for Prospective Minority MBA Applicants
This past weekend, the Yale School of Management (SOM) partnered with nonprofit organization Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) to host more than 280 prospective minority MBA applicants for a three-day event designed to showcase the benefits of a graduate management education. The MBA pre-application seminar featured information on MBA admissions, panels on career development and networking opportunities with current MBA students and alumni. The event was part of MLT’s MBA Prep Fellows Program, one of four primary programs the organization runs to provide resources and guidance to minorities in various stages of their careers. MLT, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, is dedicated to growing the pipeline of high-potential minorities in the field of business. So far, more than 2,000 MBA Prep Fellows have gained admission to a top MBA program, MLT reports. Read more
Published: July 31, 2015
Columbia MBA Interview Report: J Term / Alum / Off-campus
The following Columbia MBA interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a J-Term applicant. I just completed my interview for the J Term entry with an alum. We met at a coffee shop in a five star hotel. The interview was conversational and the alum was forthcoming and made me relax throughout. We ordered our coffees and the interview began. These were the questions I was asked: 1. Why are you joining company X? ( I was between jobs and was about to start a new job) 2. Why are looking to do an MBA? Read more
Published: July 31, 2015
Columbia MBA Admissions Interview Report: J-Term / Alum / Off campus
The following Columbia MBA Admissions interview report was submitted to Clear Admit by a J-Term applicant who is awaiting a decision from Columbia Business School. Best of luck to them! I just completed my interview for the J-Term entry with an alum. We met at a coffee shop in a five star hotel. The interview was conversational and the alum was forthcoming and made me relax throughout. We ordered our coffees and the interview began. These were the questions I was asked: 1. Why are you joining company X? ( I was between jobs and was about to start a new Read more
Published: July 30, 2015
Wharton India Economic Forum to Take Place in Both India and Philadelphia
This post has been republished in its entirety from its original source, metromba.com.  The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania has announced that it will hold its annual India-focused conference next year in India for the first time. The Wharton India Economic Forum (WIEF), which is marking its 20th anniversary, has historically been held on Wharton's Philadelphia campus. The 2016 conference will be held both in Mumbai and Philadelphia. The main goal of the conference is to bring together industry leaders, investors, government leaders and Wharton professors to discuss specific challenges facing the Indian economy and Indian businesses. Read more
Published: July 28, 2015
Haas-Accenture Partnership Creates New Big Data Curriculum
From financial services to retail to utilities, companies in an ever-increasing range of industries are exploring and implementing big data and analytics. To equip its MBAs with the tools they need to understand how data science stands to transform business, the Haas School at the University of California at Berkeley has forged a new partnership with global management consulting, technology and outsourcing company Accenture. Together, they have launched a multi-phase initiative designed to position big data squarely within the Haas curriculum. “Today, every company is a technology company, every company is a software company, every company is a data company,” says Gregory La Blanc, a finance and technology lecturer at Haas. “To be successful, our students need to know how to navigate the strategic landscape in a world filled with all this data.” Read more
Published: July 27, 2015
GMAT Tip: Flipping the Script on Critical Reasoning Assumption Questions
When it comes to Critical Reasoning questions on the verbal section of the GMAT, the variety that typically adds the most difficulty for examinees is the “Assumption” category. These questions – of which you’ll most certainly see at least a couple on test day – ask you to find an assumption required by the argument provided in the stimulus. For example, question stems might read: Which of the following is assumed by the argument above? Which of the following is a necessary assumption required by the argument? Two major themes make the GMAT Critical Reasoning Assumption questions difficult: 1) Assumptions generally don’t Read more
Published: July 26, 2015
CMU’s Tepper School Appoints New MBA Program Head
The Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) recently appointed a new head of its MBA program, the school announced last week. Kathryn (Kate) Barraclough comes to Tepper from the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University, where she served as director of the school’s Masters in Finance program while also teaching a range of finance courses. “Kate Barraclough brings an impressive and broad background, ranging from academia to financial services,” Tepper School Dean Robert Dammon said in a statement announcing her appointment. “Her achievements as a scholar, researcher and educational leader were fundamental qualities that led to her appointment.” Read more
Published: July 26, 2015
On the Road: Off-Campus MBA Information Sessions
For all those applicants who have recently opened a calendar to plot out the next few months only to realize they can’t possibly fit in campus visits on top of full time jobs and essay writing, never fear! It’s true that traveling to a school’s campus is the ideal way to learn about their MBA program, but visiting is often not a viable option for applicants who are located remotely or unsure of their level of interest in a given school. The good news is that business schools might very well come to them. Many b-schools are Read more
Published: July 24, 2015
GMAC Debuts Interactive Post-MBA Salary Estimator
Especially given the price tag that accompanies obtaining an MBA from a leading business school, it would be foolhardy for prospective applicants not to give careful consideration to the degree’s return on investment (ROI). This, of course, will depend on the career you pursue after graduation and the salary you are able to command in that role. Turns out you’re in luck. The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), which administers the GMAT entrance exam, has created a new tool designed to help prospective applicants estimate the salary they can expect to earn after completing their degree. Prospective students enter their intended industry and job function, and the tool then parses data compiled by GMAC's surveys of thousands of MBA alumni to return a tailored salary estimate.  Read more
Published: July 22, 2015
Introducing the New and Enhanced Clear Admit Website
We are thrilled to announce the launch of our new and enhanced Clear Admit website, which includes a range of interactive features, exclusive content and improved navigation to help prospective MBA applicants quickly and easily find resources to guide them through the admissions process for the top MBA programs. This comprehensive site redesign reflects our mission as the leading independent resource for top-tier MBA applicants and helps us share the admissions expertise we have developed over the past 14 years. Read more
Published: July 21, 2015
Darden’s Dean Is Bullish on School’s Future as He Prepares to Depart
We had the distinct pleasure of speaking recently with Bob Bruner, who for the past 10 years has served as dean of the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. He will step down at the end of this month, when Scott Beardsley becomes the ninth dean of the school. In the wide-ranging interview that follows, Dean Bruner reflects on his time at Darden, the strengths his successor will bring in his role as Darden's dean, the state of graduate management education and why he is optimistic about Darden’s future. As always, he was thoughtful and engaging, with valuable insights for anyone considering business school, whether at Darden or elsewhere. We are so grateful to him for making the time to speak with us. Read more
Published: July 20, 2015
Citi CIO Debby Hopkins Named Haas’ Newest Executive Fellow
This post has been republished in its entirety from its original source metromba.com.  The Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley recently named Citi Chief Innovation Officer (CIO) Debby Hopkins as Haas’ newest executive fellow. Hopkins, who is also CEO of Citi Ventures, is returning to Haas in this new role after speaking as part of the Haas Dean’s Speaker Series in 2012. “Debby is a trailblazer, continuing to question the status quo in her industry,” Haas Dean Rich Lyons said in a statement. “Her views on innovative leadership and social enterprise deeply resonate with our school's identity—we're thrilled to welcome her back.” Read more
Published: July 20, 2015
GMAT Tip: The Corrupt Mechanic Behind Sentence Correction Problems
The rules for GMAT Sentence Correction problems seem fairly straightforward, but a closer examination sheds a good deal of light on why these questions are trickier than they seem. You’re provided with a sentence, at least some of which is underlined. Choice A repeats the underlined portion, and choices B through E are each different ways to phrase that underlined portion. Your job is to select the one choice out of five that is logical in the context of the rest of the sentence and is also free from grammatical error. And while it may seem basic, the fact that Read more
Published: July 19, 2015
New Associate Dean to Spearhead Growing Entrepreneurship at Yale SOM
As a reflection of the growing importance of entrepreneurship at the Yale School of Management (SOM), the director of the school’s entrepreneurship initiatives has been appointed associate dean, the school announced earlier this month. Kyle Jensen joined Yale SOM last year as the inaugural Shanna and Eric Bass ’05 Director of Entrepreneurship. Under his leadership, the school’s Program on Entrepreneurship added seven new entrepreneurship courses last year, drawing students from the entire university. Read more
Published: July 17, 2015
MIT Sloan Admissions to Host Women’s Week, August 3rd – 6th
The MIT Sloan School of Management admissions team has planned a week of events in early August designed to showcase the diverse paths and accomplishments of its women students and graduates to prospective female applicants. The week, which will take place from August 3rd through 6th, will include a Google Hangout open to prospective applicants anywhere in the world, as well as alumnae panels in five U.S. cities. “Our female students bring unique backgrounds, perspectives and beliefs to MIT Sloan, building a diverse campus community filled with opportunity,” reads an announcement about the events on the school’s website. “Their collective experiences create a rich educational experience and fuel the experimentation and transformation that develop principled, innovative leaders who improve the world.” Read more
Published: July 15, 2015
Chicago Booth Admissions Director Reveals Origins of Unusual New Essay Prompt
The University of Chicago Booth School of Business has done it again. Seven years ago the school made waves when it invited applicants to respond to its essay prompts via PowerPoint presentation. This year, the school has decided to go even further—innovating on its prior innovation. Applicants now are instructed to select one of 16 photographs that capture elements of the school’s community and culture and offer a response—in whatever format they want—that tells the Admissions Committee how the photo resonates with their own viewpoint on why Booth is right for them. “We are always trying to stimulate more authentic reactions,” Chicago Booth Associate Dean of Student Recruitment and Admissions Kurt Ahlm explained when we caught up with him earlier this week. “But we also wanted to give people a better sense of the breadth and depth of the Booth experience,” he continues. “With this new prompt, we wanted to give people the opportunity to see that and reflect on it.” Read more
Published: July 14, 2015
New GMAT Features Scheduled to Debut July 19th
This post has been republished in its entirety from its original source metromba.com. The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) will introduce new features for the GMAT entrance exam for applicants to business school. These three new features, which will go into effect on July 19th, are designed to help improve the GMAT exam experience. They come in response to GMAC surveys of GMAT exam takers’ experiences. 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 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
November 27, 2024 8:22pm ET
Accepted to Cornell / Johnson
Round: Round 1
Received via email November 27, 2024
GRE: 327
Program Type: One Year Program
Target Career: Technology
Application Location: San Francisco
November 27, 2024 1:46pm ET
Rejected at Washington U. / Olin
Round: Round 1
Received via portal November 27, 2024
GPA: 3.9
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Operations Management
Application Location: Asia
November 27, 2024 12:44pm ET
Accepted to Washington U. / Olin
Round: Round 2
Received via phone November 27, 2024
GPA: 3.75
GRE: 330
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Consulting
Application Location: Phoenix
Note:

Consortium and received a full-ride plus a stipend. Interviewed on November 10th and received offer today, November 27th.
I feel very optimistic for Booth and Yale results next week.
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