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Published: June 18, 2015
Berkeley Haas Center Expands Social Sector Leadership Focus
A new name and a new logo help trumpet the expanded mission of a center devoted to advancing social sector leadership at the UC Berkeley Haas School of Business. Previously known as the Center for Nonprofit and Public Leadership, the renamed Center for Social Sector Leadership (CSSL) seeks to help develop a new generation of business leaders focused on fostering social impact across the public, private and nonprofit sectors, the school reports. “The future requires collaboration between these sectors, and Berkeley-Haas is arguably the best place to define how this next generation of problem solving works,” Ben Mangan, executive director of the rechristened Center for Social Sector Leadership, said in a statement. The center focuses on training MBA students to become multi-sector leaders, helping them build skills that will serve them as corporate leaders, public advisors and members of nonprofit and social enterprise boards. Read more
Published: June 17, 2015
The Value of the European MBA: Meet Top Programs in New York Next Week
The following content was provided to Clear Admit by our partners at The MBA Tour. Have you considered pursuing an MBA degree in Europe? In a world that has become increasingly global, studying abroad can offer many advantages for applicants seeking a diverse student body, a faster-paced program and smaller class sizes focused on collaborative teamwork. Hear the experiences of students and faculty from European MBA programs: Diversity As a continent, Europe is inherently multicultural, representing a vibrant mix of nationalities, customs and languages. European MBA programs reflect this diversity, frequently boasting classes made up Read more
Published: June 16, 2015
Stanford GSB Students Single Out Marketing Professor for Distinguished Teaching Award
As part of commencement exercises last week, MBA students at Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) celebrated an associate professor of marketing for his contributions in teaching and student impact, the school reports. Jonathan Levav, who joined Stanford in 2011, teaches a management foundation class entitled “Project Launch,” in which students learn how to analyze market situations to determine whether a product launch makes sense. He also teaches an elective called “From Launch to Liquidity,” which calls on students to examine the challenges start-ups face in achieving liquidity from the perspectives of organizational behavior, marketing and finance. His research—which combines laboratory and field experiments with secondary data analysis—focuses on consumer behavior and behavioral decision theory. Read more
Published: June 15, 2015
Georgetown McDonough’s Shari Hubert Points to Subtle Changes in New Application
Refreshed following a two-day staff retreat, the head of admissions at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business took time this morning to share with Clear Admit her advice to prospective candidates on how to approach the school’s application for the Class of 2018. Though its essay question remains unchanged from last year, there are subtle shifts elsewhere in the application, says Shari Hubert, who has served as Georgetown McDonough’s associate dean of MBA admissions since 2013. Among other things, applicants will have greater opportunity to highlight experiences living and working abroad. Read on to learn more about these subtle shifts, as well as Hubert’s advice on how to make taking a risk in response to the essay pay off. Read more
Published: June 15, 2015
Darden Adds Experiential Learning, First-Year Customization Options to MBA Curriculum
The Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia yesterday announced a range of enhancements to its MBA program, including a new, required experiential learning course and greater opportunities for customization of the MBA program for first-year students. Beginning this year, all incoming first-year students will be required to take a new course called ‘Innovation, Design and Entrepreneurship in Action’ or IDEA, according to Mike Lenox,  associate dean for innovation programs and academic director of Darden’s Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. As part of IDEA, students will be organized into teams to work on real-world, global field projects over the course of seven weeks. Corporations, government agencies and nonprofit organizations will sponsor these challenges. Read more
Published: June 15, 2015
GMAT Tip: 3 Things to Know About Picking a GMAT Test Center
Last week, we covered five often-overlooked things to think about before you show up at your GMAT test center, one of which involved the location and accessibility of the place itself. This week, we want to drill down and offer some more pointers on the facility factor. Not all GMAT test centers are created equal, so read on for some quick tips to ensure you’re setting yourself up for success on test day! 1. Size Matters You would never buy a car or house by just looking at a picture and name. You have to take it for a test drive and see if it’s right for you. Just like cars, test centers come in a variety of makes and models. They can have as few as 2 or as many as 15 work stations, and they can offer up to 15 other exams (in addition to the GMAT). While the number of work stations might not seem relevant (you only need one!), remember there is only one proctor who has to keep tabs on everyone. Chances are you’ll get a quicker response to requests for a new noteboard or tissues if there are fewer candidates in the room. Read more
Published: June 14, 2015
MBA Applicants Say Fuqua, Chicago Booth Get to Know Them Best, Survey Finds
Applicants who applied to leading business schools in the 2014-15 admissions cycle felt that Duke’s Fuqua School of Business and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business got to know them better than others, according to survey results released today by the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants (AIGAC). Notably, scores for how well schools got to know applicants fell this year over last for every school except Chicago Booth—and more so at schools that reduced the number of essays applicants could reply to in the 2014-15 application cycle. AIGAC, which was co-founded in 2006 to set and promote high ethical standards and professional development among graduation admissions consultants, has been conducting an annual survey of MBA applicants for the past six years. Survey questions are designed to solicit feedback from applicants on everything from the tools they use to research programs to where and why they ultimately enroll to how they expect an MBA will impact their future careers and salaries.   Read more
Published: June 12, 2015
$11 Million Gift Establishes New Technology Center at UCLA Anderson
The number of students studying technology is on the rise at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, and a new center launched this week will create even more opportunities for research and scholarship in technology management, the school reported this week. An $11 million gift from James L. Easton, chairman and CEO of global sports equipment manufacturers Easton Sports, will launch the new center, which expands a technology leadership program established by Easton in 2009. The new Easton Technology Management Center will serve as a hub for innovative research and scholarship in technology leadership, develop closer ties with UCLA’s engineering and medical schools, as well as technology industry professionals, and help drive curriculum innovation in the area of technology leadership. Anderson Associate Professor Guillaume Roels will serve as the center’s faculty director. Read more
Published: June 11, 2015
$31 Million Alumni Gift to Establish New Entrepreneurship Center at CMU
Good news for the entrepreneurial applicant considering the Tepper School of Business at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU): A generous alumni gift will establish a new hub for entrepreneurial activities across the university, the school announced yesterday. Alumnus James R. Swartz (MSIA’66), founding partner of global venture capital firm Accel Partners, has given $31 million to the school, which will create the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship. Read more
Published: June 11, 2015
Fridays From the Frontline: Call for Correspondents
Are you thinking about documenting your MBA application process, b-school studies, or post-grad adventures? Do you already maintain a blog about your business school experience or post-MBA career? Clear Admit wants to hear from you! We've always loved following the wisdom, humor, triumphs, and tribulations of the MBA blogosphere -- and we want to make sure that we're capturing all of it as we go into the 2015-2016 season. So, we're issuing a Call for Correspondents this week. If you maintain a blog or tweet about your MBA experiences, please let us know via the form below! We'll be sure to add you to the Clear Admit Mashup page and follow you on Twitter. And, in a new twist this year, we're seeking applicants, current students, and recent grads to serve as correspondents and regularly share their experiences directly with the Clear Admit audience. We'll ask our correspondents to weigh in on an admissions, school, or career-related topic 1-2 times per month, and will feature their thoughts on the Clear Admit blog (as well as links to any element of their online presence they wish to promote). To show our appreciation at the end of the admissions cycle/academic year, we'll reward our most insightful contributors with $200 Amazon.com gift cards. Interested? Just complete the form below, and we'll be in touch! Read more
Published: June 10, 2015
NYU Stern Head of Admissions Offers Advice on Essays Posted Today
Just after New York University (NYU) Stern School of Business posted its essay questions for the 2015-16 admissions cycle this morning, Assistant Dean of MBA Admissions Isser Gallogly got on the phone with Clear Admit to share some advice on what the school is looking for in prospective applicants’ responses. Stern didn’t change much this year in terms of its essay prompts. The first, identical to last year, invites applicants to outline their professional aspirations, including why they are pursuing an MBA now, what they have done to determine that Stern is the best fit for them and what they see themselves doing professionally when they graduate. Read more
Published: June 9, 2015
McCombs Director of MBA Admissions Weighs in on Essays, Application Changes
The McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin earlier this week posted its essay questions for the application season. Though the prompts remain largely the same as last year, McCombs Director of MBA Admissions Rodrigo Malta had several interesting tidbits of news to share yesterday in an interview with Clear Admit. “We really, really, really love our first essay question,” Malta says of the prompt that invites applicants to introduce themselves to members of their future McCombs cohort. “We have had it for three years now, so we had it way before Harvard did,” he adds with a satisfied chuckle. When the question debuted at McCombs the year before last, applicants were asked to reply in essay form. Last year, McCombs offered greater flexibility, inviting applicants to choose between writing an essay, sharing a video introduction or sharing an about.me profile.   Read more
Published: June 8, 2015
New Courses, Boot Camps Keep Kellogg MBAs on the Cutting Edge
From the very latest in how to market consumer packaged goods (CPG) to the finer arts of persuasive data visualization, a new series of classes and boot camps at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management is giving MBA students there the tools they need to stay current in the ever-evolving world of business. Kicking things off last month, the Kellogg Marketing Club partnered with CPG giant Kraft to offer a day-long boot camp designed for first-year students preparing for summer gigs with CPG firms. Kraft company leaders led the boot camp sessions, which covered topics ranging from channel relationships to Nielsen ratings. “The purpose of the boot camp was to give first-year students some exposure to concepts that they will encounter in their consumer packaged goods internships, but are not necessarily covered in the first-year curriculum,” says Eric Leininger, clinical associate professor of executive education, who directs Kellogg’s Chief Marketing Officer Program. Read more
Published: June 7, 2015
Why Mission Matters at MIT Sloan School of Management
Spoiler Alert co-founders Ricky Ashenfelter and Emily MalinaPhoto credit: Mimi Phan/MIT Sloan How important is a business school’s mission statement to the experience of its students? According to recent graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management, the school’s mission—to develop principled, innovative leaders who improve the world and to generate ideas that advance management practice—influenced where they chose to attend business school, the experiences they had there and the future path of their careers. Ricky Ashenfelter knew he wanted a school in a market that had a lot of entrepreneurial ventures, which led him to focus his search on San Francisco and Boston. But more than that, he also wanted a school that valued and would offer coursework tied to energy and sustainability. That narrowed his focus further to MIT Sloan, the University of California at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and Stanford Graduate School of Business, he says. “What I liked most about Sloan was that it was part of a larger MIT ecosystem, which was not the case for many business schools,” Ashenfelter says. And so he left his consulting job at Deloitte and headed for Boston hoping to find solutions to the problems of food waste in business supply chains. Read more
Published: June 4, 2015
FIFA Corruption Scandal Serves Up Ethics Course Material for MBA Students
“Ethics and integrity are essential in the world of sport and are topics that have continued to gain importance for FIFA and the football community in recent years." These words, spoken by former Fédération Internationale de Football (FIFA) President Joseph “Sepp” Blatter in August of last year, ring somewhat hollow today. At the time, the international governing body for soccer that he then led was preparing to host the first-ever World Summit on Ethics in Sports in Belgium. "We therefore welcome the opportunity to host this special summit and look forward to a fruitful debate among international experts on these important topics,” Blatter continued. Maybe he missed the conference? Apparently, he either didn’t listen to the international experts or he thought that what they had to say somehow didn’t apply to his own organization. Earlier this week, Blatter announced that he would resign as president of FIFA following the indictment by the United States government of several current and former FIFA officials and sports marketing officials for bribery, fraud and money laundering. As devastating as the unfolding scandal has proven for Blatter and FIFA’s reputation, there are valuable lessons to be learned, and professors at several leading business schools fully expect to use the FIFA case to teach their MBA students. Read more
Published: June 4, 2015
Fridays From the Frontline: Preparing Women for Future Board Opportunities
  The following is a guest post from Amanda Schmid, a first-year student in Kellogg's Full-Time Two-Year MBA Program. The post was originally published on Kellogg's Full-Time MBA blog, the Inside Perspective. Amanda worked in hospitals in DC and Baltimore as a clinician and a department head before pursuing her MBA, and she hopes to play a strategic or general management role at a medical device company after graduation.  Only 18% of S&P 500 boardrooms contain women. It will likely take 30 years for that number to grow to 30%.  In order to continue supporting women in leadership, the Women’s Business Association (WBA)recently hosted a panel to hear how two prominent female executives navigated their careers to lead them to positions on several boards. Read more
Published: June 3, 2015
Rainforest Alliance President Joins NYU Stern to Head New Sustainable Business Center
Resolving to better train business leaders to take on the environmental and human challenges facing the world, New York University (NYU) Stern School of Business today announced that it will ring in 2016 by launching a new Center for Sustainability Business. Environmental activist and steward Tensie Whelan, currently the president of the Rainforest Alliance, will join the Stern faculty to establish and lead the new center in January 2016. Whelan, who earned her bachelor’s degree from NYU in 1980, returns to her alma mater with more than 25 years of experience confronting environmental and sustainability issues at the local, national and international level. She helped grow the Rainforest Alliance’s budget from $4.5 million to $50 million, recruiting 5,000 companies in more than 60 countries to transform their engagement with sustainability through partnership with the organization. Read more
Published: June 2, 2015
HBS Alumnus Gives Largest Gift in University’s History to School of Engineering and Applied Sciences
An alumnus of the Harvard Business School (HBS) today made the largest gift in Harvard University’s history—a $400 million endowment that will support the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS). The gift, from billionaire hedge fund manager John A. Paulson (MBA ’80), will help fund SEAS’s planned expansion across the river from Cambridge to Allston, where its scientists and engineers will occupy research and teaching facilities adjacent to HBS and the Harvard Innovation Lab (i-lab). “John Paulson’s extraordinary gift will enable the growth and ensure the strength of engineering and applied sciences at Harvard for the benefit of generations to come,” Harvard University President Drew Faust said in a statement. “His appreciation of the importance of SEAS to faculty, students, and schools across the university has motivated a historic act of generosity that will change Harvard and enhance our impact on the world beyond.” Read more
Published: June 1, 2015
Prince of Wales Challenges Prospective, Current Business School Students to Champion Sustainability
Speaking last week at London Business School (LBS), His Royal Highness (HRH) the Prince of Wales challenged current and future MBA students to demand an education that will prepare them to lead the world toward greater sustainability. “To all those current business school students – and to those who are deciding where to study – ask yourself, is your chosen business school really going to equip you to be the kind of leader that is so badly needed for the next 50 years? Nothing less will do,” Prince Charles said. LBS hosted the May 28th event, which was convened by the Prince's Accounting for Sustainability Project (A4S) and the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). Speaking to an assembled audience that included deans and leading academics from business schools from around the world, HRH conceded that some progress has been made in the past two decades in terms of incorporating sustainability into mainstream accounting and finance research and teaching within business schools. Read more
Published: June 1, 2015
Your GMAT Pacing Plan: The Study Phase
The following article comes from Veritas Prep.  Since its founding in 2002, Veritas Prep has helped more than 100,000 students prepare for the GMAT and offers the highest rated GMAT Prep course in the industry. One of the greatest challenges you’ll face on the GMAT is that of time.  It’s not just that the pace-per-question metrics are aggressive – you’ll have a hair over 2 minutes per problem on the quantitative section and about 1:50 per question on the verbal – but you’ll also have to deal with the Computer-Adaptive-Testing reality that you’ll only see each question once, and you can’t skip a problem or return to it later. Read more
Published: May 31, 2015
Big Shoes to Fill at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business
Photo by Laura DeCapua One month from today, Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business will officially welcome its new dean as Professor Matthew Slaughter succeeds 20-year veteran of the post Dean Paul Danos. Talk about big shoes to fill. Dartmouth President Phil Hanlon called Danos “everything any institution could want in a business school dean,” and more than 50 alumni and friends contributed to a $10 million endowment to name the deanship in his honor, supporting in perpetuity all who come after him. In a wide-ranging interview published recently by the Dartmouth Office of Public Affairs, soon-to-be-Dean Slaughter talks about what it’s like to follow in Danos’s footsteps, what he thinks prepares him for the challenge and more. Read more
Published: May 28, 2015
Fridays From the Frontline: Choices
Welcome back to Fridays From the Frontline, our weekly summation of happenings in the business school blogosphere. This week, MBA applicants, current students, and admissions bloggers have made important choices from a variety of different topics in the business school sphere, and life in general. Read more
Published: May 27, 2015
Sustainability Takes Center Stage at Harvard Business School Commencement
Leah Ricci (left) and Allison Webster (right) stand ready to help HBS Commencement attendees dispose of materials properly Forget crimson. The stoles and tassels worn by Harvard Business School (HBS) graduates today may have been deep red, but the school was going for green in its commencement exercises this year. As part of the day’s events—as well as those of Class Day yesterday and Reunion tomorrow—HBS graduates, alumni and guests will take part in a coordinated composting effort unlike any in the school’s history. For the first time ever, the back-to-back celebrations this week at HBS will feature completely compostable lunch containers and utensils, which attendees will sort into designated bins for recycling, composting and trash. And because it can sometimes be hard to determine which items go into which bins—especially for novice environmentalists—HBS Green Team volunteers will staff each of the 20 sorting stations to help people know what’s what. Read more
Published: May 26, 2015
Columbia MBA Admissions Interview Report: Regular Decision / Alumnus / Off Campus
We just received the following Columbia MBA admissions interview report from an applicant who is waiting on a decision from Columbia. Best of luck to them! This site was extremely helpful when preparing for the CBS interview, so I wanted to make sure I gave back. I applied Round 3 and submitted my application on April 14. I received an email inviting me to interview on May 6. The AdCom gives you 5-6 people in your area for you to chose from. I contacted an individual and the interview was set up for 2 weeks from when I emailed my interviewer (Memorial Day weekend didn't help for scheduling it any sooner). Read more
Published: May 26, 2015
Columbia Business School Admissions Director Provides Insight into 2015-16 Essays
Columbia Business School (CBS) kicked off the application cycle for the Class of 2018, sending its application live in late April, before any other leading business school. Though this year’s essay questions aren’t hugely different from last year’s, the school’s admissions director took time to share her perspective on the subtle changes with Clear Admit and offer some guidance to applicants who may be preparing to embark upon the application process. Speaking to Clear Admit yesterday, Admissions Director Amanda Carlson turned first to the school’s first essay prompt—the “career goals/why a Columbia MBA now” question. 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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