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April Fools

Published: March 31, 2021
Stanford GSB to Eliminate Admissions Essays, Require Video Instead
Palo Alto, CA – Citing a need for the MBA admissions world to modernize its selection process, the Stanford Graduate School of Business has unveiled a substantial change for the 2021-22 admissions cycle. The school will no longer require admissions essays, including its famed ‘What matters most?’ essay. Instead, MBA applicants will need to create a TikTok video. This new component asks applicants to, “Make a first impression on your future classmates by creating a 15-second video on the TikTok platform, preferably set to music.”  Kirsten Moss, the school’s Assistant Dean of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid, offered the following Read more
Published: March 31, 2021
Kellogg School Offers Rejected Applicants Kinder, Gentler Rejection
Evanston, IL – It’s no small secret that applying to leading MBA programs is a stressful process. While some programs take a ‘rip the band-aid off’ approach by delivering admissions decisions en masse, others slowly trickle out interview invitations or calls of congratulations, as applicants painfully sit by and wait. Looking to ease the stress and lessen the sting of rejection, the Kellogg School of Management has taken a rather unorthodox approach to delivering admissions decisions. First, the school has promised a participation trophy for each applicant, to Read more
Published: March 31, 2021
ETS to Rebrand the GRE Test for Business School Applicants; Introduces ‘GreMAT’
Lawrenceville, NJ – Citing an increasing need to serve the growing population of MBA applicants, the Educational Testing Service (ETS) announced a business school-specific rebranding of their Graduate Record Examination (GRE), currently in use for virtually all disciplines of graduate education. ETS Director of Testing Products, Elaine Bennis, offered the following remarks: “While the market for business school has been experiencing significant growth, we were finding that some MBA applicants are reluctant to take the GRE, and we knew the branding needed a bit of a rethink. That’s why we are thrilled to introduce The Graduate Record Examination Management Aptitude Read more
Published: March 31, 2021
The “Association for Student Services, Employment & Success” Targets Clear Admit’s LiveWire
Washington, D.C. – Citing a multi-year study, a leading body of employers and career counselors has filed suit against Clear Admit, arguing that the firm’s LiveWire tool saps productivity amongst recent college graduates working in the professional world. The organization’s director, Martin McFly, stated: “Look, we get it. Young people love all kinds of newfangled social networks and tools, but this MBA LiveWire nonsense goes too far. Many of our members, from McKinsey to Microsoft, have reported that their staff members applying to business school are simply glued to clearadmit.com during work hours.”  Clear Admit’s co-founder, Graham Richmond, offered a Read more
Published: March 31, 2021
UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business to Offer Innovative New MBA Concentration
Berkeley, CA – One of the nation’s leading business schools, famous for its emphasis on innovation, social impact, and strategy, is innovating again. The Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley has introduced a new concentration focusing on the cannabis sector. Courses within the concentration will cover the historical, cultural, economic, political, legal, chemical, medicinal, and spiritual dimensions of cannabis as well as the cultivation of marijuana and hemp and the commercial development of the cannabis industry. Haas Professors Robert Weir and Gerald Garcia, who jointly head up the new concentration, issued the following statement: “It’s time that the management Read more
Published: March 31, 2019
HBS Reinstates Third Round of Admissions to Counter Sluggish Application Volume
Boston, MA – Harvard Business School has been forced to backtrack on a new initiative that was piloted in the 2018-19 admissions cycle: the elimination of school's third admissions round.  Admissions director Chad Losee, who just months ago touted the benefits of moving to a more simplified two-round admissions cycle, announced today that the school was bringing back the third round, effective immediately.  This means that applicants can still apply to HBS for a September 2019 start date by submitting an application before the 21st of April. Read more
Published: March 31, 2019
Leading B-Schools Make This Year’s Acceptance Calls in Reverse Alphabetical Order ‘Just for the Heck of It’
Philadelphia, PA – It’s a well-known fact that many leading schools enjoy congratulating accepted students via telephone, typically just before official admissions decisions are posted online.  Tools like Clear Admit’s MBA LiveWire have lent a great degree of transparency to this process; as applicants report their news in real time and indicate their location.  Of course, applicants often like to speculate about how exactly the admissions teams go about making these calls: Is it by region? By the person that interviewed the applicant? By amount of scholarship dollars awarded? At random? Read more
Published: March 31, 2019
Kellogg to Award Two Full Scholarships for Class of 2021
Evanston, IL — The Kellogg School of Management recently unveiled a special program to award two additional full-tuition scholarships to this year’s incoming class.  The scholarships will actually be offered up in specially marked boxes of Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes and Kellogg’s Sugar Smacks that can be purchased at the campus bookstore during DAK weekend (April 12-14).  Valued at over $140K each, these ‘cereal surprises’ are going to be a serious deal for a couple of incoming Kellogg MBAs. Kellogg’s Dean Sally Blount offered the following explanation for this unorthodox approach: “The idea actually came during a recent team-building weekend for Read more
Published: March 31, 2016
Get Your Admitted Students’ Swag—How One Program Is Getting Creative Wooing Applicants
New Haven, CT (Reuters)—Riding the wave of the Yale School of Management (SOM)’s re-acquaintance with the top 10 in U.S. News & World Report‘s Best Business School Ranking (a five-spot jump over last year), the school’s admissions committee is now going the extra mile in wooing admitted candidates. One SOM admit remarked on MBA LiveWire: “Last week, I got the email from Yale letting me know I’ve been accepted into its MBA program. I couldn’t have been more excited! Then, yesterday, I received a package in the mail. There he was—Admissions Director Bruce Delmonico—in bobblehead form! “We’re really excited about this incoming class,” Read more
Published: March 31, 2016
ETS’ Campus Badly Vandalized—All Signs Point to GMAT Bus
Princeton, NJ (Reuters)—The Educational Testing Service (ETS), makers of the GRE exam and several popular standardized tests, fell victim to vandalism on its lush, Princeton-area campus earlier this week—sustaining significant damage including to its staff-only golf course. It seems that a large vehicle, most likely a bus, drove across several acres of lawns as well as golf course fairways and greens—resulting in tens of thousands of dollars in damages. Police on the scene estimate that the bus was on the grounds for more than 90 minutes in the wee hours of Monday morning, beginning sometime between 2 and 3 a.m. Read more
Published: March 31, 2016
Clear Admit’s MBA LiveWire Killing Productivity Levels in Offices, Admissions Offices Alike
Philadelphia, PA (AP)—MBA LiveWire, Clear Admit’s live ticker of MBA admissions status updates, has been a runaway success—helping keep nervous applicants abreast of everything happening on the admissions scene. “I’m on LiveWire more than I care to admit, hitting refresh continuously to see what’s up,” said current MBA candidate Peter Shelley. “It really helps me keep my finger on the pulse and stay connected with other applicants,” he added. Admissions officers at leading schools also enjoy the handy tool. “I love being able to see what the applicant pool is doing—to feel their collective mood,” said Derrick Bolton, director Read more
Published: March 31, 2016
MIT Sloan School’s New Logo Results in Lawsuit
Cambridge, MA (Knight-Ridder)—Earlier this week, the MIT Sloan School of Management unveiled a new logo designed to bring the school’s “MIT brand” to the fore. “After extensive study and collaborative effort, the logo was designed to reflect the smart, open, grounded and inventive nature of the school,” read an official statement from the school. “One of the distinguishing ways that MIT stands apart from its peer schools is through our relationship with the Institute—a world-class research institution.” Within hours of the new logo’s debut, a lawsuit was filed by the letter ‘I’. In a tersely worded statement, the letter ‘I’ Read more

MBA Applywire

2
December 19, 2024 4:44pm ET
Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Stanford GSB
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Insurance
Post-MBA Target Industry: Entrepreneurship
GRE: 318
GPA: 3.59
Years of Work Experience: 3.5
Location: Georgia
Post MBA Location: Southeast
Notes:

Looking to launch a tech startup post MBA, without any background in tech. Come from a quant heavy background and undergraduate coursework. I regularly attended admissions events, in person and online at my schools. I hope that focusing energy on my few top schools and spending a lot of time on essays will help me overcome the less than average test score (164 quant 154 verbal) and GPA.

Serial entrepreneur with a history of profitable small businesses. Was promoted twice in 3.5 years. Involved in many extracurricular activities in and outside of work. My background is very centered around financial services/insurance, is this a red flag for a pivot to Tech Entrepreneurship?

Transferred between two state schools in the southeast. School I graduated from is a top 25 undergrad business program. Obtained a few professionals designations post grad.
3
December 18, 2024 11:38am ET
Applying: Michigan / Ross, UNC Kenan-Flagler, Vanderbilt / Owen
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Held various positions in Finance and Accounting in a healthcare institution
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Other Companies: BCG , Deloitte , Other
GPA: 3.0
Years of Work Experience: 11
Location: International
Notes:

I am passionate about healthcare enhancing patient quality care. So exploring in that field is what I would love. Got a 72k scholarship from Vandy and named Forte Fellow. UNC 50k. I'm having a hard time deciding though my heart is leaning towards Owen
3
December 18, 2024 10:23am ET
Applying: Arizona State / W.P. Carey, Indiana / Kelley, Ohio State / Fisher
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Facility management
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting
GRE: 309
GPA: 2.8
Years of Work Experience: 3
Notes:

Graduate GPA -3.869
4
December 18, 2024 2:57am ET
Applying: IESE, INSEAD, MIT Sloan, U. Chicago Booth
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Engineering
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Technology, Undecided Companies: Amazon
GMAT: 690
GPA: 3.26
Years of Work Experience: 4
Location: Chile
12
December 17, 2024 6:19am ET
Applying: Columbia, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, Georgetown / McDonough, Harvard Business School, Michigan / Ross, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, NYU Stern, U. Chicago Booth, UPenn / Wharton, UT Austin / McCombs
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Registered Nurse
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting Companies: Bain , BCG , McKinsey
GRE: 326
GPA: 3.5
Years of Work Experience: 3
Location: Colorado
Post MBA Location: Chicago/NYC
Notes:

25F, lgbtq
Education: Bachelor's degree in Nursing (GPA: 3.5) from a top 2 nursing school
Work Experience: 3 years as a high-risk OB Registered Nurse at a major hospital, with leadership roles in various healthcare initiatives and patient care management.
Additional Experience: Currently working as a GP
Operations Specialist at an early-stage healthcare/tech-focused venture capital firm, where I optimize operational processes and support investment decisions in the healthcare sector.
I understand my background is somewhat non-traditional for an MBA program and that my stats are about average for these schools, but I believe my experience in healthcare and VC provides a unique perspective and skill set. Which M7 or T15 schools do you think I should realistically target, especially those known for strong consulting programs? With my stats and experience do I realistically have a shot at admission to a top program? I have a particular interest in Kellogg and Booth, as I'm planning on pursuing a career in healthcare consulting.
Additionally, I would love any guidance on how to present myself as a competitive candidate and effectively showcase my strengths and experiences in healthcart and venture capital. Thank you for your help!
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MBA LiveWire

December 20, 2024 3:21pm ET
Accepted to Yale SOM
Round: Round 1
Received via email December 20, 2024
GPA: 4.0
GMAT: 750
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Note:

100% scholarship
December 20, 2024 3:05pm ET
Accepted to Georgetown / McDonough
Round: Round 1
Received via phone on December 09, 2024
GMAT: 710
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Non Profit / Social Impact
Application Location: Argentina
December 20, 2024 3:04pm ET
Accepted to Dartmouth / Tuck
Round: Round 1
Received via phone on December 11, 2024
GMAT: 710
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Non Profit / Social Impact
Application Location: Argentina
December 20, 2024 3:03pm ET
Rejected at Stanford GSB
Round: Round 1
Received via email on December 04, 2024
GMAT: 710
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Non Profit / Social Impact
Application Location: Argentina
December 20, 2024 1:15pm ET
Accepted to NYU Stern
Round: Round 1
Received via email on December 18, 2024
GMAT: 645
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Finance
Application Location: Brazil
Note:

CFA Charterholder with background in Finance | Also applied with a 168 EA
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