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Published: January 15, 2018
A Novel MBA Ranking System
As MBA hopefuls review the plethora of annual rankings, we thought it a good time to revisit another approach to MBA rankings—a tiered ranking system introduced by Clear Admit’s Alex Brown in his 2016 book Becoming a Clear Admit: The Definitive Guide to MBA Admissions. Something of a departure from the traditional rankings produced by the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, U.S. News & World Report, and other publications, this novel MBA ranking system groups similarly competitive schools in the same tier. Below we’ve provided an excerpt from Brown’s book discussing explaining the tiered system, as
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Published: December 28, 2017
Ring in the New Year with Last Minute R2 Admissions Advice – Free!
Start 2018 on the right path as you apply in Round 2! Join the Clear Admit community by creating your login and subscribing to our newsletter – and we’ll give you our critically acclaimed admissions strategy book for free! Benefits of registering and subscribing to our newsletter: Search and sort LiveWire, DecisionWire, and ApplyWire data by school, round, result and more! Comment on posts at will, and receive notifications of follow-up comments to your posts Keep track of all of your Clear Admit digital publications, and download them on the go Receive weekly news
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Published: November 20, 2017
LiveWire Briefing: What the Data Tell Us About MBA Interview Invites at Stanford Graduate School of Business
The Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) typically receives more than 8,000 applications a year. Of those, it interviews approximately 1,000 candidates to fill a class of around 420. It doesn’t take intense GMAT prep to recognize that the odds of getting in are pretty slim! Despite these admittedly high hurdles, there were some positive results reported on Clear Admit’s MBA LiveWire, our community tool where applicants report admissions decisions in real time.
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Published: November 7, 2017
LiveWire Briefing: What the Data Tell Us About Interview Invites at Wharton and MIT / Sloan
As candidates hear about interviews (and dings), admissions news keeps flowing into Clear Admit’s MBA LiveWire, prompting us to take a closer look at the data applicants have shared. Most recently, we examined results reported by Harvard Business School (HBS) and University of Chicago Booth School of Business candidates. With invitations rolling out from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and MIT Sloan wrapping up its Round 1 notifications, we’re now shining the spotlight on these two schools.
Read on to see how the current crop of applicants invited to interview at each of these schools compares to those who were rejected.
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Published: November 1, 2017
LiveWire Briefing: What the Data Tell Us About Interview Invites at HBS vs. Chicago Booth
As admissions committees extend invitations for interviews, October’s been a very busy month on Clear Admit’s MBA LiveWire, prompting us to take a closer look at the data applicants have shared. Recognizing that applicants have been posting results about many different schools, we’re nevertheless going to hone in on two for the purposes of this piece: Harvard Business School (HBS) and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
Read on to see how the current crop of applicants invited to interview at each of these schools compares to those who were rejected. And those who are curious might also want to take a look at our review of LiveWire data in past seasons to see how this year’s applicants stack up to prior years’. (Hint: This year looks more competitive!)
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Published: September 20, 2017
Two Weeks to Go Until HBS Round 1 Interview Invites, Says Adcom
Round 1 applicants to Harvard Business School (HBS) got to breathe a sigh of relief when they hit that “submit” button in early September, but one stress quickly morphed into another as they began the anxious wait for an interview invitation. But according to a recent post from HBS Managing Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Chad Losee on his ‘Direct from the Director' blog, that wait will come to an end the week after next.
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Published: September 19, 2017
Choosing the Best Business School for Consulting
If you are a prospective MBA applicant looking to business school as a way to enter or accelerate your career in the consulting industry, you are certainly not alone. According to the 2017 Prospective Student Survey conducted by the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC), consulting is once again the most sought-after postgraduate industry, with 33 percent of applicants surveyed citing consulting firms as their destination of choice. The consulting function, too, is a top draw. One in four indicated it as their chosen job function, after just marketing/sales (30 percent) and finance/accounting (28 percent).
With so many MBA graduates vying for roles in the consulting field, one of the best ways to distinguish yourself is by going to one of the business schools best known for training top-notch consultants. Of course, this requires thorough research and a deep knowledge of individual school programs. Lucky for you, Clear Admit has done some of the legwork.
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Published: August 7, 2017
[GIVEAWAY] Download Becoming a Clear Admit: The Definitive Guide to MBA Admissions Free!
If you’re planning to apply to business school this admissions cycle, look no further. We have the book for you! To celebrate the one-year anniversary of its release, we’re giving you the must-read admissions book, Becoming a Clear Admit: The Definitive Guide to MBA Admissions, for free! Just use coupon code CLEARFREE2017 at checkout DOWNLOAD IT TODAY Its author, Clear Admit’s own Alex Brown, brings nearly 25 years of experience in the MBA admissions industry as a consultant, admissions officer, and teacher, including seven years as senior associate director of admissions at the Wharton
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New Clear Admit Chat Series Offers Valuable Free Primer for the MBA Admissions Season
Note: You can join the chat in progress here https://www.clearadmit.com/chat/mba-admissions-series/
If you are planning to apply to business school in the coming year, listen up: We’re rolling out a brand-new series of 10 free expert-led chats that together offer a comprehensive overview of the steps successful applicants take in the MBA admissions process. Hosted by Clear Admit’s own Alex Brown—author of Becoming a Clear Admit: The Definitive Guide to MBA Admissions and former senior associate director of admissions at Wharton—each chat in the series will focus in on an individual component of the MBA admissions process.
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Published: April 11, 2017
Latest Edition of Must-Read Guide to MBA Admissions Just Released
We are pleased to announce the release of the second edition of Becoming a Clear Admit: The Definitive Guide to MBA Admissions. Its author, Clear Admit’s own Alex Brown, brings nearly 25 years of experience in the MBA admissions industry as a consultant, admissions officer, and teacher, including seven years as senior associate director of admissions at the Wharton School. Like the initial version released in August 2016, this updated version of Becoming a Clear Admit offers an insightful guide for anyone approaching the MBA admissions process, one that provides fascinating background and an in-depth overview
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Published: February 8, 2017
The Skinny on Stanford GSB Interviews
We know from MBA LiveWire that some of you have already received invitations to interview at Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB). A hearty congratulations for a significant achievement. Stanford revealed this past fall that it will interview roughly 1,000 applicants this year. Considering that the school last year had 8,116 people throw their hat in the ring, if you got an invitation to interview, you’ve already claimed a spot among a very select group.
For those invited—and those still hoping to hear—we thought we’d share what we know about the interview process at the GSB as you prepare. As you likely already know, there’s no getting into Stanford without an interview. That said, some candidates may be “offered a place in the waitpool,” as the school’s website quaintly puts it, without an interview during the round in which they applied. Those who accept a place on the waitlist may then be invited to interview in a later round.
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Published: January 10, 2017
HBS Round 2 Deadline Has Passed—Now What?
First, a hearty congratulations to all of you who got your Round 2 applications into Harvard Business School by last week's deadline. We know what you spent your winter holiday doing. According to Chad Losee, HBS managing director of admissions and financial aid, a conveniently timed snowstorm over the past weekend has set him and his team up nicely to sit by the fireplace, sipping hot cocoa and reading all about you.
HBS Managing Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Chad Losee
While Losee is sipping cocoa and lingering over applications—how are you spending your time? First of all, we realize that HBS is but one of many schools you may be applying to—and that some deadlines haven’t even yet arrived. So, to those of you still at work perfecting applications for other schools, good luck.
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Published: October 24, 2016
Impending MBA Interview? Latest Clear Admit Interview Guides Have All You Need to Prepare
The MBA interview—the nail-biting, stomach-churning, sleep-robbing, suit-demanding component of the MBA application process that ties some applicants up in knots—is upon us. But there’s no reason to fret: not with Clear Admit’s in-depth Interview Guide Series as part of your arsenal. Providing expert advice and insider tips on what to expect and how to prepare, these guides are ready and waiting to help you conquer your jitters and ace your interview.
Maybe you’re among the lucky ones who has already received an interview invite from your top choice business school (Harvard Business School and U. Chicago Booth to name a couple)? We’ve also heard—via the MBA LiveWire—that invites are rolling out from places like Columbia Business School (CBS), Cambridge’s Judge School, Duke’s Fuqua School and INSEAD. Of course, with more candidates set to receive Round 1 decisions in the coming weeks, the interview invitation madness has just begun.
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Published: October 10, 2016
The Importance of a Candidate’s Values in the MBA Application Process
Welcome back to our 10-part series, in which we share an excerpt from the recently published book Becoming a Clear Admit: The Definitive Guide to MBA Admissions, with added commentary from its author, Alex Brown. In this final part of the series, we look at the increasing importance of a candidate’s values through the lens of many recent business crises caused by corrupt leadership. Book Excerpt: Values There are two ways to win in a competitive situation: to be better than your competitors or to cheat. While the attributes discussed in previous sections of the book relate
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Published: October 3, 2016
MBA Applicant Waitlisted?!# Now What?
Welcome back to our 10-part series, in which we share an excerpt from the recently published book Becoming a Clear Admit: The Definitive Guide to MBA Admissions, with added commentary from its author, Alex Brown. In this ninth part of the series, we look at what you can do if you end up on a school’s waitlist. Book Excerpt: What to Do if You Are Waitlisted You should follow the rules provided by the school about how to follow up. A very few schools, like Harvard and Wharton, ask for no follow up other than a signal that
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Published: September 26, 2016
The Freedom That Comes With an MBA from a Top School
Welcome back to our 10-part series, in which we share an excerpt from the recently published book Becoming a Clear Admit: The Definitive Guide to MBA Admissions, with added commentary from its author, Alex Brown. In this eighth part of the series, we look at one of the benefits of an MBA from a top business school, the notion of “freedom.” Book Excerpt: In general, an MBA degree from a top school will offer you more independence, more control over your career, and the ability to make your own choices, rather than being at the whim of the
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Published: September 19, 2016
Developing a Personal Inventory
Welcome back to our 10-part series, in which we share an excerpt from the recently published book Becoming a Clear Admit: The Definitive Guide to MBA Admissions, with added commentary from its author, Alex Brown. In this seventh part of the series, we look at the importance of developing a “personal inventory,” a document that you can then use for each of your applications. Book Excerpt: To develop and implement your application strategy, it will be helpful to create a working document that you can refer to throughout the admissions process. We will call this document a “personal
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Published: September 12, 2016
Book Excerpt: The Importance of MBA Essays
Welcome back to our 10-part series, in which we share an excerpt from the recently published book Becoming a Clear Admit: The Definitive Guide to MBA Admissions, with added commentary from its author, Alex Brown. In this sixth part of the series, we look at the importance of MBA essays in the business school application process. Book Excerpt: Essays The essays are your chance to shape and tell your story. Make sure to answer each of the essay questions fully. Different schools may ask similar questions but in slightly different ways, so it is important for you to read the
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Published: September 5, 2016
Book Excerpt: The Importance of a Candidate’s Goals in the MBA Application
Welcome back to our 10-part series, in which we share an excerpt from the recently published book Becoming a Clear Admit: The Definitive Guide to MBA Admissions, with added commentary from its author, Alex Brown. In this fifth part of the series, we look at the importance of a candidate’s goals. Book Excerpt: Goals Your career goals are important for the success of your application. Four aspects of your goals will be examined: Articulation of goals: Are your goals focused or are they under-developed
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Published: August 29, 2016
Book Excerpt: The Importance of an MBA Candidate’s Profile
Welcome back to our 10-part series, in which we share an excerpt from the recently published book Becoming a Clear Admit: The Definitive Guide to MBA Admissions, with added commentary from its author, Alex Brown. In this fourth part of the series, we look at the importance of an MBA candidate’s profile. Book Excerpt: Your attributes determine the overall strengths of your candidacy. Meanwhile, your personal profile determines, to some extent, who you compete with in the applicant pool and provides the broader context for your experiences as the adcom attempts to craft a diverse class. Schools want
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Published: August 22, 2016
Book Excerpt: Five Overarching Attributes Fundamental to a Strong MBA Candidate
Welcome back to our 10-part series, in which we share an excerpt from the recently published book Becoming a Clear Admit: The Definitive Guide to MBA Admissions, with added commentary from its author, Alex Brown. In this third part of the series, we look at the five overarching attributes that are fundamental to a strong MBA candidate. Book Excerpt: Five Overarching Attributes Schools seek out individuals with specific attributes that they consider to be predictive of success both during the MBA program and beyond, once students graduate and progress in their careers. Highlighting these attributes within the application can help
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Published: January 10, 2016
Admissions Director Shares Details on HBS Round 2 Interview Invitations, Hub Cities
If you submitted an application last week as part of Round 2 at Harvard Business School (HBS), you can expect to receive either an interview invitation or a ding by February 3rd. As promised, Managing Director of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid Dee Leopold shared details about HBS Round 2 interview invitations in a recent post to her Director’s Blog on Friday.
A first wave of HBS Round 2 interview invitations will go out on January 27th, she wrote, with a second wave following on February 3rd. “All candidates not being invited to interview will receive notice of their ‘release’ on February 3rd,” Leopold added.
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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.
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Published: April 23, 2015
Sign Up for a Veritas Prep GMAT Course and Receive Three Free Clear Admit Guides
For a limited time, we are offering our Resume, Recommendation, and Financing Guides for free to anyone who signs up for GMAT classes or tutoring with Veritas Prep. Since running its first class in 2002, Veritas Prep has helped more than 100,000 students prepare for the GMAT. The company was the first in the industry to require that all GMAT instructors score in the 99th percentile or above on the official GMAT—a standard that most other competitors still can’t match. After clearing this hurdle, every potential instructor must pass a
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Published: February 9, 2015
Wharton Round 2 Applicants Await Interview Invitations
Tomorrow’s the day. If you applied to the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School as part of Round 2, you will very likely be checking your email repeatedly in hopes that an invitation to interview lands in your inbox. Good luck!
Wharton uses the Team-Based Discussion (TBD) format for interviews, as it has for the past few years. In terms of logistics, those invited to interview tomorrow can choose from a range of locations around the globe, including Wharton’s campus in Philadelphia, as well as San Francisco, London, Dubai, Mumbai, Shanghai, Sao Paulo, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo. Each TBD will include five or six applicants grouped by the order in which they sign up for various locations. And interviews will take place beginning in late February.
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