The Leading Independent
Resource for Top-tier MBA
Candidates

MBA Feature

Published: May 10, 2018
Fridays from the Frontline: A Glimpse at Lean In at Berkeley Haas
Fridays from the Frontline The University of California at Berkeley has long had a reputation as a hotbed of activism, from the Vietnam Day Committee’s march toward Oakland Base in the 1960s to its divestment campaign from South Africa during the 1980s apartheid era to the most recent protests against ultra-conservative commentator Milo Yiannopolous’ appearance on campus last year. The commitment to social justice present on Berkeley’s campus has also been infused into the curriculum of many of its schools, inspiring students to engage in direct action to shape the world they want to live. This is certainly true at Read more
Published: May 9, 2018
Our Latest Podcast: From HBS to Saving Lives—an MBA Student’s Venture to Help People Breathe
Last month, Harvard Business School (HBS) announced the winners of its 21st annual New Venture Competition (NVC), which has attracted more than 5,000 participants and awarded more than $2 million in cash prizes to student and alumni startups over the past two decades. Hosted by the school’s Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship and its Social Enterprise Initiative, in partnership with HBS Alumni Clubs & Associations, the NVC features three separate tracks, a student business track, a student social enterprise track, and an alumni track. The social enterprise track has attracted more Read more
Published: May 9, 2018
Gearing Up for Orientation: NYU Stern One-Year MBA Programs in Tech, Fashion
As it prepares to welcome students for orientation next week, NYU Stern School of Business has shared preliminary class profiles for its two new specialized one-year MBA programs—the Andre Koo Tech MBA and the Fashion & Luxury MBA. Stern announced the launch of the new May-to-May programs one year ago. The inaugural classes will each be made up of approximately 30 students. Though designed for students from different backgrounds targeting diverse post-MBA career paths, the two programs do share several things in common. Each pairs traditional core Read more
Published: May 7, 2018
Dartmouth Tuck Unveils New Inclusive Leadership Initiative
Increasing inclusion and diversity has been a decade-long mission at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business. Now, Director of Strategic Initiatives Dia Draper is broadening the scope of that work with the launch of the Inclusive Leadership Initiative (ILI). The new framework will bring together principles of diversity and inclusion to educate leaders across the university. Read more
Published: May 7, 2018
Why McKinsey & Company Loves Hiring MBAs
McKinsey & Company is considered one of the most prestigious management consultancy firms in the world, with a clientele that includes 80 percent of the world’s largest corporations, along with an extensive list of governments and non-profit organisations. The firm is also a prestigious landing spot for MBAs following graduation. About McKinsey Founded in 1926 by James O. McKinsey, the firm developed an “up or out” policy, where consultants who are not promoted are asked to leave, developed by Marvin Bower. He served as managing director of McKinsey from 1950 to 1967, and remained a leadership figure at the Read more
Published: May 7, 2018
MBA DecisionWire Spotlight: Undecided and on the Waitlist at MIT Sloan
In this MBA DecisionWire Spotlight, which highlights MBA candidates’ choices as shared in Clear Admit’s DecisionWire, we take a closer look at a waitlisted candidate at MIT Sloan, but with an acceptance letter from UPenn / Wharton. The candidate explained the situation in the initial post: Clear Admit’s resident expert, Alex Brown, weighed in: Read more
Published: May 6, 2018
Admissions Tip: Round 3 Results
With the MBA programs releasing their final round notifications in the upcoming weeks, the 2017-2018 admissions season is coming to a close for the vast majority of MBA aspirants. We’d like to offer our congratulations to all those who have gained admission to one of more of their target schools and wish good luck to waitlisted applicants whose fate is presently a bit less certain. For all those who submitted their applications in the final round and received an unfavorable decision, we’d like to share a few tips that we hope will make the process of facing rejection as productive Read more
Published: May 3, 2018
Our Latest Podcast: Reapplying to Business School
If your dream of attending a top-tier business school was dashed by a rejection this year, we know how hard that can be. To work so tirelessly toward a goal that you don’t achieve can be spirit-crushing. And yet, we’re here to tell you that it does happen. You are not alone. We’re also here to tell you that you might want to think about reapplying. Did you know—one out of every 10 students in most Harvard Business School MBA classes applied more than once and was rejected the first time. That’s right. On average, a tenth of the HBS Read more
Published: May 3, 2018
Kellogg Hosts Landmark Global Women’s Summit
Women now make up more than half of all incoming students to the top U.S. universities, but only a small fraction of those women go on to work as CEOs, board directors, or NGO and government leaders. To start to tackle the problem, next week, Northwestern Kellogg's School of Management will host the first-ever Global Women’s Summit on May 8th and 9th. The landmark event will bring together more than 800 alumnae, students, guests, and community members to spark meaningful conversations about the roadblocks that women face on their way to the C-suite. Read more
Published: May 2, 2018
Record-Breaking LiveWire Discussion Highlights Room for Improvement in Johnson Adcom Process
Cornell’s S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management has the dubious distinction of producing some of the longest discussion threads in the history of Clear Admit’s MBA LiveWire. Last month, one thread drew more than 100 comments and another racked up 82. What gives? Johnson’s admissions process is divided into four rounds, with application deadlines in October, November, January, and April. But unlike many of its peer schools, which issue decisions by round in accordance with stated notification deadlines, Johnson informs its applicants of final admission decisions on a rolling basis. Early Round Applicants Kept Read more
Published: May 2, 2018
MBA News You Need: Olin Recognizes Student Leaders, LBS Dean Discusses Gender Gap, Yale SOM Studies Founders, and More
Each week we collect all the MBA news that’s fit to print and provide a quick overview of the latest trending topics from top schools around the world. Here’s your quick MBA News You Need digest for the week of May 3, 2018.  Read more
Published: May 1, 2018
GMAT Tip: Only a Kitchen Calculator
There are many different approaches in tackling a GMAT Quantitative question effectively. Algebraically, working backwards from the answer choices, considering “lucky twins” – a smart test taker is flexible and takes a fresh new approach by evaluating each quantitative question individually, taking the route that is efficient and effective. But how does said test taker become the smart test taker – what kinds of signs tip us off that we should go down a certain strategy road for a tricky and/or difficult quantitative question? Think of the “kitchen calculator” – the kind of cheap plastic, four-digit calculator that you find Read more
Published: May 1, 2018
Action Learning: Setting the University of Illinois Gies College of Business MBA Apart
Sponsored Content Imagine you lived in a bubble and had never seen or heard of bicycles until one fateful day when someone handed you a book entitled How to Ride a Bike. After two years of intensively studying the mechanics of bicycles and the theory of balance, you’re then hand-delivered a bike and told to ride 100 miles. Regardless of how intimate you became with the theory, you’d probably fall flat on your face within seconds. This scenario is similar to the approach that many MBA programs take with their business curricula. For two years, programs pile on Read more
Published: April 30, 2018
Wharton Partners with Morgan State’s Graves School for Education
Last month, Wharton announced a new collaboration with Morgan State University’s Earl G. Graves School of Business and Management. The partnership, which will allow both schools to share faculty and student conferences, curricular development, and research, marks the first time Wharton has collaborated with a Historically Black College or University (HBCU). Read more
Published: April 30, 2018
MBA DecisionWire Spotlight: Undecided about Chicago Booth or Columbia Business School for Asset Management
In this MBA DecisionWire Spotlight, which highlights MBA candidates’ choices as shared in Clear Admit’s DecisionWire, we take a closer look at a candidate torn between  U. Chicago Booth and Columbia for asset management. The candidate added some more detail in the initial post: Initial commentary acknowledged the quandary: Read more
Published: April 29, 2018
Yale SOM Poaches 4 Finance Faculty Members from Chicago Booth
Over the last two years, the Yale School of Management (SOM) has recruited four new finance faculty members, all accomplished researchers who previously worked at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. These new hires were attracted to Yale SOM's collaborative culture and rich legacy of research in service of real-world finance. Each professor brings a unique perspective to the school within the areas of empirical asset pricing, behavioral finance, and financial econometrics. Read more
Published: April 29, 2018
Applying to Business School? Get 2 Free School Guides + Access to Veritas Prep’s GMAT Practice Tests
If you’re applying to business school don’t miss this opportunity to have your admissions profile anonymously evaluated! Clear Admit will be filming an “Ask the Experts” video with the MBA admissions experts at Veritas Prep! This video will air in May and we need YOUR help to make it! During this video, Veritas Prep’s most knowledgeable MBA experts – Scott Shrum, author of Your MBA Game Plan, and Cecile Matthews, Director of MBA Admissions Consulting – will be reviewing anonymous MBA candidate profiles and evaluating their chances of admission into the world’s top business schools. Sign up Read more
Published: April 29, 2018
Careers in Toothpaste: How Fast-Moving Consumer Healthcare Is Changing Lives, Starting with Yours
Sponsored Content Toothpaste may seem like a humdrum household item but there’s more than meets the eye, especially if you’ve got your sights set on the healthcare industry Business is booming, to put it mildly. In 2015, the United States spent more than $3.2 trillion on healthcare—approximately $9,990 per person. And around 13.5 percent of that is spent on retail sales of consumer healthcare products—like toothpaste. To no one’s surprise, pharma isn’t half-bad either; the U.S. lays claim to more than 45 percent of the global pharma market, which is valued at Read more
Published: April 27, 2018
Tuck Announces $250 Million Capital Campaign for Tomorrow’s Wise Leaders
Tuck School of Business has unveiled a new $250 million capital campaign designed to support “people, programs, and places” through increased financial aid resources for students and significant investments in the business school’s faculty, as well as program innovation and campus upgrades. Called “The Tuck Difference: The Campaign for Tomorrow’s Wise Leaders,” the fundraising campaign is part of a Dartmouth-wide initiative. Key supporters have already pledged $132 million, surpassing an earlier goal. People “Our most cherished asset is talent,” Tuck Dean Matthew Slaughter said in a press release. “The dynamism and diversity of our students and Read more
Published: April 26, 2018
Fridays from the Frontline: INSEAD Women in Business Club Launches “Tell Your Story” Initiative
Fridays from the Frontline INSEAD’s Women in Business Club recently kicked off a “Tell Your Story” initiative on the INSEAD MBA Experience blog. The new initiative aims to offer a platform for female students to share their insights and “inspirational life stories.” The first “Tell Your Story” guest is current INSEAD student Ann Alampi, MBA ‘18J, who offers unique takes gleaned from an interesting path to business school, first as a geology researcher and later an energy consultant for top consulting firm Bain & Company. The following post has been republished in its entirety from its original Read more
Published: April 25, 2018
HBS Crowns Its Latest New Venture Competition Winners
Last week Harvard Business School (HBS) announced the winners of its 21st annual New Venture Competition. Hosted by the school’s Arthur Rock Center for Entrepreneurship and its Social Enterprise Initiative, in partnership with HBS Alumni Clubs & Associations, the NVC offers cash prizes to both students and alumni for outstanding entrepreneurial and social enterprise ventures. The competition is open to all students and alumni who aspire to start their own businesses. Since its inception 21 years ago, NVC has awarded more than $2 million in cash prizes to student and alumni business ventures and has attracted more than Read more
Published: April 24, 2018
Our Latest Podcast: Clear Admit’s 12-Step Program for Early Bird MBA Applicants
Looking to get an early start on your MBA applications for the 2018-2019 application season? Don’t miss our latest podcast episode, in which Clear Admit Co-Founder Graham Richmond outlines a 12-step program for early bird MBA applicants. By getting the ball rolling this far in advance, you’re already setting yourself up for success. Richmond’s suggested steps can help ensure that you stay on track and take full advantage of your great head start. Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast Episode 11: Clear Admit's 12-Step Program for Early Bird MBA Applicants Play Episode Pause Episode Mute/Unmute Episode Read more
Published: April 23, 2018
Top MBA Recruiters: Starbucks
So, the following post about Starbucks as a top MBA recruiter ran on our sister site, MetroMBA, before the coffee giant was propelled into the headlines by an event at one of its Philadelphia locations that raised questions around the issues of race and discrimination. Starbucks responded by announcing that it will close all 8,000 of its company-owned locations for an afternoon in May to conduct “racial-bias” training. “The company’s bold move, which was announced Tuesday and followed the social-media uproar and in-store protests that erupted after the arrest of two black men waiting at one of the coffee giant’s Philadelphia Read more
Published: April 23, 2018
MBA DecisionWire Spotlight: Undecided about Cornell / Johnson and Michigan / Ross for Consulting
For this edition of MBA DecisionWire Spotlight, which highlights MBA candidates’ choices as shared in Clear Admit’s DecisionWire, we take a closer look at a candidate torn between Cornell / Johnson and Michigan / Ross with a plan to enter consulting. The candidate added some more detail in the initial post: Feedback kicked off favoring Ross, but also bringing Yale SOM back into the mix: Read more
Published: April 22, 2018
Cornell Alumnus Supports Cornell Tech NYC Intensives with Substantial Gift
More students at Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management have been able to spend a semester of their time in business school studying at the Cornell Tech campus in New York City thanks to a generous gift by Cornell alumnus Richard G. Schneider (B.S. ’70). The gift went toward subsidized housing costs for around 25 Ithaca-based students who took part in Cornell Tech’s New York City fintech and digital marketing intensives. The intensives took place during the first seven weeks of the spring 2018 semester and offered MBA students the chance to collaborate and learn from each other in the heart of the Big Apple. Read more

MBA Applywire

10
November 17, 2024 9:24am ET
Applying: Columbia, , Georgetown / McDonough, Harvard Business School, INSEAD, NYU Stern, Oxford / Saïd, Stanford GSB, UCLA Anderson, Yale SOM
Pre-MBA Career: Higher Education
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Technology, Investment Banking, Venture Capital, Private Equity, Media, Undecided Companies: Bain , BCG , McKinsey , JP Morgan , Morgan Stanley , JP Morgan Chase , Apple , Google , Microsoft , Andressen Horowitz , Charles River , Sequoia Capital , Blackstone , KKR , 21st Century Fox , Comcast , Walt Disney
GPA: 3.97
Years of Work Experience: 5
Location: Denver, Colorado
Post MBA Location: New York City
3
November 16, 2024 5:16pm ET
Applying: ESADE, IE Business School, IESE
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Tech
Post-MBA Target Industry: Technology, Pharmaceutical Companies: Apple , Facebook , Google , Microsoft , Oracle , Johnson & Johnson , Novartis , Pfizer , Roche
GMAT: 525
GPA: 2.79
Years of Work Experience: 4
Post MBA Location: Europe
Notes:

Asian, female, USA. Top 10 Undergraduate school in USA, majored in Biomedical Engineering. Worked for Salesforce, Accenture, and Microsoft within sales department. Major accomplishments within sales roles. Strong personal essays. Letters of Recommendations from direct managers. Founder and held multiple leadership positions in school clubs during Undergrad. Just a really bad test taker and cannot seem to get my scores up no matter how many times I take it specifically in the quant section. American trying to stay in Europe post MBA and only applying to European B-schools.
7
November 15, 2024 9:32am ET
Applying: Cornell / Johnson, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, Michigan / Ross, Minnesota / Carlson, UVA / Darden, Yale SOM
Pre-MBA Career: Insurance
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting Companies: Bain , BCG , McKinsey , Other
GMAT: 505
GPA: 3.44
Years of Work Experience: 3
Post MBA Location: Midwest, Northeast
Notes:

GMAT Note:
* The score is an unofficial practice test. I am beginning my studies for the real thing now.

Undergrad Majors:
* Economics
* Business Management

Work Experience Notes:
* Insurance experience is at a family business
* I implemented data analytics into business operations since that was not a practice beforehand.
* I help with sales, customer service, bookkeeping, and marketing.

Extracurriculars & Volunteer Activities:
* Worked as an economics research assistant during my undergrad where I consulted public and private entities
* Was part of an economics research project that won a national award for its work in community economic development
* Published 2 university-sponsored economics articles
* During my senior year, I was appointed to a university faculty committee to help plan university award ceremonies and delegate student scholarships
* Won a leadership award from my university
* Economics honor society member
* President of a student club (1 year) and a club's Senior Advisor (1 year)
* Started and led 2 initiatives that installed free smoke alarms in rural area homes (received a leadership award from the American Red Cross for this)
* Ironman triathlete
13
November 14, 2024 8:16pm ET
Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Cambridge / Judge, Columbia, Cornell / Johnson, emlyon, IESE, Imperial, INSEAD, London Business School, Manchester / AMBS, Northwestern / Kellogg, NYU Stern, UPenn / Wharton
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Hospitality
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Technology, Consumer Goods, Other Companies: Amazon , Apple , Google , Coca Cola , LVMH , Nestle , Nike
GRE: 326
GPA: 3.46
Years of Work Experience: 6
Post MBA Location: Consultancy
7
November 14, 2024 6:29am ET
Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Columbia, Cornell / Johnson, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, Georgetown / McDonough, UVA / Darden
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Consulting, Capital Project Development (Renewable Energy/CCS)
Post-MBA Target Industry: Investment Banking, Venture Capital, Private Equity, Commercial Banking, Family Business, Entrepreneurship
GMAT: 664
GPA: 2.9
Years of Work Experience: 7
Notes:

Pakistani male, looking to get into the financial services industry short term, and long-term make a significant contribution to the family business or pursue entrepreneurship. Studied engineering from UT Austin for undergrad followed by three jobs (roughly 2 years each) and a nine month break in between job 2 and 3. Planning to take the GMAT again in 3 weeks to offset GPA. Goal score is 695. Mitigating circumstances around GPA are just illness and general family/self issues but doubt they will be very convincing.
View or Submit Entries

MBA LiveWire

November 17, 2024 10:14am ET
Interview Invite to Stanford GSB
Round: Round 1
Received via email on November 14, 2024
GPA: 3.52
GRE: 322
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Technology
Note:

Consortium applicant applied round 1
November 17, 2024 12:58am ET
Rejected at Columbia
Round: Round 1
Received via portal on November 14, 2024
GPA: 3.49
GMAT: 740
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Consulting
Application Location: India
November 17, 2024 12:46am ET
Interview Invite to Duke / Fuqua
Round: Round 1
Received via email on November 12, 2024
GPA: 3.49
GMAT: 740
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Consulting
Application Location: India
November 16, 2024 12:19pm ET
Interview Invite to Northwestern / Kellogg
Round: Round 1
Received via email
GRE: 320
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Application Location: India
November 16, 2024 10:45am ET
Accepted to Boston College / Carroll
Round: Round 1
Received via phone on November 12, 2024
GPA: 3.91
GRE: 318
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Consulting
Application Location: Texaa
View or Submit Entries
Live
Wire