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MBA Podcast

Published: March 20, 2022
Wire Taps 223— Promising candidate needs solid GMAT score. Failed a class, is it fatal? “Dream School” Wharton versus Anderson with money
In this episode of Wire Taps, Alex and Graham discuss the upcoming Round 2 decision releases of Northwestern / Kellogg, Chicago / Booth and UPenn / Wharton among others, making the observation that with each successive week, bigger programs are releasing their decisions. Graham highlights two new Real Humans MBA Alumni pieces – one about an Insead graduate working at Bain and another about a Booth graduate who joined Disney. Graham also underlines the latest installments in the Top MBA Career Placement Outcomes series, focused on Strategy Consulting and Entrepreneurship and the Career Placement report for Texas / McCombs, which Read more
Published: March 15, 2022
Episode 222: Women’s Path to Leadership and the Power of the MBA
In this edition of the Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast, we welcome two special guests from the SMU Cox School of Business to discuss women’s path to leadership and the influence of an MBA. Women hold just six percent of CEO roles at F500 companies (that’s 31 women vs. 469 men); of those 31 women, nearly half have MBAs. In 2005, zero business schools reported more than 40% female enrollment, but that number jumped to 19 business schools in 2019. Clearly, there is still much work to be done in this domain. To talk about what’s happening on the Read more
Published: March 13, 2022
Wire Taps 221—Military candidate with weaker numbers, entrepreneur with top GMAT, Columbia versus Sloan for Asset Management
In our latest installment of the Clear Admit MBA admissions podcast, Alex and Graham discussed the pending releases of admissions decisions for several programs in this upcoming week (Emory, UNC, Duke, Michigan, UVA, IESE), as well as last week’s release of  CMU / Tepper decisions. Graham speculated that there will be significant movement off the Round 1 waitlists, forthcoming, due to the slump in application volume. We also discussed the release of additional articles in our new content series: Top MBA Career Placement Outcomes. We focused on the Finance sector piece, which is very revealing in terms of Read more
Published: March 7, 2022
Episode 220: Taking a Serious Look at the Online MBA
Most of our regular listeners know our podcast tends to devote 99% of recorded time to traditional, full-time, in-person MBA offerings, but several factors have combined to merit some serious discussion of online offerings. Those factors are: Technology The caliber of institutions increasingly active in this space The pandemic’s ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ doctrine Special guest Dr. Carolyn Goerner joins host Graham Richmond to discuss the online MBA landscape. Dr. Goerner, the Aldi, Inc. Distinguished I-Core Clinical Professor at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business in Bloomington, Indiana, teaches in the #1 online MBA program Read more
Published: March 6, 2022
Wire Taps 219—West African candidate and 700 GMAT, Test waiver for Round 3, Johnson Park Fellowship versus Columbia
In this episode of WireTaps, Graham and Alex discussed this week’s forthcoming release of admissions decisions for CMU / Tepper and INSEAD. Your hosts also highlighted our new content series: Top MBA Career Placement Outcomes. Two pieces published last week revealed interesting insights regarding regional placement within the U.S.. Graham and Alex then shifted gears to talk about two Real Humans Alumni pieces which focused on making the move from Northwestern / Kellogg to Google and from and Georgetown / McDonough to BCG. Graham also mentioned the recently published career report for USC / Read more
Published: February 27, 2022
Wire Taps 218—Corporate finance to CFO, Civil engineer to mobility, Anderson versus Ross and Stern.
In this edition of WireTaps, Alex and Graham discuss the release of MIT Sloan interview invites (more or less accurately predicting their arrival – despite recording the episode prior to the release!). Your hosts also talked a little more about the UPenn Wharton team-based interview and recommended a previous episode of the podcast for those prepping. Graham noted the release of the Real Humans MBA Alumni series, featuring grads from Chicago / Booth and HBS, working at Bain and Amazon, respectively; there was also discussion about the release of the Real Humans of Wharton (apparently a Read more
Published: February 20, 2022
Wire Taps 217—Budding Product Manager, Investment Banker and Entrepreneur, Haas versus Darden, for now.
In this week’s episode of WireTaps, Graham and Alex discuss the recent release of the Financial Times MBA rankings, and the challenges the FT faces in being the only leading MBA ranking that combines programs from around the world into a single list; Wharton took the top spot. Graham highlighted a yearly favorite, a piece on Northwestern / Kellogg’s assessment of the Superbowl ads. Graham also mentioned the career reports from Chicago / Booth and UVA / Darden, both programs showing nice geographic and industry diversity. Graham also noted another recent podcast he did with the Read more
Published: February 13, 2022
Wire Taps 215—Chemical Engineer, Duke Wait List, Haas with money versus Stanford
Is it too late to apply this season? What about candidates on waitlists – how might they fare in the months ahead? In the latest episode of the podcast, Graham and Alex shared their thoughts regarding the assumed drop in application volume and how this may impact candidates who might still want to apply, or have been waitlisted from Round 1; this may all be good news. Graham also highlighted the Real Humans piece for ESADE and the employment report for Berkeley / Haas, which led to a bit of a teaser about some pending career content Read more
Published: February 6, 2022
Episode 213: Wire Taps—Strong profile from an over-represented population, should they wait? Engineer with great numbers, on the waitlist, and waiting for Round 2 offers. Haas versus Darden with more money, a tough call.
Welcome back to another episode of your friendly MBA-neighborhood podcast!  The big conversation from last week’s MBA admissions activity centered around the interview invite releases of Harvard and Michigan / Ross (note: Alex and Graham somehow neglected to mention the release of Duke / Fuqua’s Round 2 invites, also heavily reported on MBA LiveWire). Alex put Graham on the spot about his own experience interviewing at HBS, and after diving into that topic a bit Graham called listeners attention to Real Humans piece on UVA / Darden, and the employment report for Cornell / Johnson. It was no surprise that Read more
Published: January 31, 2022
Episode 212: An Admissions & Career Services Merger at SMU Cox
This special podcast episode covers the importance of career goals in both the MBA admissions and post-MBA career placement domains. In particular, with the help of two special guests, we dive into an innovative approach being taken at one leading business school, where the MBA admissions and career services teams are truly working in tandem. Host Graham Richmond welcomes Lisa Tran and Jason Rife from the SMU Cox School of Business to explore the symbiotic relationship that propels MBA graduates’ success. Jason Rife, Sr. Asst. Dean, Career Mgmt Center and Graduate Admissions, & Lisa Tran, Managing Director, Read more
Published: January 30, 2022
Episode 211: Wire Taps – Potentially very strong candidate, needs to shape their story. A candidate with interesting work experience…but is low GPA a killer? Darden ($0) vs. Johnson ($80K) for consulting (or maybe IB)?
As Round 2 interview invite season continues, Alex and Graham discuss Harvard’s release date (Wednesday of this upcoming week) – something your hosts had indeed speculated would be the case in last week’s episode. Graham also highlighted the latest Real Humans piece from Georgetown / McDonough and noted some fun facts and figures from the employment reports for MIT / Sloan and Yale SOM. Your hosts then discussed the latest MBA rankings from US News – for online programs – and wondered why Michigan / Ross was not included. As has been the case of Read more
Published: January 23, 2022
Episode 210: Wire Taps—Strong female candidate worried about a 710 GMAT. Pivot from tech to investment banking, with a 770 GMAT. Wharton ($10K) vs. Sloan ($100K), for MBB Consulting.
In this episode, Graham and Alex kick things off with some talk about the timing of interview invitations for impatient Round 2 applicants.  Interview invites are already starting to roll out for some programs (West Coast schools, plus Yale and a few more) but the programs with ‘fixed’ interview decision dates remain a couple of weeks away; your hosts speculated that HBS would be the first week of February. Beyond talk of R2 applications, Graham highlighted our final Real Humans student piece for the season, USC Marshall. He also mentioned the upcoming events Clear Admit is hosting for Read more
Published: January 16, 2022
Episode 209: Wire Taps— Dartmouth grad with 11 years of work experience in Japan. Syrian American chemical engineer looking to transition to consulting. West African candidate weighing offers from Booth, Johnson, Yale and Stern, for Investment Banking.
Welcome back to WireTaps!  On this Martin Luther King Day, Alex and Graham take a moment to recognize the enormous contributions made by Dr. King before turning their attention towards the latest MBA application news.  Round 2 application deadlines have passed for all the top MBA programs except for MIT / Sloan; Alex discussed the advantages this might provide Sloan, year on year. Graham then highlighted the new Real Humans pieces Clear Admit has published for Boston College, UT / McCombs and Vanderbilt / Owen. Graham also noted the new employment report for Northwestern / Kellogg, Read more
Published: January 9, 2022
Episode 208: Wire Taps—Female Indian candidate with a lower GRE score. Tech candidate with super numbers. Darden with dollars versus Kellogg.
Welcome back to WireTaps, our weekly podcast covering all things MBA Admissions!  Round 2 application deadlines continue in the week ahead; Alex and Graham discussed Chicago Booth moving its deadline to this week, January 11, speculating on the reason why. Graham highlighted the Real Humans pieces from Rochester / Simon and Washington U./ Olin. Graham also covered the employment reports from Columbia and Duke / Fuqua, and your hosts noted that Columbia does not break out the geographic spread of its graduates, while Fuqua is sending 28% of its class to the west coast, a high Read more
Published: January 2, 2022
Episode 207: Wire Taps—Female engineer with lower GMAT quant score. Operations candidate targeting the COO role at Patagonia. Stern with a full-ride vs. Booth full-fare, for Investment Banking in New York?
Happy 2022 to all! Graham and Alex are back to ring in the New Year, despite some unexpected hurdles involving an acronym… Round 2 application deadlines are now upon us; Alex noted that 20 MBA programs that Clear Admit covers have their application deadlines this week. Our hosts also marvel at the increase in MBA DecisionWire entries, and the community discussion around those entries on the wires. Graham highlighted the recently published Real Humans pieces for UCLA Anderson and Cambridge Judge. Graham also discussed a new feature on Spotify, the show can now be rated; so here’s Read more
Published: December 26, 2021
Episode 206: Wire Taps—Outstanding military candidate with modest GRE. Government worker turned serial novelist. US-based candidate weighing options with non US-based programs.
Grab a glass of eggnog and cozy up to this holiday edition of the WireTaps podcast! While things are now quiet on the MBA decision release front, plenty of MBA candidates are sharing their decisions on MBA DecisionWire, and Graham and Alex get into some helpful content around how to spend the holiday break if you are deciding on R1 options or applying in R2.   Graham also noted the release of Real Humans pieces for Dartmouth / Tuck and Minnesota / Carlson and highlighted the employment reports from Harvard and Tuck. Both programs had an average starting salary at $150,000; Read more
Published: December 19, 2021
Episode 205: Wire Taps—URM college dropout with low test scores; can he make the cut? Accomplished woman with great numbers despite being expelled from ugrad. Will adcoms take a risk? DW: Stern full fare vs. McDonough with dollars; Should money matter?
Welcome back to another episode of WireTaps!  With decisions from leading programs wrapping up over the last week, there has been no shortage of activity on both MBA LiveWire – and MBA DecisionWire, as candidates start weighing their options.   Beyond the usual profile reviews, Alex and Graham dive into an ongoing conversation on LiveWire about the timing of interview invites for Columbia’s rolling admissions. They also look at the new Real Humans piece for Columbia and the employment report for Georgetown / McDonough, which had significance for the third WireTaps candidate this week (see below). As to this week’s candidates: Read more
Published: December 12, 2021
Episode 204: Wire Taps—Energy Guy Worried About ROI. Columbia ED Candidate Targeting Round 2. Latam Candidate Might Rethink Target Programs.
Alex and Graham are back for another episode of WireTaps amidst the whirlwind of R1 decisions from Harvard, Stanford, Tuck, Kellogg, Emory, Darden, Michigan, Georgetown, and more! Our hosts preview MIT, Berkeley, and Wharton R1 decisions (coming later this week) and remind listeners to drop by Clubhouse this Thursday at 12 pm ET for some R1 results chatter. Alex and Graham also dig into some of the specific activity they’ve seen on MBA LiveWire over the past week, including one candidate who’s Stanford deny was softened by his HBS admit.  Graham also noted that plenty of interview reports are still Read more
Published: December 5, 2021
Episode 202: Wire Taps—Global Citizen in the Food Delivery Biz. Japanese-based candidate in Private Equity. ORM with super GPA, is Round 2 going to hurt?
As decisions for Round 1 candidates begin to roll out, Alex and Graham discuss the activity seen on MBA LiveWire last week (Booth, LBS and Yale SOM).  They also cover this upcoming week, with Harvard and Stanford decisions leading the way. Graham also notes the new adcom Q&A with David Simpson, from London Business School and takes a moment to thank site users for submitting interview reports, a clear signal that interview season for Round 1 is (pretty much) over. Our hosts them move on to tackle the profiles of three ApplyWire entries. First up, we have a global citizen, Read more
Published: November 28, 2021
Episode 201: Wire Taps—Deferred Candidate with Cannabis Biz! Should They Aim Higher? Is the GRE Score the Outlier?
Graham and Alex provide key advice in this week’s podcast episode of Wire Taps. First up, a deferred candidate in their junior year appears to be doing everything right in terms of academic performance, campus leadership and entrepreneurship. They’ve still got to ace the test, but is their Cannabis business opportunity a risk? Next, our hosts discuss a candidate who has gone six for six in terms of interview invites in Round 1; should they be targeting higher profile programs in Round 2? Finally, Alex and Graham discuss a candidate who appears to have outstanding work experience and is seeking Read more
Published: November 21, 2021
The Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast Hits Milestone 200th Episode!
The Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast has turned 200! That’s right, this week’s episode is the 200th edition of a podcast that was first launched in March of 2018. Needless to say, it has wildly exceeded our expectations. In celebration of such a milestone, we want to share a handful of fun facts and figures from the podcast. IF YOU RECORD IT, THEY WILL COME: Nearly a quarter of million people have tuned into the show over the past 3+ years (from virtually every corner of the planet). REAL HUMANS: Our “WireTaps” episodes, which air each Monday, Read more
Published: November 21, 2021
Episode 200: Wire Taps—Should I Still Apply This Year? Do I Have Enough Work Experience? I Need Help with My Quant Score!
We are excited to mark another milestone with our 200th podcast episode! We would like to thank all our listeners (who have combined for more than 222,000 listens) for making this podcast the show that it has become! Alex and Graham are here to mark the occasion with another installment of Wire Taps, in which they dish out MBA admissions advice to current applicants. First up, we have an Indian candidate who now resides in Canada, and is seeking an MBA to start a consulting career. Some of the challenges he faces include making good sense of his career Read more
Published: November 14, 2021
Episode 199: Wire Taps—Underrepresented in Eastern Europe, How to Pitch a Pivot, First-Gen GPA Blues
Many applicants are now looking to refine their admissions strategies for Round 2 deadlines, and Graham and Alex provide key advice in this week’s podcast episode of Wire Taps. First up, an Eastern European applicant may be underrepresented in the applicant pool, but should likely try to retake the GMAT given a below average result. Next, a civil engineer who struggled with health problems in Round 1 is hoping to submit more Round 2 apps, but will need to clearly present his goals in the sports domain to find success. Finally, a first-generation college graduate with a 3.18 GPA and Read more
Published: November 9, 2021
Episode 198: Real Humans of the Wharton Lauder MBA/MA Class
We have a special edition podcast episode for you in which we welcome two current students of the Wharton School’s Lauder Institute of Management & International Studies class. As part of our Real Humans: MBA Students series, current Wharton Lauder students, Wendy Yu and Juliana Escobar, share their experiences with the joint degree program. Wharton Lauder students earn two degrees in two years: A Wharton School MBA plus an International Studies MA from the University of Pennsylvania. Wendy Yu (left) and Juliana Escobar, Wharton Lauder MBA/MA Candidates Our first guest, Wendy Yu, is a top Read more
Published: November 7, 2021
Episode 197: Wire Taps—Do I Need Awards?, Should I Aim Higher in R2?, Can a 760 GMAT Address a 2.9 GPA?
It’s time for another podcast episode of Wire Taps, in which Alex and Graham dig into MBA admissions advice for applicants who have posted to MBA ApplyWire. This week, an executive recruiter at Google is concerned about the ‘Awards’ section of the application forms. Another applicant in tech strategy is looking at more schools to consider for Round 2. Finally, another applicant with a tech background has a stellar GMAT of 760, but sub-3.0 GPA. Preview the posts that Alex and Graham discuss this week, then tune in below! A Google employee needs help addressing a particular part of Read more

MBA Applywire

6
December 25, 2024 2:16pm ET
Applying: Duke / Fuqua, Emory / Goizueta, Georgetown / McDonough, Indiana / Kelley, Michigan / Ross, UNC Kenan-Flagler
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Strategy consulting
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Commercial Banking Companies: Bain , BCG , Deloitte , Ernst & Young , KPMG , McKinsey , PWC , Bank of America , Capital One , Citibank , PNC Bank , Wells Fargo
GRE: 323
GPA: 3.48
Years of Work Experience: 6
12
December 25, 2024 10:52am ET
Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Carnegie Mellon / Tepper, Columbia, Cornell / Johnson, Duke / Fuqua, Indian School of Business, Indiana / Kelley, Michigan / Ross, Northwestern / Kellogg, UCLA Anderson, UT Austin / McCombs, UVA / Darden
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Supply Chain Management
Post-MBA Target Industry: Other
GMAT: 655
GPA: 3.3
Years of Work Experience: 4.5
Location: India
Post MBA Location: USA
Notes:

Extensive Supply chain experience across Telecom and Aviation industries. Currently working with United Airlines in Supply Chain. Lots of international exposure and experience.
2
December 25, 2024 7:51am ET
Applying: Duke / Fuqua, UVA / Darden
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Indian Chartered Accountant, Completed Undergrad and Grad in commernce (A and A+ grade)Fund Controlling - PE(Goldman Sachs) and IIF(JP Morgan)
Post-MBA Target Industry: Asset Management, inc. HF Companies: Blackrock , Goldman Sachs , JP Morgan Asset Management
GRE: 320
GPA: A+
Years of Work Experience: 5.5
Location: India
Post MBA Location: US, UK
Notes:

I got waiver from Darden and applying to fuqua with GRE score. Planning to apply to only two schools in current round 2.
Post MBA goal is to transition career from accounting based role to front end asset management roles.
5
December 23, 2024 7:48am ET
Applying: Duke / Fuqua, Emory / Goizueta, Georgia Tech / Scheller, UNC Kenan-Flagler, Vanderbilt / Owen
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Sports
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Family Business, Other Companies: Accenture , Deloitte
GMAT: 655
GPA: 3.89
Years of Work Experience: 3
Location: South
Notes:

NCAA DI Athlete
Selected for the industry's inaugural women's leadership academy
Variety of volunteer work in and out of my work industry
6
December 23, 2024 12:19am ET
Applying: Cornell / Johnson, Michigan / Ross, MIT Sloan, UCLA Anderson, UT Austin / McCombs, UVA / Darden
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Construction & RE (2nd Gen Entrepreneur)
Post-MBA Target Industry: Investment Banking, Venture Capital, Private Equity, Asset Management, inc. HF, Family Business Companies: Citibank , Credit Suisse , Morgan Stanley
GRE: 326
GPA: 3.80
Years of Work Experience: 5
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MBA LiveWire

December 29, 2024 10:20am ET
Accepted to UT Austin / McCombs
Round: Round 1
Received via phone on December 16, 2024
GRE: 322
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Consulting
Application Location: India
December 28, 2024 4:04pm ET
Interview Invite to Dartmouth / Tuck
Round: Round 2
Received via email on December 22, 2024
GPA: 3.357
GRE: 333
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Healthcare
Application Location: California, USA
Note:

Date of app submission: 12/22/2024
December 27, 2024 3:04pm ET
Accepted to Duke / Fuqua
Round: Round 1
Received via phone on December 11, 2024
GPA: 3.0
GMAT: 710
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Operations Management
Application Location: New Jersey
December 27, 2024 2:07am ET
Applied to MIT Sloan
Round: Round 1
Received via email
GRE: 340
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
December 27, 2024 12:36am ET
Accepted to Northwestern / Kellogg
Round: Round 1
Received via email on December 10, 2024
GPA: 8.8/10
GRE: 337
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Consulting
Application Location: India
Note:

Received 60% scholarship.
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