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Clear Admit Insights

Published: July 31, 2024
Our Favorite MBA Admissions Essay Topics & What We Would Ask
As a team at Clear Admit, we are very familiar with the ins and outs of MBA admissions. We offer advice on essay topics, review applicant profiles and welcome admissions directors to share their insider insights – and more. As we guide MBA applicants through the admissions process, we thought it would be fun to share our favorite essay topics (in no particular order) of the season and what we would ask applicants if we were in the admissions office. Personal Favorites of the Clear Admit Team Three Votes for a Creative Essay We each Read more
Published: April 8, 2024
U.S. News 2024 Best Business Schools: Wharton & Stanford GSB Share Top Spot
The 2024 U.S. News Best Graduate Programs Rankings rolled out and we’re taking a closer look at the Best Business School list. Stanford GSB jumps five spots from last year to join The Wharton School in the top spot. These two replace last year’s #1 school, Chicago Booth, which now ranks third along with Northwestern Kellogg. Clear Admit Co-Founder Graham Richmond notes, “For the second year in a row, the US News ranking methodology favors career outcomes (salaries, rates of employment, recruiter Read more
Published: April 15, 2021
A Debrief of March Madness: Post-MBA Employer Edition
In March 2021, we selected 32 notable companies to go head-to-head in our first-ever Post-MBA Employer Edition of March Madness. These firms were selected and seeded into the bracket based on their popularity with Clear Admit’s registered users – so we had our own predictions about how things would unfold. Graham Richmond, co-founder of Clear Admit, comments on the intriguing process of watching the tournament unfold: “This was a lot of fun for those of us who are keen followers of MBA recruiting trends. It was especially fascinating to watch the three most popular domains of MBA recruiting – consulting, Read more
Published: December 8, 2020
Competition for Admission to Top MBA Programs Intensifies Amid COVID Pandemic
As if 2020 hasn’t been difficult enough, there may be some more bad news for applicants to leading business schools: Round 1 outcome data from Clear Admit’s LiveWire tool suggests that MBA applicants may be in for a tough 2020-2021 admissions season. Amid rumblings of higher application volume, we conducted a quick year-over-year analysis, looking at the percentage of total LiveWire updates represented by Rejection and Interview Invitation statuses. The rate of interview invitations and rejections at the top-16 US MBA programs suggests that schools may be handing out fewer invites – and that rejections may Read more
Published: October 26, 2020
You Could Receive $25 for Sharing Your Feedback!
The global pandemic has shut down campus visit programs and in-person admissions events, changing the ways candidates are learning about and engaging with MBA and other graduate management degree programs. Clear Admit and our partner schools want to learn about the information that’s most important to you as you’re researching graduate programs and deciding where to apply. We also want to understand where you’re looking for that information, and how business school admissions teams can best meet your informational needs. This survey will take you 10-15 minutes to complete. The questions will touch on your preferences for virtual Read more
Published: May 31, 2020
Let’s Do This: Findings from the Fall 2020 MBA Admit Preferences Survey
As Fall 2020 MBA admits have had some time to get their heads around the potential impact of COVID-19 on their MBA experience, we’ve continued to survey our audience to keep our finger on the pulse of prospective students’ preferences and plans. Today, we’re reporting the findings of our latest survey, which focused on admitted MBA students’ feelings about the possibilities of online instruction and reduced international student representation due to social distancing requirements and potential travel bans related to the novel coronavirus. Four hundred ninety people responded to this survey, which was in the field between May 4th and Read more
Published: April 27, 2020
What Are You Worried About? COVID-19 Concerns Survey Findings
Following up on our quick survey about how prospective MBA students expected COVID-19 to impact their b-school experience, we conducted some additional survey research a few weeks ago to better understand the nature of prospective students’ coronavirus-related concerns. As promised, we’ve crunched the numbers and are sharing our findings with the Clear Admit community today. The vast majority of respondents were hoping to enroll at full-time MBA programs in the United States. Because U.S. citizens and non-U.S. citizens are likely facing different barriers related to matriculation, all findings are presented separately for these two groups of Read more
Published: March 26, 2020
Many Factors at Play for MBA Admits: Follow-up Survey Analyses
Yesterday, we shared the results of our COVID-19 MBA Impact Survey, which asked Fall 2020 MBA admits how the novel coronavirus outbreak is influencing their decision-making about matriculating, and how much they anticipated COVID-19 to impact the educational experience and career outcomes for MBA students starting this fall. Today, we’re sharing some additional analysis to help our readers better understand the relationships among these three variables as they interpret the survey findings and what they mean for incoming students and school stakeholders. A Quick Note About Correlation Correlation is simply the relationship between two variables. For Read more
Published: March 25, 2020
To Matriculate or Not To Matriculate: COVID-19 Impact Survey Results
COVID-19 and the extreme measures required to slow its spread have had a profound impact on workers, students, families, and the global economy. With established day-to-day routines being wildly disrupted, major life changes—like enrolling in a full-time MBA program—can seem even more daunting than usual. After seeing some lively conversation on LiveWire among members of the Clear Admit community earlier this month, we put together a quick survey to get a sense of how the novel coronavirus pandemic is factoring into prospective students’ decision-making about pursuing an MBA. Most of our respondents had already applied for Read more

MBA Applywire

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November 20, 2024 9:42pm ET
Applying: Babson / Olin, , Carnegie Mellon / Tepper, Emory / Goizueta, Rice / Jones, Rochester / Simon, SMU Cox, UCI Merage, Washington U. / Olin
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Technology - Entrepreneurship
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Technology, Entrepreneurship
GRE: 333
GPA: 2.56
Years of Work Experience: 5
Location: Lagos
Notes:

I just got rejected for WashU Olin and I have an interview invitation with Questrom. GPA continues to bother me but I addressed it in my supporting essays.
11
November 19, 2024 12:51pm ET
Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Cornell / Johnson, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, INSEAD, Michigan / Ross, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, U. Chicago Booth, UPenn / Wharton, Yale SOM
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Tech in government
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Entrepreneurship Companies: Bain , McKinsey
GRE: 319
GPA: 2.9
Years of Work Experience: 7
Notes:

I got cancer when I was undergrad that's why my undergrad GPA is low. After MBA I want to work in consulting then make a social impact in Africa through entrepreneurship
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November 19, 2024 12:06pm ET
Applying: Duke / Fuqua, Harvard Business School, Michigan / Ross, Northwestern / Kellogg, Stanford GSB, U. Chicago Booth, U. Washington / Foster, UNC Kenan-Flagler, UT Austin / McCombs, UVA / Darden
Pre-MBA Career: Wealth Management and Military
Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Asset Management, inc. HF, Other Companies: Bain , BCG , Deloitte , McKinsey , Goldman Sachs , JP Morgan Asset Management , State Street , Vanguard
GPA: 3.80
Years of Work Experience: 7
Location: San Diego
Post MBA Location: Chicago, Seattle, Minneapolis, Charlotte
Notes:

UG Degree: BBA Financial Markets at an Accredited Institution.

Civilian Work History: 3 years as Wealth Advisor under an RIA in Minneapolis and Denver. Total AUM of ~$350-400M, served as a salaried advisor in a primary and secondary capacity. Holistic services to include investment management, estate planning, retirement planning, insurance planning, tax planning, etc.

Military History: 4 years as a supply/logistics officer heading efforts for air/ground mobility, defense contracting, supply and procurement, and fiscal budget management while located at various bases within CONUS and multiple forward deployed locations.

Professional Certifications: Obtained Certified Financial Planner designation (2022) and Series 65 (2019).
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November 18, 2024 12:50am ET
Applying: Columbia, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, Emory / Goizueta, NYU Stern, UNC Kenan-Flagler, Yale SOM
Intake Year: 2025
Pre-MBA Career: Consulting
Post-MBA Target Industry: Investment Banking Companies: Bank of America , Barclays , Citibank , Credit Suisse , Goldman Sachs , JP Morgan Chase
GRE: 323
GPA: 3.32
Years of Work Experience: 7
Notes:

Education:
- Combined Major in Economics and Statistics
- CFA Charterholder (passed all three levels on the first attempt)

Professional Experience:
- Manager at a Big 4 firm Specializing in capital projects and infrastructure, with a role similar to investment banking
- Seven years of experience, mainly in financial services in Ghana

Extracurricular Activities:
- Pro bono capital-raising services for SMEs
- Aspiring to run a full advisory firm for SMEs in the future
- CFA exam coaching and tutorial classes for candidates
- Founder of a travel and tour club offering affordable trips to explore beautiful and historic scenes in Ghana

Will being 32 years old affect the attractiveness of my candidacy?
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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
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MBA LiveWire

November 21, 2024 10:36am ET
Accepted to Cornell / Johnson
Round: Round 1
Received via phone November 21, 2024
GPA: 3.5
GMAT: 760
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Finance
Application Location: United States
November 21, 2024 4:51am ET
Waitlisted at NYU Stern
Round: Round 1
Received via portal on November 19, 2024
GPA: 3.54
GRE: 331
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Consulting
Application Location: Nicaragua
Note:

Waitlisted without interview. How can I flip this in my favour?
November 21, 2024 3:13am ET
Accepted to Washington U. / Olin
Round: Round 1
Received via email November 20, 2024
GPA: 3.81
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Finance
Application Location: Los Angeles
Note:

100K scholarship!
November 20, 2024 11:49pm ET
Interview Invite to Berkeley / Haas
Round: Round 1
Received via email November 20, 2024
GMAT: 645
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Note:

Consortium
November 20, 2024 9:20pm ET
Interview Invite to Dartmouth / Tuck
Round: Round 1
Received via portal on September 04, 2024
GPA: 3.74
GRE: 311
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Target Career: Consulting
Application Location: Tampa, FL
Note:

Applied early enough to guarantee interview.
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