MBA News
A collection of news items from MBA programs and about the business school admissions process.
The Deferred Enrollment Program at Columbia Business School
As a college senior or graduate student, your path up until this point has likely been laid out relatively clearly for years—course schedules, weekly assignments, credit requirements, etc. Now, with graduation finally in sight, what will be your next step? What will you need to thrive in a global economy—not to mention, adapt to the ups and downs of one? Deferred enrollment MBA programs offer the ideal mix of real-world experience and advanced management education to give you greater freedom in your career choice, increased salary potential and more. For deferred enrollment, you secure your acceptance to business school now,
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Stanford GSB Plans for Post-COVID-19 Future
After months of social distancing and business closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we’ve been catching glimpses of our old lives lately—dining outside at our favorite restaurants, unfurling our coziest blankets at our local beach. These hints of normalcy, however, belie the deeper economic and social impact of the disease, which experts say will last at least 12-24 months. To tackle the range of challenges we will face in our post-COVID-19 future, Stanford GSB announced a new initiative: Stanford Rebuild, a global innovation sprint to rebuild the economy, develop solutions for a better “new normal” for
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Wharton HQ Developed as New Platform for Spring Welcome Weekend
For newly admitted MBA students, spring is a time to get to know their future campus and fellow classmates at Welcome Weekends. During these events, students as well as their spouses or partners convene on campus to begin building relationships and getting a feel for a school’s culture. The coronavirus pandemic, however, has upended these in-person traditions this season. In light of these circumstances, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania found a new online platform for their annual Spring Welcome Weekend: Wharton HQ. Wharton HQ is an expansive online hub for new admits to
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Letters from the Deans: George Floyd, Community & Calls to Action
The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis has sparked a national revolution, as people in every state take to the streets in protest, demanding systemic changes to ensure justice and equality. Business school deans have reached out to their school communities, expressing grief and anger as well as delivering calls to action. We’ve collected excerpts of some of their messages below. Yale SOM Seeks to End the Cycle Dean of the Yale School of Management, Kerwin K. Charles, wrote, “Dear Yale SOM Community: “The killing of Mr. George Floyd, an African American
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Wharton Prism Fellowship Awards Leader in LGBTQIA+ Community
The Wharton School kicked off Pride Month by announcing the first recipient of their new Prism Fellowship, which is designated for an outstanding MBA student who is both a member of and demonstrates leadership in support of the LGBTQIA+ community. The inaugural recipient of the Prism Fellowship is Colan Wang, who hails from Toronto and works as a business consultant at TD Wealth. Wharton MBA Admissions Director Blair Mannix says: “Colan is an exceptional student and one that we are so excited to be a member of the Class of
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HBS Reduces Class Size for Fall 2020
Harvard Business School is expecting 720 MBA students to enroll this fall, which is roughly 20 percent smaller than its typical class size of around 930. Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, students accepted for the Class of 2022 had until June 1st to submit a request to defer for one or two years. About 700 accepted students confirmed they would be joining HBS this year, and Director of Admissions, Chad Losee, expects to draw a limited number of additional members from the waitlist. Losee announced
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You’re Invited to Clear Admit’s MBA Admissions Academy
Calling all business school applicants targeting Fall 2021: We’re launching a webinar series this summer – the Clear Admit MBA Admissions Academy – and you’re invited! Your dedicated admissions experts, Graham Richmond and Alex Brown, will be hosting a series of six webinars to teach you everything you’ll need to maximize your chances of success in the 2020-2021 admissions season. Each hour-long webinar will begin at 12 p.m. EDT. These webinars will build on each other and are designed to be taken as a complete series (though you’re welcome to attend a la carte if you’re
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Michigan Ross Launches New Internship Program & More amid COVID-19 Pandemic
During business school, a summer internship offers invaluable real-world experience, illuminates lessons learned in the classroom and provides a foot in the door at target post-MBA firms. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the availability of internships typically offered to MBA students has taken a hit. In response to these trying conditions, the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business launched a new internship program and a new summer requirement beginning with their Class of 2022. New Internship Program at Michigan Ross The new internship experience, called Michigan Ross Business Consultant Core, connects students with executives from
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Why Now is a Great Time to Apply to Business School
Through the toughest of times, business education can provide answers and solutions that not only heal economies, but uplift societies. The skills offered through an MBA—from finance and analytics, to leadership, management and more—can also empower you to be nimble in times of uncertainty, and prepare you for any business career of your choice. The journey to and through an MBA begins with reflection: Personally or professionally, what is your destination? An MBA can help you develop your skills, provide freedom in your job and career choice, and expand your network. Due to COVID-19, many MBA programs have extended
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MBA Students Host Virtual Game Show to Raise Funds for Doctors Without Borders
Let’s get ready to… fundraaaaaaaise! The MBA Battle Royale, a virtual game show featuring students from leading business schools, will raise funds for Doctors Without Borders this Saturday, May 16th at 8 p.m. EST. Tickets are on sale now for $12, $25, $50 or however much more you’d like to donate—100 percent of proceeds go to Doctors Without Borders. If you purchase a ticket, expect a link and password to the Zoom event shortly before it begins this weekend. Support Your School and Watch the Fun MBA Battle Royale Participation Tracker by LeverEdge
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Published: April 29, 2020
Forté Foundation Annual Impact Report – Diversity & Women in Business
The Forté Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering women in business, and, according to their Annual Impact Report of 2019, they’ve excelled in their mission. The business landscape for women is one of underrepresentation. When it comes to S&P 500 companies, less than six percent of CEOs and only 21.2 percent of board members are women. Forté also reports that women face a pay gap of at least 20 percent compared to their male counterparts, and only around 2 percent of all venture capital funding goes to women. In response
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Published: April 26, 2020
Admitted HBS MBA Students Can Now Defer Due to COVID-19
The crisp campus air, the collegiate atmosphere, a new city and surroundings, study groups, house parties, club meetings, new networks—the list of exciting and educational business school experiences goes on and on. Sadly, the COVID-19 pandemic threatens to hamper plans for on-campus matriculation in the fall of 2020 due to related social distancing guidelines and business restrictions. Accordingly, Harvard Business School has offered some flexibility to recent admits. Based on the current and potential impact of COVID-19, HBS students accepted for the Class of 2022 now have the option to defer their matriculation. They may submit
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Published: April 14, 2020
Fundraising by Wharton EMBAs Supports Frontlines of COVID-19 Response
A team of 10 Executive MBA students from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania have banded together to deliver personal protective equipment (PPE) to those on the frontlines of the COVID-19 battle. The team leverages expertise and their network to be an end-to-end trusted supply chain, with great speed from procurement to delivery. The need for PPE is dire. As explained on their GoFundMe page, “The growth in COVID-19 cases and growth in death toll is exponential while the supply of PPEs is not. The first 100,000 COVID-19
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Published: April 14, 2020
The Chicago Booth Experience During COVID-19
One of many hallmarks of the Chicago Booth MBA is flexibility. While this has mainly referred to the curriculum and course scheduling (e.g. MBA students only have one required course, and can tailor the rest of their studies), it’s been put to the test during the COVID-19 pandemic. As we hear from Nadeem Khan, Chicago Booth MBA ’20, the community has risen to the challenge—and continues to pass with flying colors. Read on for Khan’s account of professors moving lessons online, how student clubs are coping and more about the leading business
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Published: April 12, 2020
The Northwestern Kellogg Experience During COVID-19
“Teamwork” and “Kellogg MBA” are practically synonymous. So it’s hard to imagine what happens when student teammates can no longer convene on Northwestern University’s campus. But such is the tough reality of social distancing and quarantining efforts amidst the threat of COVID-19. Of course, business leaders are creative and adaptive, so unsurprisingly Kellogg MBA students have risen to the challenge and maintained their connections. Three second-year MBA students, Mary Beech, Kris Masoor, Ayyub Bokhari, share below how their Kellogg education
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The Yale SOM Experience During COVID-19
While the novel coronavirus disease COVID-19 has disrupted admissions for this year’s MBA applicants, current students are also facing some shake-ups in their graduate management education. To see how student life has changed, we have been catching up with MBA candidates across top programs. To kick off this series, we hear from Grace Liu Happ, a first-year student at the Yale School of Management. Nearly 350 students comprise Yale SOM’s Class of 2021, and the school has moved all Spring semester classes online. Read on for Grace’s account
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Published: March 22, 2020
ETS Unveils GRE at Home – Test Temporarily Available Online
Test Offered Online In Wake of COVID-19 Test Center Closings As of March 23rd, the GRE exam will be available to take from the comfort of your home. In light of public health concerns, ETS has made the exam available online in some markets. Those markets are as follows: United States Canada Colombia France Germany Italy Spain Hong Kong (China) Macau (China) There are other requirements as well, including specific hardware and environment thresholds (so you’ll want to check your computer system against ETS’s requirements, and make sure that you have an appropriate room in which to take the test).
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Published: March 18, 2020
HBS Extends 2+2 MBA Application Deadline
Harvard Business School announced an extension to the MBA application deadline for their 2+2 program, which is a deferred admissions option for college seniors and graduate students. Due to the impact of protocols to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including campus closures and testing suspension, HBS has changed the deadline for their 2+2 program from April 2nd, 2020, to June 1st, 2020 at noon EST. Here is Director of Admissions Chad Losee’s full statement: “Over the past few days, we have heard
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Published: March 16, 2020
U.S. News 2021 Business School Rankings Insights: HBS Sinks While Others Float On
The U.S. News & World Report Best Business Schools rankings are out and there are a few surprises, especially within the top 10. For those of you who have yet to see our announcement of the ranking, the top 25 schools in this year’s edition (with last year’s rankings included for reference) are as follows: School 2021 Rank 2020 Rank Stanford University 1 (tie) 2 University of Pennsylvania (Wharton) 1 (tie) 1 Northwestern University (Kellogg) 3 (tie) 6 University of Chicago (Booth) 3 (tie) 3 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Sloan) 5 3
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Published: March 16, 2020
Published: March 11, 2020
Wharton Creates Business Course on Coronavirus
Having escalated to a global pandemic, the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) is causing business, financial and personal fallout. In the MBA admissions space, it began with cancelling entrance exams, and extended to changing in-person interviews and campus events. To better understand the impact of COVID-19, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania is launching a course, “Epidemics, Natural Disasters, and Geopolitics: Managing Global Business and Financial Uncertainty.” Wharton Dean Geoff Garrett says, “There are significant
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Published: March 11, 2020
HBS Announces Admissions & Campus Visit Changes Due to Coronavirus
Harvard Business School posted several planned changes to admissions and campus visits in the Direct from the Director blog due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19). While Round 2 MBA applicants can still expect a final decision on March 31st, the Admitted Students Weekend for the group has been cancelled. Campus tours will also come to a halt effective March 16th, with interested parties being directed to online options. Here is the full message from Chad Losee: The situation around COVID-19
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Let’s Discuss: MBA Admissions and Coronavirus
As the coronavirus / COVID-19 sweeps the globe, MBA applicants are asking some probing questions. We have already touched on how the virus has impacted testing, recruiting, and fairs, and we have also offered up tips to ace a video interview for applicants who are dealing with cancellations of face-to-face meetings, but today we are turning our attention to the Clear Admit community on LiveWire. In a recent post, one applicant speculated that COVID-19 may impact acceptance rates for specific countries… While we are not so sure the virus will impact the decisions that admissions
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Published: February 27, 2020
Coronavirus Concerns Disrupt MBA Admissions Interviews, Testing and More
As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases reaches over 80,000 globally, mounting concerns have disrupted normal operations of MBA admissions testing, interviews and events. Entrance Exam Sessions Suspended GMAT, GRE, IELTS, and TOEFL testing in mainland China has been pushed back further to the end of March. On its official website, the Graduate Management Admissions Council, which owns and administers the GMAT and Executive Assessment, states the following: “In the interest of the health and safety of our candidates, all testing in Mainland China has been
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Published: February 26, 2020
Amazon Shakes Up B-School Recruiting for MBAs
Amazon has started recruiting MBA talent from a broader base of business schools and conducting interviews virtually, shaking up their longstanding practice of sending company reps and executives to select leading b-school campuses. Instead of only hiring MBAs from elite business schools, the tech giant is now reaching out to more than 80 MBA programs across North America. Albert Kim, the head of Amazon student programs in the Americas, told The Wall Street Journal, the company has “worked hard to scale our recruiting efforts to help us engage and assess talent around the world.” Larger Landscape,
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