Admissions Director Q&A

Clear Admit’s exclusive interviews with admissions directors at the world’s leading MBA programs.

Published: August 20, 2019

Admissions Director Q&A: Danielle Richie of UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School

We are thrilled to continue our Admissions Director Q&A Series with Danielle Richie, the senior associate director of full-time MBA admissions at UNC's Kenan-Flagler Business School. Danielle Richie began at UNC Kenan-Flagler in April 2018. She has more than 12 years of higher education experience within admissions and student recruitment with a primary focus on the MBA. Previously, Richie worked at Syracuse University and Bentley University recruiting MBA candidates from around the world. At UNC Kenan-Flagler, Richie oversees the full-time MBA admissions team and overall recruiting process. She is a co-chair of Empow(H)er for women, male allies and advocates, advisor to UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA Student Ambassadors, a liaison with The Consortium and a mentor for Dean’s Fellows projects. Read on for her insights into the MBA program and the admissions process at UNC Kenan-Flagler. Read more

Published: August 18, 2019

Admissions Director Q&A: Blair Mannix of Wharton

While you may have recently enjoyed her podcast with Clear Admit or her Real Humans profile, Blair Mannix, the director of admissions at the Wharton School, has plenty more to share about the leading MBA program. While she has been a member of the Wharton MBA Admissions team and admissions committee for seven years, her career in university admissions spans fourteen. She started her career in the undergraduate admissions office at the University of Pennsylvania working with international students, and finished her time with Penn undergraduates as the Associate Director of Evaluation and Selection thinking deeply about the process and ideology of admissions decisions. In 2012, she transitioned from Penn Undergraduate Admissions to join the Wharton School. She held the title of Director of Operations and Evaluations in the Wharton MBA Admissions office for nearly four years, focusing on the daily operations of the admissions committee and the philosophy and training behind evaluation and selection of applicants. In 2018, Mrs. Mannix was named Wharton MBA Director of Admissions. Now she's here to dish on a few exciting developments at Wharton, the lifecycle of an application, Wharton's Semester in San Francisco, and more. Read more

Published: August 18, 2019

Admissions Director Q&A: Shelly Heinrich of Georgetown McDonough

"You do an MBA because you want the ROI; you ultimately want to gain your ideal career," says Shelly Heinrich, the associate dean of MBA admissions and director of marketing at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. She joins us for our ongoing series, Admissions Director Q&A, to reveal how the Georgetown MBA delivers on that investment—and how you can be successful in the application process. Heinrich leads the MBA Admissions team in both its marketing and operational strategy to build awareness, recruit, yield, and retain the Full-time and Flex MBA programs. She also develops the integrated marketing strategy for the team and manages the internal marketing team and external marketing firm in its execution. Heinrich is a senior marketing professional with over 13 years of experience in the higher education, corporate, and nonprofit sectors. Her responsibilities have included marketing, recruitment, business development, event planning, and public relations. With experience in five business schools, Heinrich brings a strong and tested knowledge of the business school industry and changing market trends. She earned her master's degree in education from the University of Texas at Austin and a bachelor's degree in business administration from Texas Christian University. She recently completed a certificate of marketing from Georgetown University and the Executive MBA Program in the McDonough School of Business. Read on for her account of a few unsung aspects of the Georgetown McDonough program, tips to knock your interview out of the park, and more. Read more

Published: August 14, 2019

Admissions Director Q&A: Margaret O’Neill of Cambridge Judge Business School

We are excited to kick off our Admissions Director Q&As for the 2019-2020 MBA admissions season! Admissions committee members will be shedding light on the admissions process, program changes and new developments in the dynamic field of graduate management admissions. This year, we start the series with insights from Margaret O'Neill, Head of MBA Marketing, Admissions, and Careers at Cambridge Judge Business School. She has spent the past 18 years in business education, working with post-graduate business school professionals across projects, careers and programmes at both Cambridge Judge and London Business School. Read on for her insights into the MBA journey, from the moment candidates first engage with the school, to the time they leave to embark upon their post-MBA careers. Clear Admit: What is the one aspect of your program that you wish applicants knew more about? Margaret O'Neill: I have heard Cambridge Judge Business School alumni say they can always spot a Cambridge MBA – in short, someone who gets excited by working with others, and actively looks for opportunities to do something different and make a difference. Read more

Published: April 30, 2019

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: Blair Mannix of the Wharton School

Blair Mannix, Director of Admissions, The Wharton School Just a few weeks ago, we had the pleasure of getting to know Blair Mannix, the Director of Admissions at the Wharton School. Working in admissions for 13 years and counting, Mannix took on the mantle of Director of Admissions in the fall of 2018. In our Admissions Q&A, she walked us through life in the admissions office, what happens with your written applications and during the Team-based Discussions and more. She also took the time to address some fun Real Humans questions, and we hope that in reading her responses, you get to feel as much like you know her as we did in speaking with her. Read on to learn a bit about Mannix’s personal side and don’t forget to catch up on the podcast if you want to hear more about admissions at the Wharton School. Coffee or Tea? Coffee. I am a coffee fiend. I probably have 4 cups a day, even through the afternoon. Beach or Mountains? I was lucky enough to grow up in the beaches of South Carolina. And one of the other virtues of Philadelphia is that we’re very close to the Jersey Shore, so my husband and I pop down to the Jersey Shore every summer. So I would say beach. But I burn—I’m Irish in nature, so I turn very red and I burn often. So, beach, but only for a couple of hours a day. Read more

Published: February 24, 2019

Podcast Episode 30: Admissions Q&A with Wharton Lauder’s Kara Keenan Sweeney

Do you have your sights set on a career in international business? Do you want to polish your language skills and spend your MBA experience immersed in other cultures? Wharton offers a joint-degree program—the MBA with an MA in International Studies—with Penn’s Joseph H. Lauder Institute of Management & International Studies that puts the MBA experience on a global scale, as the program concentrations focus on a region of the world—or the world itself. Wharton Lauder Director of Admissions Marketing and Communications, Kara Keenan Sweeney Clear Admit’s Graham Richmond sat down with the Director of Admissions Read more

Published: January 21, 2019

A Conversation with Kirsten Moss of Stanford GSB

Clear Admit recently sat down with Kirsten Moss, who leads MBA admissions at Stanford Graduate School of Business. Our conversation was both insightful and incredibly wide-ranging–covering topics like leadership, application essays, admissions interviews, and financial aid. What follows is the transcript of our conversation. Moss starts by covering the importance of assessing leadership and by extension, leadership’s importance for candidates applying to the Stanford MBA Program. In the subsequent pages, Moss tackles essays, interviews, and financial aid. Read more

Published: January 16, 2019

Admissions Director Q&A: Bruce DelMonico of the Yale School of Management

Yale School of Management (SOM) Admissions Director Bruce DelMonico has been leading the charge at the New Haven business school since 2006. This past summer, Clear Admit’s Jeanette Brown had an enlightening conversation with the admissions gatekeeper. Read on for more about the ins and outs of admissions at Yale SOM, advice on essays, the application and interview processes, and more. The interview has been transcribed from a recording. Bruce Delmonico, assistant dean for admissions Clear Admit: Please tell us a little bit about your background. How long have you been at Yale? Read more

Published: January 9, 2019

Admissions Director Q&A: Judi Byers of Cornell University’s S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management

Clear Admit is delighted to share admissions insights from Judi Byers, the Executive Director of Admissions & Financial Aid at Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management. This past summer, Clear Admit’s Jeanette Brown had an enlightening conversation with Byers. Read on for more about the ins and outs of admissions at Johnson, the application and interview processes, and more. CA: Can you tell us when you came to Johnson, where you have been before, and how you got into the career of MBA Admissions? JB: I have been with Cornell Johnson now for about three and a half years. Prior Read more

Published: January 2, 2019

Admissions Director Q&A: Morgan Bernstein of UC Berkeley / Haas

Clear Admit is delighted to share admissions insights from Morgan Bernstein, the Executive Director of Full-time MBA Admissions at UC Berkeley / Haas. Bernstein was part of the admissions team for five years before stepping into her current role, and she knows things from the other side as well. A successful applicant herself, she graduated from Haas with her MBA in 2009. This past summer, Clear Admit’s Jeanette Brown had an enlightening conversation with Bernstein. Read on for more about the ins and outs of admissions at Haas, determining your fit with the program, Read more

Published: November 28, 2018

Admissions Director Q&A: Soojin Kwon of Michigan’s Ross School of Business

We began interviewing admissions directors at leading business schools back in 2008, and we circle back regularly to capture changes and new developments in the dynamic field of graduate management admissions. We are thrilled to continue the Clear Admit’s Admissions Director Q&A Series with Soojin Kwon, who has led MBA admissions at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business since 2006. She’s familiar with “non-traditional” MBA candidates, as she was one herself when she got her MBA at Ross. Prior to b-school, she used her MPP from the Kennedy School of Government to work as a budget and policy analyst on Capitol Hill and at the Department of Commerce. She’s also familiar with the private sector as she spent her post-MBA years as a consultant in Deloitte’s Strategy and Operations practice. Read more

Published: November 7, 2018

Admissions Director Q&A: Shari Hubert of Duke’s Fuqua School of Business

Anyone anxiously awaiting an interview invitation from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business? Well, we can’t make them roll out any sooner—but we can offer you something you should read while you wait. Shari Hubert, who had been in charge of admissions at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business since 2013, choose to move south last fall to North Carolina to lead admissions at Fuqua. “Shari stood out in an incredibly talented and competitive pool of candidates,” Russ Morgan, Fuqua senior associate dean for full-time programs, said announcing her hiring. “Shari is a terrific fit within our culture. She Read more

Published: September 26, 2018

Podcast Episode 21: Admissions Director Q&A with Cornell Johnson’s Judi Byers

We got to catch up with Judi Byers, executive director of admissions and financial aid at Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, earlier this year for an in-depth interview on the admissions process she oversees. Today, we’re delighted to share a recording of that conversation as the latest episode in the Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast series. Judi Byers, Cornell Johnson executive director of admissions and financial aid Byers joined the Johnson admissions team in January 2015 from American University’s Kogod School of Business, where she began her admissions career following her own undergraduate studies. By the Read more

Published: August 20, 2018

Podcast Episode 18: London Business School Admissions Director Q&A

This week we’ve got two new voices joining us on the Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast, Gareth Howells and David Simpson of London Business School. Howells is executive director for the MBA and Master in Finance (MiF) programs at LBS, and Simpson heads up admissions for both. Not only that, both men have been with LBS for more than two decades. In our exclusive interview, the two share how LBS is a dynamic enough place to keep things interesting for them both for more than 20 years. More than anything else, it’s the incredible array of applicants and students Read more

Published: August 6, 2018

Podcast Episode 17: Q&A with Tuck Admissions Director Luke Anthony Peña, Part II

We are thrilled to bring you Part II of our wide-ranging interview with Luke Anthony Peña, executive director of admissions and financial aid, on the admissions process at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business. In Episode 16, Peña shared about his transition to Tuck from Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB). He also talked in great detail about Tuck’s recently revamped admissions process, including several shifts designed to make it more transparent and applicant friendly. Without further ado, we’re pleased to now present you with Part II of our interview with Peña, including valuable insights into Read more

Published: July 25, 2018

The Inside Scoop on Cornell Johnson’s New “Back of the Resume” Essay

If you’re considering Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Business or have already begun thinking about crafting your application, you may already know that the school has swapped out one of its long-standing essay prompts in favor of something new. The 2018-19 Johnson MBA application is slated to go live on August 1st. For years, applicants to Johnson have been invited to imagine themselves as the author of their Life Story and submit a corresponding Table of Contents. “The ToC was a beloved essay prompt that predates my time joining the team back in 2015,” Read more

Published: July 24, 2018

Our Latest Podcast: Admissions Director Q&A With Tuck’s Luke Anthony Peña, Part I

In this wide-ranging interview on the admissions process at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, Luke Anthony Peña shares a little about his transition to Tuck from Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB). Peña came to Tuck just over a year ago, after working for several years in admissions at Stanford, where he also obtained his own MBA. With Tuck’s application for the Class of 2021 live as of this morning, Peña’s interview comes at just the right time, providing valuable insight into the school, its culture, and its recently revamped admissions process. For one, he Read more

Published: July 23, 2018

Babson Olin Appoints Keith Rollag as New Dean

Earlier this month, the Babson College F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business named its new dean: Keith Rollag. A management professor with more than 17 years of experience teaching entrepreneurial leadership at Babson, Rollag was chosen for his campus leadership and vision for the graduate school’s future. Read more

Published: July 2, 2018

Our Latest Podcast: Admissions Director Q&A with MIT Sloan’s Dawna Levenson

After a brief hiatus, we are delighted to resume the Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast series with a terrific interview with Dawna Levenson, who was just promoted to assistant dean of admissions at MIT Sloan School of Management. Describing herself as a “true, blue Bostonian,” Levenson holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees from MIT. (Her advanced degree is not an MBA, but that’s only because the school didn’t yet offer one when she was a student.) She has worked full time in admissions at Sloan for the past six years and read applications on a part-time Read more

Published: June 10, 2018

NYU Stern Reinstates November Deadline Amid Other Slight Shifts, Maintains Popular “Pick Six” Essay

NYU Stern School of Business today becomes the latest school to share its 2018-2019 MBA admissions deadlines and essay questions, including a few changes from last year. We caught up with Isser Gallogly, Stern associate dean, MBA admissions and program innovation, to get the latest. Here’s what we learned. For starters, Gallogly and his team have decided to reinstate the November deadline they eliminated last year for the full-time, two-year MBA program. This means a return to a four deadlines: October 15th, November 15th, January 15th, and March 15th. “Last year we gave it Read more

Published: December 25, 2017

Career Services Director Q&A: Stanford GSB’s Maeve Richard

Earlier this month, Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) released its 2017 MBA Employment Report, revealing record-breaking salaries for the third consecutive year. The school’s most recent crop of graduates boasts average and median base compensation of $144,455 and $140,000 respectively—both up about $4,000 over last year’s all-time highs. (Incidentally, those figures are also higher than any other business school in the world.) The average signing bonus also increased by almost $3,000, setting a record as well at $29,534. Other guaranteed compensation, meanwhile, blew past last year’s all-time highs by close to $10,000 in Read more

Published: November 28, 2017

Admissions Director Q&A: Shelly Heinrich of Georgetown McDonough

We recently had the opportunity to speak with Shelly Heinrich, the interim associate dean of MBA admissions at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. She has capably stepped in to lead the team since Shari Hubert left to lead admissions at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business earlier this fall. With more than 13 years of experience in the higher education, corporate, and nonprofit sectors, Heinrich is currently responsible for leading Georgetown’s MBA admissions team in marketing and operational strategy while also building awareness of and recruiting for the full-time and evening MBA programs. Read more

Published: November 26, 2017

Career Services Director Q&A: NYU Stern Assistant Dean of Career Services Beth Briggs

NYU Stern School of Business earlier this month shared highlights from its Class of 2017 MBA Employment Report, revealing that Amazon hired more Stern graduates than any other company. It marked the first time that a technology company topped the school’s list of leading employers and is reflective of an overall trend of increasing numbers of Stern MBA graduates heading into technology. In the past five years, technology placements have more than doubled, and they represented 16.8 percent of all hires last year—up from 10 percent the year before. Amazon was followed by Deloitte (No. 2), J.P. Read more

Published: November 12, 2017

Admissions Director Q&A: Oxford Saïd Business School’s Ian Rogan and Anna Farrus

Ian Rogan is the MBA program director at the University of Oxford Saïd Business School. He joined Saïd in October 2016. Rogan had previously worked at the Yale School of Management as the assistant dean for the EMBA program, leading its expansion and restructuring. Prior to that, he was based in Geneva, Switzerland, where he served as the associate director of North America at the World Economic Forum. Anna Farrus is the head of admissions and financial aid at Oxford Saïd, where she has been a member of the admissions team for more than a decade. Prior to joining Saïd, Farrus served as the MBA admissions area coordinator for the IESE Business School from 2001-2006. We were able to hear insights from both Rogan and Farrus about the MBA program and admissions process at Oxford Saïd. The information they shared with us covered everything from career development to writing an admissions essay. Read on to learn more. Read more

Published: November 5, 2017

Admissions Director Q&A: Evan Bouffides of USC Marshall School of Business

Evan Bouffides, USC Marshall assistant dean and director of MBA admissions; Photo courtesy of Olin Business School Evan Bouffides has been in the world of MBA admissions for quite some time, and his journey has come full circle back to USC Marshall School of Business. That's where he got his start back in 1997, serving first as associate director and later as director of MBA admissions. But in 2005 he was recruited to Olin Business School at the University of Washington in St. Louis to serve as assistant dean of admissions for the full-time MBA program. Eventually, though, Marshall would succeed in wooing him back to California. Now, with another decade-plus experience under his belt, he's back at Marshall as assistant dean and director of MBA admissions. In the interview that follows, Bouffides was generous enough to answer a few of our questions about the school's admissions process. We asked Bouffides what excited him most about the coming year at USC Marshall, and he shared about the many diversity and inclusion initiatives at the university and within the MBA program in particular. “To support an inclusive environment, Marshall has undertaken several curricular and student life initiatives,” he said. He then went on to talk about the Trojan Family and the importance of the community at USC. “There is an ineffable quality that exists at USC that I describe best as an uncommon spirit,” Bouffides said. “It moves well past pride and towards a fierce commitment that we Trojans have for one another.” Bouffides also shared about what happens once an MBA candidate applies to the school and how the admissions office handles the essay portion of the application. Read on to learn more about what sets USC Marshall apart and what happens after you hit “submit” on your application. Read more

MBA Applywire

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.

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

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

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.

November 13, 2024 11:52am ET

Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Columbia, Dartmouth / Tuck, Georgetown / McDonough, Michigan / Ross, UNC Kenan-Flagler, USC / Marshall

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Real Estate Development Analyst and Acquisitions Project Manager

Post-MBA Target Industry: Private Equity, Family Business, Entrepreneurship Companies: Other

GPA: 3.44

Years of Work Experience: 3

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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

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