School Q&A

Published: June 20, 2017

Interview with the Dean: SMU Cox School of Business

Since 1997, Albert W. Niemi, Jr. has served as the dean of the Edwin L. Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University (SMU Cox) in Dallas. He is also currently the Cox School’s Tolleson Chair in Business Leadership, as well as the William J. O’Neil Chair in Global Markets and Freedom. During his tenure, the Cox School has undergone many changes. He has helped to expand the degree offerings at the business school—expanding the school’s offerings to include four specialized master’s programs as well as multiple interdisciplinary program opportunities and a new Fast-Track MBA—and has also grown the school’s endowment from $78 million to more than $200 million. This past August, Niemi announced his intention to step down as dean after serving the Cox School for more than 20 years. He will continue to remain in his faculty position but will pass on his administrative responsibilities to Matthew B. Myers, a global marketing and strategy expert with expertise in Latin America who currently serves as dean of the Farmer School of Business at Miami University, Ohio. To mark the occasion, we took the opportunity to interview Niemi about his tenure as dean and to gain his insight into what the future of the Cox School could look like. Read more

Published: June 18, 2017

One-on-One with New Georgetown McDonough Dean Paul Almeida

On August 1st, the Georgetown University McDonough School of Business will welcome a new dean, Paul Almeida. Almeida is the current deputy dean of executive education and innovation, as well as a professor of strategy and international studies. When he takes his place as dean, Almeida will also become the William R. Berkley Chair. In a press release, Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia spoke about the appointment: “Throughout his tenure at Georgetown, Paul has exemplified a commitment to principled leadership, instilling a global mindset focused on service to others into each program and project he oversees. I am deeply grateful for his willingness to serve our entire university community as dean of the McDonough School of Business." Read more

Published: April 19, 2017

Admissions Director Q&A: Carlson School of Management’s Linh Gilles

Last month as part of our Real Humans of MBA Admissions Series, we introduced the Clear Admit audience to Linh Gilles, director of admissions and recruiting at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. Today, we’re pleased to shed even more light on the admissions process she oversees with a more in-depth interview as part of our Admissions Director Q&A Series. Gilles has been in admissions at Carlson for the past decade and in the director’s role since 2012. And by virtue of also being a current student in the full-time executive MBA (EMBA) program, she knows the school Read more

Published: April 4, 2017

Admissions Director Q&A: Cristina Sassot of Barcelona’s ESADE

Last week, we learned a little about Cristina Sassot the person as part of our Real Humans of MBA Admissions Series. Among other things, she tries to steer clear of caffeine, has been known to say she’d be in more than one place at the same time, and is a big fan of Game of Thrones and Lord of the Rings, both the books and the screen adaptations. This week, we’re asking Sassot—who leads admissions at Barcelona’s ESADE Business School—to reveal a little more about the inner workings of her office and the admissions process at the school. And she’s Read more

Published: March 30, 2017

Getting to Know the New Head of Admissions at Stanford GSB

As we reported here last week, the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) has concluded a seven-month search for its new assistant dean of MBA admissions and financial aid. Stepping into the big shoes left by Derrick Bolton—who led Stanford’s admission team for the past 15 years and is credited with helping the business school establish itself as one of the very best in the world—will be a woman many believe ideally suited to the challenge. In accepting the role, Kirsten Moss becomes the only person to ever lead admissions at both Stanford and its chief Read more

Published: March 28, 2017

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: ESADE’s Cristina Sassot

Cristina Sassot joined the admissions team at Barcelona’s ESADE Business School in October 2008, soon after she earned her own MBA there. In 2010 she was promoted to director of admissions and has held the role ever since, helping craft the classes for the school’s 12-, 15- and 18-month full-time MBA programs. ESADE, meanwhile, has been climbing the ranks itself. The Financial Times ranked it the 17th best MBA program in the world this year and second best in the world for career progress. The Economist, for its part, ranked it third best in Europe for salary increase. We’ll feature an in-depth interview with Sassot in the coming weeks about the school’s admissions process, but today we are happy to share a little bit more about the person who leads that process as part of our Real Humans of MBA Admissions Series. Our thanks to Sassot, and ESADE, for taking part in both. Read more

Published: March 22, 2017

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: Carlson School of Management’s Linh Gilles

Earlier this month, we had the pleasure of getting to know Linh Gilles, director of admissions and recruiting at the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management. She’s been in admissions at Carlson for the past decade and in the director’s role since 2012, but she also knows the school from the student’s perspective. That’s because she is currently enrolled in the full-time executive MBA (EMBA) program herself—all while working full time and raising two kids. “I suppose at some point working for an MBA program for 10 years, you do just drink the Kool-Aid,” she says with a laugh. But Read more

Published: February 16, 2017

When Will Those MIT Sloan R2 Interview Invites Roll Out?

In a post to her Admissions Blog yesterday, MIT Sloan School of Management Director of MBA and Master of Finance Admissions Dawna Levenson provided lots of valuable information for MIT Sloan applicants anxiously awaiting Round 2 interview invitations. Dawna Levenson, MIT Sloan director of MBA and Master of finance admissions As at many leading business schools, an interview is a required step toward admission at MIT Sloan. “The goal of the interview is to personally get to know you better and to hear more about your professional stories and background,” Levenson writes. MIT Sloan R2 interview Read more

Published: February 13, 2017

Admissions Director Q&A: OSU Fisher’s Alison Merzel

Last week we shared the lighter side of Alison Merzel in our Real Humans of MBA Admissions series. This week, we’ve asked her some more serious questions about the admissions process at the Ohio State University (OSU) Fisher College of Business. Merzel is senior director of graduate recruiting, admissions and financial aid at Fisher, a role she’s held for the past year and a half. But she’s been at Fisher for much longer than that—starting as a student herself. Soon after graduating with her master’s degree in labor and human resources from Fisher, she joined the admissions team Read more

Published: February 8, 2017

Where McCombs MBAs Are Snagging Jobs

Many students pursue an MBA with one goal—to improve their career opportunities. Whether you’re leveraging an MBA to transition into a different industry or to move up within your current company, it’s important to get a return on your academic (and financial) investment. So, how do you know if a particular MBA program is going to advance your progress toward your career goals? Reviewing a school’s MBA employment report is one of the best ways to assess a school’s potential to get you where you want to go. Every year, MBA programs carefully track where their graduates head after earning their MBAs. These stats, which include salary details, top hiring firms and popular industries and job functions, provide a detailed overview of the job outcomes of their most recent MBA graduates. If reviewed carefully, these reports can give you a good sense of how well a particular MBA program will be in helping you land your dream job. Read more

Published: February 5, 2017

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: Alison Merzel of OSU’s Fisher College of Business

Returning to our popular series after a brief hiatus, we are pleased today to share a little about the real human who helps lead MBA admissions at the Ohio State University Fisher College of Business. Alison Merzel is senior director of graduate recruiting, admissions and financial aid at Fisher, a role she’s held for the past year and a half. But she’s been at Fisher for much longer than that—starting as a student herself. Soon after graduating with her master’s degree in labor and human resources from Fisher, she joined the admissions team as assistant director of MBA Read more

Published: January 25, 2017

If at First You Don’t Succeed…You May End Up Stronger for It, Says Columbia Professor

Who knew there was an “intelligent way of failing”? According to Columbia Business School Professor Rita McGrath, there is indeed—and put into practice it can actually make organizations stronger. McGrath, a leading expert on strategy and disruption, outlined four key principles to intelligent failure in a recent video on the CBS website. In short, she offers this advice: “Stop worrying about the rate of failure—fail fast, fail cheap, move on.” According to McGrath, the four keys to failing intelligently begin with knowing what success should look like. “You would be amazed at Read more

Published: January 25, 2017

Inside the Revamped Ross Admissions Process

As you navigate the MBA application process, do you ever feel like the websites, brochures and talking points for top MBA programs have blended together? Indeed, it has become more important than ever for schools to rely on innovative ways to differentiate themselves. At the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, the carefully curated process of admissions is ever evolving. Director of Admissions Soojin Kwon is known for putting a particularly personal fingerprint on the process, posting videos and written messages to a behind-the-scenes blog throughout the year. Read more

Published: December 20, 2016

Accepted to Wharton? Don’t Miss this Message from Maryellen Reilly

Maryellen Reilly, deputy vice dean for MBA admissions, financial aid and career management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, took to her blog recently to give her team’s perspective on Wharton’s release of Round 1 decisions on December 15th. Maryellen Reilly, Wharton deputy vice dean of MBA admissions, financial aid and career services “Yesterday, we got to do our favorite part of the job—making the phone calls to let prospective students know they’ve been admitted,” she wrote in her December 16th post. “It’s a blast. The joy and excitement we heard on the other end of the line when sharing this news was exhilarating and infectious.” Read more

Published: December 19, 2016

Tech Hires Jump at Kellogg, 2016 MBA Employment Report Reveals

‘Tis the season for MBA employment reports, and one of the latest schools to share details about how its most recent class of graduates fared in their quest for jobs is Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. Released in its entirety last week, the report shows a surge of graduates heading off toward technology firms—22 percent of the class, up from 15 percent last year. “I do think the tech story jumps out,” says Liza Kirkpatrick, director of career management for the full-time MBA program. “But we really are very proud of this year’s employment outcomes overall.” She went on to cite the fact that 96 percent of students received an offer within three months of graduation, up slightly from 95 percent the year before. The median base salary was $125,000, up $2,000 from the year before. Read more

Published: December 19, 2016

Admissions Director Q&A: Vanderbilt Owen’s Christie St-John

Following up on our recent Real Humans of MBA Admissions piece with Christie St-John of Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management, we are delighted this week to feature a more in-depth interview with her about the admissions process she oversees. St-John describes her career as “zig-zaggy,” referring to the fact that she started at Vanderbilt back in 1997 before zigging to Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business in New Hampshire for nine years and then zagging back to Owen, where she’s been at the helm since 2012. (As she shares below, she is not actually following Read more

Published: December 4, 2016

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: Christie St-John of Vanderbilt’s Owen School of Business

We were delighted to connect last week with Christie St-John, who heads MBA admissions at Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Management. St-John describes her career as “zig-zaggy,” referring to the fact that she started at Vanderbilt back in 1997 before zigging to Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business for nine years and then zagging back to Nashville and to Owen, where she’s been at the helm since 2012. As you’ll see below, her time up north impacted her preference for mountains over beach but did nothing to diminish her love of true southern fried chicken. A more in-depth Admissions Director Q&A with St-John will soon follow, but for now, enjoy getting to know her lighter side. (A big hockey fan, she's pictured above at a Nashville Predators game.) Read more

Published: November 20, 2016

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: UC Berkeley Haas’s Morgan Bernstein

Morgan Bernstein is currently in her first year as executive director leading the full-time MBA admission team at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, having taken over last March for Stephanie Fujii, who held the role for four years before that. “I’m excited about growing my team, learning, figuring out what I know and what I don’t know,” she told us last week while taking a break from reading applications. “Stephanie left some big shoes to fill.” But Bernstein is by no means a stranger to the school or its admissions process. Indeed, she 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 (and married a fellow alumnus to boot). Read more

Published: November 13, 2016

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: UC Berkeley Haas’s Peter Johnson

We are looking forward to connecting soon with Morgan Bernstein, current admissions director at UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. In the meantime, we’re delighted to have caught up with Peter Johnson, who formerly held Bernstein’s role and has recently returned to Haas as assistant dean, full-time MBA program and admissions. In his current role, he oversees Bernstein and her team in admissions as well as academic and student affairs for the full-time MBA program. Johnson has spent his entire professional career in admissions—including an eleven-year stretch as executive director of full-time MBA admissions at Haas. He’s just returned after six years away, including four in Hungary leading student services for the Central European University. Members of both the Haas community and the graduate management admissions community are thrilled to welcome him back. Read more

Published: November 6, 2016

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: Columbia Business School’s Michael Robinson

After a brief hiatus we are delighted to resume our Real Humans of MBA Admissions series this week with an interview with Michael Robinson, director of MBA admissions at Columbia Business School (CBS). A 2001 CBS alumus himself, Robinson returned to work in admissions at the school in 2002, after a brief stint in business development at Panasonic. He’s been at CBS ever since and was promoted to director of MBA admissions in July 2016. In this role, he both serves as part of the admission committee and manages strategic relationships with key corporate and nonprofit partners that will drive Read more

Published: October 16, 2016

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: SMU Cox’s John Roeder

John Roeder knows Dallas’s SMU Cox School of Business inside and out as only an alumnus would. A 2003 graduate of the full-time MBA program, he confesses that it might be the closest to his heart, although today he has oversight of admissions for all the school’s graduate programs. These also include a “Fast Track” one-year program geared toward recent college graduates without significant work experience, a Professional MBA program for mid-career professionals who want to obtain their degree while continuing to work and an Executive MBA program for experienced business leaders. In fact, Roeder’s knowledge of SMU dates Read more

Published: October 9, 2016

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: Isser Gallogly of NYU Stern School of Business

With the first application deadline for NYU Stern School of Business coming up this Saturday (October 15th), what better time to learn a little bit more about the person in charge of evaluating MBA candidates? Associate Dean of Admissions Isser Gallogly came to Stern almost 14 years ago, and since then he’s had a hand in almost every aspect of admissions for the school’s MBA programs. After a start in banking, he himself sought out an MBA to pivot into marketing, spending several years working for Mattel, Unilever and L’Oreal before heading into higher education. So he understands Read more

Published: October 2, 2016

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: Sue Oldham of Rice University’s Jones School of Business

Last week we got to know Sue Oldham, executive director of recruiting and admissions at Rice University’s Jones School of Business (Rice Business), while she was wearing her admissions director hat. This week, we’re sharing a bit more of her personal side as part of our continuing Real Humans of MBA Admissions series. Among other things, she’s a trained classical pianist and dog lover—but that’s not all. Read on to learn more, including how to stay in her good graces if you’re ever a guest in her home. Our thanks to Oldham for taking part! Real Humans Read more

Published: September 27, 2016

Admissions Director Q&A: Harvard Business School’s Chad Losee

If you’re a Round 1 applicant to Harvard Business School (HBS) crossing your fingers for an interview invitation (slated to go out in batches starting next week) or even if you’re working toward a later round deadline, what better time to get to know more about the school’s new head of admissions? Chad Losee, 32, joined HBS last May as managing director of MBA admissions and financial aid, succeeding 10-year veteran director Dee Leopold. Losee still vividly remembers his own journey through the HBS admissions process—not surprising given that it was a mere six years ago. After earning his undergraduate degree in International Relations at Brigham Young University (BYU) in 2008, Losee set off to work in the Dallas office of Boston-based management consulting firm Bain & Company. A couple of years into the job, in part inspired by the many talented MBAs he worked with, he began to feel the pull of business school himself. Read more

Published: September 22, 2016

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: Harvard Business School’s Chad Losee

Harvard Business School (HBS) made waves in the graduate management admissions arena last fall with the announcement that Dee Leopold, who led admissions at one of the most selective business schools in the world for the past decade, would be leaving her post. Then, spring brought the announcement that she would be succeeded by an HBS grad just three years out of school. Chad Losee, 32, is that fresh-faced alumnus. And indeed, just a couple of years as a consultant at Bain & Company stand between him and his last stint on campus. Losee has kept something of a low media profile since assuming his new role in May—which HBS Director of Media and Public Relations Jim Aisner takes responsibility for. “I wanted to give Chad some time to do the things that he has to do as he assumes this role,” Aisner said, adding that the first few months should not be taken as any kind of sign that Losee will be inaccessible going forward. Read more

MBA Applywire

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

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.

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MBA LiveWire

November 17, 2024 2:39pm ET

Interview Invite to Duke / Fuqua

Round: Round 1

Received via email on November 11, 2024

GPA: 3.79

GRE: 321

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Finance

Application Location: Chicago

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

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