School Q&A

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

Published: September 18, 2016

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: Kellogg School of Management’s Melissa Rapp

With the Round 1 deadline approaching for Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management later this week, we're pleased to feature the school's Melissa Rapp as our Real Human of MBA Admissions this week. Rapp joined Kellogg in 2012. She most recently served as director of admissions for the Evening and Weekend Program before becoming director of full-time MBA and Master of Science in Management Studies (MSMS) admissions in January 2016. She loved the Evening and Weekend MBA Program, including being on its Chicago campus, but she jumped at the opportunity to head to Evanston and head up Full-Time MBA admissions because it presented an opportunity to have new challenges as far as recruitment goals and to work with a new population of applicants, she says. Read more

Published: September 11, 2016

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: Dawna Levenson of MIT Sloan School of Management

If you’ve got the MIT Sloan School of Management in your sights for the coming application season, you’re very likely busy putting the finishing touches on your Round 1 application—due Thursday. What better time to get a glimpse into the woman who heads MBA admissions for the school? Dawna Levenson has been in her current role as director of MIT Sloan Admissions since March 2013, but she’s been at the school for much longer than that. When she arrived in November 2007, it was as associate director of academic programs for the School of Engineering, and she had been reading MBA applications for the past year. She moved over to admissions in 2012, where she’s since stayed, but her combined experiences really help her know the MBA program inside and out. She also knows the school as a student, having obtained her B.S. in management science at MIT and her M.S., also in management science, at MIT Sloan. And she spent 18 years working for Andersen Consulting, now Accenture, as a consultant. All that experience gives her amazing insight into the goals and aspirations of prospective Sloan applicants and helps her know who will fit best with the school’s signature MBA program. Read more

Published: August 28, 2016

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: David Simpson of London Business School

This week’s Real Humans of MBA Admissions takes us across the pond to London. In some of the answers that follow, David Simpson’s British roots shine through—which makes sense for the admissions director of the MBA and Masters in Finance programs at London Business School (LBS). Simpson has been at LBS for almost a decade, and he’s always made time to keep Clear Admit in the loop on goings on at the school. In case you missed it, here’s a recent piece detailing the school’s decision to reduce its number of required application essays and the importance of the alumni interview in the admissions process. But he’s certainly not all business all the time—read on to learn more about his love of seeing live music, watching rugby and binging on House of Cards, among other things. Read more

Published: August 21, 2016

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: Soojin Kwon of Michigan’s Ross School of Business

Moving right along with our fun and quirky series, we’ve continued talking admissions directors at leading MBA programs into answering our silly stream of personal questions. To our delight, we’ve had many tell us that they actually had fun in the process. Soojin Kwon 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. An active, outdoor enthusiast, here's Soojin in the Rocky Mountains showing Michigan pride. Here, Soojin reveals her pet peeves, where she heads when she wants to get away, the power of her Korean mother’s home-cooked food and more. Read on to learn some little-known tidbits about Soojin. And if you want insider tips about Ross and its admissions process, check out Soojin’s blog and video blogs. Read more

Published: August 17, 2016

Career Services Director Q&A: Julia Min Hwang of the Berkeley-Haas MBA Career Management Group

We are delighted to feature Julia Min Hwang of UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business in our series of Career Services Director Q&As. Hwang, assistant dean of the Berkeley MBA Career Management Group, has spent 10 years at Haas. Before taking over as assistant dean two years ago, she served as program director for the full-time MBA program. Before that she ran the MBA admissions process at NYU’s Stern School of Business. Our thanks to Hwang for taking time out of her busy schedule to speak with Clear Admit. Read more

Published: August 14, 2016

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: Shari Hubert of Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business

Shari Hubert knows MBA admissions from both sides, having successfully navigated the process as a candidate herself, securing a spot in the Harvard Business School (HBS) Class of 2000. Leading MBA admissions at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business since 2013, she’s now on the other side, getting to know current applicants and trying to determine which of them bring the characteristics and experience that best fit with the values of the school. In keeping with our Real Humans of MBA Admissions series, Hubert shares below some of what makes her who she is. If you are applying Read more

Published: August 10, 2016

Career Services Director Q&A: Liza Kirkpatrick of Kellogg’s Career Management Center

Liza Kirkpatrick, director of full-time MBA programs for the Career Management Center at the Kellogg School of Management, has a long career in recruiting. Before joining Kellogg, she spent almost a decade with a staffing firm, helping to grow it from 12 people to five different offices in Chicago. When she came to Kellogg in 2008, she immediately had to prove her worth in a down market. Since then, she has held several different positions within career services but has always remained focused on student coaching, with oversight of the employer relations team, the coaching team and the operations team. In the interview that follows, she unpacks the recruiting process at Kellogg, shares some of the shifts she’s seeing in terms of employer hiring and student aspirations and stresses the importance of thinking about your career goals before arriving on campus. Read more

Published: August 7, 2016

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: Kurt Ahlm of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business

It’s that time again—where we offer insight into just who it is who’ll be deciding your fate in the upcoming MBA admissions season. This week we’re featuring Kurt Ahlm, associate dean for student recruitment and admissions at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Ahlm is a veteran in the admissions world, having started out in undergrad admissions at Northwestern University 20 years ago. He then worked in corporate recruiting for a stint before returning to higher education at Chicago Booth in 2002. MBA admissions, he finds, provides the perfect mix of the academic and corporate worlds, Read more

Published: July 31, 2016

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: Wharton’s Frank DeVecchis

Next up in our series of glimpses into the real people behind MBA admissions is Frank DeVecchis, who has been director of admissions for the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School since March 2015. His tenure at Wharton began well before that though—he started back in 2009 as associate director for the Wharton Fund and led global immersion programs, academic affairs and academic operations from 2011 to 2015. He also got his own master’s degree, in higher education, from the University of Pennsylvania. So he’s most certainly an insider. In talking to him, his allegiance is abundantly clear. “Wharton is Read more

Published: July 27, 2016

LBS Admissions Director on Reduction in Required Essays, Importance of Interview

With London Business School announcing its essay questions for the upcoming application season this week, we thought it a good time to check in with David Simpson, admissions director for the school’s MBA and Master in Finance programs, to see what led to some of the changes implemented this year. David Simpson, admissions director, MBA and MiF, London Business School In brief, LBS has decided to reduce the number of essays it requires from two to one, while retaining an optional essay. Read more

Published: July 24, 2016

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: Rodrigo Malta of UT Austin’s McCombs School of Business

Brazilian-native Rodrigo Malta is next up in our series designed to showcase the real people behind the MBA admissions process at leading business schools. Malta heads admissions at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin, where he himself got his MBA a decade ago. He went to work in marketing at Dell for a bit after graduating but was ultimately wooed back to the admissions office—where he’d also worked as a student—by mentor and then-Director of MBA Admissions Tina Mabley. He jumped at the chance to return to campus and work on something Read more

Published: July 17, 2016

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: Johnson Graduate School of Business’s Judi Byers

Moving right along in our new series designed to give applicants a glimpse into the real, live people who run admissions at the world’s top business schools, we’re pleased this week to feature Judi Byers. The Hawaiian-born Byers now calls upstate New York her home, where she’s overseen admissions and financial aid at Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Business since 2015. (Prior to that she directed admissions at American University’s Kogod School of Business in Washington, DC.) “I hope you’re getting the sense that I am very comfortable with who I am,” she said matter-of-factly as she rattled Read more

Published: July 4, 2016

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: Bruce DelMonico of Yale School of Management

We’re moving right along with our fun new series spotlighting the real people who make those life-altering decisions of whether to admit or deny you to a given business school. At bat this week is Bruce DelMonico, assistant dean and director of admissions at Yale School of Management (SOM). We happen to know he’s a bit of a baseball fan, even though it didn’t come up in our interview. Read on to find some other lesser-known facts about the person who has helmed admissions at SOM for the past 12 years. Of course, we also talked a little Read more

Published: June 29, 2016

Real Humans of MBA Admissions: Darden’s Sara Neher

We know. Admissions directors at top-tier business schools can seem all but omnipotent, charged with assessing your worth and charting the course of your future with the decisions they dole out. To be sure, there are admissions directors who have truly changed individuals’ fates with the calls they make. But here’s something else we know. These admission directors also happen to be real people, in many cases completely down to earth and genuinely great to spend time with. We had the thought that it might ease anxious applicants’ minds just a wee bit to get a glimpse of some of Read more

Published: June 26, 2016

Career Services Director Q&A: Cynthia Saunders-Cheatham of Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management

In our continuing series of interviews with career services directors at leading business schools, we connected earlier this month with Cynthia Saunders-Cheathem, who heads the Career Management Center (CMC) at Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Business. Saunders-Cheathem joined the CMC eight years ago and was promoted to executive director in 2014. Before Johnson, she worked in corporate marketing for 15 years at a range of companies including Hanes Underwear, Valvoline and United Technology. Saunders-Cheatham was generous with her time and went into great detail regarding Johnson’s career management offerings, trends in hiring and student career goals and how Read more

Published: May 25, 2016

Admissions Director Q&A: SMU Cox’s John Roeder

As the latest addition to our Admissions Director Q&A Series, we recently connected with John Roeder, assistant dean of graduate admissions at the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University (SMU). Roeder is a graduate of the Cox MBA program, so he knows the school and its offerings inside and out. Roeder oversees all of the graduate programs at Cox, including the full-time MBA, “which is obviously close to my heart since it’s my program,” he says. He obtained his undergraduate degree from SMU as well, before heading into consulting at Andersen. Heading back to SMU for business school he then took an alternate path to head into graduate management admissions. “I graduated on a Saturday here at Cox and was working at Vanderbilt’s Owen Graduate School of Management the following Monday,” he says. Read more

Published: April 28, 2016

Admissions Director Q&A: Kelley School of Business’ James Holmen

How did southern California native James Holmen end up in Bloomington, Indiana, directing admissions at the Kelley School of Business? And what’s kept him there for more than 20 years? We caught up with him earlier this week to learn that and much more. Holmen studied economics and sociology at UCLA, but what he learned was that he really liked working in a university environment. He spent a few years working at UCLA before heading to Indiana University in Bloomington to pursue a master’s degree in higher education administration. From there, he headed even farther east, to the University of Vermont to work in new student orientation. But a few years later Bloomington beckoned once again, drawing him back to work as Kelley’s assistant director of admissions. “After four years or so, I was named director—and that was about 20 years ago,” he says. Read more

Published: March 24, 2016

HBS MBA Executive Director Weighs In On Hiring Of New Gatekeeper

Harvard Business School (HBS) yesterday announced Chad Losee (HBS MBA ’13) as the next managing director of MBA admissions and financial aid—succeeding Dee Leopold, who has held the position since 2006. Make sure to check out our initial coverage from yesterday for information on Losee’s credentials and background. To learn more about Losee and Harvard’s decision to select him as Leopold’s successor, we spoke with Jana Kierstead, executive director of HBS’s MBA program. Clear Admit: Dee Leopold has done such a wonderful job with the MBA admissions process at HBS, building a reputation for innovation, transparency and fairness Read more

Published: March 20, 2016

Admissions Director Q&A: Maria Pineda of UMD’s Smith School of Business

In response to our readers’ interests, we are excited to have recently added a handful of new schools to the line-up of MBA programs we cover regularly on Clear Admit. The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business is one of them. As part of our expanded coverage of Smith, we caught up recently with Full-Time MBA Admissions Director Maria Pineda. A 10-year veteran of the Smith School’s admissions office, Pineda worked in undergraduate admissions in New York City before that. “I wanted a change of scenery, so I was initially attracted to the Smith School’s location, with its traditional campus setting nestled next to a metropolitan city,” she says. She’s also a big believer in Dean Alexander Triantis’s vision of cultivating students to experience transformative change and then applying lessons learned to the workforce. Read more

Published: September 7, 2015

Admissions Director Q&A: Wharton’s Frank DeVecchis

Way back in February, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School named a new director of MBA admissions. Aside from an immediate flurry of coverage here and elsewhere about this Wharton “insider” Frank DeVecchis stepping in, little else has been heard since. What gives? As was reported then, DeVecchis does know Wharton intimately. He worked in the Wharton MBA Program Office for more than five years before heading over to admissions. In charge of operations and daily management of the MBA program, he advised more than 800 students, implemented the school’s innovative Course Match registration program and rolled out a new three-week orientation for incoming students. Read more

MBA Applywire

December 17, 2024 6:19am ET

Applying: Columbia, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, Georgetown / McDonough, Harvard Business School, Michigan / Ross, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, NYU Stern, U. Chicago Booth, UPenn / Wharton, UT Austin / McCombs

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Registered Nurse

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting Companies: Bain , BCG , McKinsey

GRE: 326

GPA: 3.5

Years of Work Experience: 3

Location: Colorado

Post MBA Location: Chicago/NYC

Notes:

25F, lgbtq
Education: Bachelor's degree in Nursing (GPA: 3.5) from a top 2 nursing school
Work Experience: 3 years as a high-risk OB Registered Nurse at a major hospital, with leadership roles in various healthcare initiatives and patient care management.
Additional Experience: Currently working as a GP
Operations Specialist at an early-stage healthcare/tech-focused venture capital firm, where I optimize operational processes and support investment decisions in the healthcare sector.
I understand my background is somewhat non-traditional for an MBA program and that my stats are about average for these schools, but I believe my experience in healthcare and VC provides a unique perspective and skill set. Which M7 or T15 schools do you think I should realistically target, especially those known for strong consulting programs? With my stats and experience do I realistically have a shot at admission to a top program? I have a particular interest in Kellogg and Booth, as I'm planning on pursuing a career in healthcare consulting.
Additionally, I would love any guidance on how to present myself as a competitive candidate and effectively showcase my strengths and experiences in healthcart and venture capital. Thank you for your help!

December 17, 2024 12:03am ET

Applying: Columbia, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, NYU Stern, UCLA Anderson, UVA / Darden, Yale SOM

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Worked in Tech vertical at Barclays

Post-MBA Target Industry: Investment Banking Companies: Goldman Sachs , JP Morgan , Merrill Lynch , Morgan Stanley

GRE: 335

GPA: 3.2

Years of Work Experience: 2.5

Location: India

Notes:

With an experience of 2.5 years and a promotion to mid-managerial level as a data analyst, I look forward to MBA for a broader global exposure and be in the decision making position to see how my work brings a real time impact for the organisation.

December 16, 2024 6:24am ET

Applying: Columbia, Dartmouth / Tuck, Georgetown / McDonough, Northwestern / Kellogg, NYU Stern, Yale SOM

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Risk management security services/operations

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting

GRE: 320

GPA: 3.75

Years of Work Experience: 4

December 15, 2024 6:03pm ET

Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Columbia, Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, NYU Stern, Stanford GSB, UCLA Anderson, Yale SOM

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Finance

Post-MBA Target Industry: Venture Capital

GRE: 325

GPA: 3.2

Years of Work Experience: 4

December 13, 2024 7:23am ET

Applying: Columbia, Cornell / Johnson, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, UPenn / Wharton, Yale SOM

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Private Equity Tax Operations

Post-MBA Target Industry: Investment Banking, Venture Capital, Private Equity

GRE: 335

GPA: 3.30

Years of Work Experience: 3

Location: India

Post MBA Location: New York

Notes:

Undergraduate: US took 6 years to graduate due to health issues. Took 1 gap year, 6 months of co-op in college + covid.

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MBA LiveWire

December 18, 2024 1:57am ET

Accepted to UPenn / Wharton

Round: Round 1

Received via portal

GMAT: 705

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Technology

Application Location: Taiwan

December 18, 2024 1:51am ET

Waitlisted at Carnegie Mellon / Tepper

Round: Round 1

Received via email on December 04, 2024

GPA: 2.6

GRE: 337

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Technology

Application Location: Asia

December 18, 2024 1:50am ET

Waitlisted at Michigan / Ross

Round: Round 1

Received via email on December 05, 2024

GPA: 2.6

GRE: 337

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Technology

Application Location: asia

December 18, 2024 1:48am ET

Rejected at USC / Marshall

Round: Round 1

Received via email on December 14, 2024

GPA: 2.6

GRE: 337

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Application Location: asia

December 18, 2024 1:46am ET

Accepted to UCLA Anderson

Round: Round 1

Received via phone on December 11, 2024

GPA: 2.6

GRE: 337

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Technology

Application Location: asia

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