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School Q&A

Published: August 26, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Benoit Banchereau of HEC Paris
Benoit Banchereau has been working for HEC Paris for 5 years, first as director of marketing and admissions for the MBA program and now as executive director of marketing and admissions for the MBA programs (MBA, EMBA and Trium). He previously worked as marketing, communications and business development director for AT Kearney, Standard&Poors and Freshfields. He joined us for this edition of our Admissions Director Q&A series, providing insights into MBA admissions, the interview process and more. Read more
Published: August 24, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Kirsten Moss of the Stanford Graduate School of Business
If Stanford GSB is on your list of target business schools, be sure to read this edition of our Admissions Director Q&A series with the Assistant Dean of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid, Kirsten Moss. Prior to her current role at Stanford, Kirsten developed tools to assess leadership potential as a consultant with Egon Zehnder. Earlier in her career, she was the Director of Career Services and the Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at Harvard Business School. Kirsten has an AB in economics, government, and sociology from Harvard College and an Read more
Published: August 23, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Andrea Flores of IE
In this edition of our Admissions Director Q&A series, we visit the leading MBA program at IE University in Madrid, Spain. We hear from Andrea Flores, who is currently Head of Global Admissions & Enrollment for graduate programs of all five schools at IE University, including IE Business School’s MBA programs. Her passion is to see education shape the future of society and how, through sharing IE’s values of humanities, entrepreneurship, social responsibility, and innovation, she can have an impact on the leaders of tomorrow. Her purpose is to provide graduate school applicants an admissions experience in line with IE’s vision of the future, in order to recruit the best talent globally. Read on for her insights into the MBA program, admissions and more. Read more
Published: August 19, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Anna Farrus of IMD
Located on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland, IMD maintains a small class size of about 90 MBA students each year. To talk more about the leading MBA program, Anna Farrus, the Director of MBA Recruitment and Admissions, joins us for this edition of our Admissions Director Q&A series. Farrus has worked in business schools for almost 20 years. Before joining the MBA team at IMD in 2018, she spent almost 12 years at Oxford Saïd Business School heading up their Admissions and Financial Aid team, and before that worked in the MBA Admissions team at IESE Business School, in Barcelona where she is originally from. Read more
Published: August 17, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Bruce DelMonico of the Yale School of Management
In this edition of our Admissions Director Q&A, Bruce DelMonico, the Assistant Dean for Admissions at the Yale School of Management, joins us to discuss the leading MBA program.  He started at Yale SOM, which is based in New Haven, Connecticut, in October 2004 and has led the Admissions Office since November 2006.  Before Yale, Bruce was an attorney focused on First Amendment, white collar, and commercial litigation. Read more
Published: August 16, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Amber Janke of the University of Washington Foster School of Business
In this edition of our Admissions Director Q&A series, we hear from Amber Janke, the Director of Full-time and Evening MBA Admissions at the Foster School of Business, University of Washington. Amber has pursued a career in higher education for the past 15+ years, working with faculty and student affairs at universities in California and New York before moving into her passion - admissions. Janke obtained a Masters in Higher Education Administration at New York University and spent 10 years in various roles at NYU before returning to Washington and joining Foster in 2016. Read on for her insights into what stands out about the Seattle-based b-school, the excellent faculty, what to expect during admissions and more. Read more
Published: August 12, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Cristina Sassot of Esade
We head to Barcelona for this edition of our Admissions Director Q&A series. Cristina Sassot is Director of Recruitment & Admissions of the Full Time MBA and Masters of Science in Management at Esade, the first Spanish school to earn the three most prestigious accreditations: AACSB International, EQUIS, and AMBA. Read on to learn about the dynamic and diverse leading MBA program at Esade. Read more
Published: August 10, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Emily Thomas of Columbia Business School
Imagine having New York City as your b-school campus—and that being just one of many hallmarks of your MBA experience. Columbia Business School, located in the Morningside Heights neighborhood of New York City, may be the place for you. Director of Admissions, Emily Thomas, is here to talk all about the leading MBA program in this Admissions Director Q&A. Emily joined the admissions committee after working for a number of years in Academic and Student Affairs for Columbia’s Executive MBA program. Read on for her insights into what stands out at CBS, what to expect in the admissions process and more. Read more
Published: August 9, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Bailey McChesney of Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Business
We head to Nashville in this edition of our Admissions Director Q&A, for a deep dive into Vanderbilt University’s Owen Graduate School of Business. Bailey McChesney began with the Vanderbilt Recruiting and Admissions team in March 2011. She facilitated many of the operational procedures for the department and planned the national MBA recruiting tour, Inside the MBA. She also enjoyed traveling and recruiting students to join the Vanderbilt MBA program and serving as the Owen Orientation Chair. Now, as the Senior Associate Director of MBA Admissions, Bailey currently manages the application evaluation process, campus visit experience and our MBA Recruiting & Admissions Fellows. Read on for her insights into the MBA program, what to expect in the application process and more. Read more
Published: August 5, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Pasquale Quintero, Jr. of the UMD Smith School of Business
As the Senior Director of the Full-Time MBA and Specialty Master’s Programs, Pasquale Quintero, Jr. leads the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business recruiting and enrollment efforts. He oversees the recruitment team in College Park, and closely collaborates with Maryland Smith's Global teams. Pasquale has 15 years of higher education experience and joined us to discuss UMD Smith's admissions, standout faculty, and the impact of COVID-19 in this edition of our Admissions Director Q&A. Read more
Published: August 3, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Renee Cherubin of Northwestern Kellogg School of Management
A little north of downtown Chicago in Evanston, Illinois, MBA students enjoy a team-oriented culture and education at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Renee Cherubin, who earned her MBA from Kellogg in 2006, is the Senior Director of Full-Time MBA Admissions for the school. She is an active member of the Admissions leadership team focused on attracting the best and brightest candidates to Kellogg’s Full-Time degree programs, including Two Year, One Year, MMM, JDMBA, MD-MBA programs, as well as the M.S. in Management Studies (MSMS) program. Prior to Kellogg, Renee spent nine years in strategy Read more
Published: August 2, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Ruthie Pyles Stiffler of WashU Olin Business School
In this edition of our Admissions Director Q&A, Ruthie Pyles Stiffler, the associate dean of graduate enrollment management for WashU Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis, digs into the value and culture of their full-time MBA program. Ruthie oversees the admission, recruitment, reporting, financial services and talent acquisition divisions for Olin’s graduate programs. Read more
Published: July 29, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Melissa Rapp of the Emory Goizueta Business School
Our latest edition of the Admissions Director Q&A series takes us to Atlanta, Georgia, and Emory University’s Goizueta Business School.  Melissa Rapp is the Associate Dean of MBA Admissions there. In this role, she leads the team responsible for the recruitment, evaluation, and matriculation of students across Goizueta’s portfolio of MBA programs. Read on for her insights into admissions at Emory Goizueta, including what they look for in application essays, what to expect in regards to your interview and more. Read more
Published: July 27, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Soojin Kwon of the University of Michigan Ross School of Business
In this edition of our Admissions Director Q&A, learn all about the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan.  Soojin Kwon is the Managing Director for Full-time MBA Admissions and Program and a lecturer of Business Communication at Michigan Ross. Soojin has led MBA Admissions since 2006 and, since 2016, also oversees the MBA Program, which includes student experience and academic advising. Before joining Ross, Soojin was a Manager in Deloitte’s Strategy and Operations practice. Prior to consulting, she served as a Presidential Management Fellow, doing stints with the U.S. Senate Budget Committee, House Appropriations Committee, and Department of Commerce. Read more
Published: July 26, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Jackie Brockmyre of the Boston College Carroll School of Management
A little west of Boston, Massachusetts, MBA students enjoy a collaborative community and industry-focused curriculum at the Carroll School of Management of Boston College (BC).  In this edition of our Admissions Director Q&A, we hear from Associate Director of Graduate Admissions, Jackie Brockmyre, about the tight-knit community and flexible admissions process.  Brockmyre graduated from Elon University with a business degree and has been a member of the Carroll School of Management’s graduate admissions team for close to four years. Prior to BC, Jackie worked in education technology and technology sales. She is currently pursuing a part-time MBA at BC and is expected to graduate in 2021. Read on for her admissions insights. Read more
Published: July 22, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Paula Amorim of IESE
Along with IESE’s four campuses in Barcelona, Madrid, New York, and Munich, the school has facilities in São Paulo as well. IESE’s full-time MBA program is headquartered at the University of Navarra’s campus in Pedralbes, a residential neighborhood of Barcelona that sits just 20 minutes from the city’s downtown area. In this edition of our Admissions Director Q&A, Paula Amorim, Director of Admissions and IESE MBA ’16, discusses the hallmarks of the IESE MBA, what to expect in admissions and how you can learn more about the dynamic and diverse program. Read more
Published: July 20, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Rodrigo Malta of the Texas McCombs School of Business
This edition of our Admissions Director Q&A series takes us to the dynamic city of Austin and leading business school there, the University of Texas McCombs School of Business.  Rodrigo Malta, the Managing Director of MBA Recruitment and Admissions at Texas McCombs, was born and raised in Brazil and moved to the U.S. in high school. After earning his bachelor’s degree in management from Missouri State University and working for a large telecom company in Kansas City, he pursued an MBA at Texas McCombs. Read more
Published: July 19, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Taylor Martini of the UCI Merage School of Business
Located between Los Angeles and San Diego, the University of California, Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business puts MBA students in the center of Southern California’s Tech Coast. In this edition of our Admissions Director Q&A series, we hear from Taylor Martini, who serves as the Executive Director of UCI Merage's full-time MBA program. He oversees operations, including financial and strategic management, academic programming and supervision of the admissions and student services teams. Taylor joined the Merage School in June 2015, soon after graduating from the UCI Paul Merage School of Business Full-Time MBA Program.  Read more
Published: July 15, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Rebekah Lewin of the University of Rochester, Simon Business School
We continue our Admissions Director Q&A series with Rebekah Lewin, Assistant Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at the University of Rochester, Simon Business School.  She has more than 20 years of experience working in undergraduate and graduate admissions, financial aid and student experience roles, primarily within the University of Rochester.  In her current position, she oversees efforts related to recruitment, admissions, financial aid and on-boarding for more than 500 students across the full-time MBA and MS programs.   Rebekah also oversees academic operations for the business school and has program management responsibilities for the Barry Florescue Undergraduate Business Program within the University of Rochester. Read more
Published: July 13, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Shari Hubert of the Duke Fuqua School of Business
Diversity and inclusion stand out in the thorough Duke MBA admissions process.  Here to tell us all about it in our ongoing Admissions Director Q&A series is Shari Hubert, Associate Dean of Admissions at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.  Hubert is responsible for overseeing recruitment and admissions for Fuqua’s Daytime MBA, Weekend Executive MBA, Global Executive MBA, and four Specialty Masters’ Degree Programs.  Prior to Fuqua, Hubert was in charge of admissions for the Full-time and Evening MBA programs at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business. She has Read more
Published: July 12, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Rebecca Mallen-Churchill of ASU Carey
In this edition of our Admissions Director Q&A, the Director of Graduate Student Recruitment, Rebecca Mallen-Churchill, joins us to discuss the W.P. Carey School of Business at the Arizona State University (ASU). ASU is located just outside of Phoenix, AZ, and the W.P. Carey MBA program boasts executive connections and an interdisciplinary curriculum. Rebecca Mallen-Churchill, Director of Graduate Student Recruitment, ASU W.P. Carey School of Business Mallen-Churchill graduated from ASU in 2005; while earning her degree in theatre and Italian, she also discovered her love for higher education while working for the Graduate Admissions Read more
Published: July 8, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Alex Lawrence of UCLA Anderson School of Management
The Anderson School of Management at UCLA boasts diverse career placement, but stands out for its strengths in marketing and technology. MBA students also enjoy a tight knit community—class size hovers around 360—amid the larger setting of Los Angeles.  Here to discuss additional features of the leading MBA program is Alex Lawrence, the Assistant Dean and Director of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid since 2012. In the Admissions Director Q&A that follows, Lawrence highlights Anderson’s career support, campus features and the ins and outs Read more
Published: July 6, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Donna Swinford of Chicago Booth School of Business
In addition to being one of the Best Business Schools for Finance, the Chicago Booth School of Business also stands out for its culture of curiosity and a teaching style called The Chicago Approach.  The educational philosophy of The Chicago Approach is about critical thinking—by understanding fundamental scientific disciplines, the resulting theoretical frameworks help define problems, ask better questions, and develop better solutions.  To discuss more of the hallmarks of the Chicago Booth MBA program, the Associate Dean for Student Recruitment and Admissions, Donna Swinford, joins us for this Read more
Published: July 5, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Margaret O’Neill of Cambridge Judge Business School
“Collaboration is a buzz word that is often used, but at Cambridge we live and breathe it,” says Margaret O’Neill, Head of MBA Marketing, Admissions and Careers at Cambridge Judge Business School (CJBS). O’Neill has oversight of the whole MBA journey, from the moment candidates first engage with the school, to the time they leave to embark upon their post-MBA careers.  She has spent the past 20 years working with post-graduate business school professionals across projects, careers and admissions at both Cambridge Judge and London Business School. Margaret O’Neill, Head of MBA Marketing, Read more
Published: June 30, 2020
Admissions Director Q&A: Lisa Rios of NYU Stern School of Business
Lisa Rios, the Executive Director of MBA Admissions at NYU Stern, joins us in this Admissions Director Q&A to cover the hallmarks of the Manhattan-based MBA program. A member of the admissions team since 2008, Rios works with the Full-time MBA programs. Prior to Stern, she worked in industry at JP Morgan Chase and Liz Claiborne. Such industry ties and experience are also an advantage NYU MBA students can expect to gain during the full-time program. Below, Rios discusses how NYU’s location, experiential courses including Stern Solutions and much more, Read more

MBA Applywire

10
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
3
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.
7
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
13
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
7
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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