Weekly Columns

Keep up with the latest school facts and news from your fellow MBA applicants.

Published: July 20, 2017

Fridays From the Frontline: A Foster MBA Grad’s Journey from Appalachia to Accenture

This week’s Fridays from the Frontline first appeared on the MBA blog of the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business. Its protagonist, Steve Tomick, is a recent MBA graduate of the program headed off to a management consultant role at Accenture in Seattle in the firm’s communications, media, and technology group. But as you’ll read, his background couldn’t have been more different. An undergraduate dual major in history and education at Wake Forest, Tomick spent six years working with the Appalachia Service Project, a nonprofit whose mission is to improve substandard housing for low-income families Read more

Published: July 13, 2017

Fridays from the Frontline: A Wharton MBA Techie Shares Six Strategies for Recruiting

Recent Wharton/Lauder graduate Victoria Cheng left Philadelphia for Hangzhou, China, where she’ll complete a one-year rotational program at e-commerce giant Alibaba. She came to the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School MBA program and Lauder Institute East Asia program with the goal of working in China upon graduation. But that doesn’t mean this MBA techie hasn’t lost sight of her longer-term interest in self-driving cars. In a recent “Wharton Stories” feature on the school’s website, writer Kelly Andrews shares more of Cheng’s story, as well as Cheng’s own astute strategies for recruiting—which seem to have served her Read more

Published: July 6, 2017

MBA Applicant Spotlight: London Business School Calling

Welcome to another edition of MBA Applicant Spotlight, in which we catch up with individuals on their admissions experiences. This week, we hear from Mauricio Coindreau, a native of Mexico who currently works as a vendor manager for Amazon. He was part of the Mexico country launch, taking on multiple vendor manager roles in several categories, including books, music, video games and most recently Amazon fashion. Read more

Published: July 6, 2017

Fridays from the Frontline: So You Want to Be a Social Entrepreneur at Kellogg

Today’s Friday from the Frontline post comes to us from Saumya, a recent graduate of the two-year MBA program at Kellogg School of Management. With her MBA degree, Saumya’s plans are to return to India, where she worked as a social entrepreneur before coming to Kellogg for business school. Prior to Kellogg, Saumya ran a startup called YellowLeaf in her native India, whose mission is to save migrant blue-collar workers from exploitation. While at Kellogg, she had the opportunity to incubate a second social enterprise, an agri-tech venture called Kheyti, whose low-cost, Read more

Published: June 29, 2017

MBA Applicant Spotlight: Finding Fit at Cornell / Johnson

Welcome to another edition of MBA Applicant Spotlight, in which we share admissions experiences from the latest candidates for business school. This week, Mukul Aggarwal, a mechanical engineer from India, shares his journey to the S.C. Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University. Read more

Published: June 29, 2017

Fridays from the Frontline: Two UCLA Anderson MBA Alums Discuss Running a Company

Entrepreneurship is one of the fastest growing career choices; Forbes estimates that approximately 543,000 new businesses are started each month. That said, the truth is that 90 percent of startups eventually fail, which makes it vital for budding entrepreneurs to learn from their predecessors. Recently, Erik Basu, a UCLA Anderson School of Management MBA alum and founder/CEO of Sentek Global, and John Tabis, Anderson MBA ’06 and co-founder of the Bouqs Company, shared their advice about running a company. And while both company founders offered different perspectives, their advice is valuable for any potential entrepreneur. We thought it made perfect fodder for today's Friday from the Frontline. Read more

Published: June 26, 2017

MBA DecisionWire Spotlight: Cambridge / Judge or London Business School for Consulting

In this week’s MBA DecisionWire Spotlight, which highlights MBA candidates’ choices as shared in Clear Admit’s DecisionWire, we round up responses to a candidate considering Cambridge / Judge or London Business School for consulting. The candidate laid out the options in the initial post:Initial feedback leaned towards LBS: Read more

Published: June 22, 2017

Fridays from the Frontline: Why David Washer Pursued a Dartmouth Tuck Joint MBA/MPH Degree

For David Washer, who knew he wanted to pursue a career serving the social sector and striving for social justice, a joint MBA/MPH (Master of Public Health) degree seemed like just the ticket. In the post that follows, he shares why the Dartmouth Tuck Joint MBA/MPH degree made the most sense for him—as well as why he believes adding the MBA is a valuable option for social justice advocates considering graduate study. This following post has been republished in its entirety from its original source, the Tuck 360: MBA Blog. Why I Pursued Read more

Published: June 15, 2017

Fridays from the Frontline: Darden MBA Student Molly Deale Shifts from Making Hats to Managing Finances

It’s Friday—which means it’s time for some perspective from the MBA community. Today it comes from Molly Deale, a rising second-year MBA student at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business. Deale’s pre–business school work experience is pretty unique: She managed a New York City millinery studio, creating hats for film, TV, and Broadway clients including Hamilton and Wicked. In the interview that follows, she reveals how she took that experience and married it with Darden’s case-based MBA curriculum, the strong Darden alumni network, and the resources provided through the school’s career services offices to land a summer Read more

Published: June 12, 2017

MBA DecisionWire Spotlight: Chicago Booth or Northwestern / Kellogg for General Management

In this week’s MBA DecisionWire Spotlight, which recounts MBA candidates’ choices as shared in Clear Admit’s DecisionWire, we highlight a candidate’s choice between Chicago Booth or Northwestern / Kellogg for general management. Each offer came with scholarships as well. Initial feedback boiled down to fit: Read more

Published: June 8, 2017

Fridays from the Frontline: Johnson Student’s Summer MBA Internship Building a Veterinary Hospital in Mumbai

Some MBA students choose to intern at investment banks in New York or London, others at tech firms in Silicon Valley, others at big multinational consulting firms. But it’s not every day you hear of someone packing up for a summer internship building a veterinary hospital in Mumbai. And yet, that is precisely how Shantanu Naidu, a “half MBA” at Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management, will spend his summer. In the post that follows, Naidu shares his family’s ties to India’s Tata Group—which span four generations. He also describes how his first year as an Read more

Published: June 5, 2017

MBA DecisionWire Spotlight: Northwestern / Kellogg, UCLA / Anderson or U. Washington / Foster for Social Impact

In another installment of MBA DecisionWire Spotlight, which highlights MBA candidates’ choices as shared in Clear Admit’s DecisionWire, we take a closer look at a candidate’s choice among Northwestern / Kellogg, UCLA / Anderson or U. Washington / Foster for social impact. The offer from UCLA / Anderson came with a scholarship as well. Feedback began with a focus on weather and finances: Read more

Published: June 1, 2017

Fridays from the Frontline: UCLA Anderson FEMBA Student on Why the Future Must Be More Female

This week’s post comes to us from sunny Southern California and UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. Its author, Sana Rahim, is a student in UCLA Anderson’s fully employed MBA (FEMBA) program while also working as a sales manager at McMaster Carr. Despite the competing demands of work and school, she also finds time to serve as a strategic consultant for social impact at the Price Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation. And this summer she will be on fellowship at the United Nations in Istanbul to work toward sustainable development goals. The preceding sentences alone suggest that Rahim Read more

Published: May 25, 2017

Fridays from the Frontline: Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone at HBS

Today we are pleased to share a recent post from the Harvard Business School (HBS) “MBA Voices” student blog, written by newly minted HBS MBA LaToya Marc. She walked across stage this week to receive her degree, culminating a busy two years in which she balanced the pressures of coursework, recruiting, and extensive involvement in student clubs with motherhood. Marc served as co-president of the Student Association, which she says was her most rewarding experience while at HBS. (Click here to see her addressing her fellow classmates on Class Day with Libby L. Hoaglin, her Student Association co-president.) She also pushed through plenty of anxiety—like many of her fellow classmates, she confesses to worrying that she was an “admissions mistake”—to speak up in class and defend her points of view as part of HBS’s signature case method of learning. Read more

Published: May 22, 2017

MBA DecisionWire Spotlight: Georgetown / McDonough, Indiana / Kelley or Washington U. Olin for Finance

In this edition of MBA DecisionWire Spotlight, which highlights MBA candidates’ choices as shared in Clear Admit’s DecisionWire, we take a closer look at a candidate’s choice among Georgetown / McDonough, Indiana / Kelley or Washington U. Olin for finance. Each offer came with scholarships as well. The candidate expanded on his future career plans in the initial post: Feedback began with some thought-provoking questions: Read more

Published: May 18, 2017

Fridays from the Frontline: Johnson MBA Immersion Program Helps Build Confidence Through Skill Acquisition

A hallmark of the Johnson Graduate School of Management, which is part of the larger Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, is its intensive immersion program. In the spring of their first year, Johnson MBA students take part in a hands-on semester of integrated course and field work focused on a particular industry or functional role. Johnson currently offers seven immersions—in Capital Markets and Asset Management, Investment Banking, Managerial Finance, Strategic Operations, Strategic Marketing, Digital Technology, and Sustainable Global Enterprise—as well as a Customized Immersion that allows students to create their own intensive courses of study. Read more

Published: May 15, 2017

MBA DecisionWire Spotlight: Cornell / Johnson or Michigan / Ross for Consulting

In this post for MBA DecisionWire Spotlight, which highlights MBA candidates’ choices as shared in Clear Admit’s DecisionWire, we walk through responses to someone debating between Cornell / Johnson and Michigan / Ross for consulting. The community opened up with comments on prioritizing fit: Read more

Published: May 11, 2017

Fridays from the Frontline: 5 Things I Learned About Succeeding in Silicon Valley as a Woman

Today’s post comes to us from Nancy Hoque, an evening & weekend MBA student at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. A former solutions architect designing mission-critical communications for the U.S. military, Hoque is also founder of a modest scarf fashion startup for Muslim women. At Haas, she’s played an active role, serving as vice president of Haas Tech Club and the Women in Leadership Club, as well as a Haas Lean-In Ambassador. She’ll spend her summer working in product marketing management for next-generation cyber security at Symantec. Longer term, she hopes her MBA will prepare her for a leadership role Read more

Published: May 11, 2017

MBA Applicant Spotlight: Prioritizing Fit to Choose Between Haas, Booth, Kellogg, and ASU

In this edition of MBA Applicant Spotlight, we catch up with Michael Sahm, a healthcare professional who submitted half a dozen business school applications and found success at Chicago Booth, Northwestern / Kellogg, Berkeley / Haas, and Arizona / Carey. Sahm has worked in the healthcare industry for seven years, first as a management consultant and now at Tenet Healthcare, one of America’s largest healthcare providers. He really enjoys the healthcare space and hopes to explore career opportunities in healthcare venture finance or healthcare tech after business school. As an undergraduate, he earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Southern California, where he was a Dean’s Scholar. Where did you apply? What were the results? I applied to six MBA programs—HBS, Stanford GSB, Chicago Booth, Kellogg, Berkeley Haas, and Arizona State. I was rejected at HBS and Stanford (no interviews) and accepted to Booth, Kellogg, Berkeley, and ASU. Read more

Published: May 8, 2017

MBA DecisionWire Spotlight: Northwestern / Kellogg or a Scholarship at Duke / Fuqua for Consulting

In this edition of MBA DecisionWire Spotlight post, which highlights MBA candidates’ conundrums as posted in Clear Admit’s DecisionWire, we walk through responses to someone considering Northwestern / Kellogg or Duke / Fuqua with a scholarship for consulting. Initial responses were simple and direct: Read more

Published: May 1, 2017

MBA DecisionWire Spotlight: Indiana / Kelley, Notre Dame / Mendoza, USC / Marshall, Washington U. / Olin for Tech

In this MBA DecisionWire Spotlight post, which highlights selected options as posted in Clear Admit’s DecisionWire, we walk through responses to a candidate considering Indiana / Kelley, Notre Dame / Mendoza, USC / Marshall, Washington U. / Olin for Tech. Having received scholarships from each institution, financing seemed to be on most community members’ minds: Read more

Published: April 27, 2017

Fridays from the Frontline: A Sufi Poet at INSEAD

Today’s post comes to us from INSEAD MBA student Sabrina Lakhani, a Chicago native whose pre-MBA career took her from Babson College in Boston to a small Connecticut marketing consultancy for a couple of years to volunteering as a full-time project coordinator at a hospital for children in Kabul. From there it was on to East Africa, working first on a network of hospitals and later on a network of schools. She then returned to work for her family’s businesses in Chicago before joining a decision heuristics science‒based marketing firm as director of client services. In an earlier post, she Read more

Published: April 24, 2017

MBA DecisionWire Spotlight: Harvard Business School, Northwestern / Kellogg or UPenn / Wharton for Social Impact

In this edition of MBA DecisionWire Spotlight, which highlights selected options as posted in Clear Admit’s DecisionWire, we walk through responses to a candidate considering Northwestern / Kellogg with a scholarship, Harvard Business School or The Wharton School for social impact. Given the candidate’s career goals, some favored the funding from Kellogg while others prioritized the HBS brand. One of the first comments captured the essence of the debate: Read more

Published: April 20, 2017

Fridays from the Frontline: An HBS Alum’s Answer to Should Entrepreneurs Get an MBA?

Today’s post comes to us from recent Harvard Business School (HBS) alumnus Jon Staff (MBA ’16), who is now CEO and founder of a company that offers rural escapes to stressed-out city dwellers. Called Getaway, his startup designs tiny houses and places them in picturesque rural locations, where they can be rented out starting at $99 night. In the following piece, Staff takes on the likes of Peter Thiel and Elon Musk, who have gone on record as suggesting that entrepreneurs should not seek MBAs. Even though that sentiment gave him pause as he decided Read more

Published: April 17, 2017

MBA DecisionWire Spotlight: Chicago Booth, Northwestern / Kellogg or UPenn / Wharton for Finance

In this week’s MBA DecisionWire Spotlight, which pulls the admissions results of students and alumni as shared in Clear Admit’s DecisionWire, we round up responses to a candidate considering Northwestern / Kellogg with a scholarship, Chicago Booth or The Wharton School for finance. While the F.C. Austin scholarship from Kellogg sounded lucrative to many, several people chimed in for the other MBA programs, Chicago Booth and the Wharton School. This community member succinctly captured the potential conundrum: Read more

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MBA Applywire

April 2, 2025 1:21pm ET

Applying: Columbia, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, Emory / Goizueta, Georgia Tech / Scheller, Michigan / Ross, Northwestern / Kellogg, U. Chicago Booth, UVA / Darden

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: Pharmaceutical Operations

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Pharmaceutical Companies: Bain , BCG , McKinsey , Johnson & Johnson , Merck

GRE: 321

GPA: 3.7

Years of Work Experience: 15

Location: Mumbai

Post MBA Location: NYC

March 30, 2025 10:53am ET

Applying: Columbia, Duke / Fuqua, ESADE, IESE, INSEAD, London Business School, MIT Sloan, NYU Stern, Other, Penn State / Smeal, U. Chicago Booth, UCLA Anderson, UPenn / Wharton, Yale SOM

Intake Year: 2026

Pre-MBA Career: Banking and technology

Post-MBA Target Industry: Technology, Commercial Banking Companies: Other , Other

GMAT: 710

GPA: 3.1

Years of Work Experience: 7

Location: Brazil

Post MBA Location: Brazil

Notes:

I am a 29 yo black brazilian woman. I am civil engineer by the oldest civil engineer school of Brazil with full scholarship. I have been working with data since 2015 and now I am coordinator of a data team I the biggest Latin American Bank. Currently I am studying for toefl and improving my English. My main purposes joining a top tier mba are to improve my leadership skills and to learn with different people from different backgrounds (I am working in the same business since 2017).

March 30, 2025 10:29am ET

Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Columbia, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, INSEAD, Michigan / Ross, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, NYU Stern, U. Chicago Booth, UPenn / Wharton, UVA / Darden, Yale SOM

Intake Year: 2026

Pre-MBA Career: Fintech, Morgan Stanley

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Technology Companies: Accenture , Bain , BCG , McKinsey , PWC , Amazon , Apple , Facebook , Google , Microsoft

GRE: 322

GPA: 3.39

Years of Work Experience: 5

March 27, 2025 2:54am ET

Applying: Harvard Business School, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, Stanford GSB, U. Chicago Booth, UPenn / Wharton

Intake Year: 2025

Pre-MBA Career: DA/DS; Family Business

Post-MBA Target Industry: Consulting, Technology, Family Business, Entrepreneurship

GRE: 330

GPA: 3.5

Years of Work Experience: 4

Location: Malden, MA

March 25, 2025 7:42am ET

Applying: Columbia, Harvard Business School, Michigan / Ross, Stanford GSB, U. Chicago Booth, UPenn / Wharton, UVA / Darden, Yale SOM

Intake Year: 2026

Pre-MBA Career: Real estate acquisitions and development

Post-MBA Target Industry: Investment Banking

GMAT: 675

GPA: 3.1

Years of Work Experience: 4

Location: Mid-atlantic

Notes:

I am originally from the UK (now a permanent resident) and went to community college (3.6 gpa), then transferred to a top 25 undergrad and severe health issues due to a disability causing me to get a 3.1 gpa. I then stayed there and did a master’s in finance with a 3.8 gpa. I am very passionate about giving back, especially about the homelessness epidemic. Before college I spent a year in Switzerland volunteering at homeless shelters. During college I led a campus ministry with a focus on helping the unhoused. After my experience with my disability, I started a nonprofit that has consulted with several shelters and foodbanks to help those with similar health issues as myself. I also personally raised capital to purchase and preserve an affordable multifamily property. My career has been in real estate since I graduated, but I have job hopped. My first job was 5 months, then I moved to be closer to family. My next job was for 7 months, but I quit as they were taking actions to make housing unaffordable for first time buyers. My next job was in acquisitions but I was laid off with about half the company due to the rising interest rates that affected the industry. I have been at an impact real estate private equity firm for almost 2 years in an acquisitions, development, and asset management role with a promotion. All my roles have been for REITs or PE firms. My post-mba goal is banking to better learn capital markets and long term to start an affordable real estate investment firm, perhaps in London. I would love to be a wire tap candidate, fingers crossed.

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MBA LiveWire

April 3, 2025 10:42am ET

Accepted to Cornell / Johnson

Round: Round 2

Received via phone April 3, 2025

Standardized Test: Granted Waiver

GPA: 3.3

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Finance

Application Location: Colombia, Bogotá

Note:

9 YoE, JD + MBB. Received call this morning 10am ET, 30k total scholarship. Interviewed early march, very happy!

April 3, 2025 10:28am ET

Accepted to Cornell / Johnson

Round: Round 2

Received via phone April 3, 2025

Standardized Test: GRE

GPA: 3.93/5

GRE: 320

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Entrepreneurship

Application Location: Colombia, Bogota

Note:

Got call 10:20 am ET, interviewed March 19. 30k Scholarship.
Had applied to 10 schools, got waitlisted at Sloan and rejected at all others, sooo happy.

April 3, 2025 7:53am ET

Accepted to UPenn / Wharton

Round: Round 2

Received via portal on March 31, 2025

Standardized Test: GMAT

GPA: 3.1

GMAT: 655

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Technology

Application Location: São Paulo

Note:

+ Lauder Africa General Track

April 3, 2025 5:56am ET

Accepted to Stanford GSB

Round: Round 2

Received via phone on April 01, 2025

Standardized Test: GMAT

GMAT: 760

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Application Location: India

April 3, 2025 1:13am ET

Waitlisted at Cornell / Johnson

Round: Round 2

Received via email April 2, 2025

Standardized Test: GMAT

GMAT: 729

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

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