Weekly Columns
Keep up with the latest school facts and news from your fellow MBA applicants.
Published: August 7, 2014
Fridays From the Frontline: Standardized Stressing
This week in the business school blogosphere, current applicants seek out unconventional ways of improving their GMAT scores and other aspects of their applications, while current students give us a sneak peak into their time in business school.
In the applicants' corner, Grantmeadmission is preparing for the GMAT and shares his list of “exam lifehacks” which include taking study breaks, changing scenery, chewing gum to help concentrate and coming up with his own answers before looking at the answer choices. He has also been improving his GMAT score by taking practice tests on The Economist website.
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Fridays From the Frontlines: Test Obsessed
Welcome to this week's Fridays From the Frontline, Clear Admit's weekly summation of the business school blogosphere. We check in with applicants who are in the final, feverish stages of GMAT preparation, as well as with current students who let us in on their comparatively less stressful post-GMAT lives.
In the applicant corner, Naijambagal tells the shocking story of how an eye problem sent her to the hospital and made her miss the GMAT! She also explains how she studied for the test for about an hour everyday while in traffic on the way to work. Meanwhile, Grantmeadmission brings insights from brain science to bear on GMAT prep strategies. As he explains, the process of forming a memory comes in three stages--encoding, reinforcement, and retrieval--and there are things we can do to facilitate each stage. Meditation and eating foods like parsley, berries and dark chocolate improve encoding, whereas caffeine, sleep, and taking breaks boost the process of reinforcement.
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Fridays from the Frontline: It was the best/worst of times
This week in the business school blogosphere, MBA students travel the world and embark on promising business ventures, while applicants continue wading through the complex and often mysterious process of applying to business school.
Many applicants are doling out advice about how to navigate the MBA admissions game. First, Texaswannabecali recommends getting “behind the scenes info” on your target schools by contacting alumni, current students, and visiting campus. She also stresses the importance of researching your schools before visiting: “Don’t you just hate the person who asks a question in class that the teacher LITERALLY just answered 3 seconds ago? Yeah, don’t be that person.”
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Trivia Tuesday: Public Management and Social Innovation at Stanford GSB
This week in Trivia Tuesday, in which we highlight the distinguishing aspects of top business schools, we’re opening up our Stanford School Guide for a closer look at their Public Management and Social Innovation Program.
"The Public Management Program (PMP) was founded in 1960s by then-dean Arjay Miller to promote communication and collaboration between leaders of government and business. His experience as president of Ford Motor Companies provided the impetus for this initiative; in this role, he witnessed firsthand the misunderstandings between politicians and those in the private sector. The PMP became part of the Center for Social Innovation in 2000, and today the Center has the broader mission of preparing students to address social and environmental problems.
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Fridays from the Frontline: GMAT Anticipation and Regret
This week in the business school blogosphere, applicants are gearing up to take the GMAT or contemplating what went wrong for them last time. Meanwhile current students prepare to enter the business world, and alumni look back on their time in business school.
Scheduled to take the GMAT next week, Naijambagal shares his advice on GMAT test-taking, which comes down to knowing the material, doing practice questions, reviewing your mistakes and not getting nervous. The last one is easier said than done!
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Fridays From the Frontline
Hello and welcome to Fridays from the Frontline, Clear Admit's weekly exhaustive enumeration of the enterprising entries in the b-school blogosphere. This week, current applicants are in full GMAT prep-mode, contemplating choice of schools and full versus part-time programs, while the Class of 2016 is looking forward to starting their MBA programs in just a few short weeks, and all the life and career changes that will bring. This week we also welcome blogger QuietTiger81, who is sharing his perspective as a second year student at Oxford.
MBAonMyMind has added YaleSOM to the tally board, given the school's focus on social impact businesses, and with three weeks into GMAT prep, all is going according to plan. With a GMAT prep plan of his own, GrantMeAdmission is gaining on his 760 goal with three life hacks to help him stay focused and positive. GrantMeAdmission also takes some time to discuss the pros and cons of doing a part-time MBA, and why he chose to go the full-time route.
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Fridays From the Frontline – News from the B-School Blogosphere
Hello and welcome to Fridays From the Frontline, Clear Admit's weekly roundup of the ruminations of the b-school blogosphere. This week, we continue to meet UCLA Anderson's entering class of MBA bloggers, welcome a new applicant blogger to the weekly round-up, as well as check up on the hard-working current applicants already kicking off round 1 applications, even as summer is just beginning to heat up. Zubin Davar '15 is a second year Anderson student, who is sharing his experience as a summer intern at Google. Despite his first day nerves, Zubin is relying on key takeaways from his first year. Those who are looking forward to their first year at Anderson include Mike Leve who recounts the true cost of an Anderson acceptance letter, of which the actual application fee is a very small part. Piyush Jain shares his excitement at joining the Anderson community, and explains his unique international perspective, as he prepares to leave his current location in the Middle East for California's West Coast.
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Trivia Tuesday: Master Classes at Columbia Business School
This week in Trivia Tuesday, where we highlight the distinguishing aspects of top business schools, we’re opening up the Clear Admit School Guide to Columbia Business School to learn more about Columbia's Master Classes.
“In the fall of 2006, Columbia introduced Master Classes, a new type of elective course. Each Master Class is organized around a theme, such as Operations Consulting or Private Equity & Entrepreneurship in Africa, and incorporates a semester-long experiential project. The projects are designed in conjunction with partner companies or organizations and conclude with students making a managerial recommendation to the partner organization. The Master Class program utilizes alumni and practicing professionals as teachers and mentors to ensure that students are exposed to both theory and practice within the MBA curriculum….
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Fridays From the Frontline
Hello and welcome to Fridays From the Frontline, Clear Admit's weekly summation of the best of the b-school blogosphere. This week, UCLA Anderson welcomes a group of incoming MBA students and bloggers, and current applicants discuss what's involved in staying focused on the admissions process during the summer.
Zafeer Khan Anderson '16 shares his journey from Bangladesh to pursuing the MBA in Sunny California. Classmate Asher Kurland is enjoying happy hours with fellow admits in Brooklyn. Nikhil George Punnoose '16 is moving away from living on oil rigs, to learning about the business side of production, and James Huntington rounds out the introduction of Anderson '16 bloggers by describing his reasons for selecting Anderson. Chief among them are the school's family friendly policies, and the Joint Ventures Club. We wish all of these new student bloggers all the best as they embark on their MBA journey together!
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Fridays From the Frontline
Hello and welcome to Fridays From the Frontline, Clear Admit's weekly summation of the best of the b-school blogosphere. As the school year has finished, current students have taken the opportunity to reflect on the experience of first year, while MBA hopefuls are putting together a plan of action to ensure a successful application process. Those Round 1 deadlines are not that far off! (Check the Clear Admit blog for up to date deadlines and essay information.)
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Trivia Tuesday: Tuck’s Pre-Term
Welcome to another edition of Trivia Tuesday, where we highlight special programs and policies at top business schools. This week, we're opening up the Clear Admit School Guide to the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth to learn about the school's pre-term:
"Tuck offers two weeks of diverse pre-term programming, both academic and non-academic, before the start of orientation. Incoming Tuck students, particularly those from non-business backgrounds, may be invited to enroll in a one-week Pre-Enrollment program, affectionately known as “math camp,” that provides classroom instruction in finance, accounting, statistics, decision science and other quantitative topics.
"As part of the online MBA Math course, students must complete at least the eight lessons designated as mandatory among the 24 lessons offered. These include topics such as Basic Descriptive Statistics, Income Statement, and Excel Basics, and incoming students are typically given access to their accounts in the January prior to their matriculation. Developed by Professor Peter Regan, the math course includes pre- and post-quizzes on each topic so that students can best determine the kind of progress they need to make before their fall classes begin.
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Fridays From the Frontline
Hello and welcome to Fridays From the Frontline, Clear Admit’s weekly summation of the soliloquies of the b-school blogosphere. This week, even as we are about to announce the winners of the Best of Blogging 2013 contest, we have two new bloggers to feature with interesting and thoughtful updates on the application and admissions process, while current students and recent graduates also share their perspectives. GrantMeAdmission starts off a busy week by outlining how he carefully selected the schools to apply to, along with a list of 8 questions every application should ask before applying. Once finished with that
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Trivia Tuesday: The Yale SOM Grading System
It’s time again for Trivia Tuesday, in which we examine the distinctive elements that separate the leading MBA programs from their peers. This week, we’re taking a peek into the Clear Admit School Guide to the Yale School of Management in order to share with you an excerpt about the program’s grading policies and grade non-disclosure.
“Rather than using numerical or letter grades as a measure of a student’s performance in a course, Yale SOM’s grading system is more closely akin to a pass/fail model. Professors can assign students one of the following four grades: Distinction, Proficient, Pass or Fail. The highest, Distinction, is reserved for unusually high-quality work and is awarded to no more than 10 percent of students taking the course. Meanwhile, Proficient denotes a normal level of achievement in coursework and comfort with the subject matter. Though a grade of Pass is a positive signal at most schools, Yale’s reflects performance that did not meet the level of proficiency, yet was not so lacking that it warranted a failing grade. Finally, the grade Fail reflects a level of
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Fridays From the Frontline
Hello and welcome to Fridays From the Frontline, Clear Admit's weekly roundup of the ruminations of the b-school blogosphere. This week, several of our 2016 applicants weigh in with recommendations, from audio books to MBA programs, while current students take stock of the MBA experience, including the challenges and rewards of transitioning from the military to pursuing an MBA.
MBATheNonProfitWay has made a resolution to switch her audio-book listening habit away from fiction to various business related books. The first selection, "The McKinsey Mind" did not fare so well in review. JourneyOfaGMATer took some time to share insights on the definition of 'problem', while Sarah'sMBAJourney hasn't given up on the idea of pursuing the MBA, and is now looking at a Cranfield MBA, although she does have some concerns and is open to other options as well.
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Fridays From the Frontline
Hello and welcome to Friday From the Frontline, Clear Admit’s weekly perusal of the ponderings of the b-school blogosphere. This week, we welcome a new contributor to the FFF blogging family, and hear updates from current students about exciting campus events and activities.
Brian Scott is an American about to embark on the MBA journey at INSEAD Fontainebleau. He's launched a blog to document the experience by giving an interesting and informative account of tips he's learned for INSEADers looking to work in the States, post MBA. JourneyofalowGMATer has a post on additional books to read, in order to enhance the classroom experience.
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Published: April 24, 2014
Fridays From The Frontline
Hello and welcome to Friday From the Frontlines, Clear Admit's weekly account of the adventures of the b-school blogosphere. This week marks a lull in applicant updates as most notifications have gone out for R2, and now its a matter of waiting for final decisions, preparing for matriculation, or starting the application process again for next year. Current students however, have taken time to reflect on the quickly approaching end of the MBA journey, as well as discuss the experience of being a veteran at Wharton and give an interesting insight into Harvard Business School's newly launched HBXCORe.
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Published: April 21, 2014
Trivia Tuesday: McCombs’s Venture Fellows Program
Welcome back to Trivia Tuesday, where we profile special offerings that help distinguish the top business schools from each other. Today we're sharing an excerpt from the Clear Admit Guide to UT Austin / McCombs about the school's Venture Fellows program.
"Founded in 1999 by a first-year McCombs student seeking to make inroads into the extremely competitive venture capital industry, the Venture Fellows (VF) program extends the school’s venture capital curriculum by providing hands-on internship opportunities with top funds in the industry. The Venture Fellows exist as an organization independent of the McCombs MBA program, sourcing their own funds and working to foster communication between Texan venture capital professionals and interested students. Each year, competition among first-year applicants is intense for one of the program’s 15 to 20 seats, and students should begin the application process itself by September.
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Published: April 17, 2014
Fridays From the Frontline
Hello and welcome to Fridays From the Frontline, Clear Admit's weekly canvassing of the confabulations of the b-school blogosphere. This week, our class of 2016 continues to ruminate on the experience of the past few months, while current students take some time during spring break to update readers on the whirlwind of activity that is the MBA.
MBAMyWay has a few new developments to report, as staggered school decisions continue to trickle in. An admit from Ross and waitlist notification from Fuqua gives MBAMyWay an opportunity to reflect on the Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda, but without much regret, since a matriculation at Johnson awaits. In fact, MBAMyWay has even more great news, with a bump off the waitlist and an admit offer to Yale SOM, as well as some great suggestions and ideas as to why the offer came through. While MBAMyWay is clearly decided on pursuing the MBA at Johnson next year, SarahsMBAJourney is using this time to reflect on what she really wants, and is asking herself three important questions about the MBA in order to help determine the answer to that.
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Published: April 10, 2014
Fridays From the Frontline
Hello and welcome to Fridays From the Frontline, Clear Admit's weekly summation of the soliloquies of the b-school blogosphere. This week, our stalwart scribes continue to look ahead to matriculating in 2016, while current students focus on metamorphosis, whether it be into spring, or into the post-MBA world.
MBAGirlJourney has a very useful and exhaustive list of Top Twenty Tips for New MBA Students from a former UCLA Anderson student. Domontron has a great summation of his own, of top MBA schools he applied to and why, and reasons why he didn't apply to ALL the top MBA programs in the States or UK. Overall, Tuck was definitely the right choice for him!
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Fridays From the Frontline
Hello and welcome to Fridays From the Frontline, Clear Admit's weekly ramble through the ruminations of the b-school blogosphere. This week, our stalwart applicants are continuing to filter their impressions of the application process, while contemplating what comes next. Current students are likewise contemplating how their lives have changed since starting business school, whether this year or last, and are looking forward to welcoming the class of 2016.
MBAReapplicant continued his streak of good news with admits from both Tepper and Darden. With a successful end to the reapplication process, MBAReapplicant can finally chose between several exciting options for next year. Timbob, another class of '16 successful applicant to Harvard Business School, took a brief moment away from preparing from his upcoming wedding to share a post-decision publication timeline of events. Much of it involved giddy celebration, and skillful procrastination. Another across-the-pond blogger, Sara'sMBAJourney, continued to share impressions of her trip to the States, including her enjoyable visit to Duke, as well as the terrible state of American roads and the terrible drivers on them. Domontron continued his series on elements of an MBA application by addressing ways to research target schools. He highlights students blogs as an excellent way to get a more direct and unfiltered sense of the school's community and opportunities. Your Fridays From the Frontline editor could not agree more!
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Published: March 27, 2014
Fridays from the Frontline
Hello and welcome to Fridays from the Frontline, Clear Admit’s weekly confabulation with correspondents in the b-school blogosphere. Our 2016 applicants continue to receive status updates from schools, while current students are taking the opportunity afforded by spring break to travel and update their blogs.
Domotron finally heard from Kellogg, with news of a ding that confirmed a Class of 2017 matriculation at Tuck. CoffeeBeansandTeaLeaves also received a ding from Kellogg, and updates readers with a final tally of dings from this year's application season. Although the season ends with an offer to join the Ross weekend MBA program, Ellie is taking advantage of this time to do some self-reflection and prepare for next year's challenges. We wish her all the best! Finally a bit of good news from MBA Reapplicant, who posted a detailed and glowing account of visiting Darden and the interview process.
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Published: March 20, 2014
Fridays From the Frontline
Hello and welcome to Fridays From the Frontline, Clear Admit’s weekly summation of the musings of the b-school applicant and student blogosphere. With most of our 2016 blogging applicants having gone through the R1 or R2 process, this week has been a time to dwell on the experience and give a fuller account of their impressions, whether positive or negative. Current MBA students have also taken some time to share their impressions of classes, travel experience, or life as an MBA mom.
MBAtheNonprofitWay has continued a streak of good news with an admit to Ross and a waitlist at Fuqua. However, Johnson still remains the best option, out of a successful application process. Nevertheless, MBAtheNonprofitWay takes some time to review the Coulda-Woulda-Shoulda of the experience. SarahsMBAJourney expands on her impressions of Boston, rating everything from burgers to the HBS Case Method, from her recent journey across the Pond to the USA.
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Published: March 13, 2014
Fridays From the Frontline
Hello and welcome to Fridays From the Frontline, Clear Admit's weekly traversal of the tenacious b-school applicant and student blogosphere. This week, our 2016 applicants share decisions and status updates, while our roster of current students continue to be immersed in classroom and career experiences, with little time to share their experiences at the moment.
MBAtheNonProfitWay is now officially part of the Johnson Class of 2016! While an exciting bit of news to impart, the decision between Cornell and UCLA was not easy. Speaking of Anderson, MBAReApplicant had the fantastic news that, after two years of going through the application process, an admit came from Anderson, and yet another R2 interview invite, this time from Darden, for which our intrepid blogger is preparing by using the Clear Admit Darden Interview Guide.
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Fridays From the Frontline
Hello and welcome to Fridays From the Frontline, Clear Admit’s weekly perusal of the peripatetic top business school blogs. This week, 2016 applicants continue to reflect on the application and interview process, while current MBA students are taking some time to update on the semester and exciting school-based projects. Tuck bound Domotron gives a great perspective on the elements of the application packet, and focuses particularly on how the GMAT score factors into the target school’s evaluation process. Sarah’sMBAJourney debriefs her Duke interview at a Starbucks in London, while sharing that the Clear Admit Interview and
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