Admissions Director Q&A Below are links to Clear Admit's exclusive interviews with MBA admissions directors at leading programs.
Application Deadlines Below are the upcoming deadlines for admission to the leading MBA programs.
Essay Topic Analysis Below are links to our comments on some of the leading programs' essay topics.
MBA Tipline We encourage admissions officers, students and applicants to alert us of interesting news and developments, please send an email to news@clearadmit.com so we can blog it. MBA Programs: North America If an MBA Program is not listed, please e-mail and we will be happy to list it.
MBA Programs: The Rest of the World As there is some variety in the length of international MBA programs, we have denoted the length of the program next to its name (1 = one year; 2 = 2 years). If an MBA Program is not listed, please e-mail and we will be happy to list it.
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Posted by Clear Admit on April 30, 2004, at 11:07 am
While most of our readers are familiar with TopMBA for their World MBA Tour (comprehensive ‘MBA fairs’ in major cities across the world), the company has a solid web presence as well. In fact, TopMBA launched their own discussion boards and online chats during the past admissions season.
Although the threads are still building up steam, the World MBA Tour team is doing a good job of responding to postings. In addition, their series of live chats (featuring a variety of hosts) have been archived for your perusal at . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on April 28, 2004, at 1:36 pm
Several months ago, the Wall Street Journal surveyed students at the top business, law and medical schools to find out where they had pursued their undergraduate studies. They then used this information to develop a list of ‘feeder schools’ – e.g. undergraduate programs that have strong representation at the top professional schools.
While the survey is far from perfect (it blends law, MBA and medical programs, chooses only the top 5 programs in each field and has not looked at multiple years of data) it is still quite interesting. The main area of note is the relative power of the Ivy League and the small liberal arts programs when compared to larger schools and state schools.
The article is at the following address: . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on April 27, 2004, at 12:45 pm
The resume (or CV) is typically the best starting point for someone embarking on the MBA admissions process.
This is true for the following reasons:
1) Nearly every top school requires a resume. This is usually requested as part of the written application. Candidates are also required to bring a resume to their admissions interviews.
2) Crafting a resume can often serve as the creative starting point for candidates who are trying to develop their positioning strategy and career goals for the MBA admissions process. Distilling all of your experiences (educational, professional and extracurricular) into a coherent document can often be an eye-opening exercise.
3) Since MBA admissions officers are often asking themselves whether or not a candidate seems likely to gain employment upon completion . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on April 26, 2004, at 2:07 pm
Sunday’s New York Times ran an interesting article on the recruiting process for MBA graduates from various schools (ranging from Wake Forest to Wharton):
“As the tight job market accentuates the advantages that graduates of Harvard or the University of Pennsylvania enjoy even in the best of times, students from lower-tier schools must hustle even harder.”
Full text of article: . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on April 21, 2004, at 4:54 pm
Good news for applicants on the INSEAD waitlist for the September start date! The school has recently begun digging into their waitlist!
INSEAD is not alone in this trend, and we expect to see movement on waitlists at many of the top schools. This stems from reduced application volume and the increased competition amongst schools to lure top candidates. Contact us via phone (215-772-1750) or email to learn more about proactively managing your . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on April 13, 2004, at 9:58 am
A key aspect of any Wharton interview is something the admissions committee refers to as ‘goal articulation‘. What is goal articulation? Obviously, it has something to do with the ‘career goals’ that applicants typically discuss in the essays, but there is actually much more to it. The best way to describe this is to understand the various questions that the interviewer will be trying to answer by meeting with you:
1) Can the candidate clearly articulate a set of long-term career goals?
2) Does the candidate have a short-term plan that fits with their long-term goals?
3) Does the candidate have reasons for the choices they have made in life? In other words, can the applicant explain why they attended school ‘x’, why they . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on April 12, 2004, at 1:30 pm
Business Week has printed a second editorial on the recent HBS and Wharton decisions regarding rankings and the magazine’s access to current MBA students. The editorial, entitled Why Harvard and Wharton Are Wrong makes a strong argument for the Business Week survey and sharply criticizes the decisions made by the Dean’s Harker and Clark.
Here’s a small excerpt:
“At a time when the public demands accountability from its business leaders and institutions, Harvard’s and Wharton’s attempts to curb the most comprehensive, independent source of student opinion about the quality of their education is shameful. Harvard Dean Kim B. Clark and Wharton Dean Patrick T. Harker are trying to deny people around the world who seek a B-school education the independent information they need . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on April 9, 2004, at 11:44 am
Earlier this week, the Wharton admissions committee indicated that the interview invitation deadline for ‘Round 3′ had been moved up to April 8th from the original deadline of April 14th. Then, as the new deadline was approaching, word came out that the school had fallen back to its original schedule of releasing all interview invites by April 14th (along with denial letters to those who are not invited to interview). Essentially, what this means is that there are still interview invitations going out to R3 applicants, and that they will continue to go out until the 14th. Hopefully, those of you who are waiting haven’t been too confused by this move!
For those of you who have already received . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on April 8, 2004, at 10:12 am
Yesterday, this blog covered the news of the Wharton/HBS announcement regarding participation in the Business Week rankings. We posted the initial news (as covered in a Business Week Online letter to readers) and the official stance offered by Dean Harker at Wharton (see his email below). As discussion on this matter continues, there are a few other items that our readers may want to look into:
1) Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal published an article on the news (Elite Schools Move Against Rankings). Check out the Journal’s site (subscribers) or the following BW posting for the full text. This article suggests that other schools (like Chicago) may soon follow HBS and Wharton’s lead.
2) Business Week also responded to . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on April 7, 2004, at 2:28 pm
Here is the full text of Dean Harker’s statement:
—–Original Message—–
From: Dean Harker
Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2004 9:59 AM
Subject: Important announcement regarding rankings
The Wharton School, after very careful consideration, has decided that we will not be distributing our student or alumni e-mail lists for surveys from commercial enterprises in the future, including the upcoming MBA BusinessWeek survey. The Board of Overseers endorsed this course of action at its recent meeting in San Francisco.
Harvard Business School will announce today that it has made the same decision.
REASONING
Currently, there are many external surveys conducted by commercial publications that rank business schools – more than a dozen annually, in fact. This plethora of rankings, and the wide variety of results they produce, yields little useful data . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on April 7, 2004, at 1:01 pm
According to an article just published on BW Online, Harvard and Wharton business schools will no longer be furnishing Business Week with access to their current students for the MBA rankings survey. In the past, the two schools have provided the magazine with the email addresses of current students in order to facilitate polling for the ‘student satisfaction’ component of their MBA rankings survey. The student satisfaction rating has been a key aspect of the BW rankings over the years, since it is the differentiating feature of the magazine’s survey.
In the article/letter to readers, Jennifer Merritt (Business Week’s B-Schools Editor), mentions that HBS and Wharton cited ‘privacy concerns’ along with ‘other reasons’ when explaining the change in policy. . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on April 6, 2004, at 11:13 am
A group of recent MBA applicants who will be joining the ‘Class of 2006′ at a variety of top schools have recently started a wonderful blog. It’s called “MBA Advice” and the tag-line reads: “Class of 2006 giving honest advice to future MBA hopefuls”.
Thus far, there have been a number of excellent articles posted in the blog – along with a solid listing of vital web links. Subjects include all aspects of the MBA admissions process (budgeting, selecting recommendation writers, choosing schools, application strategy, etc.).
Although it is important to keep in mind that ‘MBA applicants’ only offer one side of the admissions equation (since they are applicants, not admissions officers), we are impressed with the content that this site . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on April 5, 2004, at 11:20 am
April 5th is the decision date for MIT/Sloan’s ‘Round 2′ applicants. Check out the latest MIT/Round 2 news on the BW Online discussion boards. In addition, for those of you who have not yet seen it, MIT has launched a new version of their home page, which predictably uses the latest in web page technology. Definitely worth a visit.
Best of luck to everyone waiting on news . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on April 2, 2004, at 2:13 pm
US News has issued their annual ranking of MBA programs. You can view the basic listing online but need to subscribe for the details. The magazine should hit newsstands on Monday as well.
The top 10 for 2005 are as follows: Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, MIT, Northwestern, Columbia, University of Chicago, UC Berkeley, Dartmouth and Michigan.
No earth-shattering changes, although there are a few things to note:
1) Duke has tumbled from #7 to #11 this year.
2) Michigan has cracked the top 10 after ranking #13 last year.
3) Chicago moves from #9 into a tie for #6 with Columbia.
4) Wharton moves from a 2nd place tie with Stanford to third place.
5) Starting salaries appear to be down a tick across the board. . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on April 1, 2004, at 1:32 pm
Given the level of competition in the MBA admissions process, it often helps to think creatively about ways to ensure that your candidacy gets the needed attention. Along these lines, here are a few tips to keep in mind:
1) Use brightly colored paper for all written correspondence with the school (transcripts, supplemental materials, etc.). If possible, spray the paper with perfume or cologne prior to sealing it in the envelope.
2) Bring a crisp $50 bill to your interview and casually drop it on the floor when pulling out your resume. While winking, insist that the $50 must belong to the interviewer. Once the interviewer takes the cash, say the following: “So how do my chances look now . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on April 1, 2004, at 12:50 pm
On the eve of the US News annual b-school rankings (which are due out this Friday), we wanted to direct your attention to an excellent academic site with links to several business school rankings. The site, run by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, compiles links to all the key MBA rankings (Business Week, US News, FT, WSJ, Economist, etc..). It also includes a number of slightly lesser known surveys that assess the schools in a variety of ways. The address is as . . . → Continue Reading
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Clear Admit’s Most Recent Posts
MBA Admissions Wiki In the Clear Admit Wiki, you can share your experiences through the application process and learn from those of others. Below are the five most popular pages in the wiki:
BW Business SchoolsThe BusinessWeek Discussion Boards are another way to learn about the issues applicants face. Clear Admit hosts the Ask Clear Admit thread, which should help answer your questions. Here are the five most recent discussions taking place in the forum:
Beat the GMATClear Admit is a featured expert in the BeatTheGMAT forums, answering questions from applicants across the globe. Feel free to ask us your questions in this forum! Here are the most recent posts:
GMAT ClubGMAT Club
Below are the five most recent posts to the GMAT Club message boards.
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The student-2-student Discussion Boards are managed by Wharton. Here are the five most recent discussions.
Studylink ForumsClear Admit manages the Applying section of the StudyLink MBA discussion boards.
School-Hosted BlogsStraight from the source: aggregated posts from students and administration. Below are the seven most recent posts in school-hosted blogs.
Individuals’ BlogsA selection of the latest updates to MBA blogs compiled by Hella.
MBA Applicants
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