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 November 30, 2004, at 10:09 am
As many of our clients go through the interview process at top schools, we are constantly receiving updates on the typical questions, etc. We combine these ‘field reports’ with our in-house data and first-hand experiences in MBA admissions to stay on top of trends in the process.
Here’s an email we just received with some helpful tips on the Wharton interview:
—– Original Message —–
From: xxxxxxxxx
To: info @ clearadmit . com
Subject: Wharton Interview
Hi Graham,
I completed the Wharton interview yesterday. I think it went quite well. Just to share with you, please see below the questions I was asked during the interview.
I have drafted a brief thank-you note for the interviewer, and would appreciate if you can give it a quick review at your . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 29, 2004, at 8:56 am
MBA admissions consulting has recently been a hot topic in the press. Both the Wall Street Journal and BusinessWeek have published articles on MBA applicants’ increased use of consultants, estimating that 20% of applicants are using services like Clear Admit.
As this subject has sparked a great deal of discussion (reminiscent of the debate that surrounded the standardized test-prep industry 15 years ago), we thought it might be interesting to share a client testimonial that touches on the crux of the issue:
I chose Clear Admit for their extensive experience in the admissions process and recommend them for this reason, as well as for the extremely professional and ethical approach they took to my candidacy. I wasn’t merely looking for an . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 26, 2004, at 9:09 am
Most applicants know that getting an interview from Harvard Business School is a very good sign. At the same time, very few applicants manage to effectively prepare for the ‘non-blind’ nature of an HBS interview.
If you have been so fortunate as to have received an invitation, keep in mind that your interviewer will be highly familiar with your application essays and overall profile. The result will be a set of customized questions that probe any areas of concern and tease out additional stories from your background.
One candidate recently posted the following comment about his HBS interview:
“….He [the interviewer] drilled down to my experiences and especially why I made the decisions I made at every turn in my career path. He started . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 24, 2004, at 8:29 am
We would like to wish all the readers of this blog a very happy Thanksgiving holiday!
While it will be important to spend time with family and friends on Thursday, the long weekend is a great time to make progress on MBA applications for the December deadlines (or the looming January rush). Here’s a short list of some of the key deadlines in the next week or so…..
December 1st: Dartmouth/Tuck, NYU/Stern, UVA/Darden, INSEAD, USC/Marshall
December 2nd: UNC/Kenan-Flagler
December 3rd: Georgetown
December . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 23, 2004, at 1:12 pm
In many cases, the interview is a critical component of the MBA admissions process. We are currently in one of the more active time periods for interviews, with Harvard, Wharton, Cornell, Yale and Columbia all sending out invites in recent weeks. As with the rest of the MBA admissions process, the key to success in your interview is preparation and hard work. Here are a few general tips/things to consider as you approach an MBA interview:
1) Who will interview you? This sounds obvious, but many applicants do not give it much thought. Will you be sitting down with an admissions officer, a current student, a professor or an alum? Will the person interviewing you have an MBA? Will the person interviewing . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 22, 2004, at 10:07 pm
The Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) has posted the global GMAT test taker volume through October 31st, 2004. Numbers continue to be down overall (-7.82% vs. last year), but they do appear to be stabilizing. Of course, the real issue continues to be sinking international volume (-12.21% vs. the 2003 figures).
GMAC claims that much of the declines in international volume are due to fewer test takers in Canada, China and India. Perhaps residents of these countries are pursuing MBA options closer to home? In Europe?
For the GMAT volume report: http://www.gmac.org/gmac/ResearchandTrends/GMATStatistics/CurrentGMATVolume.htm#Link1
For the 4 year trend . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 19, 2004, at 2:39 pm
The admissions office at Wharton have posted a really wonderful entry in their blog today. It reaches out to those students who did not make the cut and offers advice for the future, etc.
Read it here: http://adcomblog.wharton.upenn.edu/admissions/2004/11/round_1_midrele.html
At this point we would like to highlight something unique about the Wharton MBA admissions process. In addition to the school’s reputation for transparency (via a blog, diaries and discussion boards), the admissions office does two very interesting things:
1) If you do not get an interview, they let you know that you are out of the process ASAP. Candidates who were rejected yesterday now have ample time to regroup for R2.
2) If you are rejected, you are entitled to a ‘feedback . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 18, 2004, at 10:47 am
Today is the last day that interview invites will be released at Wharton. Congratulations to all of you who have been offered an interview! Your hard work is beginning to pay off! Despite a great deal of debate on the discussion boards, we would like to encourage everyone to avoid speculating with regards to the timing of their invitation. There are simply too many operational factors at play with readers in the admissions office to draw any definitive conclusions.
For those of you looking to get a sense of what to expect in your Wharton interview, be sure to check out our previous posting on the subject as well as the Wharton student2student discussion forums. Also, we highly recommend tracking . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 17, 2004, at 10:47 am
An interview with Dean Patrick Harker at Wharton has reignited the debate over the validity of MBA rankings. The interview is part of an article featured in today’s Globe and Mail. In the article, Dean Harker questions whether or not some of Wharton’s peer schools are fudging their numbers when reporting statistics on employment. He also reiterates the school’s stance on rankings in general – further explaining the school’s decision (along with HBS) to withdraw from active participation in the major ranking surveys conducted by BusinessWeek, FT, the Economist, etc.
For the full text of the article: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20041117/RBIZSCHOOLS17
As many of our readers know, Wharton and Harvard officially withdrew their participation in the rankings back in April of this year, resulting in . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 16, 2004, at 1:12 pm
As many of you approach the interview process at Wharton, we wanted to share a handful of questions that are likely to come up in the actual interview. Keep in mind that Wharton conducts ‘blind’, somewhat improvisational interviews. This means that there is no set script that the interviewer is following. It also means that the interviewer has only viewed your resume, not your application.
The sample questions below come from three sources: a) our experiences working in the Wharton admissions office, b) recent discussions with Wharton admissions staff and c) historic data from the hundreds of Clear Admit clients who have interviewed with Wharton over the last few seasons.
-”Walk me through your post-undergraduate work experience and describe transitions you’ve made.”
-”What do . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 15, 2004, at 1:04 pm
The R2 admissions deadlines are densely packed into the first half of January. This will create several challenges. As many of you begin preparing applications, we thought it might be helpful to offer a deadline summary along with some useful tips.
Here are the critical deadlines to mark on your calendar:
1/3/05: Duke
1/5/05: Harvard, UCLA
1/6/05: Stanford, Wharton
1/7/05: Chicago, Michigan, Kellogg, LBS, Oxford
1/10/05: CMU
1/12/05: Yale, UVA
1/13/05: UNC
1/15/05: NYU, Cornell, USC,
1/17/05: Dartmouth
1/19/05: MIT, Insead (R3)
1/21/05: Berkeley (R3)
Tips
1) Take advantage of the next four weeks (November 15 – December 15). The more you do between now and mid-December, the better off you will be. Strong applications to the top schools take a lot of time to produce. Do not underestimate this!
2) Beware of the holidays! It . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 12, 2004, at 4:09 pm
Chicago has pushed their ‘R1′ deadline back to Monday. Oddly enough, it seems that this is due to some ‘unscheduled maintenance’ on their application payment system. For those of you who were struggling to pull things together, this news offers a few extra days to polish essays, etc. Of course, for those of you who have already submitted, this feels a lot like the scenarios at Darden and Michigan earlier this season…
From the Chicago GSB web site:
Campus MBA Only–Round 1 Application Deadline Extended
An unscheduled update of our application payment system will commence at 11:00 p.m. (CST) on Friday, November 12. This update will not allow us to accept applications through the 12:00 a.m. published deadline. Therefore, in good faith we are . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 11, 2004, at 11:37 pm
At this time of year many ‘R1′ applicants get nervous while waiting for interview invites. In hopes of easing your fears, here are a few facts to help you understand the process of application review (and why it pays to wait patiently):
1) Reviewing files takes time. Think of your MBA application as a library book that has to be ‘checked out’ and returned by an admissions officer in order for one round of review to have taken place. Also, remember that everyone has scheduling conflicts, busy days, etc. It is not uncommon for an application to sit on someone’s desk for a few days (or weeks) if the reader assigned has to travel to an event or is otherwise occupied.
2) Files . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 10, 2004, at 4:29 pm
The latest issue of Stanford’s MBA admissions newsletter has an interesting article in the Director’s Corner, written by Derrick Bolton (Assistant Dean and Director of MBA Admissions). The article talks about the way that files are reviewed with a focus on the elements of the admissions process that are under the applicant’s control vs. those aspects that are determined more by the quality and composition of the applicant pool at large.
As always, the Director’s Corner is a ‘must read’ for anyone considering Stanford.
For the full text of the . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 9, 2004, at 11:41 pm
Today’s New York Times featured an interesting article about Harvard Business School’s Social Enterprise Initiative. The program, which recently marked its 10th anniversary, includes a number of activities and events, ranging from a business plan competition to coursework and other community-oriented activities.
For the full text of the . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 8, 2004, at 8:44 pm
There is a really interesting debate with regards to Columbia’s ED round taking place in the Wharton student-2-student discussion forums. The debate surrounds the ‘binding’ nature of the ED round, the $5,000 deposit and whether or not Columbia’s system presents an ethical dilemma.
Click here to see how applicants and admissions staff are weighing in on the . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 4, 2004, at 4:27 pm
Here’s an email that Tuck sent out yesterday…
—– Original Message —–
From: Tuck Admissions
To: xxxxx
Sent: Wednesday, November 03, 2004 1:38 PM
Subject: Tuck Women in Business Receptions!
Dear xxxxx,
Tuck alumnae members of the Tuck Women in Business Club (WIB) invite you to a festive evening of food, drink, and good conversation. Come meet Tuck alumnae and other women in business at an informal wine and cheese reception at a city near you. This is your opportunity to learn more about Tuck from the women who lived it. They are excited to meet you!
Here is the schedule:
San Francisco, CA
Wednesday, Nov. 17
7:00pm
The Bubble Lounge
714 Montgomery Street
New York City, NY
Wednesday, Nov. 17
7:00 pm
Lemon 230 Park Avenue South at 18th Street
Washington, DC
Wednesday, Nov. 17
7:00pm
Zaytinya
Pepco Building
701 9th . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 3, 2004, at 7:37 pm
A few news items worth noting:
1) According to discussion in the BW Forums, Michigan appears to have extended their first round deadline. There has been some debate about the causes for this extension (systems issues, fewer applications, etc.). There are also a handful of applicants who are not happy about the extension, since they raced to submit by the 1st, only to find out that some of their peers were given more time. For details: http://forums.businessweek.com/bw-bschools/messages?msg=59231.1
2) NYU is using a rather unorthodox marketing campaign this year. Here is the text from their web site: “Sign up to receive our marketing materials, and you’ll automatically be entered in a weekly drawing for an application fee waiver. MBA Admissions will contact the . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 2, 2004, at 4:04 pm
From: Jain, Anjani
Sent: Mon 11/1/2004 10:27 AM
To: xxx
Subject: Important Announcement About a Transition
To: All MBA Students
It is with a considerable sense of loss that I am writing to inform you that Rose Martinelli, our Director of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid, will be stepping down from her position at the end of April 2005 to accept the position of Associate Dean for Recruitment and Admissions at the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business. This is a great opportunity for Rose, and will enable her to return to her native Chicago to be closer to her family.
Rose will begin consulting for Chicago’s program on a limited basis, beginning shortly. She wants me to emphasize that she remains fully on board, leading . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 1, 2004, at 4:37 pm
BusinessWeek has published an interview with Coleen Singer, director of career development at Yale SOM. In the wake of the poor marks Yale received in this category (in the BW rankings survey), it is interesting to read about how the school is reacting.
For the full text of the . . . → 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.
Wharton Student2StudentStudent2Student
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
MBA Students
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