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 August 31, 2005, at 10:52 am
Last week’s posting about the importance of outside activities led to several inquiries about what exactly qualifies as an activity in the eyes of an MBA admissions officer. As a means of explanation, we thought we’d use today’s posting to actually list a few of the varied activities we’ve seen over the years.
We’ve compiled this list by grouping activities into a handful of key categories. These categories apply to both collegiate and post-collegiate involvement:
1) Community/Volunteer Work. Community/volunteer work comes in many flavors. An applicant may spend time volunteering with a well-known organization (Habitat for Humanity, the Red Cross, CRY, New York Cares, Big Brothers/Big Sisters, etc). There are also less formal volunteer activities, such as donating time to go food . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 30, 2005, at 6:51 am
Today, we’d like to take a look at the essay questions for this year’s London Business School application. With two of the school’s five essays weighing in at a mere 100 words, it’s true that this school requires less writing than most other applications – but applicants will quickly realize that this does not translate into less thought or effort.
1. In what role do you see yourself working immediately after graduation? Why? How will your past and present experiences help you achieve this? How will the London Business School MBA Programme contribute to this goal? Finally, how do you see your career progressing five years after graduation? (600 words maximum)
See our general tips on writing the standard career goals essay . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 29, 2005, at 10:11 am
The academic component of one’s MBA application typically consists several broad categories (undergraduate education, GMAT score, graduate education, TOEFL, continuing/supplemental coursework, certifications, etc). From this group, one of the most important categories is undergraduate education. Breaking down the undergraduate education category into all of its component parts reveals some interesting aspects of the evaluation process:
Undergraduate Education: component parts
1. Overall performance (GPA, class rank, percentile)
2. Quality of program
3. Difficulty of subjects studied (intellectual and quantitative rigor)
4. Trends in performance (upward trend vs. senior slump, etc)
5. Extenuating circumstances (worked part-time to fund studies, first in family to college, etc)
6. Special awards, scholarships and honors
7. Level of involvement in extracurricular activities
Today’s posting focuses on #2: quality of program. The MBA admissions officers often . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 26, 2005, at 11:50 am
This edition of Fridays from the Frontline is packed with great content from bloggers who are documenting their experiences in business school. With orientation in full swing for most first-year MBA students, there seems to be no shortage of postings regarding life on campus.
Many of our readers may be wondering why they should bother to spend time reading blog entries from current students; after all, most applicants have GMAT exams to take, essays to write, recommendation letters to request, etc. The reason it makes sense to read these posts is because they will give you a glimpse into life on campus – the sort of glimpse that you will not get from published brochures or campus tours. Gaining this perspective can . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 25, 2005, at 2:22 am
Given the increasing number of applicants targeting full time MBA programs in Europe, we’d like to spend some time today offering tips on approaching INSEAD’s essays. This school is unique in its division of questions into “job essays,” which are looking for a factual account of your current position and overall professional progression, and “personal essays,” which invite the sort of reflection and exposition to which MBA applicants are accustomed.
Job Essays
1. Please give a detailed description of your job, including nature of work, major responsibilities; and, where relevant, employees under your supervision, size of budget, number of clients/products and results achieved. (250 words)
While the essays for most programs begin by addressing the overall progression of your career up to this point, . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 24, 2005, at 9:31 am
Today’s admissions tip focuses on extracurricular activities, community work and hobbies. While it is fairly obvious why academics (GMAT, GPA, etc) and work experience play a central role in the MBA admissions process, many applicants are puzzled when they discover that it may matter what they do in their free time as well.
Why it’s important to the adcom
One reason why extracurricular activities are a factor is the vital role that current students play in maintaining the MBA community at a school. Much like the structure of life at college, the clubs, conferences, sporting and social events, and other activities at business school rely on students to propose, plan, run, and attend them. As half to all of the student body is . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 23, 2005, at 2:31 pm
As promised in a prior posting, here is our analysis of the MIT/Sloan essay topics for this year. One interesting aspect of MIT’s application are the similarities across the four essay topics – or in particular the potential for grouping essays 1 and 2 (impact/going above and beyond) and essays 3 and 4 (difficult interaction/obstacle). Despite these similarities, it will be crucial for the MIT/Sloan applicant to maintain a balance across topics in order to best showcase each aspect of his or her candidacy.
Cover Letter: The application asks for a cover letter, which should be up to 500 words. This is your first and best opportunity to make a strong, positive impression on us, so take the time to infuse this . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 22, 2005, at 11:13 am
When it comes to business school statistics, several interesting themes have emerged in recent months:
1) More Jobs. The job market is looking up for graduates from the leading MBA programs. The various blog entries and article links below attest to this phenomenon.
B-School Boon (blog entry on New York Post article)
Brightening Job Prospects (blog entry on Boston Business Journal piece)
Hotter Jobs, New Faces, More Cash (BusinessWeek)
Rising Salaries for 2005 Graduates (Sacramento Business Journal)
MBA Recruiters Return (Wall Street Journal)
2) More Test-takers. GMAT volume is increasing for the first time in three years. The number of tests taken during the first six months of 2005 is slightly ahead of the figure for the first six months of last . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 19, 2005, at 4:28 pm
Forbes has just released their biennial ranking of MBA programs. This somewhat unorthodox ranking is 100% based on ROI (return on investment). In other words, Forbes looks at the cost of the various MBA programs, the foregone income on the part of students and the wages of graduates to determine where MBAs get the most bang for their buck.
Check out their web site for a complete list of rankings and a host of related articles and interviews.
The top 10 full-time programs are as follows:
1. Darthmouth/Tuck
2. Wharton
3. Chicago GSB
4. Columbia
5. Yale SOM
6. Stanford
7. Harvard
8. Virginia/Darden
9. Cornell/Johnson
10. Kellogg/Northwestern
Top 10 part-time MBA programs:
1. NYU/Stern
2. UCLA/Anderson
3. Kellogg/Northwestern
4. Chicago GSB
5. Michigan/Ross
6. Minnesota/Carlson
7. Maryland/Smith
8. CMU/Tepper
9. Fordham
10. SMU/Cox
Top 10 non-US:
1. INSEAD (France and Singapore)
2. London Business School . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 19, 2005, at 10:32 am
As many applicants in the blogosphere move forward in the admissions process the quantity of great posts available for perusal has rapidly increased. As usual, in this installment of Fridays from the Frontline, we’ve tried to highlight a handful of informative posts for your reading pleasure.
On the GMAT prep front, two bloggers have now put the test to rest. After some truly unfair troubles with scheduling/rescheduling, Beat the GMAT has completed the test, scoring a 720. As usual, his blog offers a wealth of detailed advice for test takers and is not to be missed. Similarly, Anand Rao has completed his exam – scoring a 700 – and offering some solid reflections on the breakdown . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 18, 2005, at 3:10 pm
New York University’s Stern School of Business has recently come out with its deadlines and essay questions for the coming year:
Deadlines
Round One
Deadline: December 1, 2005
Decision: February 15, 2006
Round Two
Deadline: January 15, 2006
Decision: April 1, 2006
Round Three
Deadline: March 15, 2006
Decision: June 1, 2006
Essay Questions
1. Professional Aspirations (2 pages maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)
Think about the decisions you have made in your life. Describe the following:
(a) What choices have you made that led you to your current position?
(b) Why pursue an MBA at this point in your life?
(c) What is your career goal upon graduation from NYU Stern? What is your long-term career goal?
2. Fit with Stern (2 pages maximum, double-spaced, 12-point font)
The NYU Stern community is one of our strongest assets. Please . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 17, 2005, at 5:45 pm
The Wharton Admissions blog announced earlier this week that the MBA program’s online application would be available for use at 9am today. It actually went live late Tuesday and has been up and running all day, so all seems well (as usual). While applicants are welcome to sumbit their applications as early as today, the adcom also commented that review won’t begin until mid-September, with interview invitations being issued (in no particular order) from October 20th through November 17th.
Interested applicants can get started on the online forms here. . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 17, 2005, at 12:04 pm
A few weeks ago, Clear Admit’s Graham Richmond and Alex Brown participated in an online chat hosted by Business Week online, fielding admissions questions from MBA applicants and offering general and school-specific advice. Those of you who missed the live event can now view an edited transcript of the discussion. Here’s one particularly interesting insight from the Q&A:
NathanGen: In your opinion, what is the single most important factor in an MBA application?
Alex Brown: The weakest element of your application is the most important factor. The admissions process takes a holistic approach and looks at many variables, so you really cannot identify one critical variable.
You can check out the rest of the transcript . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 17, 2005, at 6:38 am
While Kellogg’s online application hasn’t yet gone live, they’ve posted their essay questions for the coming year in the admission website’s FAQ. The program has again opted to retain its format of three 1-2 page responses and three shorter essays of 2-3 paragraphs each, and there have been only minor changes made to the latter set. Even though the questions look much the same as they did last year, we’d like to offer applicants some fresh tips on tackling each of the topics:
1. Briefly assess your career progress to date. Elaborate on your future career plans and your motivation for pursuing a graduate degree at the Kellogg School. (one to two pages double-spaced)
This is another fairly standard career goals/why . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 16, 2005, at 11:40 am
On the heels of our INSEAD posting, we’ve included the relevant deadlines and essay questions below for another leading European program: London Business School.
Although many of the MBA programs in Europe offer a 1-year degree, LBS follows the more traditional two-year format (with some flexibility for candidates who wish to complete their studies more promptly).
Deadlines for September 2006 intake
Round 1: October 21st, 2005
Round 2: January 6th, 2006
Round 3: February 24th, 2006
Round 4: April 28th, 2006
Essay Questions
The essays are an opportunity to tell us more about yourself. Use the essays to detail your interests, values and goals. We are interested in what motivates you, evidence of leadership and team work, why you are looking to pursue an MBA at . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 16, 2005, at 11:11 am
For those of you looking at INSEAD for your MBA studies, here are the relevant deadlines and essay questions. Keep in mind that INSEAD offers a 1-year program with two intakes every year (September and January). They also have two locations: Fontainbleau, France (about 45 minutes from Paris via train) and Singapore.
Deadlines for September 2006 intake
1st round: October 5th, 2005
2nd round: December 7th, 2005
3rd round: February 1st, 2006
4th round: March 22nd, 2006
Deadlines for January 2007 intake
1st round: March 22nd, 2006
2nd round: May 10th, 2006
3rd round: July 5th, 2006
Essays
(Job Essays)
1. Please give a detailed description of your job, including nature of work, major responsibilities; and, where relevant, employees under your supervision, size of budget, number of clients/products and results achieved. (250 . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 15, 2005, at 12:23 pm
We’d like to call your attention to an upcoming MBA Forum that has been organized by the Princeton Review in Philadelphia. The event, which will take place tomorrow evening, should be of interest to anyone in the Philadelphia-area who is considering an MBA. There will be a GMAT presentation (with some tips on how to tackle the exam), a free networking session (with wine and hors d’oeuvres provided) and a panel discussion about the admissions process, MBA experience and value of the degree. Clear Admit’s Alex Brown will be in attendance as a guest speaker/panelist.
Registration is required for this free event. Here are the details along with a description from the Princeton Review:
The Greater Philadelphia Area Business School Admissions Forum
Tuesday, . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 15, 2005, at 10:41 am
Michigan’s new application is now available online. While things have pretty much stayed the same with regards to the essay topics (there is only one new question), it is worth noting that the admissions office has made their questions a bit leaner this year – eliminating much of the background/required context about the school’s action-based learning process that served as a preface for last year’s questions.
Without further ado, here are the essay topics:
Required Essays
1. We believe one of the keys to effective leadership is the ability to transform ideas into action through people. Please describe a professional leadership accomplishment in which you transformed an idea into action. How did your leadership impact your organization? (500-word maximum)
2. Describe the initiatives you . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 12, 2005, at 12:29 pm
Following up on the last installment of Fridays from the Frontline, which was largely GMAT-focused, we’d like to send our best to Anand Rao and Eric, who will be done with the exam by this time next week, and wish all other test takers luck.
A number of bloggers have been focusing on essays this week, both in terms of the writing process and the content of their responses. Vatsa works to formulate a positioning for Tuck, while Axechick comments on her progress and offers some essay tips, and Redwolf ponders the topic of lessons and learning and wonders what the schools are looking for in asking such questions. ISB student I, the Absolute reflects on the . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 11, 2005, at 12:05 pm
We’d like to point out a few B-school related articles that have come out over the past week:
Yesterday’s New York Times featured an interesting article titled “M.B.A. Students Bypassing Wall Street for a Summer in India” following the experience of several American students at top US business schools who’ve taken a nontraditional but increasingly popular approach to the summer internship. The arrangement is mutually beneficial, as MBA students are able to spend their internships getting personally acquainted with the global economy and becoming familiar with another culture, while Indian companies are able to build a diverse work environment and benefit from the resulting richness of perspectives.
The full text of the article can be found at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/10/business/worldbusiness/10intern.html
Meanwhile, Business Week offers a . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 10, 2005, at 4:10 pm
Before offering tips on answering each of Stanford’s specific essay questions, we wanted to share a few thoughts about the way these questions are framed by the instructions in order to help our readers avoid some common pitfalls that applicants encounter in completing their Stanford materials.
The question of length:
While Stanford’s essay guidelines state that they do not impose word limits and even provide instructions to applicants who’ve written essays that are longer than ten pages, we would encourage candidates to read between the lines of their assertion that most applicants find that three to seven pages per essay is an “appropriate” length. Keep in mind that the person reviewing your application will have somewhat limited time to spend on each file. . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 9, 2005, at 7:40 pm
We have added a new section on the left: “Admissions Tips”. This lists the more recent tips we have offered via this blog. We have also added the “Best of Blogging” winners to the right hand column. This is part of our continued upgrade to this site, which was launched . . . → 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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