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, 2005, at 9:00 am
Sunday, December 4th, 1:00 – 2:00 PM (EST)
Virtual GMAT Preview and MBA Admissions Strategy Session
We just wanted to remind our readers of a free event that those of you just getting started on the admissions process won’t want to miss! This weekend, Manhattan GMAT will be offering a free online seminar geared toward demystifying the exam and providing participants with practical methods for tackling common question types. Clear Admit’s own Graham Richmond will be on hand to explain the role of the test in the admissions process and answer some frequently asked strategy questions.
You can sign up for this free event . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 29, 2005, at 10:23 am
Building on our list of essay tips for the top programs’ applications, we wanted to take some time today to comment on the questions for Yale’s School of Management. While Yale’s two required questions of a mere 500 words each make for a very short application, don’t be fooled into thinking that this translates to “easy;” you’ll need to think very strategically about how best to handle the extremely open-ended second question, and work hard to ensure that you are communicating all of the most important information about your goals, career and candidacy across your two answers. Let’s take a closer look:
1. Why an MBA? (500 words maximum)
Please describe your short- and long-term goals and how your previous experience and . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 28, 2005, at 10:25 am
With round one interviews in full swing, a significant number of applicants are checking this site for information on the process and advice about preparation and strategy. For ease of reference, we’ve added an “Interview Tips” section to the left sidebar, where we’ll include links to the school-specific advice we’ll be posting periodically over the coming weeks. Happy reading, and good luck to all those gearing up . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 25, 2005, at 4:01 pm
Despite an abbreviated week in the business world, the MBA blogging community continues to post new content. The Thanksgiving holiday weekend has historically been a busy time for MBA applicants and students (particularly second-year students). This is due to the fact that both of these groups are often in the throes of interviewing; the former for spots in b-school and the latter for their first post-MBA jobs. This week’s edition of FFF tries to keep score as applicants and students report their results and continue to move through the process….
We’ll start off by checking in with several of the R1 applicants who are moving forward in the admissions process. Resolute blogs about setting up his Wharton interview and opting for . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 24, 2005, at 4:39 pm
The entire team at Clear Admit would like to wish our readers a very happy Thanksgiving.
For those of you who can’t tear yourselves away from MBA-related news on the holiday, here’s an interesting article that BusinessWeek recently published on the topic of b-school students and . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 23, 2005, at 9:00 am
Adding to our store of essay guidelines, we wanted to take some time today to offer a bit of advice on approaching the essays for UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.
1. Please provide us with a summary of your personal and family background. Include information about your parents and siblings, where you grew up, and perhaps a highlight or special memory from your youth. (Limit to two pages, double spaced)
While we generally steer applicants away from writing at length about childhood or their upbringings (this can make one sound immature or excessively attached to the past), UCLA puts the topic front and center in its first essay question. This lifts the taboo that many schools place on writing about one’s family, but . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 22, 2005, at 7:02 pm
Since many of you have been receiving interview invitations from Columbia Business School in recent weeks, we thought we’d use today’s blog entry to provide a handful of sample Columbia interview questions. The questions below have been taken from field reports that our clients have provided and are excerpted from Clear Admit’s Guide to Columbia Interviews.
-Tell me more about your key responsibilities at work and the current project you are working on.
-What are your career goals and why do you need a Columbia MBA?
-Describe a situation when you worked on a team.
-What are your most important attributes as a team member?
-What have you done to motivate the people under your supervision?
-How would your teammates describe you?
-How do you handle stress?
-Why should . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 21, 2005, at 9:12 am
As many b-school applicants know, Harvard Business School utilizes the case method as it’s primary learning tool for classroom instruction. While most top MBA programs use business cases, they are generally combined with a mix of lecture, team projects and field-based (or experiential) learning.
The Wall Street Journal’s free College Journal site has just published an article about a real business case involving Citigroup and the European bond market. The article describes how HBS takes a real business event and turns it into a case for classroom exploration. This is a great read for any b-school applicant who is interested in the case method or looking to get a better sense for how it works.
Of course, for those of you applying to . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 18, 2005, at 11:20 am
Reading through various blogs as we prepared this week’s edition of FFF, it once again became obvious why this ‘blogging’ thing has become so popular. Simply put, the MBA-blogger galaxy is buzzing with excellent and informative posts this week.
We’ll start with applicant-blogger LaserLikeFocus, who documented his recent trip to visit Stanford and Berkeley/Haas and managed to combine incisive commentary on the two programs with a bit of humor. In a similar vein, MBAyisyen reports back from LBS and Oxbridge visits, offering his impression of the three schools, complete with Harry Potter references. Also spending time in England was RusGirl who shares her impressions of LBS and lists all of the friendly student-bloggers she met while visiting, including . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 17, 2005, at 7:00 am
Continuing our commentary on the essay questions for schools with upcoming December deadlines, today’s installment focuses on the topics for UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. This program’s format doubles as an opportunity and a challenge, as the various short answer topics allow applicants to discuss a variety of topics, but all within a tight word limit. Because the career goals essay – the real centerpiece of your application – comes last here (as opposed to first as with many schools), it will be important to provide a good deal of context about your role, company and the chronology of your story in your shorter essays.
Short Answers
1. What is your favorite quote, and why is it meaningful to you? (250 word . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 16, 2005, at 3:44 pm
Sunday, December 4th. 1:00 – 2:00 PM (EST)
Virtual GMAT Preview and MBA Admissions Strategy Session
Our friends at Manhattan GMAT will be offering a free online workshop that reviews GMAT test basics and preparation essentials. Attendees will learn several practical strategies to use on the test! Clear Admit’s Graham Richmond will join the workshop to offer strategic advice on the role of the exam in the admissions process, covering answers to key questions like: How many times can I take the exam? How do admissions officers view multiple scores? How can one compensate for a low GMAT score?, and more!
Register for this free event . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 15, 2005, at 12:37 pm
Harvard Business School has started handing out R1 interview invitations. As our loyal readers know, Harvard only invites a small percentage (~20-25%) of candidates to interview – ultimately using this small pool to build its incoming class. See our prior posting for details on this process.
For those of you who have been fortunate enough to receive an invitation, it is vital that you prepare accordingly. This is an aspect of the admissions process that is frequently overlooked. We’ve included a partial list of sample questions below in order to help you get ready. For those of you who haven’t yet heard, fear not! HBS will continue sending out invites for several weeks – right into the Christmas holiday period.
HBS Interview . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 14, 2005, at 12:44 pm
There is an interesting article in the Wharton Journal about the school’s recent unveiling of a new loan-fogiveness fund for graduates who enter the public sector. The school will be looking to award $10,000/year (for up to 5 years) to a select group of students who demonstrate a committment to public and non-profit “managerial leadership”. Wharton’s program is helping the school to further bolster this developing area, but the article also includes a frank discussion of the programs on offer at Stanford GSB and Harvard Business School, citing the large endowments that have enabled those school’s to easily offer similar funding in the past.
In other admissions-related news, there is continued talk of Jerome Karabel‘s book, The Chosen: . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 11, 2005, at 12:26 pm
This week’s edition of FFF begins with a look at those applicants muddling though the all-important essay element of the application. Turning to the essays for his second application, LaserLikeFocus worries that his essays lack the freshness of his Kellogg responses, illustrating the importance of taking a break to get some distance or seeking a fresh perspective. In that vein, Pupstar78 comments on his essay progress and writing schedule, and plans to rethink his topic selection after letting his materials sit for a few days. Meanwhile, we certainly understand MBAyisyen‘s disappointment over deciding against applying for September 2006 entry after taking stock of his commitments and the work required to complete a solid application.
On the post-submission side of . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 10, 2005, at 7:14 am
Following on yesterday’s notion of providing essay guidance to applicants shooting for December deadlines, we thought that today we would weigh in on the topics for Stern’s application, due the first of the month.
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?
This is your standard career goals essay, with a few interesting quirks. First, note that the initial section requests that applicants reflect on and explain the choices they’ve made . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 9, 2005, at 6:20 am
With Cornell’s unique five round system coming up on its third deadline at the beginning of next month, we thought we’d offer some tips on the Johnson School’s essay questions for applicants who’ve set their sights on programs with December deadlines.
General Thoughts
The greatest challenge with Cornell’s essays is the fact that applicants are essentially limited to only two required essays (at a mere 400 words each). While this may seem like a blessing to those of you who have had your fill of schools with 4-7 required essays, you may find it challenging to get your message across and share all of your attributes in such a short format. As such, it pays to approach these essays carefully.
1. What’s your greatest . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 8, 2005, at 12:25 pm
The career preferences of MBA graduates tend to fluctuate with the times. Many recall the investment banking and management consultant frenzy of the early 90′s when b-school students flocked to these traditional fields. Of course, the latter half of the 90′s was highlighted by the dot-com boom which made roles with startups and venture capital firms the desired destination for MBA grads.
In recent years we’ve seen somewhat of a return to the fields of banking and consulting alongside preferences for rotational management positions within Fortune 500 firms, media and entertainment roles and work in private equity. This new mix has led to a fair amount of competition as firms battle it out for market share in the increasingly . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 7, 2005, at 12:24 pm
As most of our readers know, Wharton has started offering interview invitations to R1 applicants. The invitation process will continue up until November 17th when the final invites will be sent out. In total, the school will offer interviews to roughly 45-50% of the applicant pool. All remaining/non-invited candidates will be denied admission on November 17th. While it may sound a bit harsh to be so promptly rejected, Wharton’s process is deliberate. The admissions committee’s goal is to ensure that denied applicants have a chance to regroup and make alternative plans for R2 or beyond. This policy offers a stark contrast to those schools that keep R1 applicants hanging on well beyond the R2 deadlines.
As a resource to our readers who . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 4, 2005, at 11:41 am
Another week is behind us and with it comes the latest edition of FFF. It’s amazing how time flies when you’re applying to or attending business school (not to mention when you’re counseling aspiring MBAs).
We’ll kick off this week’s column with MBA applicant-blogger Ty Coon, who decided to apply to MIT in R1 after initially having put things off for R2. Of course, after racing to submit, Ty had the typical jitters over whether or not the application was as solid as it could have been (the discovery of a typo did not help his jitters, but our guess is that this minor error will not be a factor). Moving on to further discussion of application deadlines, we . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 3, 2005, at 10:39 am
We wanted to call our readers’ attention to several interesting articles that have recently published on the topic of MBA education.
What Women MBAs Want: Role Models
BusinessWeek published this story earlier in the week. The article’s author explores the reasons behind a persistent imbalance of male vs. female b-school applicants (women typically make up only 30% of the MBA applicant pool). The article offers some interesting details about how the leading MBA programs are creating offerings to attract female applicants and suggests that the role of mentors can be critical in guiding female applicants towards the degree.
Can the Full-Time M.B.A. Regain Its Luster?
This article was recently published on the Wall Street Journal’s College Journal (a free site). It talks about . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 2, 2005, at 11:32 am
As the outcry over the new design for BW’s discussion boards continued unabated yesterday, BW Online’s Francesca Di Meglio responded to the onslaught of highly critical (yet constructive) postings from members of the forums. While users called for the frames version of the forums to be re-introduced, Di Meglio initially offered the following advice:
MSG 66566.86
Hi everyone,
I know many of you are still disappointed by the new forums. I can understand. It took me a while to get used to the new look and the fact that the threads were no longer at the left-hand side, too. And I assure you that we didn’t just jump into this decision.
Really, very little has changed for the user. Most of the changes . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on November 1, 2005, at 11:11 am
Many of our readers witnessed BusinessWeek’s introduction of a new interface for the MBA discussion forums yesterday. Needless to say, the redesign of the MBA applicant world’s most popular discussion boards has kicked up quite a stir. Before we analyze what’s taken place, it is worth offering a bit of background.
Background on BW Forums
The BW Forums rose to fame in the late 90′s as the place for MBA applicants, admissions officers, GMAT instructors, admissions consultants and students to meet, greet, debate and discuss. Although the Princeton Review’s discussion board had previously been the only serious game in town, BW quickly built a strong community for four main reasons:
1) Ease of use. Thanks to a new type of discussion software . . . → 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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