As R1 admissions results trickle in from the leading business schools, we are beginning to hear the familiar sounds of ‘school debate’ in the various forums and blogs that occupy the time of MBA aspirants. Applicants faced with multiple options are weighing their preferences and contemplating a final destination, often sparking discussion threads like: Cornell vs. Columbia, Michigan vs. Chicago, Stanford vs. Harvard, Wharton vs. Columbia, etc. The debates can get downright nasty (and are often ridiculously uninformed), so we thought we would use today’s posting to offer some advice in this area.

Choosing Between Schools
If you are fortunate enough to have gained acceptance to more than one school on your list, you may find yourself in a . . . → Continue Reading

In light of the recent discussion about Columbia’s ED policy in the BW Forums (Columbia ED, Honor or Intimidation) we wanted to draw our readers’ attention to an updated version of an earlier posting from this blog:

Early Decision vs. Early Action vs. earlier deadlines…(Jan 2004)
Today’s Wall Street Journal Online, has an interesting article about the shift in undergraduate admissions trends. In essence, the article outlines undergraduate policies like ‘early action’, ‘early decision’ and ‘single-choice early action’ while offering information on acceptance rates in these early rounds, etc.

The interesting link between this article and the world of MBA admissions relates to the increasing use of early decision/early action rounds or early R1 deadlines at business schools. MBA programs like Cornell/Johnson . . . → Continue Reading

A favorite pastime of many MBA applicants is to look at the various rankings that are published in the press. Here is a list of a few of the offerings that most of you are familiar with:

US News and World Report
BusinessWeek
The Financial Times
The Wall Street Journal
The Economist
Forbes ROI Rankings
CEO Rankings

While the above resources vary in their appeal (and credibility), it is nonetheless interesting to read the surveys and see how the schools stack up. This is especially true if applicants remember to use the rankings in tandem with substantial research, school visits and discussion with current students who are following similar career paths.

In this spirit, we wanted to draw your attention to the work . . . → Continue Reading

As our team begins wrapping up the beta testing on the new MBA resource we’ve developed, we wanted to ask for a few more volunteers to offer their input. We’re looking for MBA applicants and students to spend a few minutes of their time using the web-based resource we’ve created. Please email alexbr@clearadmit.com if you are interested in lending . . . → Continue Reading

Between the frantic push for R2 deadlines and the tense waiting game for R1 decisions, there is no shortage of news in the MBA admissions world. Here’s a quick run down of the latest news and notes we’ve picked up on:

The Yale SOM began offering a handful of admits yesterday to R1 applicants. This is in keeping with the school’s tradition of offering some pre-holiday acceptances. The rest of the pool will have to wait until January. For Yale related discussion, click here. In other news, London Business School also sent out R1 decisions yesterday – with a number of admits reporting in to the BW Forums.

Believe it or not, Stanford continues to offer R1 interview invites – with several applicants . . . → Continue Reading

While the past year has seen ethics become a particularly hot topic on the admissions end of the business school experience, it seems that social responsibility is a growing concern on the other end of the process. The Wall Street Journal’s College Journal recently published an interesting article about the growing demand for MBAs with backgrounds in this area – and the increasing ease of finding such candidates in the recruiting process. Meanwhile, individuals looking to work in a traditional business role while promoting corporate citizenship and social responsibility within the ranks of an organization find themselves in an ideal position to effect positive change:

M.B.A. graduates say their degree gives them greater credibility when they try to spread social responsibility throughout . . . → Continue Reading

In a not-so-shocking conclusion to the raging debate, Harvard Business School has eliminated its grade non-disclosure policy. Where HBS students had long been forbidden from revealing their marks to recruiters, the HBS Class of 2008 will now be able to do so. Acting dean Jay Light made the announcement yesterday by sending an email out to the HBS community (see below).

This decision raises two very important questions:

1) How will the fact that recruiters have access to GPAs change the level of collaboration among students at Harvard? Will classmates be less likely to assist one another for fear that firms like McKinsey or Goldman Sachs may be relying heavily on individual performance? Will second-year students seek out easier classes to . . . → Continue Reading

The Clear Admit team recently spent time designing a community-based online tool to enable MBA applicants and students to share their respective experiences. We are presently soliciting a small group of beta testers to offer feedback on this tool. If you are interested in helping to test-drive and ultimately shape this project please email alexbr@clearadmit.com. You must be a current MBA applicant or student to participate. Beta-testing is already in progress. Thanks for . . . → Continue Reading

Many of our readers have been kind enough to send along ‘field reports’ from their admissions interviews with the leading MBA programs. For today’s blog posting, we thought we’d offer a selection of these reports:

FIELD REPORT: Wharton Hub Interview
“This was an interview with a member of the Wharton Admissions Committee. I thought this interview was more formal and professional than my non-invite interviews, even stiff and mechanical if you will. The interviewer started off with a brief introduction and we moved on to the questions. The interview lasted about 35 minutes.”
QUESTIONS:
-Brief introduction and resume walk-through
-Why an MBA?
-Why Wharton?
-Describe a team conflict situation.
-Can you describe a leadership example and then try to explain your leadership style with examples.
-What will your classmates say . . . → Continue Reading

There’s been a flurry of admissions news in recent days, so we thought we’d use today’s blog entry to offer a run-down of the latest information.

Application Volume
As we reported here back in October, application volume is up in R1 at several leading MBA programs. In fact, BusinessWeek has just published an article (First-Round Frenzy) which reports that seven leading schools have reported increases in R1 application volume this year. This includes a 39% increase at Tuck. The article also quotes Clear Admit’s Alex Brown:

Alex Brown, a senior admissions counselor for consulting firm Clear Admit, says if a school is experiencing a significant increase in application volume, as Tuck did, then “that’s more than enough incentive to get that application . . . → Continue Reading

The topic of grade nondisclosure has undeniably been the hot topic on the HBS and Wharton campuses this fall (the policy is also under review at Chicago and Stanford). Proponents of the existing policy, which prohibits students from sharing their grades with recruiters and prohibits recruiters from asking about them, argue that it allows students the freedom to expand their horizons and challenge themselves without worrying about the negative repercussions of less than stellar performance in a tough course. Meanwhile, the potential introduction of optional disclosure at HBS and a proposal to recognize the top quartile of each class at Wharton are motivated by concerns of academic performance and recruiting competition (Business Week published an article a few months back . . . → Continue Reading

The Financial Times recently published its second annual ranking of European business schools. Here are the ten schools that topped this year’s ranking (the full list of 50 is available here):

1. London Business School
2. INSEAD
3. IMD
4. IESE Business School
5. Instituto de Empressa
6. HEC Paris
7. University of Oxford Said
8. London School of Economics and Political Science
9. City University: Cass
9. Imperial College London: Tanaka

These results represent the combination of four previously published FT rankings (full-time MBA, EMBA, non-degree executive education, and European Masters in Management programs). To help readers to decipher the ranking, the paper also published an article about how to read the table, explaining how the four rankings were combined into one and explaining the main drivers behind each . . . → Continue Reading

This Sunday at 1 PM (EST), Manhattan GMAT’s Kelly Bellini and Zeke Vanderhoek will be leading a live online workshop to explain the basics of the GMAT exam and offer several key strategies for success. In addition, Clear Admit’s Graham Richmond will be joining the session to address questions about how the GMAT is used in MBA admissions.

Join us to find out the answers to these kinds of questions:

-Why do business schools give so much weight to the GMAT?
-What do they think the GMAT tests?
-Do schools have “internal” GMAT cutoffs?
-How much does a very high GPA compensate for a relatively weak GMAT score?
-How do schools evaluate verbal vs. quant?
-How do schools view multiple scores?
-If an applicant presents a weak AWA . . . → Continue Reading