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 March 31, 2006, at 5:00 pm
The following email went out yesterday to all accepted applicants at Wharton. While it’s merely a restatement of the faculty resolutions about academics at Wharton, it would appear from this note that the administration is working to influence the sentiment of incoming students before they are exposed to the current student body (which has been consistently in favor of keeping grades undisclosed).
Here’s the email:
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Vice Dean’s Office – Graduate Division
Date: Mar 30, 2006 11:54 AM
Subject: A new faculty resolution at Wharton
To: Students Admitted to Wharton’s MBA Class of 2008
Congratulations on your admission to Wharton’s MBA Program! I look forward to welcoming you on campus.
My greetings to you would ordinarily be in person upon your . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on March 31, 2006, at 9:03 am
Welcome to another exciting installment of Fridays from the Frontline! It’s been a busy week for the applicant bloggers, as the past two weeks of decision notifications have given many a good deal to think and write about.
Fortunately, much of the talk has been about positive developments; Curious George is in at Haas and Alex had a positive Berkeley interview, Benny and FM received some good news from LBS (and a warm welcome from fellow admits Moe and Angel Angie), GunnerMBA’s gotten his mind around his INSEAD admit, Ty Coon is looking forward to the upcoming welcome weekend at Emory, and Brownoski had a great time at a recent Yale admit reception . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on March 30, 2006, at 8:46 am
For all you “early birds” who are planning to apply to business school this fall, we wanted to offer a few tips on managing your time as it relates to the GMAT exam. Because this is an important element for many applicants in determining at which schools they will be competitive, it’s best to prep intensively and get this out of the way early in the process.
You should ideally be finished with the GMAT by mid-summer. The reason for this is that you will want to reserve the months of August, September and October for essay writing, school visits, managing your recommenders and other miscellaneous application-related tasks. The last thing you want to be doing in September is juggling the demands . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on March 29, 2006, at 8:51 am
Welcome to another installment of Wiki Wednesdays, your weekly update on new and notable additions to the Clear Admit Admissions Wiki. It’s been another solid seven days; those late-round applicants with interviews on the horizon should note that we’ve received fresh reports from candidates at Wharton, Sloan, Stern, Dartmouth, Darden and IESE! While this is an important and therefore stressful element of the application process, the latest addition to the Chicago interview page contains a nice reminder that adcom members are people too:
“I did my Chicago interview in Bombay with a member of admissions committee. Surprisingly enough, at the beginning of the interview my interviewer admitted that she was nervous about conducting it. . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on March 28, 2006, at 10:22 am
There is no shortage of MBA-related news items these days, so we thought we’d use today’s blog entry to highlight a few of the more interesting stories.
The Economist’s ‘News from the schools‘ column offers some interesting tidbits on the leading business schools in India: the Indian School of Business (ISB) and the Indian Institute of Management (IIM). It seems that George Bush recently visited the ISB and offered high praises for the school. The media attention garnered from the visit helped further put the program on the map as a leading international MBA. In the meantime, the IIM may have gotten carried away when it came to celebrating a hot job market and record salaries for its . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on March 27, 2006, at 8:42 am
Last week, the Council of Graduate Schools released the results of a recent survey revealing a rise in volume of applications from international students. Reporting an 11% overall increase in applications from this time last year and a 7% increase in applicants targeting graduate business programs, CGS Director of Research and Policy Director Heath Brown attributes the change to improved efficiency and effort on the institutional level and federal policy changes alleviating visa issues. While the information provided in the report is perhaps not the complete picture – results are reported in percentages rather than exact numbers as only about 150 of the 450 US member schools responded to the survey – the findings certainly correlate with the rise . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on March 24, 2006, at 8:28 am
Welcome to another installment of FFF, your weekly recap of the past seven days in the MBA blogging world. While suspense and the theme of waiting prevailed last week, the focus has shifted to reflection on the application process and the implications of round two decisions. In terms of general thoughts on the nature of admissions, MBA Jackass draws some humorous but unfortunate parallels between his social life and applications, Marina ponders the notion of fit and the factors behind her Columbia admit, and B-School Diva compiles some of her favorite pieces of wisdom on the process. On a more specific level, ChillPill draws on the knowledge he’s gained of the process to diagnose some shortcomings . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on March 23, 2006, at 8:46 am
We would like to hope that today’s topic isn’t apropos for too many of our readers, but with so many of the top programs coming out with admissions decisions this week and next, we wanted to offer some advice to applicants who’ve been rejected from their preferred programs and are planning on reapplying next season. While this news might have just arrived and it’s important to take some time to deal with the disappointment, it’s never too early to begin thinking about the next season, and there are a number of steps you can take at this point in the year to improve your candidacy and move toward a stronger application.
1) Reevaluate. While it’s certainly difficult when things don’t go to . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on March 22, 2006, at 8:51 am
It’s been another solid week for the Clear Admit wiki, as a number of applicants have taken time to write up their experiences interviewing with or visiting the campuses of several top programs. In terms of the interview process, new reports have come in for Wharton, Yale, Harvard and Columbia. While HBS interviews are notoriously grueling, the winner this week is the latest addition to the IESE Interview page; the intrepid applicant had to navigate the following inquiries during a 90 minute interview:
-Rate yourself on a scale of 1-4 (4 being the highest)
Motivation
Collaboration
Spirit to Succeed
Confidence
Leadership
Organization (I rated a little less here and he asked why?)
-What are your three Strong Points?
-What is your weakness? What . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on March 21, 2006, at 9:28 am
In keeping with our effort to highlight news about and admissions tips for some of the top European MBA programs, we wanted to point readers to a recent Business Week video interview with J. Frank Brown, dean-elect of INSEAD (the press release covering his appointment is available here).
While there is undeniably a marketing spin to his comments – Brown espouses the merits of the one-year model and presents return on investment as the key merit – there’s also some valuable information for prospective students who are considering the program or generally weighing their business school options. For instance, the lack of a summer internship is often considered one of the drawbacks of one-year MBA programs, but Brown points out that . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on March 20, 2006, at 9:05 am
With a number of applicants receiving R2 decisions from schools this week, many are looking to create or expand their options by turning to schools whose R3 deadlines have not yet passed. Oxford’s third stage deadline coming up this Friday, so we thought we would offer some advice on this schools essays for those applicants just beginning to put something together, as well as those polishing materials they’ve been working on for weeks.
1. Explain why you chose your current job. How do you hope to see your career developing over the next five years? How will an MBA assist you in the development of these ambitions? (maximum 1000 words)
This is another fairly straightforward career goals essay with a slightly more limited . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on March 17, 2006, at 9:02 am
Another week, another edition of FFF, another look at the goings on in the MBA blogging world. While many here in Philadelphia and elsewhere are gearing up to celebrate a certain holiday today, we’d like to point out some other festivities that are in the works; it looks as though MBA Cutie is organizing a rather exciting NYC blogger meetup. Ty Coon is making travel arrangements, while others are speculating about the possible hijinks – both those of others (see the poll on the right) and their own. We can’t wait to read all about it!
Down to the details of the past week. With decisions from many schools still looming large on the horizon for . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on March 16, 2006, at 8:48 am
While admissions decisions have been trickling out from the top programs over the past few weeks, today’s Wharton notification date marks the beginning of a deluge of decisions for round two applicants that will last through the beginning of April:
Thursday, March 16th – Wharton (R2)
Monday, March 20th – Kellogg (R2), Haas (R2)
Tuesday, March 21st – Cornell (R4)
Wednesday, March 22nd – Chicago (R2)
Friday, March 24th – Darden (R3), INSEAD (R2), UCLA (R2), LBS (R2)
Wednesday, March 29th – HBS (R2)
Thursday, March 30th – Stanford (R2)
Friday, March 31st – Yale (R2)
Saturday, April 1st – NYU (R2)
Monday, April 3rd – MIT (R2)
Each school operates on a different timeline (gradual vs. batch release, and so on), so these dates reflect the latest time applicants will hear . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on March 15, 2006, at 9:14 am
Welcome to this week’s installment of Wiki Wednesdays, a column written to highlight some of the past seven days’ new additions to the Clear Admit wiki. With Columbia interview invites rolling out to Regular Decision applicants, we wanted to point out some sample questions from a recent report on an interview with a somewhat skeptical alum:
- He asked me a few questions about my current job and we discussed a little bit more about the business model of the company I work for. Then he asked me why I was pursuing an MBA because my job sounded pretty decent.
- While I was discussing my long-term goals, he asked me “isn’t this something you can do without an MBA?” . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on March 14, 2006, at 9:02 am
Today we’d like to highlight a few news items covering new developments in the MBA world.
The changes in business school leadership that we covered last week are continuing; Douglas Breeden, dean of Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, plans to step down in order to resume full-time teaching and research in finance at the program. Of course, this won’t be effective until June of 2007, so Fuqua is at least spared the scramble for a successor that’s happening with the Harvard presidency and position of dean at USC Marshall.
The Associated Press put out an article commenting on the ways that business school offerings have evolved to best address the needs of the market and cater to a larger . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on March 13, 2006, at 8:56 am
To round out our list of essay tips for the top European MBA programs, we wanted to offer some advice on the IMD application. With the round 2 deadline coming up on the first of April (the subsequent ones falling on June 1st, August 1st and September 1st), this program could be a great fit for individuals looking for a very international experience and just beginning to think about an MBA.
The school asks a whopping nine essay questions and limits applicants to a mere 1230 characters per response – a bit more than a fourth of a page single spaced – so brevity will be very important. While topics such as the applicant’s plans for financing his or her education and . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on March 10, 2006, at 8:50 am
Welcome to this week’s installment of FFF! After something of a dry spell for round two applicants, there’s been a deluge of admissions decisions this week. MBA Jackass received a call from Kellogg, George heard some positive news from Anderson, Nixie received an INSEAD admit and C’est La Vie is in at Yale (and could hear from Ross any day now). If other bloggers’ experiences are any indication, this is likely to be just the beginning of the celebration; MGalBlue has been getting a good deal of post-admit attention from Michigan, and AynRand2008 had a good time at an Emory admit reception in DC. Of course, not all the news has been good. We . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on March 9, 2006, at 9:05 am
Since we know that many in the MBA blogging community are curious (taking our cue from some comments in Marina’s blog a few weeks ago), we wanted to take this opportunity to officially announce the details of this year’s Best of Blogging awards (or the BoBs, for short). The aim of this exercise is twofold: to recognize the best blogs covering the 2005-06 admissions/academic cycle, and to identify valuable sources of information for the next round of applicants. While last year’s ranking focused on applicant bloggers, this year we’ll be broadening our focus to include a list of the cream of this year’s crop of current student bloggers as well.
Here’s what the timeline for this year’s awards will look . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on March 8, 2006, at 8:39 am
Perhaps not surprising given that we’re in the height of round two interview season, it’s been another solid week for the Clear Admit Wiki, with over twenty new pieces of content since last week. We were especially pleased to see some additions to the new School Choices page, an area of the site designed to give applicants a forum to discuss their decisions and stimulate the thoughts of others. One applicant shared his process from deciding which schools to apply to all the way to determining which admission offer to accept:
“I didn’t want to go to a school with a huge student body, but I also wanted at least 200 people in my class. I wanted a structured first . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on March 7, 2006, at 9:07 am
Clear Admit has been featured in an article from the Economist on admissions consultants. While the article follows up on last month’s Boston Globe piece, it offers a more balanced view of the admissions consulting space, citing the fact that many schools are accepting of the role that consultants play and have acknowledged them as part of the process. Here’s a quote from the article that demonstrates this viewpoint:
“At Harvard Business School, a recent poll indicated that 11% of students used consultants during the admissions process. And a number of schools, seeing this as an irreversible trend, have decided to reach out to the industry. Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business, for example, coordinates an event each year for consultants to . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on March 6, 2006, at 2:20 pm
As nervous applicants sweat it out over R2 interviews and pending application decisions, there’s been no shortage of interesting news from the schools. Over at Harvard, word of President Larry Summers’ departure has prompted some to speculate that the search for a new dean of the MBA program could drag on longer than anticipated. According to the Harvard Crimson, Summers’ insists that both HBS and the Graduate School of Education will have deans (or acting deans) by July 1st – yet some professors have their doubts.
Meanwhile, the Financial Times reports on several changes afoot in MBA administration. Georgia Tech has brought Steven Salbu (formerly of UT Austin/McCombs) on board as dean. In addition, SDA Bocconi has replaced both . . . → Continue Reading
Posted by Clear Admit on March 3, 2006, at 9:18 am
Another week, another exciting edition of FFF! Let’s take a look at the lastest in the MBA blogosphere:
Uncertainty has been a prominent theme among applicant bloggers this week, as many eagerly await word from their target programs. C’est La Vie stews in the calm before the storm of decisions, MBA Jackass awaits a call from Kellogg (and curses a false alarm) while Spanky thinks an email will be more likely, LaserLikeFocus fills the time by coming up with a backup plan to business school, and ChillPill spends it offering up some school research and GMAT advice. Sometimes no news is, in fact good news; while we were sorry to read that Brownoski’s Columbia waitlist . . . → 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:
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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.
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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.
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