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APPLICANT RESOURCES

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Admissions Director Q&A
Below are links to Clear Admit's exclusive interviews with MBA admissions directors at leading programs.
Dawna Clarke (Tuck)
Rose Martinelli (Chicago)
Judith Hodara (Wharton)
Sara Neher (Darden)
Soojin Kwon Koh (Michigan)
Randall Sawyer (Cornell)
Beth Flye (Kellogg)
David Simpson (LBS)
Liz Riley Hargrove (Duke)
Linda Meehan (Columbia)
Bruce DelMonico (Yale)
Peter Johnson (Berkeley)
Isser Gallogly (NYU)
Mae Jennifer Shores (UCLA)
J.J. Cutler (Wharton)
Jake Cohen (INSEAD)
Rod Garcia (MIT Sloan)

Clear Admit School Guides
Become an expert on your target schools overnight! Get the program-specific details you need to craft essays that stand out. See how schools compare head-to-head in key areas like recruiting, curricular structure, elective offerings and more. Available for immediate download. As featured in the Economist.

Clear Admit Career Guides
Understand career-specific offerings at leading MBA programs and identify the schools that will best support your career goals with the Clear Admit Career Guides! Available for Consulting, Investment Banking, Entrepreneurship, Marketing and Healthcare.

Clear Admit Strategy Series
Craft a winning application with the Clear Admit Strategy Series! Step-by-Step guidance through the application process. Titles include a Resume Guide, Recommendations Guide, Waitlist Guide and more!

Clear Admit Interview Guides
Be as prepared as possible for your MBA interviews this season with the Clear Admit Interview Guides! School-specific sample questions and in-depth strategy, campus visit details and places to stay.

Application Deadlines
Below are the upcoming deadlines for admission to top-tier schools.
Feb 10: INSEAD R3
Mar 1: Michigan / Ross R3
Mar 3: CBS
Mar 3: LBS R3
Mar 4: Kellogg R3
Mar 8: Cambridge / Judge R4
Mar 8: CMU / Tepper R3
Mar 9: Duke / Fuqua R3
Mar 9: Penn / Wharton R3
Mar 10: Berkeley / Hass R4
Mar 10: Chicago Booth R3
Mar 10: Yale SOM R3
Mar 15: NYU / Stern R3
Mar 17: UCLA / Anderson R3
Mar 19: UNC / Kenan-Flagler R4
Mar 30: Cornell / Johnson R4
Mar 31: UVA / Darden R3
Mar 31: INSEAD R4
Apr 1: UT-Austin / McCombs
Apr 2: Dartmouth / Tuck R3
Apr 2: Oxford / Saїd R3
Apr 7: Stanford GSB R4
Apr 8: Harvard R3
Apr 14: CBS

Essay Topic Analysis
Below are links to our comments on some of the top programs' essay topics.
The Career Goals Essay
Berkeley / Haas*
Chicago Booth*
CMU / Tepper*
Columbia*
Cornell / Johnson*
Dartmouth / Tuck*
Duke / Fuqua*
Harvard*
Indian School of Business*
INSEAD*
London Business School*
MIT / Sloan*
Michigan / Ross*
Northwestern / Kellogg*
NYU / Stern*
Oxford / Said*
Penn / Wharton*
Stanford GSB*
UCLA / Anderson*
UNC / Kenan-Flagler*
USC / Marshall*
UT Austin / McCombs*
UVA / Darden*
Yale SOM*
* denotes '09-'10 commentary

Categories
Use categories to access all that has been written on each of the topics. We have categorized by school and by subject matter.

Interview Reports
A selection of interview field reports from fellow applicants posted to the MBA Admissions Wiki. Add your reports when you are finished with your interviews.
Chicago
Columbia
Dartmouth / Tuck
Duke / Fuqua
Harvard
Kellogg
Michigan / Ross
MIT / Sloan
Stanford
UNC / Chapel Hill
Virginia / Darden
Wharton
London Business School

GMAT Resources
MBA.com
Manhattan GMAT
GMAT Club
Princeton Review
Test Prep New York
Kaplan
Beat The GMAT
Knewton

Writing Resources
Guide to Grammar and Writing
The Internet Grammar of English
English Usage, Style and Composition
The Economist Style Guide
Paradigm Online Writing Assistant

School Rankings
Rankings are a good way to start your research on various MBA Programs. Keep in mind each uses a different methodology.
Business Week
Economist
Financial Times
Forbes
USNews
Wall Street Journal

Career Guides
The following resources should be useful to those who want to research the careers open to them after (or before) earning an MBA.
Vault.com
Wetfeet

Business School Resources
The following are business resources offered by a variety of leading Business Schools. It's useful to subscribe to these resources, especially for the schools to which you are applying.

MBA Programs: North America
If an MBA Program is not listed, please e-mail and we will be happy to list it.
Berkeley / Haas
Boston College / Carroll
Carnegie Mellon / Tepper
Chicago
Columbia
Concordia
Cornell / Johnson
Dartmouth / Tuck
Duke / Fuqua
Emory / Goizueta
Harvard
HEC Montreal
Indiana / Kelley
Michigan
MIT / Sloan
Northwestern / Kellogg
New York / Stern
North Carolina / Kenan Flagler
Notre Dame / Mendoza
Pennsylvania / Wharton
Queens
Stanford
Syracuse / Whitman
Texas / McCombs
Thunderbird
Toronto
USC / Marshall
UCLA / Anderson
Vanderbilt / Owen
Virginia / Darden
Washington University in St. Louis / Olin
Western Ontario / Ivey
Yale

MBA Programs: 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.
AGSM (Australia) 2
Cambridge / Judge (UK) 1
CIEBS (China) 2
Cheung Kong Graduate School of Business (China) 1
Cranfield School of Mgmt (UK) 1
ESADE (Spain) 1 or 2
HEC (France) 2
Hult (UK) 1
IESE (Spain) 2
IMD (Switzerland) 1
INCAE (Costa Rica) 2
INSEAD (France) 1
IPADE (Mexico)
ISB (India) 1
London Business School (UK) 2
Manchester Bus. School (UK) 2
Melbourne (Australia) 2
Oxford / Said (UK) 1
Rotterdam (Netherlands) 1
Tsinghua IMBA (China) 2
University of St. Gallen (Switzerland) 1

Additional Resources
Here we link a host of additional resources available across the web. E-mail info@clearadmit.com to have resources added to this list.
AACSB International
Association of MBAs
Beyond Grey Pinstripes
EFMD
gradschools.com (worldwide)
Infozee
International Student Loans
mba.com (GMAT Scores)
MBAInfo
mbaleague.blogspot.com
MBAzone
MBA Jungle
TOEFL
Top MBA

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.

Blog Archive

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Friday, October 17, 2008

Fridays From The Frontline

Hello and welcome to another edition of Fridays From the Frontline, Clear Admit’s weekly jaunt through the b-school blogosphere. Though a number of top tier schools’ round one deadlines are now receding from view, many MBA hopefuls can’t take a break as they move on to additional schools with later deadlines, or worry over their recommenders’ abilities to be prompt. Many current students are in the midst of their first round of exams and looking forward to a similarly brief respite before jumping into the next set of classes.

Class of 2011 hopefuls have been increasingly busy over the last week, rereading essays, checking in on recommendation writers, preparing for interviews and considering how to finance their MBA dreams. The goal of all of this is, of course, not to be zapped (’zap’ is the new ding). The recent changes in the American economy, as well as depreciation of the rupee caused Ahembeea to discuss, in depth, the ramifications these economic shifts have had on his application plans. Maverick, in addition to submitting his Ross application, also was feeling the effects of America’s faltering financial state. MissionMBA also had concerns over the consequences of the market fallout on his ability to get non-cosignor loans, this led to his dropping Darden from his list … but after assurances that the school’s financial aid office is going to try to find alternative solutions, he put the Darden back on his list.

While it is certainly wise to consider how one would afford their b-school education, you must first gain acceptance. Many aspirants continued working hard on that front. Soni visited Stern and found the registration office packed, he couldn’t help but wonder if this would have been the case in a rosier economy. HappyBunny shared the questions she answered in her Kellogg interview and her feelings on her Columbia interview (both items we’d love to see in the Clear Admit Wiki, when HappyBunny gets a chance to post them!). Samantha was gearing up for her own Kellogg interview and got sick. Omne probably felt a little sick to his stomach after scheduling problems with his recommenders, read his cautionary tale. A few aspirants, in the last two weeks, are aspiring no more, having received acceptances from Columbia. Maxwriter officially enrolled in CBS and now has a 30 point to-do list from the school. TienyChesney, also with sent his check and had his own personal list, including learning Spanish and buying Columbia sweatpants.

Prospective students weren’t alone in considering the impact the recent banking crisis would have on their futures. Wharton ‘10 TinyDancer considered the validity of the phrase ‘riding out the recession’ in relation to first and second year students. LBS ‘10 N.A.S. checked in after a lengthy blog silence, sharing his thoughts on the investment banking industry’s future, his club involvements and an overview of his first eight weeks in London. Haas ‘10 Dharu, also quiet for quite a while, checked in and let his readers know which school he ended up attending. Darden ‘10 JulyDream found herself considering finals week a break, and looked forward to the offical end of her first quarter.

‘09ers were also in the midst of their finals and weren’t without worry about their recruiting prospects. Fun was still had, however, by many. Ross ‘ 09 M@ and Ross ‘10 Gltnfrpnshmt welcomed GlamourGirl as a contributor to Ranierisms. Individually, each of these bloggers had their own posts. Gltnfrpnshmt found that one’s GMAT score remains relevant to their goals even after b-school acceptance. M@ gave a slightly softer interpretation of Gltnfrpnshmt’s message. GlamourGirl shared a great shopping/good cause opportunity. Chicago ‘09 MaybeMBA discussed the upside to Hyde Park. McDonough ‘10 Hairtwirler felt that she was melting as a result of her final exams. Darden ‘09 Mandy went to two weddings, complete with family tree and bicycle cakes.

As round one fervor dwindles, and the waiting game begins, we hope that all aspirants keep their chins up and eyes on the prize. For those embroiled in their first round of exams, just remember that the end is in sight! And for those of you getting ready to go back out into the work world, we hope that your recruiting season goes swimmingly. Until next week, this has been another trip down the strip of MBA experience.

# posted by Clear Admit @ 3:04 am in Fridays from the Frontline

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Wharton Interview Field Reports
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Kellogg Interview Field Reports
Chicago Interview Field Reports
Columbia Interview Field Reports

Discussion Boards

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GMAT Club Forums
Below are the five most recent posts to the GMAT Club message boards.

student 2 student
The student-2-student Discussion Boards are managed by Wharton. Here are the five most recent discussions.

School-Hosted Blogs

Straight from the source: aggregated posts from students and administration. Below are the seven most recent posts in school-hosted blogs.

Individuals' Blogs

A selection of the latest updates to MBA blogs compiled by Hella.
MBA Applicants

MBA Students

Bloggers by School

The following are links to bloggers at each of the schools listed.
Chicago
Columbia
Dartmouth / Tuck
Duke / Fuqua
Harvard
Kellogg
Michigan
MIT / Sloan
New York / Stern
North Carolina / Chapel Hill
Stanford
Virginia / Darden
Wharton
Yale
ESADE
IESE
INSEAD
London Business School

Community Blogs

Bshoolers.com
Community blog with MBA student and alum contributors.

Forté Foundation MBA Diaries
Video blog entries posted by women MBA students.

Owen Bloggers
Independent blog with content by Vanderbilt MBA students.

Best of Blogging

2008-2009 Top Ten: