APPLICANT RESOURCES

Have an iPhone or iPod Touch? Research schools on the go and keep your applications organized with Clear Admit's new MBA Planner App!

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)
Mary Miller (Columbia)

Clear Admit School Guides
Clear Admit School GuidesBecome 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
Clear Admit Career GuidesUnderstand 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
Clear Admit Strategy SeriesCraft 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
Clear Admit Interview GuidesBe 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

Get a $10 Amazon.com Gift Card! Contribute your MBA interview reports to the Clear Admit Wiki.

Interviewing with b-schools in R2? Download our school by school Interview Guides or send us your CV to learn more about our mock interview services.

ARCHIVE FOR MARCH 2009

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

MBA Applicant Applauds Clear Admit School Guides

MBA applicant blogger ‘MissionMBA’ dedicated a recent post to reviewing the Clear Admit School Guide to Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. Referring to the guide as “a virtual visit to the school,” MissionMBA praised the publication for its in-depth research and described it as “the closest that you can get to a school [if] you are unable to visit.”

In his review, MissionMBA points out that the guide “delves deep” in its explanation of the various aspects of Fuqua, providing information on such topics as the highlights, history, career placement statistics and curriculum of the program. He further explains that the guide also includes a “special focus on things that make [the] Fuqua MBA different from all others” and “covers life at and after Fuqua . . . quite well.”  MissionMBA also recognizes the value of having highly objective information about Fuqua in one place: “Yes, most of the stuff . . . you can find if you go through the [Fuqua] site thoroughly, attend their admission-events and contact a number of students and alumni. But not all of us have the time and resources to do all this.” In other words, for the hectic life of an MBA applicant who works full-time, the Clear Admit School Guides do all the legwork.

MissionMBA wraps up his review of the Clear Admit School Guide to Fuqua by offering some final thoughts on the way in which the publication helped him, and he indicates that reading the Guide allowed him to understand the program and the school in important ways, without actually making the trek to the campus. In his opinion, his candidacy was enhanced as a result: “I am confident that knowing Fuqua in and out surely made some difference in my essays, which got me a call for the interview. Even in my interview . . . the alum interviewer looked quite impressed with my homework on the school.” With one last statement, MissionMBA summarizes his experience, saying “I’d recommend this guide to anybody.”

For more information, please visit the Clear Admit publications page. Our full range of publications, including 18 School Guides, 18 Interview Guides and two Strategy Series titles, are available for immediate purchase and download at the Clear Admit shop.

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 5:33 pm in General, Interview Guides, School Guides, School: Duke / Fuqua, Strategy Series

Career Paths Shift for Some MBA Graduates amid Economic Crisis

Dramatic shifts in the global economy have caused many MBAs to reassess their career options upon graduation, according to a recent article in the Boston Globe. MBAs who in the past would have given little thought to jobs anywhere but on Wall Street are now instead considering launching business of their own, shifting to consulting or exploring emerging industries once considered a gamble.

“Wall Street’s not going to be a great place to work for the next couple of years,” Chad Lovell, a second-year student at MIT’s Sloan School of Management, told the Globe. An intern at Barclays Capital in New York last summer, he turned down a full-time job offer there for a strategic planning position at industrial conglomerate Emerson Electric Co. in St. Louis after he graduates in June. He’s betting on the energy field to become a key driver of the U.S. economy.

Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business provides similar anecdotal evidence. “We’ve seen a massive shift in the focus of students,” Ted Wilson, a second-year student at Tuck who cofounded Dartmouth Energy Collaborative, told the Globe. Membership in the Energy Collaborative, which runs student projects in wind turbines and biofuels, has doubled since its founding last year, according to an earlier report in the Wall Street Journal.

Soon-to-be graduates are reassessing their options at Harvard Business School (HBS) as well, according to the Globe. Jana Kierstead, managing director for MBA career services at HBS, reports that job postings at the school are down 25 percent from a year ago – and 40 percent for financial positions. Students previously interested in careers in finance are reconsidering. “They’re looking at energy and clean tech, they’re looking at boutique investment banks, they’re looking at restructuring consulting,” Kierstead told the Globe. Entrepreneurship and nonprofit opportunities are also proving very popular, she added.

Career services offices at many top schools also are having to rethink how to best assist their students in changing times. Tune in tomorrow for a closer look at how the career services office at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business has retooled its offerings and remained nimble in order to give students an advantage in a shifting job marketplace.

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 11:20 am in MBA News, School: Dartmouth / Tuck, School: Harvard, School: MIT / Sloan

Trivia Tuesday: Hands-on Learning at U. Michigan (Ross) and London Business School

In today’s Trivia Tuesday we turn our attention to the signature experiential learning opportunities available at Michigan’s Ross School of Business and the London School of Business.

The Multidisciplinary Action Project at Ross is the centerpiece of the first-year curriculum. In the course, student teams are paired with companies in the U.S. and abroad to complete a significant consulting assignment. The teams work for Fortune 500 companies, entrepreneurs and non-profits on projects related to business plan development, human resource planning, marketing, process improvement, growth strategies and more. MAP is designed to provide a capstone experience to the first year, demanding that students draw on the lessons learned across the general management core classes. The faculty and administration believe that the process of working with a team and client to define a project, assemble and analyze needed information, and recommend an action plan is an important experience that builds the leadership skills necessary to identify and solve future problems.

Past MAP projects include creating a strategic plan for the Disaster Response Group of Thailand’s Habitat for Humanity, conducting an in-depth competitive analysis for JP Morgan Chase, launching a new product for a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, and developing an expansion and growth strategy for Infosys Technologies. Past locations have included local projects in Ann Arbor and Dearborn, Michigan, domestic projects in Denver, Phoenix and Connecticut, and international projects in Ireland, Mexico, Hong Kong and India.

At London Business School, second-year students undertake a paid consulting engagement to solve a company’s critical business problem. Teams of two or three students work with a company’s management to determine the project’s scope, deliverables and remuneration.

London students have worked with a wide range of companies on the second year project, including NGOs, charities, and the regional offices of multinational corporations like IBM and Nike. Projects have also been wide-ranging, although each involves research and analysis of a concrete business problem. Interim deliverables vary based on the arrangement with the company, but all teams are required to produce a final written report summarizing their findings and suggesting solutions. Students typically negotiate payment from £100 to £300 per workday, although those without relevant industry experience are often willing to accept lower compensation, as are students who work for startups or charities. Most projects extend from two to four months, with students devoting 25-30 working days to the undertaking – all while completing other coursework.

For more on the opportunities for hands-on learning at Ross or LBS, or to explore the experiential learning offerings at other leading business schools, be sure to check out the schools’ websites or Academics and Special Programs sections of the Clear Admit School Guides!

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 2:37 am in School: London Business School, School: Michigan / Ross, Trivia Tuesday

Monday, March 30, 2009

Stanford GSB Solicits Round Three Applicants

In an interesting post to its Admissions Blog last week, Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) implored prospective applicants to its third admissions round to get off the fence and go ahead and press submit.

Concerned that potential applicants could be dissuaded by misperceptions that their chance of being admitted is low in the final round, the Palo Alto school sought to correct the misperceptions. “Historically, we’ve found that applications follow demographic cycles more than economic cycles,” the post claimed, countering the often reported statistic that business school applications soar in times of economic hardship.

“We worry that some great people may delay applying because of these misperceptions,” the post read. Stanford GSB is particularly concerned that prospective applicants will think that there will be no spots left for those who apply in the third round. “This simply isn’t true,” the post stated.

Of course, the final round typically is smaller than the first two. But the school assures that it does admit excellent third round candidates, including its current director of MBA admissions, Derrick Bolton.

The real question to ask yourself is when you want to enroll, the school advised. If the answer is September 2009, then the time to apply is now. “If you’re admitted, great. If not, then you’re in a better position for September 2010 having already begun the self-reflection process for your first-round application,” read the post.

It does seem unlikely that Stanford GSB would devote a blog post to encouraging round three applicants if there weren’t slots to fill. As the post points out, the school can’t admit you if you don’t apply.

The deadline for third-round applications to Stanford GSB is April 8th. Good luck!

0 Comments »

# posted by Clear Admit @ 4:30 pm in Deadlines, MBA News, School: Stanford

Best of Blogging Awards 2008-2009

March is a month that typically brings a good deal of clarity and news to the MBA applicant crowd: interview invitations, admissions decisions, and, of course, the announcement of our annual Best of Blogging Awards (also known as “the BoBs”)! For those unfamiliar with the awards, each year we make an effort to identify exceptional blogs maintained by MBA applicants and students. We do this for two reasons: to recognize the commitment and quality of the best applicant and student bloggers’ writing, and to identify valuable sources of information for the next round of applicants.

Here’s the timeline for this year’s awards, which will cover the 2008-09 admissions/academic cycle:

Nominees Announced – Friday, April 10th
We’ll begin by considering all blogs listed in the Clear Admit Wiki and featured in Fridays From The Frontline (bloggers are encouraged to email wiki@clearadmit.com about adding a link if their sites are not currently included). Keeping in mind the relevance and frequency of posts, as well as the overall quality of their contributions to the MBA blogosphere, we’ll pare the list of nominees down to 25 applicants and 25 current students. Once we’ve determined the blogs to be considered, we’ll be sending BoB ballots out to each of the nominated bloggers.

Ballots Due – Friday, April 24th
Tallying the votes of nominees, Clear Admit staff and of our celebrity judges, we’ll compile the list of this year’s very best applicant and student blogs, giving 50% consideration to bloggers’ votes, 25% to Clear Admit staff and 25% to our guest judges. In addition to an overall ranking, we’ll ask voters to share their thoughts on the funniest blog and best single post, and to point us to the blogs that they feel feature the best advice in categories such as GMAT preparation, school selection, application essays, admissions and recruiting interviews, as well as the best representation of academics and student life in business school.

Rankings Revealed – Tuesday, April 28th
Once the votes are in, we’ll publish the category winners as well as the top ten listings in the applicant and student categories. Clear Admit will be presenting prizes to the a select few for their effort and contribution to the community. Second and third place bloggers in the student- and applicant-blogger top 10 rankings will each receive a six-month subscription to the Wall Street Journal or the Financial Times (their choice), and the top-ranked student and applicant blogger will each be given the option of an 16GB iPod Touch or a $300 Amazon.com gift certificate.

That’s all for now – check back on Friday, April 10th for an announcement about this year’s BoB nominees! In the meantime, happy blogging…

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 11:30 am in Events, Fridays from the Frontline, General

Admissions Tip: Feedback Sessions for Denied Applicants

As many of our readers know, some leading MBA programs offer admissions feedback sessions to applicants who did not make the admissions cut in a given season. Though we’ve touched upon this subject before, we’d like to use today’s blog entry to underline the importance of these feedback sessions for those of you who are considering reapplication.

While not all schools offer feedback, a handful issue an open invitation to all unsuccessful applicants. Additionally, some programs occasionally offer feedback ‘by invitation’ to top candidates for whom they just didn’t have room that year. In all cases, if you are given the opportunity to get feedback, you should absolutely take advantage of it. There are several reasons for this:

1) Signal commitment to improvement. Signing up for a feedback session demonstrates that you are motivated to learn more about your application’s weaknesses and are seeking to improve going forward (with the intention of reapplication). Most schools make note of these sessions and keep these notes in your file in the event that you do reapply.

2) Get the inside line. A feedback session gives you a chance to learn something about your candidacy – from the source. Feedback sessions can draw your attention to a perceived weakness you were unaware of or confirm your own thoughts with regards to areas for improvement.

3) Telegraph your interest. In addition to demonstrating your passion to improve and your intent to learn more about your candidacy, signing up for a session suggests a dedication to the MBA program in question. Since not all reapplicants bother to get feedback, the fact that you take this aspect of the process seriously can work in your favor.

4) Make a connection. In many cases, a feedback session can be the beginning of a relationship that is forged with a member of the adcom. If the person gives you feedback, you should email them a ‘thank you’ letter and take advantage of the opportunity to develop an advocate for your candidacy on the committee.

Stay tuned to this blog for some tips on proper feedback session etiquette in the near future. In the meantime, be sure to sign up for feedback sessions if your target school offers them.  If your target school does not offer this kind of service, you may want to take advantage of Clear Admit’s feedback service, which includes a strategic review of your prior application(s) and a written report highlighting your strengths and weaknesses as well as specific guidance for reapplication.  Email info@clearadmit.com if you are interested in learning more about this service.

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 3:00 am in Admissions Tips, General, Reapplicants

Friday, March 27, 2009

Chicago Booth’s Rose Martinelli Offers Round Two Reflections

In a post to her blog yesterday, Rose Martinelli, director of admissions and financial aid at Chicago Booth School of Business, shared some insight into her team’s round two decisions. She first expressed that overall application quality was very high. “It is obvious that many of you have spent a great deal of time researching, writing and preparing for this process, and it has been a privilege for me to read your stories,” she said.

Wishing a hearty congratulations to those who have been admitted to the Class of 2011, Martinelli went on to explain some of her team’s other decisions.

First she outlined the ways in which Chicago Booth uses its waitlist. Specifically, the waitlist serves as a means of gauging the flow of decisions, viewing the next round’s applicant pool and sizing the class appropriately. This year in particular, when the traditional patterns for students accepting offers of admissions may vary due to current economic challenges, Martinelli suggests that the waitlist may play an even greater role than usual.

“The waitlist is a very good place to be – and we believe you are a good fit/match for Booth,” Martinelli said. It is not about gauging an applicant’s interest in Chicago Booth, she continued.

For those who have been waitlisted, Martinelli encourages you to follow her office’s instructions. Feel free to send appropriate and relevant updates via email to the general admissions address, admissions@chicagobooth.edu. Please, no attachments, she continued. Send any updates in the body of an email and put “waitlist update, your name” in the subject line.

Martinelli explained that her office cannot offer feedback to waitlisted candidates. “We just don’t have the resources,” she said. So she recommended that candidates review their own application to look for areas they might like to supplement. You don’t have to send any additional materials, but if you do, be reasonable in terms of what and how much you send and how often you contact the admissions office, she advised. In terms of a timeline, her office will not begin reviewing the waitlist again until the end of April.

Of course, there’s not much Martinelli can say to ease the blow to applicants who are denied after the interview. Noting that they are some of the hardest decisions they make each year, she did stress that it’s a pure supply and demand problem. “Everyone we invite to interview is extremely talented – that’s a given,” she said. “However, each year we have more great applicants that apply than we have room to admit,” she continued.

She did mention that Chicago Booth will be hosting re-application chats over the summer months for those interested in reapplying. We’ll keep an eye out here at Clear Admit and be sure to notify our readers when those chats have been scheduled.

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 11:47 am in MBA News, School: Chicago

Fridays From The Frontline

Could it be that another seven days have gone by since we last checked in on the b-school blogosphere? The Fridays From The Frontline frontierspeople collectively have lived another week of their lives and so and we cannot (and will not) doubt the reality that time has quickly passed to bring us to another weekend.  We welcome you back with open arms and open hearts, and hope that you enjoy the following updates in the lives, thoughts and philosophies of those in all stages of the MBA journey and experience.

There is nothing like the peace of mind that accompanies one’s first acceptance letter, as Helen learned after getting the good news from McDonough. Omne, having been waitlisted at UNC and McDonough in the first round, was disappointed to find himself remaining on both schools’ waitlists after round 2 and decided that feeling wanted by Wake Forest was better than being accepted by either of the other schools. Soni, after much established consideration,  gave Chicago Booth his vote of confidence…and a sizeable deposit. The.Grey.One decided on Kellogg, and wondered whether changing his visa status was a good move.  Kellogg-bound as well, D.G. gave aspirants five admissions tips to consider during their own application process and Alex Tzuckerman used a ven diagram to explain his philosophy on how to go about choosing which programs are worth an individual’s time.  Meanwhile, Mike had financial aid packages on his mind. PaloAltoForAwhile encouraged those dealing with b-school application stress to write to release their anxiety, as well as to have something to look back on once all the craziness abates.

Most current MBA students were settling back into school after spring break. This was certainly true for Darden ‘10 JulyDream, who began to think that maybe she should have taken at least one light-on-reading course in this quarter. While classes have begun at McCombs, ‘09 Paragon2Pieces was still recounting her time in Beijing and how the city compared to Shanghai. Darden ‘10 Mechanigal also had to get caught up with one last Brazil post before she could discuss the first week of her fourth quarter.  Ross ‘09 M@ won’t be going anywhere for MAP, but he linked to a blog written by five fellow Ross students all about their current adventures in Uganda. Darden ‘09 Mandy focused not on where she had been during her break, but where she’s headed upon her graduation. Chicago Booth ‘09 MaybeMBA had a number of new posts up this week, on subjects ranging from entrepreneurship to the concept of mother guilt. For those starting their school research, Chicago Booth ‘09 Anand’s recent post on his school’s course bidding system might be of interest.

For those of you following U.S. college basketball’s descent into March madness,  we hope your predictions, and wild cards, are going as well as you had hoped. While Venn diagrams may be one approach to narrowing down your MBA search, this recent b-ball fervor may inspire others to a b-school bracket-style winnowing of choices. Whatever method you use, we hope that aspirants for the class of 2012 are gearing up for the road ahead of them! Until next week, this has been another foraging through the infinite time and space of the MBA blogosphere…

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 3:33 am in Fridays from the Frontline

Thursday, March 26, 2009

Campus Chronicles: MIT Sloan’s Fifteen

This week in our edition of Campus Chronicles we return to MIT’s MBA student newspaper, Fifteen, to get a feel for the latest buzz on campus.

For the second year in a row, a courageous group of Sloanies tackled Mount Kilimanjaro as part of the MIT Sloan Leadership Club’s Kilimanjaro Trek.  The group began the ascent at midnight, climbing in the dark for over six hours in order to ascend the 15,000 feet up to the high camp.  Samantha Joseph (MBA ’09) raved that she went to Africa with the “best possible team [she] could have imagined,” and the experience was one not to be forgotten.  Stating, “Not only did we all make it, we made it as a team,” Samantha indicated that this experience truly allowed the Sloanies to celebrate the power of teamwork, as “the fact that everyone put the success of the team at the forefront of their goals [made] the accomplishment and experience all the better.”  The feeling of accomplishment was unmatched, and Samantha encouraged the next year’s class to make this part of their Sloan experience.

Fifteen also celebrates the success of the auctions organized by the MBA cohorts, named after oceans, for a number of charities.  Charities included Susan G. Komen, Friday Night Supper, Community Servings, Accion, The Wellness Community of Greater Boston, and St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.  The auctions unfolded with many laughs and quite a few surprises.  At the Mediterranean Ocean Auction, Paul Buckley, the Mediterranean SAO advisor, announced that he would shave his beard (which he had not shaved in over ten years) if the students raised over $500.  As the bidding soon after hit $500, Paul had to make good on his promise.  The items auctioned included a dinner with Professor Lo for six people and a bottle of red wine made from grapes grown in an MBA student’s parents’ backyard.  While raising thousands of dollars for charity, Sloanies found no end to the entertainment.

Stay tuned next week for another edition of Campus Chronicles!

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 3:00 am in Campus Chronicles, General

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Early April Developments for Harvard Business School Applicants

In a post to her blog yesterday, Harvard Business School (HBS) Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Deirdre Leopold shared that early April will hold something for applicants in each of the school’s three rounds.

Round one applicants who were waitlisted could finally get the news they have been hoping for, according to Leopold. “We will be extending offers of admission to about 40 round one waitlisters shortly after April 2nd,” she said. HBS will continue to maintain its waitlist, and those who remain on it should expect an update in early April from Eileen Chang.

Meanwhile, April 2nd is a big day for round two applicants as well. It’s when all the notifications for that round go out, Leopold continued. Decisions will be released online, and applicants will receive an email instructing them to check their status. Until then, there’s no need to sit anxiously by the phone, Leopold continued. “We won’t be making any congratulatory phone calls in advance of April 2nd!”

Not to leave anyone out, Leopold also shared some news for round three applicants.  Many – but not all – interview invitations for this round will be extended on April 3rd.

Good luck everyone! And remember to keep us posted on the Clear Admit Wiki.

0 Comments »

# posted by Clear Admit @ 3:00 pm in MBA News, School: Harvard

Wiki Wednesdays: Submit an Interview Report for Berkeley / Haas, Duke/Fuqua, INSEAD or London Business School and Win a $10 Gift Card to iTunes!

Welcome to another installment of Wiki Wednesdays, in which we take a closer look at some of the freshest material in the Clear Admit Wiki, an online repository for MBA applicants to share their experiences with the admissions process. This week, we’re setting the spotlight on Berkeley / Haas and NYU / Stern.

Before flipping the figurative light switch on, we’d like to remind applicants that, today through next Tuesday, March 31st, every fifth piece of content submitted for the Clear Admit Wiki will receive a $10 iTunes gift card. Plus, between now and next Tuesday, March 31st, the first 15 candidates that submit interview reports for Berkeley / Haas, Duke/Fuqua, INSEAD or London Business School will receive a $10 gift certificate to iTunes! (Please note, to be eligible for a prize, content must be e-mailed to wiki@clearadmit.com.)

Blogger RaghuForMBA recently shared his Haas interview with an alumnus:

  1. Explain a time where you were a humble leader.
  2. Why Haas?
  3. [What are your] goals and how [will] Haas help [you] get there?
  4. What do [you] know about Strategy Consulting?
  5. How can [you] contribute to class and what [is] unique in [your] candidature?

Swinging over to Stern, a recent Round 2 candidate noted the following questions from an adcom member:

  1. Tell me about doing [a specific extracurricular interest from undergrad]? Why’d you do it?
  2. Why MBA/Stern specifically?
  3. Where would I find you on the Stern campus?
  4. Tell me about a workplace conflict.
  5. How would the people who know you best describe you?
  6. Where are you on a scale of 1 to 10, if 1 is intelligent and 10 is hard-working?

That closes the curtain on Wiki Wednesdays this week!  As always, we’d like to thank everyone who has contributed their experiences with the MBA admissions process.  Check in next week for more highlights of the latest additions to the Clear Admit Wiki and, as mentioned above, keep those reports rolling in for a chance to win an iTunes gift card!

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 11:30 am in Interview Tips, School: Berkeley / Haas, School: Duke / Fuqua, School: INSEAD, School: London Business School, Wiki Wednesdays

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 3:30 am in Poll

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Fuqua School of Business Launches Masters in Management Degree

Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business will launch a new a Masters in Management Studies (MMS) degree program at the end of August, the Financial Times reported last week. Fuqua joins MIT Sloan School of Management and London Business School, which also both have announced that they plan to add MMS programs to their degree offerings.

According to the FT report, Fuqua Dean Blair Sheppard anticipates an initial class size of 90 students, though the school could accommodate up to 120. Tuition for the nine-month program will be $38,000, as compared to $90,000 for the two-year daytime MBA program.

An online application for the new MMS program will be available in April. Applicants are encouraged to apply by June 15th in order to be eligible for scholarship funding. Mandatory orientation for the program will begin on August 31, 2009, and the initial class will graduate in May 2010.

The FT reports that Sheppard believes the timing of the new program’s launch is perfect even amid the current economic crisis because it will offer liberal arts graduates an opportunity to acquire business skills that would widen their recruitment prospects. Sheppard also believes the addition of the program will draw more recruiters to Fuqua, which stands to benefit participants in the school’s traditional MBA program as well.

To learn more about the new MIM degree program at Fuqua, click here.

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 12:21 pm in General, School: Duke / Fuqua, School: London Business School, School: MIT / Sloan

Trivia Tuesday: Chicago’s First-Year Class

Welcome to another edition of Trivia Tuesday, our weekly look at the policies and programs that impact the student experience at the leading business schools. Today we turn our attention to Chicago Booth’s incoming class, taking a closer look at the smaller groups that help to structure that school’s first-year experience.

Chicago organizes its 550 first-year students into 10 cohorts, and within the cohorts, into 8-9 squads. New students learn their cohort and squad assignments on the first day of CORE, the two-week Chicago pre-term program. Later in the pre-term, the cohorts take a three day camping trip, during which they participate in teambuilding activities and get to know one another better before the beginning of the academic year in late September.

Cohorts
Cohorts are purposefully assembled so that each represents the diversity of the class as a whole, with an eye to varying age, gender and professional and ethnic backgrounds within the group. Chicago’s cohorts maintain their names from year to year – Rockefeller, Nobels, Phoenix, Walker, Gargoyles, Bond, Maroons, Harper, Davis and Stuart – creating connections between the students and alumni from each cohort.

Students take the required LEAD class with their cohorts, and the cohort is also the base unit from which members of the Graduate Business Council, Chicago’s student government body, are elected (two per cohort per class). Inter-cohort competitions, such as a series of poker nights with a year-end tournament, take place throughout the first year at Chicago. Despite these activities, Chicago’s cohorts do not seem to foster the strong links created in cohort systems at other schools. This is likely due to the flexibility of Chicago’s core curriculum; at Wharton and Columbia, for instance, cohorts take almost all of their first-year courses together, while Chicago first-year students follow individualized schedules.

Squads
Within each cohort, students are assigned to squads, also designed with diversity of members in mind. Squads generally consist of about 6-8 people, and serve as the primary study group during the required first-quarter LEAD class. Students work within their squad on role plays and team projects, and also compete against other squads throughout the course.

Upon completion of LEAD, however, the role of the squad dissipates as students pursue their own paths through Chicago’s core curriculum. Squad members sometimes find themselves in the same courses and reunite as study partners, but the official academic role of the squad ends with the LEAD program.

For more information on the first-year experience at Chicago or other leading business schools, be sure to talk to students or to check out the Clear Admit School Guides!

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 3:39 am in School: Chicago, Trivia Tuesday

Monday, March 23, 2009

Columbia Business School Students Launch New MBA Student Competition

Columbia Business School (CBS) last week announced the launch of a premier MBA student competition in which teams from top business schools from around the world will compete against each other in a triathlon of business management contents.

Called Odyssey, the student event will debut at CBS on March 27th and 28th, drawing teams of students from 15 top business schools based in seven countries to compete in three games – the Negotiation, the Pitch and the Case. The games have been designed to challenge students’ expertise in the areas of finance, negotiation and entrepreneurship.

 “Odyssey presents students from the most influential global business institutions with the opportunity to meet a unique set of challenges that are not a part of the everyday MBA experience,” Daniel Ames, CBS associate professor of leadership and ethics, said in a statement. Ames served as an advisor to the CBS students leading the event.

The competition also will include a symposium for participants with renowned global business leaders. Featured speakers for this year include Ian Davis, managing director, McKinsey & Company; Steve Forbes, chairman and CEO, Forbes; Steve Leaman, joint global head of Investment Banking, UBS; Didier Lombard, chairman and CEO, France Telecom – Orange; and Mary McDowell, executive vice president and chief development officer, NOKIA.

“Now more than ever, entrepreneurs face a variety of challenges that change on a daily basis,” said Mark Trayling, CBS ’09, who together with his classmate Peter Novak, CBS ’09, envisioned the contest. Trayling and Novak worked together with a team of peers and CBS faculty advisors to launch the event.

To make it to the Odyssey finals in New York, teams of five students selected from each school will compete in an online simulation game involving the airline industry. The winning teams will then come to Columbia’s campus to face off in the final three-part challenge. A point system will determine the ultimate winning team, which will receive a $5,000 cash prize and bragging rights.

“Odyssey lets the business leaders of tomorrow learn what it is like to compete with other businesses in real-time and how to emerge as the best in class,” Trayling said.

For more information about the new Odyssey business management competition, click here.

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 12:30 pm in Events, MBA News, School: Columbia

Admissions Tip: Waitlists That Discourage Supplemental Information

We have previously posted some correspondence tips for those applicants who have been waitlisted by schools that welcome supplemental materials and communication. Today, we’d like to provide some advice to those who are in an arguably more difficult position: waitlisted by schools that discourage further contact with the adcom.

This may sound obvious, but if a school indicates that they do not want supplemental materials, then you should respect their guidelines. In other words, do not send along a new recommendation or an essay if the program has clearly indicated that you should not do so. There may be exceptions to this – for example, if a dramatic change has taken place in your candidacy – but in most cases, you should simply follow the rules.

While at first it seems as though this leaves little option for waitlisted applicants other than sitting and waiting for a more definitive decision, one of the best things an individual in this position can do is just the opposite – take action and visit the school. This makes particularly good sense for those who have never been to the campus of their target programs. Very many things can happen when spending time at the school:

1) You may interact with students or professors who can better inform you of opportunities at the school and give you a better sense of the campus culture. If you make a particularly strong impression, you might even inspire someone to intercede with the adcom on your behalf.

2) By visiting a school and gaining a feel for the community and setting, you may actually realize that a given program is really not for you. This will enable you to focus your energy and attention elsewhere, and give up your spot on the waitlist to someone who might be a better fit with the program.

3) A school may take note of your visit (if you sign in with the admissions office) and view it as a potential sign of your interest. All other things being equal, the adcom is generally more likely to admit an applicant if they believe him or her to be likely to accept an offer of admission.

4) You never know when you’ll have that chance meeting with an admissions officer who is willing to give you a little feedback (and who through the process of meeting you face to face might get a better sense of your candidacy). In fact, if planning a visit, there’s no harm in letting the admissions office know in advance – especially if you have a ‘waitlist manager’ or someone on the admissions team who you’ve corresponded with in the past. Just send them a polite email indicating that you will be on campus on date X and would love to stop in and introduce yourself, etc. You’d be surprised at how often an admissions officer ends up being available to speak with you for a few minutes. Having said that, it’s critical not to force such a meeting or make unreasonable demands on the adcom, so be sure to use your best judgment.

Best of luck to those of you playing the waiting game, and feel free to contact us at info@clearadmit.com to learn about our application feedback and waitlist counseling services. Hang in there!

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 3:00 am in Admissions Tips, General

Friday, March 20, 2009

NYU Stern Launches New Volatility Institute

New York University’s Stern School of Business has launched a new center devoted to cutting-edge research on risks in financial markets and related topics in financial econometrics. Created under the leadership of Stern’s Nobel Laureate and finance professor Robert Engle, the Volatility Institute will feature its own Volatility Lab, or Vlab, which provides real-time measurements and forecasts of volatility for a range of assets including equities, exchange rates, commodities and bonds.

Stern's Vlab currently runs 300 analyses daily

Stern's Vlab currently runs 300 analyses daily

“The economic crisis has put a spotlight on the importance of calculating and managing risk effectively,” Engle said in a statement announcing the new institute. “The forecasts coming out of our Volatility Lab will provide risk managers and regulators with alternative and independent measures to assess the state of the financial markets on an up-to-the-minute basis.”

The Vlab’s beta public release took place on March 1st. It is currently running 300 analyses each day on 84 datasets using both classic models and some of the latest advances in financial econometrics. The Vlab produces a total of 1,000 series daily, and a demo username and password available on the beta site provides access to a wider set of models and analyses.

Through the Vlab and other initiatives, the Volatility Institute aims to foster new research and centralize datasets for practitioners, regulators and academics. “The decision to create the Volatility Institute reflects our commitment to cultivating a scholarly community that will advance the field of risk management while having a direct impact on the financial markets,” NYU Stern Dean Thomas Cooley said in a statement.

The institute also will host its first conference for researchers and the business community at NYU Stern on “Volatilities and Correlations in Stressed Markets” on April 3rd.

To learn more about Stern’s new Volatility Institute, click here. To visit the Vlab, click here.

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 12:30 pm in MBA News, School: NYU Stern

Fridays From The Frontline

Hello and thanks for joining us for another edition of Fridays From The Frontline! This week has brought additional travel reports from many a b-schooler, as well as more decisions and plans  for aspirants.

Aspirants and future first years continued to share their b-school related experiences with the blogosphere this week. The.Grey.One was accepted by Kellogg and, while excited, still waited to hear from Tuck so he could compare the financial assistance packages of the two schools. Choc Heaven was waitlisted by Cornell Johnson, but didn’t mind since she had  an affinity for Fuqua, though she was peeved by Johnson’s DIY notification system. PaloAltoForAwhile received an email from Stanford’s Dean Joss, and was given his home and cell numbers in case she had any questions about the school…this may or may not have influenced her decision to decline Harvard and send in her deposit;).

Continuing along with our look at MBA aspirant bloggers, Helen felt that Clear Admit’s Wiki helped her prepare for her Stanford interview (we’re glad to hear it!).  Ahembeea reflected on his past pursuits of placement in IIM and why his choice of Emory made sense for his current self. Omne attended Wake Forest’s Scholar’s Weekend, which included a cocktail reception, scavenger hunt, mock statistics class and free ice cream. MBADreamer was a little overwhelmed after his first look at  IIMB’s preparatory material for quantitative methods and statistics.  ArdentMeerkat, in the the earlier stages of her MBA planning than many, took the GMAT and wondered whether it made sense to to retake it with the hope of increasing her quantitative percentile. In a less b-school-specific post, D.G. ruminated on the nature, efficiency and future of internet search engines.

Last week we wrote of the travels of many b-schoolers. This week Darden ‘10 JulyDream checked in from Madrid, and briefly recounted her experience at a soccer game without beer and a recent tapas/bar crawl. McCombs ‘09 Paragon2Pieces wrote of her night train trip from Shanghai to Beijing and of the company presentations her group attended, including one from Ford China.  She wasn’t the lone b-schooler in China, Darden ‘09 Mike was also in China, considering the various things that get lost in translation.  Fellow ‘09 Dardenite, Anand was amazed by how quickly time travels and also got to see a little history in Philadelphia.

McCombs ‘10 Metal was still in Austin for his spring break, and shared a little first-year internship placement gossip. Darden ‘10 Oren explored the ways his school manages to keep its program and curriculum relevant in an everchanging world.  Kellogg ‘10 La Coguette continued to write about the interview system from her acerbic (yet playful) point of view. Darden ‘09 Mandy wrote about the relevance of sustainability to business and the world.  Chicago ‘09 GSBSutras was having a difficult time finding the position he wants for next year.

We’re midway through March on the East Coast, and already we’ve seen the lion purr a few times and then momentarily morph into a sweet lamb before crouching back down into a ferocious growl and shaking his mane around, ushering in colder temperatures and admissions zaps. But this, too, shall pass;  soon futures will be solidified, the weather will become noticeably warmer,  and a  whole new cycle of hoping and testing and application writing and orientation and internships and job interviews will begin!  As the months continue, we can’t wait to see how this group of first years finish their initial year, and what second years consider the most important lesson they learned as they look back at the whole of their b-school experience! With that sentiment we will close this installment of Fridays From The Frontline. Make sure to come back next week to get the freshest perspectives on the MBA application and student experience.

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 3:00 am in Fridays from the Frontline

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Gender Gap Persists in MBA Pay, Increases Over Time, Study Shows

Female MBA graduates earn less than their male colleagues, a gap that grows even greater over time, according to a recent paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research. The results of the paper were published last week in the Economist.

mba-earnings

The authors tracked the earnings of 1,600 MBA graduates from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business (now Chicago Booth) between 1990 and 2006. According to their findings, males edged out females only slightly in income in their first year out of school. But the pay discrepancy increased steadily over time, with males earning as much as 90 percent more than their female counterparts 10 years after graduation.

The authors of the study attributed the differences to the subjects students chose to take (women took fewer finance courses), more frequent interruptions in women’s careers and the fact that the women worked fewer hours than the men, according to the Economist article.

Women MBAs having children contributed to the more frequent interruptions in their careers and their tendency to work fewer hours, according to the Economist. Upon having children, women MBAs cut back on hours or dropped out of the work force entirely. Ten years after graduation, 13 percent of the women in the study were not working at all, compared to just 1 percent of men, the Economist reported.

Active discrimination is not believed to have played much of a role in the pay gap, the researchers stressed. “But the continued influence of gender roles in determining career paths is clear,” the Economist wrote.

To learn more, click here.

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 12:31 pm in General, MBA News, School: Chicago

Campus Chronicles: Monroe Street Journal

As we near the end of the week, it’s time to take another look at MBA student newspapers in a new edition of Campus Chronicles!  This week we read up on the latest happenings at University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business through The Monroe Street Journal.

With the objective of bringing students together to investigate alternative investments, the Alternative Investments Club (AIC) is in the midst of running the annual AIC Private Equity Competition.  This event allows students to compete for a cash prize of $200 while gaining greater insight into various aspects of private equity, including leveraged buyouts or LBO modeling, through a guest speaker series and workshops.  During the competition, students work in groups of four, with each group given at least $300mm of equity in order to execute a leveraged buyout of a publicly traded domestic company.  Each group must draft an executive summary detailing why they chose a particular company as the best investment.  At the end of March, the groups moving on to the final round will be announced.  In this round, each team presents for thirty minutes on their investment rationale, and then a Q&A session follows.  The AIC Competition thus gives Ross students yet another opportunity to apply their classroom knowledge to a real-world competition.

The Monroe Street Journal also celebrates the success of the Blue Door Art Auction, which was sponsored by the Wolverine Wine Club and the SGA and showcased the talent of Ross students and partners.  MBA students served as auctioneers, overseeing the bidding over the artistic pieces.  Most of the pieces were created by MBA students and included photographs, paintings, and sketches.  Four MBA students even submitted pieces that they had picked up while on Ross MTreks to Morocco, Costa Rica, South Africa, and Turks and Caicos.  The auction raised almost $2,500 – proceeds which support the Ann Arbor Art Makers programs for at-risk youth.  The event not only recognized MBA students’ artistic talent but also allowed students to donate to a great cause.

Stay tuned next week for another edition of Campus Chronicles!

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 3:00 am in Campus Chronicles, General

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