APPLICANT RESOURCES

Admissions Director Q&A (New!) Below are links to Clear Admit's exclusive admissions director Q&A sessions.
Dawna Clarke (Tuck)
Rose Martinelli (Chicago)
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Clear Admit School Guides
Eighteen titles available! Understand how the leading programs compare and learn more about the MBA experience in and beyond the classroom through Clear Admit School Guides. As featured in the Economist.

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.

Essay Topic Analysis
Below are links to our comments on some of the top programs' essay topics.
The Career Goals Essay*
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Columbia*
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IESE*
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London Business School*
MIT / Sloan*
Michigan / Ross*
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NYU / Stern*
Oxford / Said*
Penn / Wharton*
Stanford GSB*
UCLA / Anderson*
UNC / Kenan-Flagler*
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UT Austin / McCombs*
UVA / Darden*
Yale SOM*
* denotes '08-'09 commentary

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Rankings are a good way to start your research on various MBA Programs. Keep in mind each uses a different methodology.
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CATEGORY - EVENTS

Friday, October 31, 2008

Fed Chair Bernanke to Speak at Haas School of Business Symposium Today

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will speak today as part of a two-day symposium at the Haas School of Business focused on the economy, the mortgage crisis and the government’s rescue plan.

The event, entitled “The Mortgage Meltdown, the Economy, and Public Policy,” is being co-hosted by UC Berkeley and UCLA. Bernanke, who will appear via satellite, will be joined by Janet Yellen, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; California State Senator Darrell Steinberg; and best-selling economist Robert Shiller, author of the Subprime Solution and Irrational Exuberance.

The symposium also will feature several panel discussions moderated by faculty from Haas, UCLA and Stanford. Panel discussion topics include the crisis in finance markets, the demography and geography of foreclosures and the future of the housing finance system.

Haas is investigating options for making the program available via the Internet. For details, click here.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman Kicks Off Kellogg Lecture Series

On Monday, Princeton economist and New York Times columnist Paul Krugman addressed a full house at the Kellogg School of Management, discussing the current economic crisis and the factors that contributed to it. The event, which launched the Kellogg Distinguished Lecture Series, also marked Krugman’s first public appearance since winning the Nobel Prize on October 13th.

Krugman, an international trade expert, offered a gloomy economic forecast to the more than 1,000 people who gathered to listen to him, noting the spread of the U.S. currency crisis to the rest of the world. The $700 billion rescue plan recently passed by Congress, Krugman said, “still looks weak, and it looks small.”

Calling the current situation “one hell of a mess,” Krugman rattled off a lengthy list of what he considers to have been the chief contributing factors.

The first was the unraveling of a theory espoused by many economists, himself included, that developing countries were “decoupled” from economies like the U.S. and Europe and therefore immune to implosions there. That “turns out to be entirely wrong,” Krugman said, noting the rapid-fire worldwide spread of the crisis.

He also blamed former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan’s decision to reduce interest rates and keep them low following the dotcom crash earlier this decade for setting the stage for the market bubble in the housing sector.

Calling the housing market bubble “pretty predictable,” he cited its rupture as a key part of the present crisis and predicted that house values, which have already plummeted 25 percent, likely still face an additional 15 percent drop.

Krugman participated in a question-and-answer period with Kellogg students after his address, during which time he offered up his view on how the United States might begin to get itself out of the current mess.

Public work projects, including infrastructure repairs on bridges, roads and railways, could be beneficial, he said. Calling himself a “big New Deal romantic,” he said he also sees a role for commissioned artists.

An agenda like the one he describes would be more probable under a Democratic president, he said, pointing out that the financial crisis has made it more likely that voters will choose Barack Obama over John McCain. But no matter who wins next week, he said, “This is no time for a lame-duck administration and a lack of authority.”

Krugman has written more than 20 books, including a recent examination of the rise and fall of the middle class entitled The Conscience of a Liberal. Through his work, he helped establish “new trade theory,” which provides rationale for why only a few countries, similar to one another, dominate international trade. He won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences earlier this month for his research in this field.

Krugman’s appearance, which was open to the entire Kellogg community and telecast to alternate locations to meet high demand, was the first in the newly launched Kellogg Distinguished Lecture Series, an initiative by the school to bring real-world insights into academic discourse. Future speakers in this series will include preeminent thinkers from the worlds of academia, journalism and business.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Business@Cornell Live Webcast Series Debuts Today

The Johnson School of Business, in partnership with the School of Hotel Administration and the Applied Economics and Management Program at Cornell University, today will launch Business@Cornell, a new discussion series to be webcast live, drawing together faculty experts and Johnson alumni to discuss pressing issues impacting the business world.

The series debut, “Market Crisis Unraveled: From Wall Street to Main Street,” will feature three experts discussing the issues of real estate finance, the market’s reaction to the bailout and the effect on the economy. The discussion will take place at 3 p.m. (EST) on Thursday, October 23rd, and will be available through streaming video at the following link: http://tinyurl.com/BusinessAtCornell

Panelists will include Daniel Quan, professor of real estate at the School of Hotel Administration; Bob Andolina, visiting senior lecturer of finance at the Johnson School; and Ori Heffetz, associate professor of economics at the Johnson School.

Quan, an expert in real estate and real estate finance who specializes in securitization and structured finance, was chief mortgage economist at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve in Washington, DC, before joining the Cornell community. Andolina, a Johnson alumnus, recently retired from Lehman Brothers after 19 years in the equities business. And Heffetz examines the cultural aspects of economic behavior, such as conspicuous consumption, where consumers buy visible goods in an effort to advertise their wealth and climb the social ladder.

In addition to offering a unique set of perspectives on the unfolding financial crisis, the new Business@Cornell series also provides an opportunity for prospective applicants to get a feel for the Johnson School community and the kinds of events available to students. So tune in!

Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Women Take Center Stage at Tuck School of Business, London Business School

Amid an American election cycle in which women have played a more central role across both parties than ever before, business schools, too, are turning the spotlight on women. The Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth just hosted its annual Women in Business Conference and the London Business School announced today its annual Sloan Fellowship Women’s Scholarship.

Tuck’s annual Women in Business Conference, which took place on October 3rd and 4th, this year celebrated 40 years of women at Tuck. Organized by second-year Tuck students, the conference was designed to bring current students, alumni and prospective students together for a range of educational panels and social activities around topics of particular relevance to current businesswomen.

Panel discussions focused on issues ranging from work-life balance to the glass ceiling to cross-gender communication. Carla Harris, managing director in global capital markets at Morgan Stanley, delivered the keynote address. Other speakers included Tuck alumnae Christina Morrison T’93, senior vice president and chief financial officer of Wyeth, and Noreen Doyle T’74, former chief operating officer at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Conference co-chairs Jill Cohen T’09 and Erin Breslin T’09 said they were thrilled with both the speaker lineup and the conference theme.”The conference theme, Celebrating 40 Years of Women at Tuck, will not only help us connect prospective, current and graduated Tuck women but will also facilitate lively discussion about key issues facing women in the modern business environment,” they said in a statement announcing the event. 

LBS Names 2008-2009 Sloan Fellow
Meanwhile, the London Business School this week announced its annual Sloan Fellowship Women’s Scholarship award, designed to encourage women to pursue management careers in business.

This year’s Sloan Fellowship was awarded to Vanessa Ginn, an experienced manager in the oil industry who has held leadership positions at BP and Mobil. The award, co-sponsored by Saatchi & Saatchi and Spencer Stuart, will fund Vanessa’s place in the year-long Sloan Fellowship MSc as well as career mentoring with Spencer Stuart.

Ginn, who developing BP’s downstream emerging markets business in China and India, is the fourth recipient of the Sloan Fellowship MSc. As part of the 11-month full-time program – considered one of the premier programs designed expressly for experienced senior managers – Ginn will explore the latest management thinking with LBS’s world-class faculty while gaining valuable experience in all areas of general management and leadership.

“I am proud and very grateful to be the winner of the Sloan Fellowship Women’s Scholarship, both on a personal level, and for what it represents from a wider perspective,” Ginn said in accepting the prize at an awards dinner last night. “I’m a passionate believer in the power of diversity in business, particularly of women in business,” she continued.

The award will give her an opportunity to take time out to reflect on her career direction, develop enhanced leadership skills, expand her network and encourage other women to embrace leadership in business, Ginn added.

To learn more about London Business School’s Sloan Fellowship Women’s Scholarship, click here. To learn more about the Tuck School of Business Women’s Leadership Conference, click here.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

Reminder: Clear Admit MBA Admissions Strategy Seminar in San Francisco (Free!)

Thanks to everyone who turned out for Monday’s MBA admissions seminar in Santa Clara - it was a pleasure meeting all of you!  Just a handful of spots remain for tomorrow evening’s seminar in downtown San Francisco.  For details and sign-up information, please read on…

****

Clear Admit will be offering a free MBA application seminar for applicants in San Francisco.  The event will be in downtown San Francisco on Thursday, September 18th and will take place from 6:30 - 8:30 PM.  Registration is mandatory and space is limited.  Sign-up details are below.

What You’ll Learn at the Clear Admit MBA Application Seminar
As the deadlines for leading schools approach, now is the perfect time to attend a seminar that will review the application process, explain MBA admissions from an insider perspective and help you to think through your overall positioning strategy as well as your approach to the essays.  Learn what admissions officers look for, how to avoid ‘red flags’ in your application, how to address weaknesses and more.  Both seminars will be led by Clear Admit’s Stacey Oyler.

About Stacey Oyler
With a mix of MBA admissions and recruiting experience, Stacey Oyler is ideally prepared to guide business school applicants toward the right schools given their background and goals - and to help them get in.  Serving as assistant director of admissions at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth from 2003 to 2005, Stacey read applications, conducted interviews and participated directly in admissions decisions. She also oversaw the waitlist process and provided feedback and coaching to candidates who were not granted admission.  Beyond her perspective on what a top MBA program looks for in its students, Stacey’s view extends into what post-b-school employers want. Upon leaving Tuck, she joined McKinsey & Company, leading all West Coast recruiting efforts for advanced degree and MBA candidates.

Prizes!
Seminar attendees are also eligible to receive several prizes, including:
• A set of five Clear Admit School Guides (a $175 value)
• A set of five Clear Admit Interview Guides (a $100 value)

How to Sign Up
Clear Admit has teamed up with our friends at ManhattanGMAT to offer this seminar.  The event will take place at the Manhattan GMAT test center in downtown San Francisco. To sign up for the seminar, click here.  (Note: These links will take you to the manhattangmat.com website. If it is your first visit to the site, you will be asked to complete a short student profile.) For questions about the event, contact ManhattanGMAT at 800-576-4628 or email studentservices@manhattangmat.com.

Thursday, September 18th, 6:30 - 8:30 PM
San Francisco Manhattan GMAT Center: 870 Market Street, 6th floor San Francisco, CA 94102
Register Now!

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow night!

Friday, September 12, 2008

Reminder: Free MBA Admissions Seminars in California Next Week!

 Clear Admit will be offering two free MBA application seminars for applicants in San Francisco and the Silicon Valley.  The first seminar will take place in Santa Clara on Monday, September 15th and the second will be in downtown San Francisco on Thursday, September 18th.  Both events will take place from 6:30 - 8:30 PM.  Registration is mandatory and space is limited.  Sign-up details are below.What You’ll Learn at the Clear Admit MBA Application Seminars
As the deadlines for leading schools approach, now is the perfect time to attend a seminar that will review the application process, explain MBA admissions from an insider perspective and help you to think through your overall positioning strategy as well as your approach to the essays.  Learn what admissions officers look for, how to avoid ‘red flags’ in your application, how to address weaknesses and more.  Both seminars will be led by Clear Admit’s Stacey Oyler.

About Stacey Oyler
With a mix of MBA admissions and recruiting experience, Stacey Oyler is ideally prepared to guide business school applicants toward the right schools given their background and goals - and to help them get in.  Serving as assistant director of admissions at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth from 2003 to 2005, Stacey read applications, conducted interviews and participated directly in admissions decisions. She also oversaw the waitlist process and provided feedback and coaching to candidates who were not granted admission.  Beyond her perspective on what a top MBA program looks for in its students, Stacey’s view extends into what post-b-school employers want. Upon leaving Tuck, she joined McKinsey & Company, leading all West Coast recruiting efforts for advanced degree and MBA candidates.

Prizes!
Seminar attendees are also eligible to receive several prizes, including:
• A set of five Clear Admit School Guides (a $175 value)
• A set of five Clear Admit Interview Guides (a $100 value)

How to Sign Up
Clear Admit has teamed up with our friends at ManhattanGMAT to offer these seminars.  The events will take place at the Manhattan GMAT test centers in Santa Clara and downtown San Francisco. To sign up for the Santa Clara seminar, click here.  To sign up for the San Francisco seminar, click here.  (Note: These links will take you to the manhattangmat.com website. If it is your first visit to the site, you will be asked to complete a short student profile.) For questions about the event, contact ManhattanGMAT at 800-576-4628 or email studentservices@manhattangmat.com.

Monday, September 15th, 6:30 - 8:30 PM. 
Santa Clara Manhattan GMAT Center: 2905 Stender Way, Suite 66, Santa Clara, CA 95054
Register Now!

Thursday, September 18th, 6:30 - 8:30 PM
San Francisco Manhattan GMAT Center: 870 Market Street, 6th floor San Francisco, CA 94102
Register Now!

We look forward to seeing you at these events!

Monday, September 08, 2008

Clear Admit MBA Application Seminars - Free!

We are pleased to announce that Clear Admit will be offering two free MBA application seminars for applicants in San Francisco and the Silicon Valley.  The first seminar will take place in Santa Clara on Monday, September 15th and the second will be in downtown San Francisco on Thursday, September 18th.  Both events will take place from 6:30 - 8:30 PM.  Registration is mandatory and space is limited.  Sign-up details are below.

What You’ll Learn at the Clear Admit MBA Application Seminars
As the deadlines for leading schools approach, now is the perfect time to attend a seminar that will review the application process, explain MBA admissions from an insider perspective and help you to think through your overall positioning strategy as well as your approach to the essays.  Learn what admissions officers look for, how to avoid ‘red flags’ in your application, how to address weaknesses and more.  Both seminars will be led by Clear Admit’s Stacey Oyler.

About Stacey Oyler
With a mix of MBA admissions and recruiting experience, Stacey Oyler is ideally prepared to guide business school applicants toward the right schools given their background and goals - and to help them get in.  Serving as assistant director of admissions at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth from 2003 to 2005, Stacey read applications, conducted interviews and participated directly in admissions decisions. She also oversaw the waitlist process and provided feedback and coaching to candidates who were not granted admission.  Beyond her perspective on what a top MBA program looks for in its students, Stacey’s view extends into what post-b-school employers want. Upon leaving Tuck, she joined McKinsey & Company, leading all West Coast recruiting efforts for advanced degree and MBA candidates.

Prizes!
Seminar attendees are also eligible to receive several prizes, including:
• A set of five Clear Admit School Guides (a $175 value)
• A set of five Clear Admit Interview Guides (a $100 value)

How to Sign Up
Clear Admit has teamed up with our friends at ManhattanGMAT to offer these seminars.  The events will take place at the Manhattan GMAT test centers in Santa Clara and downtown San Francisco. To sign up for the Santa Clara seminar, click here.  To sign up for the San Francisco seminar, click here.  (Note: These links will take you to the manhattangmat.com website. If it is your first visit to the site, you will be asked to complete a short student profile.) For questions about the event, contact ManhattanGMAT at 800-576-4628 or email studentservices@manhattangmat.com.

Monday, September 15th, 6:30 - 8:30 PM. 
Santa Clara Manhattan GMAT Center: 2905 Stender Way, Suite 66, Santa Clara, CA 95054
Register Now!

Thursday, September 18th, 6:30 - 8:30 PM
San Francisco Manhattan GMAT Center: 870 Market Street, 6th floor San Francisco, CA 94102
Register Now!

We look forward to seeing you at these events!

Monday, September 01, 2008

MBA Admissions Events, Sept. 1-7

Here is a schedule of events for the week of Sept. 1-7.  Enjoy!

Monday, September 1
Berkeley, Cornell, Dartmouth, UCLA:  QS World MBA; Mexico City, Mexico

Columbia:  Admissions Information Session and Reception; Shanghai, China

Tuesday, September 2
Berkeley, Cornell:  The MBA Tour; Chicago

Chicago:  Student-sponsored Summer Event; Paris, France

Chicago:  GSB-sponsored Fall Event; Sao Paulo, Brazil

Columbia:  Admissions Information Session and Reception; Seattle

Dartmouth: Tuck Reception; San Francisco

Harvard:  MBA Admissions Panel; Boston

UCLA:  Anderson Information Evening; Mexico City, Mexico

Wednesday, September 3
Berkeley, Darden:  QS World MBA Tour; Caracas, Venezuela

Chicago:  GSB-sponsored Fall Event; Buenos Aires, Argentina

Columbia:  Admissions Information Session and Reception; San Francisco

Columbia:  Admissions Information Session and Reception; Beijing

Dartmouth:  Tuck Reception; Palo Alto

Northwestern:  Kellogg Information Session; Chicago

Thursday, September 4
Berkeley, Cornell:  The MBA Tour; Houston

Chicago:  Student-sponsored Summer Event; Mexico City, Mexico

Chicago:  GSB-sponsored Fall Event; Santiago, Chile

Columbia:  Admissions Information Session and Reception; LA

Dartmouth:  Tuck Reception, Philadelphia

Dartmouth:  Tuck Reception, Seattle

MIT:  Sloan-on-the-Road; Tokyo, Japan

Stanford:  Information Session; Lima Peru

Friday, September 5
Berkeley, Dartmouth:  QS World MBA Tour; Bogota, Columbia

Chicago:  GSB-sponsored Fall Event; Lima, Peru

Columbia:  Admissions Information Session and Reception; San Diego

Northwestern:  Kellogg Information Session; Seoul, Korea

Stanford:  Information Session; Bogota, Columbia

Saturday, September 6
Berkeley, Cornell, UCLA, Yale:  The MBA Tour; New York

Chicago:  Student-sponsored Summer Event; Bangkok, Thailand

Cornell, UCLA, Yale:  The MBA Tour; Taipei, Taiwan

MIT:  Sloan-on-the-Road; Seoul, Korea

Stanford:  Information Session; New Delhi, India

Sunday, September 7
Berkeley, Cornell, UCLA, Yale:  The MBA Tour; Washington, D.C.

Chicago:  GSB-sponsored Fall Event; Tokyo, Japan

UCLA:  AGOS MBA Workshop; Tokyo, Japan

Friday, August 29, 2008

Forté Foundation’s 2008 Forté Forums

Forté Foundation is coming to cities across the country with their annual Forum series, featuring top women business leaders sharing candid advice drawn from their own career experiences. They will be joined by admissions officers from the top MBA programs, who will answer questions and give advice about the admissions process.  The events provide ample opportunity to mingle with corporate and school representatives for one-on-one networking opportunities.

Forté Foundation is dedicated to encouraging women to pursue careers in business leadership by providing access to information, scholarships and networking opportunities. Forté is backed by 27 leading corporations, 37 top business schools in the U.S. and abroad, and The Graduate Management Admission Council® (GMAC®).

This fall, the Forum events will feature business leaders such as Aruna Singh, Vice President at Merrill Lynch & Co.; Valerie Grubb, Vice President of Operations & Initiatives at NBC Universal; Johanna McChesney, CEO of Isis Maternity; and Dana Dillon-Townes, Assistant Brand Manager at L’Oreal.

The schedule of events is as follows:

Chicago, Sept. 8th (register by Sept. 5th)
Boston, Sept. 9th (register by Sept. 5th)
Washington, DC, Sept. 10th (register by Sept. 5th)
Los Angeles, Sept. 15th (register by Sept. 12th)
San Francisco, Sept. 16th (register by Sept. 12th)
Houston, Sept. 17th (register by Sept. 12th)
Atlanta, Sept. 18th (register by Sept. 12th)
New York, Sept. 23rd (registration closed)
New York, Sept. 24th (register by Sept. 19th)
London, Oct. 7th (register by Oct. 3)

To register for any of these events or for more information, visit the Forum website.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

“Explore Wharton: Diversity in Action” Registration Now Open

Each year, the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania hosts a two-day event designed to welcome prospective students from diverse backgrounds to visit campus, meet students and learn more about the admissions process. Explore Wharton: Diversity in Action 2008 will take place on September 25th and 26th, and registration is now open.

Co-sponsored by the Wharton African American MBA Association (AAMBAA), the Wharton Hispanic American MBA Association (WHAMBAA), Wharton’s Out for Business (Out4Biz), Wharton Women in Business (WWIB) and the MBA Admissions and Financial Aid Office, the event is open to prospective women, under-represented minority and LGBT students.

A full schedule of events provides participants with opportunities to sit in on Wharton classes, hear from the admissions office staff and meet and network with current students and professors.

“For me, the best part of Explore Wharton was meeting current students because it gave me a feel for Wharton’s truly diverse community, which encompasses countless nations, work experiences and life stories,” said Reena Bajwa, a recent Wharton grad who participated in the program as a prospective student.

To learn more about the event or to register, click here.

Monday, August 25, 2008

MBA Admissions Events, August 25-31

Make sure to sign up for the MBA programs’ receptions and admissions panels ahead of time (when necessary), as spaces do fill up quickly.  You don’t want to miss these valuable opportunities to learn more about your target programs.

Here is a schedule of events for the week of August 25-31.  Enjoy!

Monday, August 25
Columbia: Admissions Information Session and Reception; Sao Paulo, Brazil

Harvard: All MBA Admissions Student-led Reception; Los Angeles

MIT: Sloan-on-the-Road; Sao Paulo, Brazil

Tuesday, August 26
Columbia: Admissions Information Session and Reception; Bangalore, India

Columbia: Admissions Information Session and Reception; Mexico City, Mexico

Harvard: HBS Reception; Mexico City, Mexico

Harvard: HBS Reception, San Francisco

Wednesday, August 27
Columbia: Admissions Information Session and Reception; Monterrey, Mexico

Columbia: Admissions Information Session and Reception; Lima, Peru

Thursday, August 28
Columbia: Admissions Information Session and Reception; Mumbai, India

Harvard: HBS Reception; Monterrey, Mexico

Chicago GSB: Student-sponsored Summer Event; Haifa, Israel

Northwestern: Kellogg Information Session; Mexico City, Mexico

Friday, August 29
Columbia: Admissions Information Session and Reception; New Delhi, India

UCLA: Anderson Information Session and Reception; Seoul, South Korea

Saturday, August 30
Babson, Berkeley, Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Harvard, Northwestern, NYU, UCLA, Wharton, Yale: MBA Fair; Monterrey, Mexico

UCLA: Information Session and Reception; Monterrey, Mexico

Monday, August 18, 2008

MBA Admissions Events, August 18-24

Last week, we began posting on the array of admissions panels, information sessions, and meet & greets that MBA applicants may take advantage of in learning more about their target schools.  We would like to follow up with a schedule of events for the week of August 18-24.

Monday, August 18
Northwestern:  Kellogg Information Session; Santiago, Chile

Tuesday, August 19
Harvard:  LGBT Student-led Reception; Los Angeles

MIT:  Sloan-on-the-Road; Miami

Northwestern:  Kellogg Information Session; Lima, Peru

Chicago GSB:  Student-sponsored Summer Event; Chicago

Wednesday, August 20
MIT:  Sloan-on-the-Road; Bogota, Colombia

Northwestern:  Student-led Event; London, England

Thursday, August 21
Columbia: Admissions Information Session and Reception; Buenos Aires, Argentina

MIT:  Sloan-on-the-Road; Santiago, Chile

MIT:  Sloan-on-the-Road; Caracas, Venezuela

Northwestern:  Kellogg Information Session; Sao Paulo, Brazil

Friday, August 22
MIT:  Sloan-on-the-Road;  Buenos Aires, Argentina

Saturday, August 23
Duke, Michigan, and Yale:  MBA Fair; Boston

Chicago GSB:  Student-sponsored Summer Event; Munich, Germany

Chicago GSB: Student-sponsored Summer Event; Hyderabad, India

Sunday, August 24
Columbia: Admissions Information Session and Reception; Bogota, Colombia

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

MBA Admissions Events, August 12-17

As the 2008-2009 MBA admissions season begins, the schools are hosting an array of admissions panels, information sessions and meet & greets across the world. These events are a great opportunity to gain insight into the individual programs and their communities as well as network with fellow students, alums and admissions officers. We’ve put together a schedule of events for the upcoming week:

Tuesday, August 12

MIT, Stanford, Harvard, Kellogg, and Wharton: Business School Admissions Panel (Penn Club Event); Atlanta

Wednesday, August 13

MIT, Stanford, Kellogg, UCLA, and Wharton: Business School Admissions Panel (Penn Club Event); Los Angeles
Wharton: Women in Business Meet & Greet; Seattle
Wharton: MBA Presentation; Toronto, Canada

Thursday, August 14

MIT, Stanford, Kellogg, Harvard, and Wharton: Business School Admissions Panel (Penn Club Event); San Francisco
Harvard: LGBT Students Presentation; Boston
Chicago GSB: Student-hosted MBA Summer Event; Cincinnati
Northwestern: Kellogg Information Session; Buenos Aires, Argentina

Friday, August 15

Wharton: Hispanic American MBA Association Meet & Greet; New York
Wharton: Hispanic American MBA Association Meet & Greet; Los Angeles

Saturday, August 16

Wharton: Women in Business Meet & Greet; Indianapolis

Sunday, August 17

Harvard: Minority Students Reception; Los Angeles

Stay tuned for more events in the upcoming weeks!

Wednesday, August 06, 2008

MBA Diversity Symposium 2008

Clear Admit is happy to announce its sponsorship of MBA Diversity’s Fourth National Symposium, which will be held in Boston on August 23-24 of this year. This non-profit organization, which focuses on promoting multiculturalism in business, organizes this yearly event to provide attendees with a central location to learn more about top b-schools, as well as scholarship, internship and career opportunities. The event will feature a series of workshops on topics ranging from proper GMAT preparation to leadership development.

To learn more about the symposium’s agenda or register to attend, visit the the MBA Diversity site.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Clear Admit’s “Early Bird” Discount!

Clear Admit is pleased to announce a discount for all applicants who sign up for our consulting services on or before July 1st!

Up until midnight next Tuesday, applicants can make purchases at a reduced rate of $200 per hour - a discount normally reserved for only those purchasing 10-hour blocks of consulting time.  For a limited time, instead of paying our full rate of $240 per hour, anyone interested in trying out our services can purchase smaller amounts at the discounted price! All transactions can be made easily through PayPal.

Contact us for a free initial assessment and more information on this great opportunity!  Just send in your resume and we’ll put you in touch with one of our counselors for a discussion about your candidacy.  Don’t miss this chance to get a free review of your background and lock in our services at last season’s lowest rate (2008-09 rates will take effect on July 2nd).

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Reminder: Clear Admit & ManhattanGMAT Host Free Info Session in Chicago on June 19th

On June 19th, ManhattanGMAT will open its Chicago Center for a free information session explaining the ins and outs of the MBA admissions process. Clear Admit’s Graham Richmond will lead the session, sharing his admissions expertise, and ManhattanGMAT instructor Keith Blume will speak to the GMAT specifically, explaining how it the test works, how business schools interpret scores, and the benefits and limits of using short-cuts and tricks.

As if that alone weren’t reason to stop by, attendees are also eligible to receive a range of gifts and prizes, including:

• A free access pass to one of ManhattanGMAT’s computer adaptive practice exams
• A chance to win a free ManhattanGMAT 9-session course (a $1390 value) or a complete set of ManhattanGMAT course books (a $270 value)
• A chance to win a set of five Clear Admit School Guides (a $175 value) or a set of five Clear Admit Interview Guides (a $100 value)
• $100 off any 9-session ManhattanGMAT preparation course
• A free hour of Clear Admit consulting time with the purchase of 10 hours of consulting time (a $200 value)

The information session will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., and drinks and appetizers will be available. This event is free to interested applicants, but advance registration is required. (Note: This link will take you to the manhattangmat.com website. If it is your first visit to the site, you will be asked to complete a short student profile.) For questions about the event, contact ManhattanGMAT at 800-576-4628 or email studentservices@manhattangmat.com.

We hope to see you there!

Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Former Tuck Admissions Officer Joins Clear Admit Staff

Today we are delighted to announce the addition of a new Admissions Counselor to the Clear Admit team. With a mix of MBA admissions and recruiting experience, Stacey Oyler is ideally prepared to guide business school applicants toward the right schools given their background and goals - and to help them get in.

Serving as assistant director of admissions at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth from 2003 to 2005, Stacey read applications, conducted interviews and participated directly in admissions decisions. She also oversaw the waitlist process and provided feedback and coaching to candidates who were not granted admission.

Beyond her perspective on what a top MBA program looks for in its students, Stacey’s view extends into what post-b-school employers want. Prior to her work at Tuck, Stacey led a regional office for a national recruiting firm and was responsible for all aspects of the business. Upon leaving Tuck, she joined McKinsey & Company, leading all West Coast recruiting efforts for advanced degree and MBA candidates.

“Oyler’s addition to the Clear Admit team further strengthens our ability to serve our clients and lead them knowledgeably through the MBA admissions process,” said Clear Admit co-founder Graham Richmond. “We are thrilled to have her on board and know that our clients will benefit from her expertise in MBA admissions as well as her in-depth understanding of strategy consulting and the recruiting process at leading firms like McKinsey.”

If you are interested in speaking with Stacey or any of our counselors about your MBA application strategy, contact Clear Admit by emailing us your resume.

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Best of Blogging Celebrity Judges 2008!

The nominees have been announced and deliberations have begun in this year’s Best of Blogging event. Complementing the perspectives of the Clear Admit staff members and bloggers who will be weighing in, we’re pleased to announce the panel of celebrity judges for the 2008 BoB ranking!

Linda Abraham: The founder of Accepted.com, Linda likely needs no introduction to those with an interest in MBA and graduate school admissions.  As a fellow blogger and b-school expert,  Linda is in a great position to weigh in on each of our nominees’ contributions to the MBA blogosphere.

Carly Chynoweth: Carly blogs about management, job hunting and what it takes to get ahead at work for The Times at timesonline.co.uk/snakesandladders. Having recently ranked the Clear Admit Blog among the top ten workplace and career-related blogs on the web, she clearly has an eye for quality content! But seriously…

Bruce DelMonico: Director of Admissions at the Yale School of Management, Bruce even does a little blogging of his own on the SOM community blog, a shared forum where students and other members of the SOM community share their experiences. We’re very pleased to have him on board this year to bring a school-side perspective to the BoBs!

Brad Garrison (a.k.a. Hella): Lending his thoughts on the BoBs for a fourth consecutive year, Brad is a veteran of the MBA blogging space. He blogged his way through his own Wharton MBA (he graduated in 2006), and continues to hosts aggregated lists of the latest posts by MBA applicant, student and alum bloggers on his site.

We’re looking forward to getting the input of our celebrity judges (and, ahem, any nominated bloggers who haven’t yet returned their ballots) and seeing how the ranking shakes out this year!  Stay tuned for the announcement next Tuesday …

Wednesday, April 09, 2008

Wiki Wednesdays: Choosing Between Offers

Welcome back to Wiki Wednesdays, our weekly look at informative contributions to the Clear Admit Wiki. With interview season coming to an end and many applicants sifting through their admissions results, we’re shifting our focus towards the School Choices page in the Wiki. This is a great resource for applicants who are now facing the fortunate, but difficult, task of deciding between offers from multiple schools.

Before diving into some debates, however, let’s take a look at which schools are opening their doors to admitted students over the next few weeks.  These ‘admit weekends’ or ‘welcome events’ are a great way to learn more about programs, meet future classmates and blow off a little steam to celebrate favorable results.  [Note: For a humorous glimpse into what makes admitted students weekends so enjoyable, see this video].  Without further ado, here is a run-down of the upcoming events:

1. Columbia GSB: April 11th, 2008
2. CMU / Tepper: April 11th-12th, 2008
3. Northwestern / Kellogg: April 18th-20th, 2008
4. Wharton: April 19th-20th, 2008
5. HBS: April 24th- 26th, 2008
6. Chicago GSB: April 25th-26th, 2008
7. Stanford GSB: April 27th-28th, 2008
8. MIT / Sloan: May 2nd-3rd, 2008

With all of the festivities at admit weekends, it may be easy to forget that tough choices are on the horizon.  This is why we’ve created the School Choices page in the Clear Admit Wiki - to allow candidates to explain their rationale for the choice they ultimately make. 

Diving in to some decision making cases, this season, blogger Tinydancer pitted Wharton against Kellogg on the School Choices page. Breaking down her criteria into categories like location, curriculum, cultural fit and school brand, among others, Tinydancer offered the following observations on the schools’ marketing curricula:

1. “Wharton: Most people I’ve talked to…believe that its marketing program is probably under-rated…Many people also told me the marketing curriculum is probably more quantitative and data-driven than at other schools, but I have no way to really substantiate this. I did sit in on a couple marketing classes and I was impressed.

1. Kellogg: Kellogg is as well known for marketing as Wharton is for finance. In marketing circles, it is widely regarded as the best. I sat in on a class here too, which was great. “Brand” (as in brand management) is one of the top careers students choose, and many companies recruit there specifically for that reason. Also, while I was there, the marketing club was in the middle of the annual marketing competition…There were advertisements everywhere, and it seemed [to be a] cool environment.”

To find out where Tinydancer decided to attend, you’ll have to read her full report.  As always, we encourage our readers to join in the conversation - whether you’re looking for others’ opinions on individual schools or just searching for a good method of breaking down this complicated decision, the School Choices page can be a great help. Further, the process of writing down pros and cons is often much more productive than spinning the wheels in one’s head, so we hope readers will take the time to share their own thoughts! Simply create an account or send your debates to wiki@clearadmit.com.

For those still interviewing or interested in sharing interviews from this season, we will be awarding a $10 iTunes gift certificate to each applicant who submits an interview report for the following schools: Berkeley / Haas, Cornell / Johnson, MI