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

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CATEGORY - FRIDAYS FROM THE FRONTLINE

Friday, August 28, 2009

Fridays From The Frontline

Hi there, and welcome to Fridays From The Frontlines, Clear Admit’s continuing coverage of the copious bloggers of the MBA blogosphere. As August comes to a close, things are heating up in the applicant pool; more essays are  completed, school choices are honed and worries over recommenders grow. For those who have successfully gained entrance into b-schools, classes have either started or will be starting very soon. Summer’s relatively easy schedule is being replaced with 80 page readings and non-stop socializing. Just another week for b-school bloggers!

Steve shared an article about women in finance and explained how he defined ‘risky.’ Xlick extolled the virtues of Clear Admit’s wiki, especially in terms of interview preparation. AtypicalHBS was struggling to stay calm and collected when communicating with a tardy recommender. Illuminati listed some of his GMAT quantitative tips while recovering from a bad back. ArdentMeerkat completed the majority of her essays and decided that, as much as she liked it, Chicago Booth wasn’t a  good fit for her. Hari planned on polishing his INSEAD essays. Procrastinator modified what he planned to accomplish in terms of Round 1 applications. Rocky Balboa’s work on his Wharton essays temporarily stalled, but he wasn’t overly concerned.

McCombs ‘10 Paragon2Pieces discovered UT Austin’s Gregory Gym pool and had a good swim to ease her annoyance over a fickle car. Darden ‘10 JulyDream managed to get through the toughest part of her week and considered locations for her post-graduation life. McCombs ‘10 Metal confirmed his fall course schedule. INSEAD ‘10 OutOfMyJeans talked super heroes and identified his own version of kryptonite: waiting until the last second.

Foster ‘11 Helen remembered the first political campaign for which she worked. BU ‘11 Felish was excited about the experiences she would gain through team learning. Kellogg ‘12 Jeremy won a National Black MBA Association scholarship. Kellogg ‘11 Orlando was probably enjoying his last moments of his Hong Kong/Macau KWEST trip. Wake Forest ‘11 Omne survived his first day of official class with the help of a few donuts.

And that concludes this week’s edition of Fridays From The Frontline. It seems like summer just started a few weeks ago, but the time has flown by. Returning students have completed their internships and now look towards their post-MBA career paths while a whole new slew of applicants see each day passing with a mind fo round 1 deadlines. It’s still early, however, and Clear Admit hopes that all members of the b-school blogging community take advantage of these warm days.

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 3:10 am in Fridays from the Frontline

Friday, August 21, 2009

Fridays From The Frontline

Hi there, and welcome to another edition of Fridays From The Frontline, Clear Admit’s faithful filing of the the goings-on of the MBA blogosphere. This week was a little on the quiet side for current students. We assume that they are either overwhelmed by orientation, or soaking up the last few days of relative calm before fall courses pick back up. The pool of aspirants, on the other hand, were typing up a storm on subjects ranging from their exam preparations  to their feelings about different essay prompts.

Steve took a practice test and rewound his weekend. Xlick found that he had an inaccurate ‘bloggleganger’ (that’s a made up word for a doppleganger found in the blogosphere). Bizwiz was on his way to Glacier State Park and provided a few more beautiful photographs of his experience driving around the west coast. AJ was offered a job but wondered about the art of salary negotiation. Ardentmeerkat started her Kellogg essays and felt the pressure to get her recommendations in order.  Hari was on his sixth set of essays and provided a few book recommendations he feels are imperative to the b-school application process. OneFreshKid had about a week remaining before taking the GMAT. RockyBalboa felt that the Wharton essay topics were ’superb.’

A few returning ’second years’ posted over the last week, touching on a variety of topics. INSEAD ‘09 MBAMRS outlined a few reasons why INSEAD alumni are rockstars. McCombs ‘10 Paragon2Pieces made delicious mini lemon cheescakes.  LBS ‘10 OutOnALimb shared a few pointers on how to live like a Morlock. Darden ‘10 Mechanigal was back in the States and taken aback by the silence after a few months in India.

Incoming first-years seemed to be settling into their new school routines with enthusiasm. Kellogg ‘11 Mike recapped his first week in Evanston, which included student IDs and happy hours. BU ‘11 Felish also shared a few thoughts about her first day of school. Kellogg ‘11 Orlando recorded his guitar stylings for his readers. Kellogg ‘11 D.G. arrived in the states and found the adjustment process to be more and less difficult than he expected.  INSEAD ‘10 BSApplicant finished his scholarship essays and felt worn out.

And that’s all the news for this week’s rigorous round-up of those in the MBA blogosphere. We wish all the new b-school arrivals luck in their opening weeks of school, and hope they will continue to share their experiences for the larger applicant community! Until next week, have a great weekend!

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

Friday, August 14, 2009

Fridays From The Frontline

Hi there and welcome to the latest lackadaisical lumber through the  Fridays From the Frontlines blogroll. In our neck of the woods (the Mid-Atlantic U.S.) the past week has not been without its share of intense, often unbearable, heat. We expected similarly located bloggers to use this intense summer mugginess as an excuse for taking a break from their application responsibilities, but we clearly did not  give these intrepid MBA hopefuls enough credit.

Steve compared running a marathon to the admissions process, and kept right on running. XLick questioned how ‘under review’ his Columbia application really was. Bizwiz was back with more phenomenal photographs from his trip out west. Illuminati found studying for the GMAT was made harder by a bad back (but made no mention of the heat!). AJ shared a list of people who inspire her. Hari decided that his would be a strictly non-U.S. b-school application cycle and started his essays. Procrastinator approached his three recommenders and the outcome was positive. RockyBalboa completed his Rotman essays and began to gear up for his Fuqua application.

McCombs ‘10 Paragon2Pieces shared a link to a post that could help those struggling with their ‘why MBA’ essays. LBS ‘10 OutOnALimb was happy to learn of his school’s rank in a recent Forbes survey. HBS ‘10 HarvardBound shared her excitement over her courses for the fall and winter. Darden ‘10 JulyDream was back in Charlottesville after a last internship meal at a swanky country club in Atlanta.  McCombs Metal finally visited the Blanton Museum of Art and had good news about a business plan he had worked on.

Kellogg ‘11 Mike arrived safely in Evanston and already found his calendar filling up. BU ‘11 Felish was excited to be living alone. Kellogg ‘11 Orlando had a few insights about the Evanston/Northwestern area. Goizueta ‘11 Ahembeea only had the most positive things to say about his choice to go to Atlanta.  Kellogg ‘11 D.G. updated his to-do list and begrudgingly appreciated the prep material Kellogg has sent its incoming students. LBS ‘11 PinchTheBubble returned from a long absence with quite a lot of information to share, getting married and moving from Haifa to London just two among many.

And that wraps up this week’s reconnaisance into the MBA blogosphere. We can’t wait to read about the stories of the ever-increasing number of first-year students arriving on campus, and we are equally curious to see how all the second years fared over their internship summers. Until then, have fun and stay cool!

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

Friday, July 31, 2009

Fridays From The Frontline

Another week has flown by and it’s time again for another round of Fridays From The Frontline, Clear Admit’s weekly blog post dedicated to sharing the ups and downs of the MBA applicant and student blogosphere. Much has happened since we last checked in  with bloggers, some aspirants have made serious progress in their application process while  first-year students are beginning to arrive on their respective campuses.

The ever-growing applicant blogger pool continued to have a wide variety of thoughts and experiences worth sharing with their readers. Steve found an article about MBA compensation that he thought would be interesting to share, and posted photographs of the crazy summer weather the Northeast has been having. XLick completed his Columbia application but planned to check and re-check it for a few weeks before finally submitting it to the adcom. Bizwiz continued to travel the roads of the west coast taking many great photographs of nature. Illuminati reviewed a book written by a Stanford graduate, and compared the Manhattan GMAT practice exams to those of Kaplan or GPrep. Aj explained why she wanted to work abroad at this juncture in her life while Procrastinator outlined the pros and cons, as he saw them, of MIT Sloan. And Rocky Balboa shared some of the information he received from  helpful conversations with Fuqua and Wharton students.

Second year students were finishing up their internships and looking ahead to job searches. INSEAD ‘09 MBAMRS was not in the best of spirits and gave a few reasons for this state of mind, including a high-pitched and pink-clad supervisor at her current internship. Darden ‘10 Mechanigal was in the midst of completing the last week of her internship and was looking forward to some un-hurried time with her family before returning to Charlottesville. McCombs ‘10 Metal, after considering the Mandarin symbol for risk, took on a new freelance project. Darden ‘10 JulyDream pondered what questions she’d like to ask the CFO of the company for which she has been interning.

Kellogg ‘12 Jeremy recounted his experience at a Bain recruiting event, and the importance the recruiter gave to those with strong finance skills. BU ‘11 Felish summed up her summer in pictures. Kellogg ‘11 Orlando looked back on his college years and his time at IBM as he prepared to write goodbye emails to many of his co-workers.  Goizueta ‘11 Ahembeea recounted his first few days of International Student Orientation. Fuqua ‘11 Strange Consultant was also participating in orientation activities and commented on the significance of Facebook in getting to know his classmates. Kellogg ‘11 D.G. identified a few characteristics anyone who wants to succeed in venture capital must posess, like business acumen and people management skills. Haas ‘11 Lauren shared her last regular dessert recipe and warned her readers that her blog’s content would be decidedly b-school oriented for the foreseeable future.

And this concludes this week’s triumphant traipse through the trials and tribulations of the many individuals generous enough to share their experiences with the larger world. As the temperatures (at least in the northern hemisphere) continue to climb into August,  we hope everyone keeps their cool and remains focused on their goals. Remember, if you maintain an MBA blog and want to be included in Fridays From The Frontline, just email us at wiki@clearadmit.com!

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 3:07 am in Fridays from the Frontline

Friday, July 24, 2009

Fridays From The Frontline

Hi there and welcome to Fridays From The Frontline, Clear Admit’s masterfully mighty meander through the MBA blogosphere. The days of summer are in full swing for many, though the impending orientation programs that many of our bloggers see on the horizon may make summer feel like it’s going by faster than ever. MBA hopefuls find themselves asking questions and preparing for the intense emotions and schedules the application process demands.

Applicants were doing all sorts of things over this past week. Steve was on his way to Tennessee for a family reunion and a little down-time, but promised exciting news upon his return. XLick attended InsideMBA’s information reception,  met with a Rochester Simon representative and enjoyed the event’s crab cakes while avoiding the open bar. Rocky was discouraged by the lack of Wharton’s response to his questions about the program but planned on ‘sucking it up’ and applying any way. McCombs ‘10 Paragon2Pieces returned to Austin and participated in an MBA information session for interested parties where she  shared her opinion that b-school is not the place for recent graduates with no work experience.

Travel and travel preparation were on a number of bloggers’ minds this week. Goizueta ‘11 Ahembeea landed in Atlanta with a lot of heavy baggage and was thankful that a member from the school picked him up and made him feel a little less lost. HBS ‘11 MilitaryToBusiness, with his 10,000 pounds of belongings packed and loaded, was traveling a little heavier than Ahembeea. Haas ‘11 Lauren also was in the throes of packing and moving on up to Berkeley. Still in the application stage of his b-school path, Bizwiz camped his way through California, sharing a number of pictures from his visit to the Stanford campus. Illuminati went Zorbing and felt more confident in his ability to answer the question of ‘why MBA’.

A lot of information was being shared this week. AtypicalHBS shared a link to an article about Harvard’s increased class sizes. ArdentMeerkat took another step in the direction of her MBA goals by officially telling her boss about her intentions. Hari shared the ‘three P’s’ of his GMAT preparation. McCombs ‘10 Metal shared a little wisdom as well: chop onions, not fingers. INSEAD ‘09 MBAMRS had a few choice London lessons she wanted to give her readers. Marshall ‘10 Andrew was half-way through his internship in Milwaukee and had a number of positive things to say about the experience and city. Goizueta ‘11 MissionMBA revealed his true self.

Others were already looking back at their summers and sharing additional thoughts or insights about their time in the warmer months. Melbourne ‘10 RonJon referred to himself in the second person and shared a photograph of his new niece. HBS ‘10 Gabrielle celebrated her 25th birthday and couldn’t believe how quickly her internship, and summer, has gone by. Darden ‘10 JulyDream was in the homestretch of her internship and felt that she had made a lot of progress on a big project. Kellogg ‘11 Orlando was also in his homestretch, literally selling his home and getting geared up for the move to Evanston. Kellogg ‘11 Jeremy completed his last internship day at the Arizon Attorney General’s office. AJ asked herself what she wanted from her career and had a major hair-related breakthrough. Foster ‘11 Helen also asked herself some questions, like how to get rid of a weird smell in a washing machine. Kellogg ‘11 Mike couldn’t believe he had been unemployed for three weeks and only had 18 days before his big move from the east coast to Evanston.

And that’s the round-up for the week. As the weather gets warmer and the days dwindle we hope that incoming/returning students soak up as much relaxation as they can before the academic year really gets going. Clear Admit also continues to wish all MBA hopefuls the best in their early application stages. Until next week, this has been another amicable amble through the b-school blogosphere.

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

Friday, July 17, 2009

Fridays From The Frontline

Welcome to Fridays From The Frontline, Clear Admit’s coverage of business school bloggers’ sometimes brutal and sometimes beautiful experiences while striving towards an MBA. It’s been a week of reflections from the sometimes overwhelmed MBA applicants and students, with numerous bloggers powering through stressful preparation for their respective pieces of the MBA process.

Steve was not pleased with his own GMAT prep and strongly considered hiring a personal tutor (perhaps he’s been enjoying our GMAT Test Prep Profiles Series?). Hari, with the help of his own tutor, was taking practice LSAT exams in an effort to make the GMAT questions seem less challenging. AMBAGuy tried to keep his life from getting over saturated with GMAT/MBA-specific material. Illuminati wondered about how important the GMAT actually was and recounted the b-school search process. ArdentMeerkat sifted through her stories in preparation for writing her essays. RockyBalboa recounted his conversation with a Fuqua student and finally narrowed down his school selection. XLick worried about pushing his recommendation writer too far and confessed his plans to submit Columbia as soon as possible. AJ wasn’t worrying about his applications; he was too busy thinking about where he would be in 20 years.

While the Class of 2011 scrambles to take care of last minute matriculation details (presumably taking them away from their regular blogging duties), a couple of them offered helpful pre-MBA reflections.  Kellogg ‘11 D.G. divulged a list of to-do lists and Goizuetta ‘11 Ahembeea concluded his pre-MBA postings with a bright outlook for the future.

Current students (rising second years, that is) had a myriad of topics on their minds as well. INSEAD ‘09 MBAMrs, after a momentary funk, became determined to make Fontainbleu ‘hers.’ McCombs ‘10 Paragon2Pieces was thinking about money and men and asked her readers how long they would wait for a significant other to get their act together. Darden ‘10 Mechanigal thought about money, too, mainly that she was enjoying spending it at the Colaba Causeway shopping area of Bombay. Though fellow Darden ‘10 student, JulyDream, may have been in Vegas she kept the majority of her money in her pockets, not slot machines or poker tables. Kellogg ‘10 Orlando felt that he had found a blog that everyone with an interest in business should read.

Thanks for joining us this week on our journey through the MBA blogging community!  If you’ve just joined – or have been milling around – the blogosphere as an MBA applicant or student, send your blog address to wiki@clearadmit.com.  We’ll add you to the applicant blogger’s page of the Clear Admit Wiki and you may be featured in Fridays from the Frontline!  Happy blogging!

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 2:51 am in Fridays from the Frontline

Friday, July 10, 2009

Fridays From the Frontline

Welcome to Fridays From the Frontline, Clear Admit’s end of week post dedicated to getting to know the thoughts and lives of many b-school applicants and students. In the United States, July started with a cacophony of bangs due to  its Independence Day weekend, which was properly chock full of family, friends, fun and fireworks.

XLick thoroughly enjoyed his July Fourth four-day weekend, and went to a Long Island beach, watched fireworks over the Hudson River and sang his karaoke-heart out in Philadelphia. McCombs ‘10 Paragon2Pieces spent the majority of her holiday weekend editing a journal article. HBS ‘10 Gabrielle spent her weekend acting as Maid-of-Honor for a close friend’s nuptials in Boston. Darden ‘10 JulyDream joined 20 friends for a beach weekend in South Carolina. AMBAGuy wished America a happy birthday and shared some of his favorite GMAT prep procrastination techniques. INSEAD ‘09 MBAMrs wrote quite the stream of consciousness post about a recent trip around France while Darden ‘10 Mechanigal took a few trips to rural areas of India to learn about the residents’ buying habits.

Some bloggers were focused more on b-school matters, whether how to get in or how to make the most if it once accepted, than on the possible fireworks around them.  HBS ‘11 MilitaryToBusiness provided his perspective on the ideal set of recommendations. Rocky took the GMAT for the second time and his score improved by an impressive 50 points. LBS ‘10 OutOnALimb was quoted in a Business Week article about books b-school students read and shared a few thoughts on his high-powered internship. McCombs ‘10 Metal also had reading on his mind, and listed a few of the most influential books in his life.  Kellogg ‘11 Orlando felt glad that the trouble of what he was going to do with his house in Austin while in Evanston was finally going to be resolved. Haas ‘11 Lauren, with a lot less worry, found herself an apartment and roommates for the fall. Inspired by an earlier post by Orlando, Kellogg ‘11 D.G. shared his experiences of looking for an internship before b-school.  Kellogg ‘11 ExistentialNudge found the reality of his no longer having to go to into the office quite strange.

We hope that all of our readers and bloggers had a great first weekend in July, regardless of their nationality, and that this upcoming break  from the working life  is just as rich with activity. We can’t wait to hear more about test prep (or escape), sunny locales, good friends and adventure.  Until then, this has been another rollicking role through the MBA roster.

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 3:06 am in Fridays from the Frontline

Friday, July 03, 2009

Fridays From The Frontline

Hello and welcome to Fridays From The Frontline, Clear Admit’s persistent perusal of the MBA blogosphere. As those of us in the United States gear up for a weekend of barbeques, fireworks and a lot of red, white and blue, we thought we’d take a closer look into the lives of all those in the b-school bubble.

If applying to b-schools can be compared to a highway, many of this years applicants are still making their way up the on-ramp. Class of 2012 aspirant Xlick gave his two cents on the financial crisis while fellow hopeful Hari had a lot on his mind, from how to better his GMAT score to his planned 4th of July activities in Chicago. Travel was on some bloggers’ plates, but certainly not all.  HBS ‘10 Gabrielle apologized for the lack of b-school content before sharing photographs from her recent trip to the Capitol. McCombs ‘10 Metal decided not to travel to Miami and found that his work projects were going quite well. INSEAD ‘09 MBAMRS was staying in Fontainbleu while figuring out visa issues, but had a rather annoying visitor stay with her for a week. BU ‘11 Felish didn’t have a farewell party in her honor because  her entire department was let go on the same day. Foster ‘11 Helen had a better last day, and even sent her boss an email outlining some of the lessons she learned while on the job. In early zap news, Deepak was given the zap from the Reliance Fellowship but was going to move forward with his plans to apply to Stanford. Fuqua ‘11 ChocHeaven was one of a few bloggers who mentioned Michael Jackson’s death.

Haas ‘11 Lauren made a blueberry crumble, add some strawberries and whipped cream and you’ve got yourself a patriotic dessert for the weekend. Kellogg ‘11 D.G. shared a few of his canned responses to coworkers’ b-school questions. McCombs ‘10 Paragon2Pieces noted that freaking out is a big part of being a law student. While still an intern in Atlanta,  Darden ‘10 JulyDream was amazed by how the Darden name really counted, and had at least one lunch set up with superiors at her company as a result of invoking the school’s reputation. Kellogg ‘11 The.Grey.One bought a Macbook and didn’t regret the purchase, though he did plan on selling the iPod Touch that came with it. And, finally, HBS ‘11 MilitaryToBusiness broke down some of the information about Harvard’s incoming class.

For those of you residing in the states we hope you get your grill on and  that those of you in the midst of application prep take a breather from quantitatitively rigorous activities…unless the activity is counting how many cobs of corn you can consume in ten minutes. We hope to hear more about the travels and travails of all members of the b-school blogosphere community but, until then, Happy July 4th!

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

Friday, June 26, 2009

Fridays From The Frontline

Well, hello there and welcome to the latest news from the MBA blogsophere! Clear Admit continues to do its best to track the perspectives, opinions and activities of the wildly diverse group of b-school bloggers out there. This week current students shared insights on their internships while incoming first years continued their preparations and Class of 2012 hopefuls did all they could do to get ready for the upcoming application season.

MBA hopeful Xlick considered the draw of free pizza and a GMAT club happy hour. After a disappointing second GMAT exam, fellow aspirant Hari looked to his readers for advice. Bizwiz made himself a handy chart with all the deadlines for the application season. He wasn’t the only chart maker, Kellogg ‘11 D.G. knew where he was living and made his own pie chart that showed the breakdown of where Kellogg students end up residing. W.P. Carey ‘11 Maverick had his own Indian MBA junta and just a few more things to purchase before he would be ready for school to start. Last week Metal wrote about the relative importance (or unimportance) of anonymity, this week Goizueta ‘11 Ahembeea also weighed in on how much it mattered to remain unknown. McCombs ‘10 Paragon2Pieces knew that many were beginning to prepare for their first day of b-school and conveyed her thoughts on what a first year MBA might need to know.

While we at Clear Admit thought she had already decided, Haas ‘11 Lauren announced her intention to go to, well, Haas. LBS ‘10 OutOnALimb shared a few observations from his first few days at his summer internship. Marshall ‘10 Andrew was excited that his particular field of interest and internship focus, healthcare, was in the national spotlight.  Darden ‘10 Mechanigal, still in India, succumbed to tweeting. The recent Metro crash in D.C. was just one reason that HBS ‘10 Gabrielle started paying more attention to the news. Darden ‘10 JulyDream found herself intrigued by whether the public should think that Apple is Steve Jobs while McCombs ‘10 Metal described the Six Sigma project he is working on as an intern.

Summer has only started to get into the swing of things and already the applicant pool is heating up. As more and more schools announce their 2009-2010 essay topics and application deadlines we’re sure that even more applicant bloggers will come out of the woodwork. In the meantime the experiences of rising first- and second-years will keep those of us tracking the blogosphere satiated with tales of internship lessons and class preparation.

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 3:38 am in Fridays from the Frontline, Uncategorized

Friday, June 19, 2009

Fridays From the Frontline

Welcome back to Fridays From the Frontline, Clear Admit’s end of the week treat for those individuals interested in  following the highs and lows of those in the MBA blogosphere. More aspirants are coming out of the woodwork and letting us know how the early stages of their application prep are going, while recently admitted students and rising second years are enjoying the summer months.

Class of 2012 aspirant Xlick posted a poll to see what the average age of b-school applicants is among his readers. While age was on Xlick’s mind, Hari was focused on his upcoming GMAT exam and feeling much more confident. For incoming Kellogg ‘11 The.Grey.One, a few things fell into place: he received on-campus housing, purchased a new laptop and had a full physical. BU ‘11 Felish spoke with a friend about b-schools and recommended that he apply in the first round. Kellogg ‘11 Orlando provided links to first-hand accounts of the 2009 recruiting process on campus. Goizueta ‘11 MissionMBA, after a sweltering wait and nerve-wracking interview, successfully received his visa. Kellogg ‘11 Soni checked in after a month-long silence to share his random walk booking and to give a little advice to those planning to apply to the school’s MMM program. Haas ‘11 Lauren made delicious whoopie pies while Fuqua ‘11 Choc Heaven talked mangoes (and MBA prep).

LBS ‘10 OutOnALimb found a new band and got through his exams with the help of a well constructed cheat sheet. McCombs ‘10 Paragon2Pieces, with all her exams behind her, was still waiting for a grade from the law school. Marshall ‘10 Andrew realized that when he did math in his head, he did it in Chinese, and considered theories for the “Asian math gene”.

Darden ‘10 Mechanigal was excited for her internship-related traveling in rural India though she mentioned in the comments that she wasn’t going to have a lot of time for sightseeing. In spite of her own internship, Harvard ‘10 Gabrielle managed to squeeze some tourism, tapas and Thai into her first week in D.C. Darden ‘10 JulyDream considered the effectiveness of Darden’s brand and marketing platform. McCombs ‘10 Metal shared his  perspective on blogging and anonymity and also reflected on his first year of b-school.

Another seven days have whizzed by since our last installment and we hope they were packed with activity and progress of every stripe for each one of our readers and writers. Who knows what we will get to read about next week, perhaps more advice will come from those already accepted into schools? Or maybe a new GMAT preparation method will be shared by an aspirant? We won’t know until we know, and until then we’ll just have to wish all MBA bloggers the best of luck in all of their pursuits!

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 3:21 am in Fridays from the Frontline

Friday, June 12, 2009

Fridays From The Frontline

Hello and welcome to a brand new edition of Fridays From The Frontline, Clear Admit’s weekly dive into the the minds and hearts of MBA bloggers. As June began to find its summer footing, the MBA blogosphere was an interesting mix of cake recipes, travel, GMAT prep and financial planning.

In applicant news, Xlick jogged through the new High Line Park in New York and was bugged by the idea that, at 27, he’s an older b-school applicant. Nerdboy is an applicant no more, having recently received the good news from INSEAD. Hari and Rocky Balboa were deep into the GMAT prep process, Hari was feeling good while Rocky was back in the game after flagging for a bit. ArdentMeerkat wrote about her visits to the Darden, Harvard, MIT and Wharton campuses.

For the incoming class of 2011 there is a lot to do before they arrive on their respective campuses. Kellogg ‘11 Orlando, after doing a little budgeting, hoped that ramen and tuna wouldn’t be the main foodstuffs of his MBA days. But it’s not all business. Foster ‘11 Helen found herself already getting to know many of her future classmates through weekly happy hours. Applicants might benefit from taking a look at Goizueta ‘11 Ahembeea’s advice on what it takes to ace the GMAT. Kellogg ‘11 The.Grey.One awaited news on his housing situation and found out where he would be going on his KWEST trip. Fellow Kellogg classmate, Samantha, closed up her blog shop in a dramatic fashion. Fuqua ‘11 ChocHeaven posted a recipe for a celebratory MBA chocolate cake.

Harvard ‘10 Gabrielle had a lively first few weeks of summer, she attended a wedding and arrived in D.C. just in time for a black out and thunderstorm. LBS ‘11 OutOnALimb read an article about the mysteries of J.D. Salinger’s current writing.  After a lull in her blog production, Darden ‘10 Mechanigal was back and had a lot to say about her first year in b-school, internships and returning to India after and extended absence. Darden ‘10 JulyDream had a busy weekend in Atlanta with her visiting boyfriend. McCombs ‘10 Paragon2Pieces tagged along on a board/stockholder meeting and was glad that her MBA/JD background was coming in handy.

It’s fantastic that b-school bloggers all across the country and, in some cases, the world, continue to produce quality posts that are as entertaining as they are insightful. As the summer continues, we’re sure to read more about rising second years’ internship experiences and incoming students’  excitement and anxiety during their b-school preparations and planning. Tune in next week to see what this wonderful bunch of writers has to report!

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 3:01 am in Fridays from the Frontline

Friday, June 05, 2009

Fridays From the Frontlines

Welcome to Fridays From The Frontline, Clear Admit’s coverage of business school bloggers’ sometimes brutal and sometimes beautiful experiences while striving towards an MBA. It’s been a week of reflections from MBA applicants students and graduates across the board, with numerous bloggers passing along advice for the often stressful preparation process for a top program.

Upon re-evaluating a few rejection letters, Earlybird looked ahead and laid out his plan of attack for re-applying to MBA programs.  Sharing the same fate of missing matriculation, Chazer looked backward on and forward to the multiple tasks entailed in holding down a job and applying to an MBA program.  While 2012 MBA Applicant rolled up his sleeves with a GMAT practice test, HARI discussed taking the GMAT to the next level.  Meanwhile, Rocky Balboa is running up the art museum steps, figuratively speaking, toward his GMAT retake. Fellow MBA applicant XLick determined what he’ll be sharing in Columbia’s application and reported back on his GMAT meet-up.

With a flip of the calendar to June, Wake Forest ‘11 Omne considered what tasks will fill his days.  Having done his homework on Emory’s accommodations, Goizueta ‘11 ahamebeea expressed excitement about (finally) starting his MBA in just 8 weeks. While fellow Goizueta ‘11 MissionMBA passed along some quick tips for acing the AWA of the GMAT, Kellogg ‘11 Managing Magic explained how the MBA could help bedroom entrepreneurs.  Kellogg ‘11 Orlando also weighed in with some advice on post-MBA prep. On the lighter side of the MBA, Haas ‘11 Sunnyside Up chuckled over some unexpected treats from the University of Wisconsin School of Business.

Chicago Booth ‘10 Bschool Diva made a quick stop by the blogosphere to let everyone know she hasn’t fully disappeared – just deferred for a year.  Finally reaping the fruits of his labor, LBS ‘10 Out on a Limb shared some scenes from the London Business School Crossroads Art Exhibition, which he helped organize.  Though Darden ‘10 JulyDream was pleased with her just-released grades, she won’t be celebrating with a piece of candy.

While Darden ‘09 Anand pondered his past four years in the U.S., Chicago Booth ‘09 MaybeMBA reflected on the responsibility of blogging and the ROI of an MBA.  Though raising one’s hand in class may seem simple, it certainly doesn’t sound common, according to INSEAD ‘09 MBAMRS, who killed her cluelessness in macroeconomics simply by asking a question the old-fashioned way.

That wraps up the first week of June in the b-school blogging community!  If you’ve just joined – or have been milling around – the blogosphere as an MBA applicant or student, send your blog address to wiki@clearadmit.com.  We’ll add you to the applicant blogger’s page of the Clear Admit Wiki and you may be featured in Fridays from the Frontline!  Happy blogging!

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 3:24 am in Fridays from the Frontline

Friday, May 29, 2009

Fridays from the Frontline

Welcome to another installment of Fridays from the Frontline, in which we highlight the latest goings on in the MBA blogosphere.  It seems to have been a week of transitions – while recent grads leave the classroom for the job market, first-year students prepare to move from dorms to internships and soon-to-be-first-years move from the workforce towards the MBA campus.  The new crop of applicant bloggers (Class of 2012) are also gearing up for a few changes, taking up the writing reins and covering the early stages of MBA applications.

After a late night INSEAD information session, HARI continued his diligent MBA prep with a GMAT practice test.  Like many applicant/soon-to-be first-year bloggers this past holiday, Wake Forest ‘11 Omne enjoyed his Memorial Day weekend, but needs to hunker down with his MBA budget for the upcoming year.  While Kellogg ‘11 The.Grey.One awaits the verdict for his choices of exotic KWEST destinations, Kellogg ‘11 Orlando received unfortunate news about his stateside housing preferences for the upcoming year.  Meanwhile, MBA hopeful Helen is still in limbo with Stanford GSB and remains on the waitlist.  On the sweeter side, Fuqua ‘11 The Strange Consultant found business in his pudding cup, while Haas ‘11 Sunnyside Up recounted the pros and cons of Ghirardelli’s brownie mix and low fat vanilla ice cream – not to mention her long-awaited acceptance to Haas’s Class of 2011!  (Congratulations, Lauren!)  The Class of 2011 are indeed busy making – and living – plans for the summer, as is evident by Stanford GSB ‘11 Palo Alto for a While’s bid farewell for the coming summer months. Looking a bit further into the future, Kellogg ‘11 Managing Magic accounted for a potential Plan B in entrepreneurship and offered a detailed summary of a recent talk about the value of search funds.

A few first years were adjusting to the downshift in schedules, now that final exams have ceased. Having conquered all his finals, McCombs ‘10 Metal accounted for filling his hours now that team meetings and deadlines are in the past.  Fellow McCombs ‘10 Paragron2Pieces is making a jump into the heart of downtown Austin and looking forward to more fun times her second year.  Kellogg ‘10 La Coguette gave into the guilty pleasure of scanning the BusinessWeek forums – a former procrastination tool from her MBA applicant days – and threw in her two cents on a recent post.

In her recent return to the blogosphere, Chicago Booth ‘09 MaybeMBA shared her perspective on finding a job amidst a tight economy. While things wind down at INSEAD, congratulations are in order for INSEAD ‘09 Forest of Fontainebleau, whose team won INSEAD’s Business Venture Competition!

We can’t wait to hear more about upcoming adventures, big moves and new experiences.  If you’ve just joined – or have been milling around – the blogosphere as an MBA applicant or student, send your blog address to wiki@clearadmit.com.  We’ll add you to the applicant blogger’s page of the Clear Admit Wiki and you may be featured in Fridays from the Frontline!  Happy blogging!

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 1:31 am in Fridays from the Frontline

Friday, May 22, 2009

Fridays From The Frontline

Hello! Welcome to Fridays From The Frontline, Clear Admit’s ongoing series of posts focused on exploring the b-school blogosphere.  As exams wrap up and graduations take place, students have begun their summer internships or re-entered the workforce after two years of academia. While we may be saying goodbye to some familiar bloggers in the next few months, new applicant voices will soon emerge to fill the gap.

One new voice, 2012 MBA Guy noted that many schools have commenced with posting their application deadlines and essay questions, and outlined his application checklist for the next few weeks. Another newbie to FFF, Hari, shared how he studies for the GMAT on a budget. While aspirants start thinking about their essay topics and application strategy, members of the class of 2011 continue to prepare themselves for their transition to b-school. Kellogg ‘11 The.Grey.One struggled to choose the destination for his KWEST trip and crossed his fingers about getting on-campus housing. Fellow Kellogg classmate Samantha also found the KWEST sign up process challenging. Kellogg ‘11 D.G. wanted to go to South America for his KWEST trip and hadn’t figured out where he was going to live once in Evanston. 

For some, the b-school path continued to be uncertain. Bizwiz, waitlisted at Chicago Booth, struggled to define what was appropriate communication with the adcom and what was overkill. Ahembeea’s visa was approved on the same day that he learned that Kellogg was not going to take him off their waitlist.  IIMC ‘10 MyNameisNeo posted a lengthy entry about the different stages of MBA life. Stanford ‘11 PaloAltoForAwhile provided her tips and perspective on Stanford’s ‘Essay A’. Kellogg ‘11 Orlando summarized his first and second interviews for a BCG scholarship. Fuqua ‘11 ChocHeaven found herself with more time on her hands and looked back fondly to the era before cell phones and Google. Lauren implored readers to vote on her next dessert masterpiece.

First year MBA students were taking big breaths as their school year came to a close. Harvard ‘10 Gabrielle reflected on her first year and shared some of the highlights while her fellow classmate Rob discussed some of the things he missed out on over the course of the year. Darden ‘10 JulyDream was already in Atlanta and three days into her internship.  McCombs ‘10 Paragon2Pieces was glad the semester was over and that she was three quarters done with her combined MBA/JD studies. Melbourne ‘10 RonJon considered the differences between the public and private sectors. Kellogg ‘10 La Coguette got schooled.

Second years or,  in many cases, recent graduates, were a generally quiet bunch.  Darden ‘09 Mandy and Anand did, however, post graduation photographs on their respective blogs.

More caps and gowns will be donned before this month comes to a close and we wish all class of 2009 graduates the best of luck as they rejoin the workforce and go off to fulfill their career goals. For those of you just beginning the process, make sure to check out the many resources located within the Clear Admit blog, and let us know if you’re blogging. As always, thanks for reading and tune in next week for another edition of Fridays From The Frontline.

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

Friday, May 15, 2009

Fridays From The Frontline

Hello! Welcome to Fridays From The Frontline, Clear Admit’s  coverage of business school bloggers’ sometimes brutal and sometimes beautiful experiences while striving towards an MBA. This week many bloggers were tying up loose ends before the summer shifts into high gear.

Carey ‘11 Maverick was relieved that his visa interview went smoothly. Kellogg ‘11 D.G. was looking forward to seven weeks worth of work-to-school transition time, and planned on improving his typing and weight lifting skills. Raghunthrao described the different personality types of MBA applicants. Columbia ‘11 TienyChesney shared his travel plans for the summer and found roommates for the upcoming school year. In preparation for the changes in his life, Kellogg ‘11 Mike started a new blog. Wake Forest ‘11 Omne made some changes to the look of his blog and reminded his readers of the plight of individuals on the waitlist. Chandara participated in a breast cancer walk with women from UC Davis, networked with non-profit gurus and saw Wicked. Stanford ‘11 PaloAltoForAwhile shared a humorous list of alternative admissions essay questions. Lauren received an interview invitation from Haas and felt prepared. Fuqua ‘11 ChocHeaven found a place to live and a roommate, making her imminent arrival on Duke’s campus all the more real.

First and second year MBA students were relaxing a bit and making plans for their future. LBS ‘10 OutOnALimb and a collection of his classmates went to Scotland and laid claim to Ben Nevis. Anderson ‘10 Andrew couldn’t believe a year had passed since his own Admit Weekend, and decided to share a few things he wished he had known before he started his MBA. McCombs ‘10 Paragon2Pieces summed up her thoughts on her Analytical Methods course. Darden ‘10 JulyDream said goodbye to her Charlottesville digs and hello to her temporary Atlanta home. McCombs ‘10 Metal was looking to form a team for the school’s next MOOT Corp. competition. Kellogg ‘10 La Coguette contemplates staying at home after an MBA. Harvard ‘09 CS uploaded her last exam and was done … or was she? INSEAD ‘09 MBAMRS found herself drinking the INSEAD kool-aid.  INSEAD ‘09 The Forest of Fontainebleau is searching for jobs and scuba diving in Malaysia.

Well, that sums up this week’s news from the MBA blogosphere.  With spring wrapping up, and summer beginning to heat up, MBA bloggers are experiencing numerous changes.  We can’t wait to hear more about upcoming adventures, big moves and new experiences.

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

Friday, May 08, 2009

Fridays From The Frontline

Welcome to Clear Admit’s weekly edition of Fridays From The Frontline! As  the spring of 2009 begins to get its groove on, bloggers in the b-school blogosphere are continuing to let their voices be heard. Topics covered in this week’s round up include visa dos and don’ts, suggestions on how to get the best possible recommendation and swan riding in Boston.

Quite a few bloggers took a break  from strictly MBA-specific content and allowed us to get a look at their other interests and passions. Foster ‘11 Helen posted a movie trailer for Julie and Julia. Lauren was also focusing on the culinary, with recipes for chocolate peanutbutter ice cream and strawberry sherbert. Kellogg ‘11 The.Grey.One linked to a list of beautiful words and shared his thoughts on Time’s  100 people of 2009.  Kellogg ‘11 Mike was attempting to sell his apartment and joined a Dek hockey league. LBS ‘10 OutOnALimb wrote about a recent New York Times article on God. HBS ‘10 HarvardBound finally got to ride a swan. Darden ‘10 JulyDream attended a small gathering at the dean’s house for a meeting of the Darden bloggers and emerged as the group’s president for the next year. Darden ‘09 SquareMethod hiked to a waterfall with his wife and found merit in examining his life.

Soon-t0-be incoming students did have a few b-school related thoughts to share. Samantha made her choice to join Kellogg official by sending a deposit to the school and finding an apartment in Evanston. Bizwiz had a few thoughts about being on a waitlist and outlined his b-school plan B. Carey ‘11 Maverick provided a thorough rundown of what an Indian applicant needs to successfully get through the visa application process. LBS ‘11 PinchTheBubble also had a few thoughts on the visa process and shared his feelings about saying goodbye to his coworkers and country. Kellogg ‘11 D.G. refined his business plan. While May might bring in better weather, Ahembeaa felt the need to write an open letter to the month with a few observations and requests. Wake Forest ‘11 Omne also had a few thoughts about the month of May, and established when his official ‘last day of work’ would be (57 days and counting). Columbia ‘11 TienyChesney shared his experience at yet another CBS open house, went ‘down under’ for vacation and announced his plans to retire from the blogging biz. Goizueta ‘11 MissionMBA celebrated his position in Clear Admit’s Best of Blogging top ten. Stanford ‘11 PaloAltoForAwhile outlined her method to getting the best recommendations and felt that her b-school Facebook friends were multiplying at a dizzying rate. Darden ‘10 Mechanigal relished the freedom of Darden’s exam schedule and couldn’t believe that, for all intents and purposes, she was done with her first year. ‘10 MBABound returned from the ether for a post that summed up her first year lessons. McCombs ‘10 Metal assessed his final exams. Darden ‘10 Oren discussed the school’s recent agreement with Amazon to use Kindles for student reading. McCombs ‘10 Paragon2Pieces was thankful for her summer internship but worried about the future. Kellogg ‘10 La Coguette commented on the good and the bad of Kellogg student performances. INSEAD ‘10 MBAMrs noticed how an influx of new students from Singapore opened up her social circle and had a few goals for the new study period.

This will close out our first full week of May, we hope that it started strong for our readers, and doesn’t waiver or disappoint as the days go by. As we inch our way towards the end of the school year and the beginning of summer, we can’t wait to unearth the blogs of individuals hoping for a place in the class of 2012. If you are an MBA aspirant for the next admissions season, or a current/future student blogger,  make sure you’re included in Fridays From The Frontline and our Wiki by emailing us at: wiki@clearadmit.com. To those already part of the FFF roster, we wish you well over the course of the next week and can’t wait to hear about your thoughts and endeavors.

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

Friday, May 01, 2009

Fridays From The Frontline

Hi there and welcome to Fridays From The Frontline, Clear Admit’s weekly foray into the world of MBA applicant and student bloggers. On Tuesday we announced the winners of this years Best of Blogging competition and would like to congratulate TienyChesney and MaybeMBA for their contributions to the blogger community. We’d also like to acknowledge the great work done by all members of the b-school blogosphere. The past year’s  FFF has been chock full of interesting advice, important insight and hilarious hijinks, and it’s all a result of the quality posts every individual blogger brings to the cyber ‘table’. This week was no exception.

Many of Clear Admit’s Best of Blogging nominees and/or winners were active over the course of this past week. Kellogg ‘11, and member of the BoB applcant top three, D.G. recounted his early career journaling experiences and how thieving grannies had a hand in his blogging success. Fellow top three BoB-er, Goizueta ‘11 Ahembeea decided on five things one should do to keep busy before matriculating. Kellogg ‘11 The.Grey.One had the difficult choice of which Kellogg KWEST trip to go on, but was narrowing his choices. Ross ‘11 Raghunthrao amassed a list of useful tools one might like to have while getting their MBA. Stanford ‘11 PaloAltoForAwhile worried that the b-school mindset might lead to an influx of frenemies. Chicago Booth ‘11 Soni congratulated fellow top ten BoB-ers and linked to his best GMAT advice post.  Bizwiz was happy for the BoB nomination but was predominantly thinking about the value of figuratively falling back and regrouping. Foster ‘11 Helen gave her work notice and shared some lessons she gained from another MBA grad’s blog. In less b-school specific news,  Lauren made a salted caramel and pecan cheesecake.

With the end of the school year enticingly close, student bloggers generally seemed to be in high spirits. Darden ‘10 Mechanigal may still be looking for an internship, but the great weather and good friends gave her at least one wonderful day. HBS ‘09 Rob went hiking and made a soda pop anaology for hedge funds.  LBS ‘10 OutOnALimb also got some distance from campus during a class trip to Italy, where they visited a helicopter plant and partied in a bonafide castle. Darden ‘10 Oren found the perspective of former Mexican president Vincente Fox quite interesting.  McDonough ‘09 Hairtwirler ruminated on the influence of Winston Churchill, and didn’t mind being ‘bumped’ from the BoB top three…since she has her upcoming wedding to keep her occupied and excited. Darden ‘10 JulyDream was happy to find herself in the top three as well, but the real fun was her performance in Darden’s Follies. Students weren’t an entirely happy-go-lucky bunch… McCombs ‘10 Paragon2Pieces, was a bit underwhelmed by the change in her class schedule and INSEAD ‘10 MBAMRS considered the toll an MBA program can have on relationships.

Well, with one more hearty cheer and congratulatory hoorah to all the participants of the 2008-2009 Best of Blogging competition, we have come to the end of this week’s greatest  hits.  Today is the first day of May and many bloggers will soon be graduating, while others are just a few weeks away from  summer internships or pre-MBA travels. Whatever the future pursuit, we can’t wait to read about it this summer!

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 3:19 am in Fridays from the Frontline

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Best of Blogging 2008-2009 Results!

Clear Admit Best of Blogging 2008-2009 After weeks of preparation and blogosphere buzz, Clear Admit is very pleased to end the suspense by releasing the results of our fifth annual Best of Blogging Awards! For those not in the know, the goal of this friendly competition is to identify and celebrate bloggers who have made significant contributions to the online MBA community over the last year. The insights and experiences of each cycle, or class, of applicant or student bloggers becomes a treasure trove of information and advice for those who follow in their footsteps.

We arrived at the rankings for each category after thoroughly evaluating the eligible blogs and combining votes cast by the Clear Admit staff, nominated bloggers and celebrity judges Dawna Clarke, Director of Admissions at the Tuck School of Business, Eric Bahn of Beat The GMAT, and Brad Garrison (a.k.a. Hella). Below are the final listings of the top ten applicant and top ten student blogs overall, as well as the winners in a handful of more specific categories.

In the interest of time and ease of reading, please hold your applause until all the winners are announced …

Top 10 Applicant Blogs
1. TienyChesney – mbaveggie.blogspot.com
2. D.G. – www.managingmagic.com
3. Ahembeea – trystwithmba.wordpress.com
4. MissionMBA – missionmba.wordpress.com
5. Soni – sonismbaadventure.blogspot.com
6. PaloAltoForAwhile – paloaltoforawhile.blogspot.com
7. Choc Heaven – dreamer-choc.blogspot.com
8. Helen – lifelessordinary.typepad.com/my_weblog
9. Samantha – bestmbablogever.blogspot.com
10. OMGParisHilton – omgmbaapps.blogspot.com

Most Entertaining Applicant Blog
OMGParisHilton

Best GMAT Preparation Advice
Soni

Best School Selection Advice
Alex – pinchthebubble.blogspot.com

Best Essay Advice (tie)
MissionMBA
The Teacher – pulyanithinks.blogspot.com

Best Interview Advice (tie)
ChocHeaven & D.G.

Best Single Post by an Applicant
Ahembeea: MBA Applications – Lessons from the journey

Top Ten Student Blogs
1. MaybeMBA – tombaornot.blogspot.com
2. JulyDream – julydream.blogspot.com
3. Paragon2Pieces – paragon2pieces.blogspot.com
4. Hairtwirler – mbajamey.blogspot.com
5. Iday – i4iday.blogspot.com
6. TinyDancer – tinydancermba.blogspot.com
7. CS – www.computersexy.com/blog
8. Andrew – www.andrewmchoi.com
9. Mandy – mandylozano.blogspot.com
10. M@ – speedywithchicken.wordpress.com

Most Entertaining Student Blog
July Dream

Best Resource for Applicants
Iday

Best Job/Internship Advice
MaybeMBA

Best Representation of Academics
MaybeMBA

Best Representation of Student Life
MaybeMBA

Best Single Post by a Student
MaybeMBA had a number of posts recognized, but Farewell was particularly popular

Our congratulations go out to everyone whose blog has been recognized! We’ll be getting in touch with the top-ranked bloggers this week to iron out prize selection and distribution. Top-ranked bloggers MaybeMBA and TienyChesney will have their pick of a 16GB iPod Touch or a $300 Amazon.com gift certificate.  First and second runners up, D.G., Ahembeea, JulyDream and Paragon2Pieces can opt for a six month subscription to either the Wall Street Journal or the Financial Times. It was a close competition and we’d like express our sincere appreciation for the time and effort they’ve put into creating engaging and insightful accounts of their MBA-related experiences.

Finally, we’d like to thank this year’s stellar panel of celebrity judges who took the time to familiarize themselves with the diverse and talented pool of bloggers in the competition. Also a big hand must go to the entire MBA blogging community, nominated or not, without whom the BoB awards would not be possible. It is a pleasure and a privilege to follow the aspirations and milestones of  b-school applicants and students.  We’re looking forward to another great year of content detailing the application process and MBA experience – happy reading and writing!

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 1:00 pm in Events, Fridays from the Frontline

Friday, April 24, 2009

Fridays From The Frontline

Hello there and welcome to another Fridays From The Frontline, Clear Admit’s compilation of the most recent thoughts, feelings and actions around the MBA blogosphere. Time stops for no man, woman or blogger and we’re glad to see that b-school bloggers are perpetually up to the task of keeping up with the pesky tick tock of the world’s clock.

Applicants and those officially signed up for the class of 2011 had a variety of thoughts on their minds. Some were deciding whether to enroll in one school or hold out for another, like Helen who received an acceptance from  the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business but continued to hope for good news from Stanford. Lauren reflected on her visit to Fuqua, and her expectations of b-school then decided that Duke was not the school for her. Kellogg ‘11 The.Grey.One. provided his definition of a ‘thoughtlet’ and prepared to  join his fellow ‘piggy banks’ at the second Day at Kellogg event. The.Grey.One’s future classmate, Kellogg ‘11 D.G., wrote about the financial gamble he is taking by getting his MBA and why he feels it is risky and why he feels it is worth it.  Ahembeea thought that his new found ability to arbitrarily articulate himself would come in handy during his b-school experience. IIMB ‘11 MBADreamer was in his second week of school and already had four tests under his academic belt. Kellogg ‘11 Mike found himself a place to live in Chicago and thanked Clear Admit for his BoB nomination. Goizueta ‘11 MissionMBA shared his quick tips on how to build one’s b-school application profile. Stanford ‘11 PaloAltoForAwhile was inspired by Clear Admit’s BoB nomination and MissionMBA’s recent tips post and began to organize her own step-by-step process for applying to b-school. Wake Forest ‘09 Omne went to the school’’s Red Carpet Weekend and enjoyed sitting in on a class, participating in a team-building exercise, which included putting together a bike blindfolded, and an evening of wine tasting.  ISB ‘11 The Teacher started school on the 11th of April, but went to a few good vacation locations before his return to the classroom. Ameya struggled to balance future work commitments with his continued hope of getting off of Darden’s waitlist. ChocHeaven posted her thoughts on, and pictures of, her recent trip to Ghana.

Turning to current MBA students in the blogosphere, LBS ‘10 OutOnALimb provided bullet points to summarize his activities since his last blog post and declared his passionate love of Japan and illustrated this adoration with photographs of his recent trip to the country. Marshall ‘10 Andrew was gearing up for his summer internship in Milwaukee and was already excited for all the Net Impact events he was going to organize next fall. Darden ‘10 Mechanigal gave a number of examples from her own life that embodied the greast nature of the  school’s community. Though Darden ‘10 JulyDream’s international expectations changed from when she was an applicant, she still planned on spending a quarter of her second year in Sweden. McCombs ‘10 Metal found himself struggling with his second quarter, saying it  was less a “cakewalk” and more an “uphill climb with a sack of bricks to carry”. McCombs ‘10 Paragon2Pieces cemented her schedule for next year and started counting down her last year. Darden ‘10 Oren briefly summarized Darden’s bidding process and the philosophy behind having students choose all the second year courses while still in their first year. LBS ‘10 The Ruminator expressed his opinion over a recent student club election controversy.

Harvard ‘09 CS considered her BoB nomination a birthday gift and provided a humorous rundown of some of the ways her blog gets readers. Darden ‘09 Mandy attended one of the best weddings ever and had the tan to prove it. Chicago Booth ‘09 GSBSutras shared his thoughts on internships in India. Ross ‘10 gltnfrpnsmt, feeling the glow of his own BoB nomination, outlined some of the pros and cons of his first year at Ross. Ross ‘09 M@ posted more in the last week than he has in months, touching on the weakest link in the Ross experience to a googlechat with JulyDream.

We were very glad to see increased BoB excitement throughout the b-school blogger ranks and we are just as impatient as the nominees to see who comes out on top! The BoB winners will be revealed on Tuesday the 28th, but we’ll have to wait until that following Friday to see how the news ripples through the blogger community. We continue to wish all nominees the best of luck (and remind them to get their ballots back to us as soon as possible)!

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 3:09 am in Events, Fridays from the Frontline

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Best of Blogging Ballot Reminder!

April 28th, the day we officially announce the winners of our the 2009 Best of Blogging competition, is rapidly approaching! Over the past weeks we’ve enjoyed the steady flow of ballots that have been returned to us. Though it would be improper of us to discuss the current leaders in any category, there certainly are a few frontrunners in the the student and applicant pools. Will they be able to hold on to their leads as more ballots return to us?! Time will tell. To those of you who have returned your ballots, Clear Admit thanks you … and to those nominees with outstanding ballots, make sure you make your voice heard!

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# posted by Clear Admit @ 3:06 pm in Events, Fridays from the Frontline

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