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!

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

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.

Program 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

B-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.
knowledge@wharton
INSEAD Knowledge
Harvard Working Knowledge
Knowledge @ Emory
Columbia Ideas @ Work
knowledge@ W. P. Carey
Stanford Knowledgebase
Ross Thought in Action

MBA Programs: The Rest of the World

As there is some variety in the length of international MBA programs, we have denoted the length of the program next to its name (1 = one year; 2 = 2 years). If an MBA Program is not listed, please e-mail and we will be happy to list it.

Additional Resources

Archives

Reminder: Register Now for the MBA Tour Events in the U.S. and India

Starting in just a few days, The MBA Tour is making stops in several cities throughout the U.S. and India.  These events offer prospective MBA applicants the opportunity to meet and network with MBA program representatives, MBA alumni and other applicants.

Each MBA Tour event features MBA panel presentations, which will address pertinent admissions topics as well as answer an array of MBA applicant questions. The panelists, who are admissions representatives and other experts in the field, will discuss such topics as “How Admission Decisions Are Made” and “Financing Your MBA.” Also on the agenda for each event are individual school presentations, during which admissions representatives will spend 30-40 minutes highlighting their schools’ unique offerings. These presentations are designed to enable applicants to learn more about and compare the different programs. At the end of each event is an open fair that allows attendees to meet one-on-one with admissions representatives and alumni, in order to gather more information and have their personal questions answered. Each event also includes a free GMAT session, hosted by The Princeton Review.  » Continue reading

Register to Attend a QS World MBA Tour Event

This fall, the QS World MBA Tour is making stops in several North American cities. These events, which are scheduled throughout September and in early October, offer MBA hopefuls a chance to meet and network with admissions representatives and alumni from global business schools, as well as with other MBA applicants.

The QS World MBA Tour events provide MBA applicants with the opportunity to research business schools and learn more about the MBA admissions process. Each event features a pre-fair admissions panel, career panels with MBA recruiters and alumni, and a GMAT seminar with Kaplan. Additionally, tour attendees have the chance to participate in a sample MBA class, and receive information on MBA admissions and scholarships. Participating business schools include INSEAD, NYU Stern, Duke/Fuqua, Berkeley/Haas and more. Moreover, MBA applicants who attend one of the QS World MBA Tour events are eligible to apply for over $1.6 million in scholarships, to help finance their business school education.  » Continue reading

Free Clear Admit iPhone App Helps Prospective Applicants Manage Complex MBA Admissions Process

Clear Admit has recently launched version 2.1 of its MBA Planner, an application for the iPhone and iPod Touch designed to make it easy for prospective applicants to juggle the many moving parts that make up the MBA application process. This FREE app, available now for download at the iTunes store, features a range of organizational tools and detailed information about individual schools to help applicants save time and stay on track as they apply to multiple top-tier MBA programs.

The decision to apply to business school launches a time-intensive, complex process that involves conducting detailed research about target schools; connecting with students, alumni and admissions officials; and managing multiple deadlines, recommenders, transcripts and essays for each program on your list. The Clear Admit MBA Planner puts all of this information at an applicant’s fingertips while also providing live updates of news and developments at individual schools.  » Continue reading

USC / Marshall 2010-2011 Deadlines

USC / Marshall has just released its deadlines for the upcoming admissions season. The deadlines are as follows:

Application Deadlines
Round 1: November 1, 2010
Round 2: January 15, 2011
Round 3: March 15, 2011

Notification Dates
Round 1: February 1, 2011
Round 2: April 1, 2011
Round 3: May 15, 2011

Applicants should note that all materials must be submitted to the admissions committee by 11:59pm PST for consideration during the round.  International students and those who wish to be considered for fellowships are urged to apply by the Round . . . → Continue Reading

The MBA Tour to Host Events in the U.S. and India This September

This September, The MBA Tour is making stops in several cities throughout the U.S. and India.  These events offer prospective MBA applicants the opportunity to meet and network with MBA program representatives, MBA alumni and other applicants.

Each MBA Tour event features MBA panel presentations, which will address pertinent admissions topics as well as answer an array of MBA applicant questions. The panels are made up of admissions representatives and other experts in the field, who will discuss such topics as “How Admission Decisions Are Made” and “Financing Your MBA.” Also on the agenda for each event are individual school presentations, during which admissions representatives will spend 30-40 minutes highlighting their schools’ unique offerings. These presentations are designed to enable applicants to learn more about and compare the different programs. At the end of each event is an open fair that allows attendees to meet one-on-one with admissions representatives and alumni, in order to gather more information and have their personal questions answered. Each event also includes a free GMAT session, hosted by The Princeton Review.  » Continue reading

MBA Applicant Shares Insights on the Clear Admit Harvard Business School Guide

MBA applicant blogger “MBADreamz” recently shared with us a blog post he wrote detailing his thoughts on the Clear Admit Harvard Business School Guide. MBADreamz acquired the Harvard Business School Guide as a prize for winning Twitter Trivia, our weekly contest in which we ask our Twitter followers a question based off of our latest Trivia Tuesday blog post.

In his review, MBADreamz explains the structure of the guide, providing brief summaries of the chapters featured in the guide and sharing his reactions to them. Before diving into this concise breakdown of the sections, MBADreamz begins by declaring the School Guide “an amazing resource, no doubt.” He also speaks to the comprehensive nature of the guide when he states that the Harvard Business School Guide is “almost like an encyclopedia in one pocketbook.”  » Continue reading

GMAC Launches New Competition to Drive Innovation in Management Education

Have a great idea to improve graduate management education? It could win you $50,000. That’s right. The Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC), the nonprofit association of business schools that owns the GMAT, has kicked off a new contest designed to solicit innovative ideas for how to change management education for the better.

GMAC is inviting anyone to submit three paragraphs outlining an idea they think will improve business education, and the council plans to award a total of $250,000 in prizes to the 15 people whose ideas rise to the top, with the most promising proposal winning $50,000 in cash.

GMAC will accept entries to the Ideas to Innovation (I2I) Challenge beginning Wednesday, July 21st, and continuing through Friday, October 8th. Entries will . . . → Continue Reading

Admissions Tip: Considering the Campus

Continuing our series of admissions tips geared towards those individuals who are just beginning to think about their MBA applications, we wanted to offer some advice on factors to consider with respect to a school’s facilities and location. Whether speaking with current students or touring the campus for oneself, it’s helpful to approach these information-gathering experiences with as clear a sense of what matters to you as possible. Here are a few broad categories to consider:

1) Facilities – Are state of the art classrooms and impressive new architecture a priority for you? Would you prefer a school that is headquartered in a single building to one spread over a larger campus? What about wireless access and use of technology in teaching? . . . → Continue Reading

Women MBAs Make Less Than Male Counterparts Straight Out of Business School, Research Shows

Women make an average of $4,600 less per year in their first post-MBA jobs than men and the pay gap widens even more over time, according to research published in last month’s Harvard Business Review.

The research, by Nancy Carter and Christine Silva of Catalyst, was part of “Women in Management: Delusions of Progress,” an article in the March 2010 issue of HBR. Controlling for job level and industry as well as factors like having children or differing aspiration levels, Carter and Silva found that women trail men in every category, including job title, advancement and pay, at every career stage.

For a section in the March article, HBR caught up with Carter to discuss her findings and to better understand where . . . → Continue Reading

In the News…

MBA Graduates Targeting Micro-Finance Feared to Be ‘Micro-Donors’

Los Angeles, CA (AP) – Business schools have welcomed the recent popularity of fields like micro-finance and social entrepreneurship among their graduates.  In fact, many programs have used the popularity of these fields to improve the tarnished image that MBA graduates have in the wake of the financial crisis.  At the same time, a recent closed-door meeting among deans at several leading MBA programs focused on an unspoken concern about the rise in popularity of socially responsible business and what it means to the bottom line at their universities.  A dean that spoke with Clear Admit under the condition of anonymity had the following take on the issue: “MBA graduates who move to Africa and help . . . → Continue Reading

MIT Sloan School of Management Launches New Clean Energy Program

MIT Sloan School of Management announced yesterday that it will host an innovative clean energy workshop for senior-level executives in May. The workshop, entitled Clean Energy Ventures: Creating Innovative New Businesses through Entrepreneurial Management, will take place from May 2nd through 6th and will include interactive teaching sessions led by globally recognized experts in the field.

Through a range of sessions –  including live current case studies, visits to groundbreaking companies in the field of clean tech and reviews of best practices – participants will learn to spot and support new innovation and clean energy venture opportunities. They will also learn to leverage new technology and innovations for greatest impact.

This new workshop is just one of the most recent examples of MIT . . . → Continue Reading

Take the MBA Search Survey!

Applicants turn to the Clear Admit blog as a source of reliable information and valuable advice on the MBA admissions process.  As a member of the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants, we are conducting a survey to help us better understand our readers’ goals and needs.  We’d like to invite all of our readers to share their school selection priorities and views on the MBA application process.

This online survey should take just 10 minutes to complete.  We would love to receive as many responses as possible before the closing date of Friday, April 9th – and will be giving away an iPod Touch and two iPod Shuffles as a token of our gratitude!  We’ll also be sharing the results of . . . → Continue Reading

Admissions Tip: Extracurricular Activities

Because it’s the time of year when applicants aiming for Fall 2010 intake are just beginning to think about the admissions process, we wanted to focus today on one element of the application that candidates often underestimate: extracurricular activities.

In order to understand why this category is important, candidates should keep in mind that the adcom is responsible for crafting a dynamic class each year. The aim is to admit individuals who will support a vibrant campus community and step into leadership positions. In other words, as admissions officers consider each applicant, they ask themselves “what’s in it for our school?” An applicant who has previously demonstrated a talent for writing, for example, by contributing to a non-profit’s newsletter, will really catch . . . → Continue Reading

MBA Oath Initiative Grows as Global Organizations Lend Support

Support for a professional oath of honor for business graduates grew even more Monday when the Oath Project announced a new alliance with the United Nations Global Compact and the Principles for Responsible Management Education in support of the cause.

The initiative to establish an MBA oath similar to the Hippocratic oath doctors take before practicing medicine has been gaining steam over the past few years. Thunderbird School of Global Management adopted an oath in 2005, a group of Harvard Business School students launched a grassroots effort, MBAOath.org, in 2008, and the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders put forth a Global Business Oath at the recent annual Davos forum in January.

To coordinate these various efforts into one voice, Thunderbird President Ángel . . . → Continue Reading

MBA Applicant Reviews Clear Admit Career Guides

MBA applicant blogger ‘A Beautiful Mind’ dedicated a recent post to sharing advice on how to compile a list of target schools, and, in tandem, offered his thoughts on how the Clear Admit Career Guide to Consulting helped him.

When it comes to determining the schools that best suit your interests, A Beautiful Mind stresses the importance of first identifying which field you plan to enter post-MBA, and of then pinpointing schools that align with these goals. To help you narrow your list in this way, A Beautiful Mind suggests a particular tool: “A good resource for identifying relevant schools is a Clear Admit Career Guide . . . → Continue Reading

Aspen Center for Business Education Launches the Oath Project

Together with three other partner organizations, the Aspen Center for Business Education (CBE) has launched the Oath Project, an initiative to support the individuals and organizations that have been working to promote the concept of a business professional oath similar to the Hippocratic oath that doctors take swearing to practice medicine ethically.

Aspen CBE is a division of the Aspen Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering value-based leadership. Its partners in the Oath Project are the Association for Professional Business Managers, MBA Oath and the World Economic Forum for Young Global Leaders. Together, these four organizations have launched a website, TheOathProject.org, to communicate the initiative’s objectives and milestones.

The release from Aspen CBE announcing the new project’s launch noted that . . . → Continue Reading

AACSB International, Net Impact Partner to Encourage Donations to Haitian Relief Efforts

The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International has joined with Net Impact to encourage business school communities around the globe to contribute to relief efforts in Haiti following the devastating earthquake that took place there earlier this year.

AACSB is the main accrediting agency for business schools worldwide, and Net Impact is a global organization of MBA students and graduates committed to using business to improve the world. AACSB includes 1,200 educational institutions, businesses and other organizations, and Net Impact has chapters on more than 150 MBA and graduate school campuses.

Together, the two organizations are encouraging their members to join together and donate to relief efforts in Haiti.

“As educators and corporate citizens, we have the unique opportunity on a . . . → Continue Reading

Yale SOM Dean Shares Alumni Connection to Organization Providing Aid to Haiti

In a blog post late last week, Yale School of Management (SOM) Dean Sharon Oster spoke to the tragic situation in Haiti, which was struck by a major earthquake on Tuesday. Acknowledging that many members of the SOM community have expressed a desire to help, she shared details about an aid organization led by a Yale SOM alumnus and advisory board member.

“Many organizations are currently rushing to provide relief and assistance to people in Haiti, but one has a particular SOM connection,” Oster wrote. The organization, Mercy Corps, has significant experience responding to humanitarian crises around the globe and had last week already deployed an emergency team to Port-au-Prince, Oster continued. Mercy Corps is led by CEO Neal Keny-Guyer, . . . → Continue Reading

Admissions Tip: Understanding Background Checks

With a slew of schools releasing the last of their R1 notifications in the coming weeks, we know that many of our readers will be asking about the background checks conducted by leading programs. Here are some quick facts to help explain the process:

1) What are background checks? Background checks involve the verification of information that a candidate has provided in his or her MBA applications. Although the process varies from school to school, it usually includes checking that an applicant attended the undergraduate (or graduate) school(s) that he or she claims to have attended, received the grades indicated and earned the GMAT score reported. It also involves the verification of the candidate’s employment history, job titles, starting and ending dates . . . → Continue Reading

NYU’s Stern School of Business to Help Standard & Poor’s Develop In-House Credit Analyst Certification Program

The U.S. ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) is taking a number of steps to strengthen its ratings process in the wake of the global credit crunch and resulting stock market turmoil, including working with New York University’s Stern School of Business to develop an in-house certification program for its credit analysts, the Financial Times reported.

The new week-long program, which Stern will offer to S&P analysts in New York and London, will focus on skills such as financial statement analysis, advanced statistical analysis, valuation, derivative basics and credit scoring models, according to the FT report. It is one of 27 steps S&P is taking to strengthen its ratings process and rebuild its reputation after its methods were criticized by . . . → Continue Reading

Happy New Year!

We would like to extend our best wishes for 2010 to all of our readers. 

May the next 12 months be filled with success – be it in the admissions process, workplace, community or beyond!

We look forward to providing you with continued b-school news and admissions advice in 2010.

-The Clear . . . → Continue Reading

INSEAD Professors Release CEO Rankings

Earlier this month, professors at INSEAD released a new ranking of the world’s best-performing CEOs, with the surprising finding that many star CEOs don’t live up to their reputations. Ultimately the study raises questions about just what constitutes effective long-term leadership and whether and why the business community might place higher emphasis on reputation than performance.

To conduct the survey, INSEAD professors Morten Hansen, Herminia Ibarra and Urs Peyer created a benchmark to measure how CEOs have built value over the long term, examining CEO performance at the world’s largest companies over the executives’ entire time in office.

“The real test of a CEO’s leadership should be how the company performs over his or her tenure,’” Morten Hansen, professor of entrepreneurship and management . . . → Continue Reading