Admissions directors at top programs concur, stressing that applicants should strive to be honest, clear and self-reflective without becoming too self-promotional. “Humility is the magic word, and it is a quality that is not diametrically opposed to confidence,” Dee Leopold, director of admissions at Harvard Business School, told Forbes. Applicants should certainly share their achievements, she continues, but in a way that is honest and clear.

At Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB), Assistant Dean of MBA Admissions Derrick Bolton advises prospective applicants to write their applications as though they were writing for themselves and not going to turn them in. “You don’t need to lie to yourself. Self-reflection allows you to think about the things that bring meaning to you, and the knowledge and experience you need to aspire to be the person you want to become,” he said. Acknowledging that it can be easy for applicants to slip into boastfulness when worrying about setting themselves apart from others, he encourages them to concentrate instead on telling who they are. “The GSB will be able to discern and judge merit based on the accurate telling of your story,” he told Forbes.

While some think that schools like Harvard and Stanford are actually seeing aggressive, hyper-confident students, that’s not actually true, Richmond cautions. “While a certain amount of self-confidence, charisma and character are clearly assets to any MBA applicant,” he explains, “it’s never a good idea to go overboard, as this will not translate to admissions success.”

For the complete Forbes article, click here.

Whether you’re seeking guidance on polishing your resume, submitting an application in Round 2, practicing for an admissions interview or considering what MBA programs are the strongest in your area of interest, Clear Admit has a guide for you!  To supplement the school-specific information found across our suite of publications and the strategic guidance offered in our Strategy Series and Interview Guides, watch all nine sessions of this MBA admissions course narrated by seasoned Clear Admit consultants.  Over the course of the video series, you’ll learn everything from how to market yourself in your applications and write effective essays to preparing for admissions interviews and making a final decision about where to attend.

To take advantage of this offer, visit the Clear Admit Shop and purchase four guides from our School Guide, Interview Guide, School Selection Guide and Strategy Series lines.  All four guides must be purchased in the same transaction.  While you’re welcome to download our free guides, they do not count towards the four publications that must be purchased.  Within one business day of your guide order being filled, a member of the Clear Admit team will send a discount code for the video course to the email used to purchase the guides.  It’s that easy!  To receive free access to “Navigating the MBA Admissions Process,” which is currently retailing for $99, you must make your purchase in the Clear Admit Shop by December 1, 2011 at 11:59pm EST.

Please note that if you make your purchase during the Thanksgiving holiday (Thursday, November 24 – Sunday, November 27), you may not receive the email with the discount code until Monday, November 28.

Prospective applicants to Chicago Booth, Columbia, Harvard, INSEAD, Kellogg, Stanford and Wharton need to look no further for a comprehensive, at your fingertips resource that is helpful at all stages of the MBA admissions process.  Whether you are just beginning to research target schools, crafting application essays, preparing for an admissions interview or making a final decision about where you attend, the Clear Admit MBA Guide Apps are a valuable and time-saving resource.

Each of the seven MBA Guide Apps includes 30+ pages of objective information covering student demographics, academics, special programs, student life, career services, admission and financial aid among other things.  The convenient “Notes” feature allows you to record your thoughts as you peruse each page of the guide.

If you’re an MBA applicant who wants the benefits of the Clear Admit School Guides with the convince of being able to read them anywhere, the School Guide Apps are for you!

Visit the iTunes Store today to download the MBA Guide Apps for the iPad and iPhone!

From MBA admissions to horse racing and horse welfare may seem a strange jump, but not if you know Brown. While working as the senior associate director of admissions at Wharton, and later as an admissions counselor here at Clear Admit, Brown was waking before the sun to put in several hours every week at a track in Maryland galloping horses before heading into the office in Philadelphia. In fact, Brown came to the United States 20 years ago from his native United Kingdom as a horse racer. His MBA – at the University of Delaware – and subsequent work in MBA admissions and as an internet marketing professor – were initially all mere sidelines to galloping horses.

Through his involvement with horses, Brown watched Kentucky Derby-winning racehorse Barbaro train for the Preakness and saw his catastrophic injury – a broken leg as he approached the first turn during the 2006 race. Brown, who had begun a blog about Barbaro’s preparations for the Preakness, www.alexbrownracing.com, continued it after the injury, mounting what would ultimately become a crusade for improved horse welfare after Barbaro’s subsequent death.

Through the course of chronicling Barbaro’s life, Brown conducted more than 100 interviews with individuals central to the racehorse’s captivating story. Brown has spent the past two years weaving these interviews, along with analysis and spectacular photographs, into his new book, Greatness and Goodness, which Knoweldge@Wharton’s Mukul Pandya made the subject of a recent video interview featured on YouTube.

In the interview, Pandya explores with Brown the genesis of the book and what made Barbaro such an inspiring figure to so many. He also delves into the deeper issues of horse welfare, including the need to find a cure for laminitis, the disease that ultimately killed Barbaro. Finally, he talks with Brown about his other areas of expertise, namely internet marketing and social media, which he has harnessed to help grow the audience for his book.

Not at all unlike the admissions committees at the world’s top business schools, Clear Admit seeks well-rounded candidates with diverse interests to serve on our staff. Who better to help prospective business school applicants convey to schools their own multi-faceted personalities and unique offerings? We congratulate Alex Brown for following his passion for horses through his recent book project. At the same time, we feel fortunate that he continues to lend us his expertise in the arena of MBA admissions.

To view the recent Knowledge@Wharton interview with Brown, click here. For a link to Brown’s book, Greatness . . . → Continue Reading]]> Knowledge@Wharton, the online business journal of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, recently featured a video interview with Clear Admit admissions advisor Alex Brown discussing his new book, Greatness and Goodness: Barbaro and His Legacy. Brown worked for more than seven years in admissions at Wharton before joining the Clear Admit team. In 2006, he turned his energies toward raising awareness of horse welfare issues, though he continues to serve as an advisor to Clear Admit.

From MBA admissions to horse racing and horse welfare may seem a strange jump, but not if you know Brown. While working as the senior associate director of admissions at Wharton, and later as an admissions counselor here at Clear Admit, Brown was waking before the sun to put in several hours every week at a track in Maryland galloping horses before heading into the office in Philadelphia. In fact, Brown came to the United States 20 years ago from his native United Kingdom as a horse racer. His MBA – at the University of Delaware – and subsequent work in MBA admissions and as an internet marketing professor – were initially all mere sidelines to galloping horses.

Through his involvement with horses, Brown watched Kentucky Derby-winning racehorse Barbaro train for the Preakness and saw his catastrophic injury – a broken leg as he approached the first turn during the 2006 race. Brown, who had begun a blog about Barbaro’s preparations for the Preakness, www.alexbrownracing.com, continued it after the injury, mounting what would ultimately become a crusade for improved horse welfare after Barbaro’s subsequent death.

Through the course of chronicling Barbaro’s life, Brown conducted more than 100 interviews with individuals central to the racehorse’s captivating story. Brown has spent the past two years weaving these interviews, along with analysis and spectacular photographs, into his new book, Greatness and Goodness, which Knoweldge@Wharton’s Mukul Pandya made the subject of a recent video interview featured on YouTube.

In the interview, Pandya explores with Brown the genesis of the book and what made Barbaro such an inspiring figure to so many. He also delves into the deeper issues of horse welfare, including the need to find a cure for laminitis, the disease that ultimately killed Barbaro. Finally, he talks with Brown about his other areas of expertise, namely internet marketing and social media, which he has harnessed to help grow the audience for his book.

Not at all unlike the admissions committees at the world’s top business schools, Clear Admit seeks well-rounded candidates with diverse interests to serve on our staff. Who better to help prospective business school applicants convey to schools their own multi-faceted personalities and unique offerings? We congratulate Alex Brown for following his passion for horses through his recent book project. At the same time, we feel fortunate that he continues to lend us his expertise in the arena of MBA admissions.

To view the recent Knowledge@Wharton interview with Brown, click here. For a link to Brown’s book, Greatness and Goodness: Barbaro and His Legacy, on Amazon, click here. And to learn more about Alex Brown’s work on behalf of horse welfare, visit www.alexbrownracing.com.

The conference, which will take place June 22nd through 24th, brings together graduate management admission professionals of all levels working in admissions, marketing and MBA program management to share successes and best practices in the field of MBA admissions and to look at their own programs from different perspectives. Session topics range from the future of the MBA in Asia to implementing a social media plan at the graduate management admissions level.

The session that Richmond will moderate, “What AIGAC Research Can Tell You about Outstanding Applicants,” will include a presentation of survey data gathered by AIGAC designed to uncover the mindset of applicants to leading MBA programs around the globe. What factors drive their decisions about where and when to apply, what messages from schools resonate most and how applicants prefer to receive their information all will be covered.

Richmond helped found AIGAC in 2006 to establish and promote a standard of excellence among consultants serving graduate school applicants worldwide. AIGAC members pledge to uphold the highest ethical practices in graduate admissions advising as outlined by AIGAC’s official Principles of Good Practice. The organization has helped the MBA admissions community recognize the legitimate and valuable role admissions consultants play in the MBA admissions process and helped establish and maintain a recognized and respected level of ethics throughout the graduate admissions consultant field.

Panelists for the session Richmond will moderate include Dawna Clarke, director of admissions at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College; Kara Regan, senior manager of recruitment and admissions at the London School of Business, and Cheryl Slover-Linnett, managing partner of Slover Linett Strategies Inc., a research firm for cultural and educational institutions.

For more on the upcoming GMAC conference, click here.

Boston, MA (Reuters) – While many pundits and political scientists have labeled social media services like Facebook and Twitter as key enablers in promoting democratic change in Egypt, one of the world’s most prestigious business schools has recently issued a press release offering a different take on the matter.  The release, which comes from Harvard Business School, indicates that a group of HBS students from the Class of 2011 spent their Christmas break on a field project in Cairo, and that this trip sowed the seeds of democratic change in the country.  While limited details on the nature of the project were given, sources within the university claim that this small cadre of students shipped thousands of copies of books like Capitalism and Freedom and The Coming of Managerial Capitalism for distribution among Egyptian citizens just weeks before the gatherings began taking place in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.  Harvard Business School Publishing promised that a forthcoming case study will provide further details.

ETS Unveils New Strategy (and Name) for Graduate Record Exam

Princeton, NJ (Knight-Ridder) – ETS, the makers of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), have announced a new approach with regards to their marketing and administration of the test.  Starting on June 1st, 2011, the GRE will be renamed the Graduate Masters Admissions Test Two (GMATT).  While ETS claims that this change is designed to reflect the broad applicability of their exam and it’s wholly redesigned approach, senior leadership at rival test provider GMAC (makers of the Graduate Management Admissions Test – the GMAT) are crying foul.  GMAC’s David Wilson offered the following: “We’ve filed a cease and desist letter with our counsel that calls for ETS to abandon their use of  the new exam’s name”, Wilson said.  “ETS is merely taking a cheap shot to gain traction in the MBA applicant market  and are still smarting from their loss of the contract to produce our exam.”  Officials at ETS could not be reached for comment.

Background Checks Conducted by Admissions Offices To Include Social Media Sites Like Facebook

Palo Alto, CA (Bloomberg) – In a somewhat controversial move, leading graduate business schools like Stanford, Columbia and Kellogg are including Facebook, mySpace and Twitter profiles in their routine background checks of admitted applicants.  The schools, working in conjunction with Kroll Background Screening, have determined that data mined from applicant accounts with social media outlets can offer valuable  insight into one’s readiness to join the MBA community.  Leading MBA programs will explore photos, status postings and group memberships that candidates include in their social media profiles.  Clayton Davis, a student planning to matriculate at Kellogg, expressed his concern: “On Facebook, my username is ‘Mr. Destruktor’ because that’s the handle I use in the online role-playing games I play.  Now I’m concerned that this could seem inappropriate to the team-friendly Kellogg community.”

Wharton Leadership Trek Gets Lost

Repula, Nepal (AP) – A group of lost hikers has been found safe . . . → Continue Reading]]> Harvard Business School Takes Credit for Egyptian Revolution

Boston, MA (Reuters) – While many pundits and political scientists have labeled social media services like Facebook and Twitter as key enablers in promoting democratic change in Egypt, one of the world’s most prestigious business schools has recently issued a press release offering a different take on the matter.  The release, which comes from Harvard Business School, indicates that a group of HBS students from the Class of 2011 spent their Christmas break on a field project in Cairo, and that this trip sowed the seeds of democratic change in the country.  While limited details on the nature of the project were given, sources within the university claim that this small cadre of students shipped thousands of copies of books like Capitalism and Freedom and The Coming of Managerial Capitalism for distribution among Egyptian citizens just weeks before the gatherings began taking place in Cairo’s Tahrir Square.  Harvard Business School Publishing promised that a forthcoming case study will provide further details.

ETS Unveils New Strategy (and Name) for Graduate Record Exam

Princeton, NJ (Knight-Ridder) – ETS, the makers of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), have announced a new approach with regards to their marketing and administration of the test.  Starting on June 1st, 2011, the GRE will be renamed the Graduate Masters Admissions Test Two (GMATT).  While ETS claims that this change is designed to reflect the broad applicability of their exam and it’s wholly redesigned approach, senior leadership at rival test provider GMAC (makers of the Graduate Management Admissions Test – the GMAT) are crying foul.  GMAC’s David Wilson offered the following: “We’ve filed a cease and desist letter with our counsel that calls for ETS to abandon their use of  the new exam’s name”, Wilson said.  “ETS is merely taking a cheap shot to gain traction in the MBA applicant market  and are still smarting from their loss of the contract to produce our exam.”  Officials at ETS could not be reached for comment.

Background Checks Conducted by Admissions Offices To Include Social Media Sites Like Facebook

Palo Alto, CA (Bloomberg) – In a somewhat controversial move, leading graduate business schools like Stanford, Columbia and Kellogg are including Facebook, mySpace and Twitter profiles in their routine background checks of admitted applicants.  The schools, working in conjunction with Kroll Background Screening, have determined that data mined from applicant accounts with social media outlets can offer valuable  insight into one’s readiness to join the MBA community.  Leading MBA programs will explore photos, status postings and group memberships that candidates include in their social media profiles.  Clayton Davis, a student planning to matriculate at Kellogg, expressed his concern: “On Facebook, my username is ‘Mr. Destruktor’ because that’s the handle I use in the online role-playing games I play.  Now I’m concerned that this could seem inappropriate to the team-friendly Kellogg community.”

Wharton Leadership Trek Gets Lost

Repula, Nepal (AP) – A group of lost hikers has been found safe and sound just south of Repula, Nepal after search and rescue crews used night vision equipment. The group, comprised of faculty and students from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, began their walk towards Mt. Everest base camp nearly 10 days ago but had come off the trail a few days into their trek.  The search for the group began on Tuesday night with a Kathmandu-based rescue helicopter was mobilized to help.  Trek organizer, Michael Useem (Director of Wharton’s Center for Leadership) offered the following thoughts on this harrowing experience: “I’m incredibly relieved that the entire group has made it through this ordeal.  I must admit that I am also somewhat embarrassed, as a professor of leadership I should have done a better job guiding the team towards our destination.”

Happy April Fools’!

The Clear Admit Team

(for more April Fools’ fun: 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004)

“In the 21st century, NYU is evolving from being, in the words of its founder, Albert Gallatin, ‘in and of the city’ to being ‘in and of the world,’” NYU President John Sexton said in a statement. “New York and Shanghai enjoy a natural affinity as world capitals; as vibrant, ambitious, and forward-looking centers of commerce and culture; as magnets for people of talent,” he continued.  The school expects the new Shanghai campus to draw student talent from around the world, with up to half of the students from China itself.

NYU Shanghai, like NYU New York and NYU Abu Dhabi, will be a degree-granting portal campus – part of a “global network university” the school has set out to establish – an organic integrated system in which faculty and students can move easily to follow their studies. Classes will be taught in English.

The admissions process will be highly selective, the first in China to consider a broader set of admissions criteria than the GaoKao national higher education entrance examination. The school will provide a comprehensive liberal arts curriculum, and students will be able to spend as many as three semesters studying in New York or one of NYU’s sites around the world. In time, NYU Shanghai will also offer programs in economics and social sciences, mathematics, biological sciences, philosophy, art history, cinematic and performing arts, and professional studies including business and law.

NYU Shanghai will be funded through a combination of government support, tuition and charitable contributions, and NYU partners in Shanghai will be the Shanghai Municipal Education Commission, Pudong New Area and East China Normal University (ECNU). ECNU will provide guidance on educational issues within China, but because NYU has independent status as part of the deal, it has the discretion to determine “all academic matters,” including curriculum, faculty and the selection of students.

“As we did in Abu Dhabi, here in Shanghai we have found visionary partners, and our joint effort to create NYU Shanghai emerges out of a common belief in the indispensible value of higher education and in the special opportunities that can be created when the world’s greatest cities join forces,” Sexton said. “This will be a great university and a great partnership.”

For more on NYU Shanghai, click here.

Knowledge@Wharton High School (KWHS) (http://kwhs.wharton.upenn.edu) features articles, videos, podcasts, interviews with high school students, a dictionary of business terms and even an interactive stock market/portfolio management game. There is also a Teachers’ Room where high school teachers can share lesson plans and other teaching resources with one another. Content will be completely free, although users will be required to register.

“We developed KWHS for teenagers seeking to learn more about business in a user-friendly web environment,” Robbie Shell, managing director of Knowledge@Wharton, said in a statement. “The idea is to show students that no matter what they are interested in, an understanding of business, markets and the economy is necessary if they want to succeed.”

The high school journal launched in both English and Spanish, and it will eventually have Chinese, Arabic and Portuguese editions like the other publications in the K@W network. 

“With Knowledge@Wharton High School, we have the chance to increase economic and career opportunities around the world as we fill a gap in business knowledge at the high school level,” Wharton management professor Mauro Guillen, director of the Lauder Institute, said in a statement. With more than 21 million students between the ages of 15 and 19 in the United States and approximately 600 million worldwide, Wharton sees a large potential audience for its newest K@W journal.

To learn more about KWHS, click here.

Our survey should take about 10 minutes to complete. Please complete the survey by Wednesday, March 30th. For completing the survey, you may enter to win an iPod Touch or one of two new iPod Shuffles.  We’ll also be sharing the results of the survey this spring to help candidates better understand the nature of today’s applicant pool.

To begin, simply click here.

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 Wednesday, March 30th – 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 the survey this spring to help candidates better understand the nature of today’s applicant pool.

Thanks in advance for your participation!

To begin the survey, simply click here.