APPLICANT RESOURCES

Admissions Director Q&A (New!) Below are links to Clear Admit's exclusive admissions director Q&A sessions.
Dawna Clarke (Tuck)
Rose Martinelli (Chicago)
Judith Hodara (Wharton)
Sarah Neher (Darden)
Soojin Kwon Koh (Michigan)
Randall Sawyer (Cornell)
Beth Flye (Kellogg)
David Simpson (LBS)
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Mae Jennifer Shores (UCLA)

Clear Admit School Guides
Eighteen titles available! Understand how the leading programs compare and learn more about the MBA experience in and beyond the classroom through Clear Admit School Guides. As featured in the Economist.

Clear Admit Interview Guides
Be as prepared as possible for your MBA interviews this season with the Clear Admit Interview Guides! School-specific sample questions and in-depth strategy, campus visit details and places to stay.

Essay Topic Analysis
Below are links to our comments on some of the top programs' essay topics.
The Career Goals Essay*
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Columbia*
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Harvard*
IESE*
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 '08-'09 commentary

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

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Admissions Tip: Navigating MBA Admissions Interviews

Now that the first of many schools’ deadlines have come and gone, we’ve reached the point in the admissions season at which many applicants’ thoughts turn to interviews.  As a number of our readers enter into the often agonizing invitation wait period, we thought we’d comment on some simple steps to make sure you’re as prepared as possible when the good news comes.

1. Familiarize yourself with the interview process at your target programs. Will you want to get started making contacts at the school to fill a day on campus (and generate some great interview fodder), or do your programs of choice rely on local alumni to conduct their interviews?  Should you be practicing a walk-through of your background for an interviewer with no knowledge of your candidacy, or brainstorming new examples to share with an adcom member who’s already read your essays?  Building your knowledge of each school’s interview type and style will ensure that the time you spend reflecting and preparing is well spent.  The Clear Admit Interview Guides are a great way to answer the above questions and many others, offering an overview of each school’s interview process, a list of questions commonly asked by that program, a sample account, campus visit information (if applicable) and detailed school-specific strategic guidance.   We’ve just added the Darden School of Business at UVA and the Anderson School of Management at UCLA to our catalog of Clear Admit Interview Guides today, for a total of eighteen titles.

2. Polish your resume. No matter where you’ve applied, there’s one thing that you’ll need for your interview at virtually any school: a one-page resume.  The post-submission weeks are the perfect time to revisit your resume and make sure that it presents a representative overview of your candidacy that a ready of any background could easily understand.  Even if you have uploaded your resume as a part of the application, most schools allow applicants to present a revised version at the interview itself (this is particularly true for blind or alumni-based interviews).  For guidance in tailoring your resume to address the unique interests and backgrounds of MBA admissions committees, check out the Clear Admit Resume Guide.  With illustrative examples and detailed explanations, the Resume Guide will teach you how to present your qualifications and experiences to your best advantage, in terms of both content and presentation.

3. Build upon your understanding of each of the schools you’ve targeted. Of course, as is the case with one’s application essays, it’s not enough to wow the adcom with your professional and personal credentials and accomplishments; it’s also necessary to demonstrate deep knowledge of each school’s offerings and strengths to convince the interviewer that your interest in the school is well informed and that  you are poised to make a valuable contribution to the campus community.  Brushing up on the details of your target programs’ curricula, following breaking news from the schools, and thinking through how you would get involved and make a difference inside and outside of the classroom will certainly be fruitful interview preparation.  The Clear Admit School Guides, available for eighteen leading MBA programs, gather all the information you’ll need to understand the ins and outs of each school’s academic program and determine what sets your target program apart from its peers.

All Clear Admit Guides are available for purchase and immediate download from the Clear Admit shop.  Discounts are available for School Guide/Resume Guide combos, and for three or more of one kind of Guide.

We wish the best of luck to everyone waiting for word from their R1 schools … happy interviewing!

Tuesday, September 02, 2008

INSEAD School Guide Released!

We are pleased to announce the release of the Clear Admit School Guide to INSEAD!

After receiving countless requests, the Clear Admit School Guide to INSEAD now joins the already-existing INSEAD Interview Guide. Like all of our School Guide titles, the INSEAD Guide provides in-depth information on the school’s academics, student demographics and special programs while placing this information in the context of offerings at peer schools. Beyond primary source research and comparative analysis, the Clear Admit School Guide to INSEAD follows our tradition of incorporating information gleaned from numerous interviews with students and alumni.  It is sure to be a useful tool whether you are evaluating the school as a potential destination, preparing your application essays or heading for an admissions interview and in need of an in-depth review of life at INSEAD.

The Clear Admit publications team would like to extend our sincere thanks to the INSEAD staff and alumni for helping us bring the guide to fruition!

The Clear Admit School Guide to INSEAD is now available for purchase in our online shop. While there, don’t forget to check out our 17 other School Guide titles, Interview Guides and Resume Guide.

Monday, August 25, 2008

Clear Admit Guides Provide Critical Competitive Edge amid Brewing “Perfect Storm” for MBA Applicants

PHILADELPHIA (Business Wire/EON) — MBA applications are on track to reach record levels this admissions season due to a collision of demographic and economic factors. As a result, b-school hopefuls are facing a more competitive landscape than ever, especially those seeking admission to the top schools.

To help applicants navigate this “perfect storm” and prepare the strongest applications possible, Clear Admit has just released the Clear Admit Resume Guide. This 17-page document – filled with step-by-step instructions, illustrative examples and two full resume templates – teaches applicants how to create a masterful resume that provides an effective overview of their candidacy, distilling major accomplishments to a single page while providing a full and compelling picture of their strengths and background.

“The resume is a key component of any business school application, yet many applicants fail to tailor this document to the admissions process. Our guide has been forged from Clear Admit’s wealth of experience advising MBA applicants and our team members’ direct experience in admissions roles at programs like Wharton, Tuck and Columbia,” says Graham Richmond, Clear Admit’s Co-founder and CEO.

The Resume Guide is just the latest addition to Clear Admit’s growing arsenal of resources for the well-prepared MBA applicant. Also fresh off the presses are the 2008-09 Clear Admit School Guides. Updated each year, the acclaimed School Guides provide applicants with an in-depth understanding of each school’s culture and offerings, crucial in identifying a good fit and producing polished essays.

Admissions directors at the schools themselves offer praise for the Guides: “Clear Admit does an excellent job in helping prospective applicants learn about individual schools through the School Guides, providing great information about specific programs in the context of how they compare to other schools on similar metrics,” says Rosemaria Martinelli, Associate Dean of Student Recruitment and Admissions at the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business.

David Simpson, Associate Director of MBA Marketing & Admissions at London Business School adds: “By bringing together student opinion, official statistics and original research, the LBS School Guide offers an authentic snapshot of life in our program. The cross-school analysis presented in the guide is invaluable for candidates who are looking to go beyond rankings and understand the nuances of leading programs.”

Available Clear Admit School Guides include Harvard Business School, Chicago GSB, Stanford GSB, Kellogg, London Business School, Wharton and eleven other leading programs. All titles can be purchased and downloaded from the company’s online shop, at www.clearadmit.com/guides.

View this release at Forbes.com

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Clear Admit School Guides 2008-2009: Columbia, Harvard, Kellogg, NYU Stern, Stanford and Wharton

We’re pleased to announce the release of the 2008-2009 versions of six of our 17 Clear Admit School Guides, our line of informative reports about the top business schools. For those who might be unfamiliar, the School Guides offer in-depth information on all elements of the student experience at a leading MBA program, and compare the schools side-by-side in areas such as student demographics, curricular structure and employment statistics. In the Guides, we distill the MBA programs’ marketing messages and delve into the facts to deliver an objective and comprehensive overview of what each school offers and what makes each unique.

We’ve received a great deal of positive feedback from applicants about the usefulness of the School Guides. Here’s one bit of praise that illustrates the mileage one can get out of the information the School Guides provide:

The Clear Admit School Guides have been a great help throughout the application process. I first referred to them when selecting the schools to which I wanted to apply, and have kept referring back to them while writing my essays and preparing for interviews. They have helped make a sometimes overwhelming process easier with their clear and concise summaries and analysis on the top MBA programs.

The 2008-2009 versions of six of our School Guide titles - Columbia, Harvard, Kellogg, NYU Stern, Stanford and Wharton - feature the most current information from the programs, and offer some insight into year-by-year trends. More information about the Guides’ contents and order information is available in the School Guides section of our website.

We plan to re-release the remaining 11 School Guides (Anderson, Chicago, Darden, Fuqua, Haas, Johnson, LBS, MIT Sloan, Ross, Tuck and Yale) over the course of this summer, so stay tuned to the blog for more details!

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

London Business School Clear Admit School Guide and Interview Guide Released!

After much research and writing, we are pleased to announce the release of the Clear Admit School Guide and Clear Admit Interview Guide to London Business School!

Like all of our School Guide titles, the Clear Admit School Guide to London Business School is packed with information on the school’s academics, student demographics, special programs, campus life, career resources, admissions & financial aid, and much more. Of course, we’ve also put all of this data in context, showing how LBS compares to both its U.S. and European peers. Whether a current applicant preparing for an interview, an R4 applicant beginning essays, or an early bird candidate deciding whether to apply, the Clear Admit School Guide to LBS will give you the in-depth information you need to impress your interviewer, improve your essays, or narrow your list of target schools.

Meanwhile, the Clear Admit Interview Guide to London Business School provides applicants with the school-specific strategy, sample questions, and firsthand interview accounts you need to ace your alumni interview. In addition, the Interview Guide includes an analysis of how the LBS MBA Admissions team weighs the interview and detailed information on planning a visit to the school’s campus.

Be sure to check out the new London Business School publications and the many other Clear Admit School Guides & Clear Admit Interview Guides in our online shop!

Thursday, January 31, 2008

More Praise for Clear Admit Publications!

While the b-school blogosphere and discussion boards are quite understandably abuzz with talk of recent R1 results and freshly submitted R2 applications, we’ve also spotted a few nice comments about the Clear Admit School Guides and Clear Admit Interview Guides that we wanted to highlight.

First, MBA blogger B-School Bound, who was admitted to Harvard, Stanford, Wharton and Kellogg this season, attributes his interview preparedness to the Guides in an acknowledgment-style entry:

ClearAdmit’s school guides prepared me for interviews — specifically, they helped me locate very specific questions about each school that I could ask at the end, so that it was obvious that I had done my research.

We’re happy we could help! Meanwhile, another Clear Admit Guides customer had some great things to say on the BW forum:

I highly recommend reading the Clear Admit School and Interview guide. You can buy both for a discount on their site. The School guide is good for brushing up on the program, classes, clubs, school strengths, etc, — whereas the interview guide explains their typical interview, with questions other candidates have been asked. I suggest preparing answers in advance to the questions in the guide, that way you won’t be caught off guard by anything your interviewer asks.

Thanks to all the School Guide and Interview Guide supporters who are spreading the word! To see what all the fuss is about, visit the Publications section of our site, or browse the list of available titles. Happy reading and researching!

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Future Could Hold a Surge in Business School Applications

The fate of business school graduates and applicants – far more so than that of their counterparts in medical school, law school or any number of Ph.D. programs – is inextricably linked to the state of the economy. Given current turbulent economic conditions, business school students are looking with an anxious eye toward job opportunities come graduation time, and prospective applicants are trying to decide whether heading to business school now is a wise choice.

Last week, Darden’s Dean Robert Bruner advised prospective students not to let today’s economic uncertainty dissuade them from pursuing an MBA, saying that he believes that a business school education will benefit prospective job applicants regardless of the ultimate outcome of the current crisis.

In fact, business school application volumes often run counter to economic downturns – surging in times of trouble. According to a recent article in the Financial Times, several factors contribute to this trend. First, many applicants try to time the start of their MBA course with a downturn, hoping to emerge from their program as the pendulum swings up again. Second, as job markets tighten, the advantage of an MBA becomes ever clearer. Finally, for those who lose their jobs or have a hard time finding a job, business school provides a good place to hide out while strengthening future employment opportunities and earning power.

But given the increasingly global market of business education, this simple inverse relationship is growing ever more complex. The FT article cites a study by economists Plutarchos Sakellaris and Antonio Splimbergo that had interesting findings with regard to the relationship between business cycles and demand for higher education.

Specifically, the study – which looked mainly at foreign students heading to U.S. schools – found that the relative wealth of the students’ country of origin had significant bearing on enrollment. Students from wealthier countries upheld the countercyclical trend – with MBA applications surging as economies turned south. But in growing economies, the pursuit of higher education tracked parallel to the state of the market. In times of plenty, students sought out the greater advantages promised by an advanced degree, while in tighter times, the cost of higher education proved prohibitive.

The study, entitled “Business Cycles and Investment in Human Capital: International Evidence on Higher Education,” was conducted in 1999, but its findings could have particular significant in today’s financial climate. According to the FT, business schools could be looking at a “win-win” situation. Applications from students in wealthier nations can be expected to rise even if the dreaded word that begins with an ‘r’ proves unavoidable. But at the same time, applicants from growing economies could also swell. (China’s GDP increased by more than 11 percent in 2007, the fastest rate in 13 years…)

Of course, good news for business schools means more competition for prospective applicants. Top-notch essays and interviews could become even more critical in the months ahead. Don’t miss our Clear Admit School Guides and Interview Guides: great resources to help you stand out from the masses.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Clear Admit Interview Guides!

With Round One interviews in full swing, we wanted to share the details of an exciting new resource for applicants: Clear Admit Interview Guides!

The Clear Admit Interview Guides are designed to provide school-specific insight and strategic advice to help applicants ace their admissions interviews. Based on our years of MBA admissions experience and our work with hundreds of applicants to the leading programs, each Clear Admit Interview Guide contains the information candidates need for a successful interview, including:

- School-specific strategy
- Analysis of how the adcom weighs the interview
- First-hand interview accounts
- Detailed information on planning a campus visit
- Dozens of sample questions consistently asked by that particular program

Plus, every Clear Admit Interview Guide includes our General Interview Preparation Guide, a rich source of advice on how to be successful in the MBA interview process. In the past, only Clear Admit’s clients had access to the institutional knowledge and expert insight contained in the Interview Guides; we are pleased to make this strategic advice available to the wider MBA applicant pool.

Currently Clear Admit Interview Guides are available for Columbia, Harvard, Kellogg, Tuck and Wharton, with more schools to be added throughout the admissions season. The Interview Guides are a great complement to the detailed information on academic resources, student culture, and social and professional opportunities available in the Clear Admit School Guides - together these Guides help interviewees demonstrate their fit with an MBA program while showcasing the strength of their candidacy. Check out the full list of available Guides here!

Monday, October 29, 2007

Clear Admit School Guides Featured by MBAPodcaster as a Key Resource for Candidates

A recent episode of MBAPodcaster features information on selected resources for MBA candidates as they navigate the admissions process at leading programs.  In order to select a group of resources to highlight, the team at MBAPodcaster looked at many offerings in the space, ranging from MBA fairs and foundations to discussion forums and publications.  We are pleased to report that the Clear Admit School Guides were featured in the podcast as a key source of information that applicants can tap into throughout the application process!

Clear Admit co-founder Graham Richmond was interviewed by MBAPodcaster’s Janet Nakano for the episode.  Nakano and Richmond discuss the four stages of the application process in which candidates find the Clear Admit School Guides helpful:

1) When thinking about business school and trying to assemble a list of target programs.

2) When looking for school-specific details to bring essays to life.

3) When seeking an executive summary/refresher on a school while preparing for an interview.

4) When deciding which program to attend.

We’re thrilled that the team at MBAPodcaster have recognized Clear Admit for our work on the School Guides project.  The entire podcast, which also features resources such as the MBA Tour, the Princeton Review and the Forte Foundation, can be downloaded for free at MBAPodcaster.com.  It is also available via iTunes.  The podcast is approximately half an hour long, with the Clear Admit School Guides feature beginning at the 18:53 mark.  Happy listening!

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Feedback on Clear Admit School Guides

As many of our readers are drafting essays and beginning to think about admissions interviews, we wanted to share some relevant feedback that we’ve received on the Clear Admit School Guides.  This quote just came to us via email from an applicant who recently purchased the Clear Admit School Guide to Tuck in advance of an on-campus interview:

“Please convey my thanks to the person who authored the Tuck Clear Admit Guide. It helped me ace my interview. My interviewer was very impressed with my detailed knowledge of Tuck. It clearly made a world of difference to my interview effort.”

This comment is very much in keeping with the feedback we’ve received since the launch of the School Guides project.  Clear Admit School Guide readers have consistently found that the publications are an excellent resource at all stages of the admissions process. As another reader puts it:

“The Clear Admit guides were a great help throughout the application process. I first referred to them when selecting the schools to which I wanted to apply and kept referring back to them when writing my essays and preparing for interviews. They helped make a sometimes overwhelming process easier with their clear and concise summaries and analysis on the top MBA programs.”

Thanks to our readers for the positive feedback.  Our publications team truly appreciates it! 

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

New Clear Admit School Guides! (And Trivia Tuesday Answers)

After months of research, writing and anticipation, we are very pleased to announce the release of eight new Clear Admit School Guide titles!

In last week’s edition of Trivia Tuesday, we offered a few bits of information about each of the MBA programs covered in the new School Guides. While we know our super b-school-savvy readers have already figured out the answers, let’s review the teasers - and the new additions to the School Guides catalogue!

1) This west coast school was founded in 1935 and sends one of the highest percentages of graduates into the media and entertainment industry.
A: The Anderson School of Management at UCLA

2) Students at this business school take classes on an “early week” or “late week” schedule, with “R-days” throughout the semester for recruiting, reading and rest.
A: The Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia

3) Located in a small city in the southern U.S., this business schools enrolls one of the highest percentages of international students of any of the leading MBA programs and sends over 1 in 10 graduates to full-time positions overseas.
A: The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University

4) Just miles from the Silicon Valley region of California, this school offers five Certificate programs, including popular programs in Entrepreneurship and Management of Technology.
A: The Haas School of Business at UC Berkeley

5) This northeastern MBA program makes its home in Sage Hall, a registered historic landmark that was completely gutted and refinished in 1998.
A: The Johnson School of Cornell University

6) Students at this midwestern school spend one-quarter of their first year engaged in a formal consulting project.
A: The Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan

7) Located in a global financial center, this school sends more graduates into investment banking than most business schools send into all financial services fields combined.
A: The Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University

After a complete overhaul of the first-year curriculum in 2006-2007, this school is one of the only leading MBA programs to require an international study experience for graduation.
A: The Yale School of Management

After receiving innumerable inquiries about guides to these schools (from our readers as well as school officials), we are pleased to announce that all eight of these titles are now available for purchase!  Newcomers might want to learn more about the School Guides on our site, while existing School Guides fans might like to proceed directly to the Clear Admit shop.  Happy reading and researching!

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Trivia Tuesday: School Matching Challenge

Welcome to another edition of Trivia Tuesday, our regular examination of the distinguishing characteristics of the leading MBA programs. This week we are breaking with our usual format to offer a bit of a ‘triva challenge’ to our readers as we test everyone’s knowledge on a number of leading business schools.  We’re doing this celebrate the fact that we’ll be launching eight exciting new publications in the next few weeks…

Without further ado, here is the Trivia Tuesday challenge: Some interesting trivia facts about eight U.S. business schools are below, but we haven’t named the programs. Test how well you know your business schools by seeing if you can identify which school each fact describes. The answers will be revealed in a future blog entry!

1) This west coast school was founded in 1935 and sends one of the highest percentages of graduates into the media and entertainment industry.

2) Students at this business school take classes on an “early week” or “late week” schedule, with “R-days” throughout the semester for recruiting, reading and rest.

3) Located in a small city in the southern U.S., this business schools enrolls one of the highest percentages of international students of any of the leading MBA programs and sends over 1 in 10 graduates to full-time positions overseas.

4) Just miles from the Silicon Valley region of California, this school offers five Certificate programs, including popular programs in Entrepreneurship and Management of Technology.

5) This northeastern MBA program makes its home in Sage Hall, a registered historic landmark that was completely gutted and refinished in 1998.

6) Students at this midwestern school spend one-quarter of their first year engaged in a formal consulting project.

7) Located in a global financial center, this school sends more graduates into investment banking than most business schools send into all financial services fields combined.

After a complete overhaul of the first-year curriculum in 2006-2007, this school is one of the only leading MBA programs to require an international study experience for graduation.

These facts are all pulled from a set of soon-to-be-published Clear Admit School Guides, so if you don’t know the answers now, stay tuned to this blog for information on the upcoming release!

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Clear Admit School Guides 2007-2008!

We’re pleased to announce the release of the 2007-2008 versions of the Clear Admit School Guides, our line of informative reports about the top business schools. For those who might be unfamiliar, the School Guides offer in-depth information on all elements of the student experience at a leading MBA program, and compare the schools side-by-side in areas like student demographics, curricular structure and employment statistics. In the Guides, we distill the MBA programs’ marketing messages and delve into the facts to deliver an objective and comprehensive overview of what each school offers and what makes each unique.

We’ve received a great deal of positive feedback from applicants about the usefulness of the School Guides. Here’s one bit of praise that illustrates the mileage one can get out of the information the School Guides provide:

The Clear Admit School Guides have been a great help throughout the application process. I first referred to them when selecting the schools to which I wanted to apply, and have kept referring back to them while writing my essays and preparing for interviews. They have helped make a sometimes overwhelming process easier with their clear and concise summaries and analysis on the top MBA programs.

The 2007-2008 versions of our existing School Guide titles - Chicago, Columbia, Harvard, Kellogg, MIT, Stanford, Tuck and Wharton - feature the most current information from the programs, and offer some insight into year-by-year trends. More information about the Guides’ contents and order information is available in the School Guides section of our website.

We’re also happy to say that due to the tremendous popularity of the eight available Guides and the innumerable requests we’ve received for coverage of other schools, we’ve been hard at work this spring and will be significantly expanding our catalog with additional titles at the end of the summer. Stay tuned for more details in the next few months!

Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Trivia Tuesday: Pre-Interview Review

Welcome to another edition of Trivia Tuesday!

With Round Two interview invitations going out, we would like to highlight an important component of interview success: an applicant’s ability to convey enthusiasm for and fit with the target school. The best way to convey this fit is through an in-depth understanding of the school’s culture and of the ways in which you could gain from and contribute to the program as a student.

With this in mind, we offer a round-up of previous Trivia Tuesday entries - the distinguishing details presented in these columns are a great starting point for gaining the in-depth knowledge needed to ace the interview!

Structure of the Class: Breaking Down Harvard’s 900, Teamwork at Wharton and Tuck, Kellogg’s Teams

Course Selection: Choosing Electives - The Auction System (features Chicago, Columbia and Kellogg with a focus on MIT and Wharton), Elective Selection at Harvard, Stanford and Tuck, Cross-Checking Cross Registration (Chicago, Harvard, Wharton), MBA Majors and Concentrations (Chicago, Columbia, Wharton)

International and Exchange Programs: Student Exchange Programs (Columbia, Haas, Harvard), Studying Abroad (but not for long) (Chicago, Columbia, Harvard, Tuck, Wharton), Wharton’s International Volunteer Program

Special Academic Programs: Chicago’s Campuses, Pre-Term Programs (Chicago, Tuck and Wharton), Tuck’s First Year Project, MIT Sloan’s Independent Activities Period, Wharton’s Lauder Institute

Other Program Features: Loan Forgiveness Programs (Kellogg, Stanford, Wharton), Tuck’s Honor Code

Together with the detailed, school-specific information available in the Clear Admit School Guides, these columns can help applicants brush up on the distinctive elements of their target programs in preparation for a great interview.

Tuesday, January 23, 2007

Trivia Tuesday: Loan Forgiveness Programs

Welcome to another edition of Trivia Tuesday, a weekly column that examines the opportunities and resources available to students at the leading MBA programs.

The high cost of attending a full-time MBA program means that graduates often carry significant educational debt. Although repayment is generally not an issue for students going into high-paying jobs in the private sector, repayment can be difficult for those who choose public or non-profit sector employment.

Recognizing the need for experienced, well-trained managers in the public and non-profit sectors, many business schools have created loan repayment assistance programs for graduates going into these fields. Today we’ll highlight some of the assistance available.

Since 2002, Wharton students who make a commitment to engaging in non-profit or public-sector careers after graduation may apply for the John M. Bendheim Loan Forgiveness for Public Service program. The program provides up to $10,000 a year of loan forgiveness for up to five years after graduation. Recipients must re-apply annually for the grant and provide a biannual update of their activities. At Kellogg, alumni are eligible to receive assistance through the Collins Family Loan Assistance Program for up to ten years, but must reapply for the award each year. Precise award amounts are dependent upon the graduate’s own salary, immediate family resources and loan payment obligations.

Meanwhile, the Stanford GSB offers two separate loan assistance programs. The first is the Non-profit/Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program, which provides selected alumni with an average of $4000 a year towards their loan payments. Graduates can apply for the program at any point in their careers, as long as they are employed in public service and still making loan payments. Globally, the GSB International Loan Forgiveness Program supports recent graduates who are non-U.S. citizens and are working for organizations in developing countries. Now in its pilot year, the program offers selected students up to $7,500 a year for up to three years following graduation.

For students interested in applying their MBA skills to public service work, loan assistance programs may be a valuable source of financial support post-MBA. Applicants would do well to inquire about the availability of loan assistance prorgrams at their target schools, as well as the regulations governing such awards. More detailed information on the loan programs at these and other MBA programs may be found through the schools’ websites or in the Financial Aid section of the Clear Admit School Guides. Happy researching!

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Trivia Tuesday: Wharton’s Lauder Institute

Welcome back to Trivia Tuesday, a weekly look at the programs and resources that differentiate the leading business schools. This week we will explore Wharton’s Lauder Program, examining what it is, what completion of the program entails, and what kind of student should consider applying.

Upon completion of 24 months of study, Wharton/Lauder students receive a joint MBA/MA in International Studies. Lauder participants begin classes three months earlier than students in the traditional MBA program, completing one month of intensive language study and a two-month study abroad/in-country immersion program before beginning Wharton classes in September. Once MBA classes begin, Wharton/Lauder students lead an especially busy life, since they must complete Wharton’s full core curriculum and course requirements alongside the Lauder M.A.’s language, elective and thesis requirements.

To apply to the program, prospective students must complete two additional essay questions and demonstrate near-fluent language proficiency in Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, French, German, Russian, Portuguese or Spanish. Because of the language proficiency requirement, the Lauder program is only appropriate for students who have already developed strong foreign language competencies (although in some cases - with the Arabic and Portuguese tracks - the program is more flexible in terms of offering spaces to more novice speakers). Once enrolled, the curriculum is tailored to MBA students who seek to develop the capacity to conduct high-level business in another language, whether in the U.S. or abroad.

Though demanding, the Wharton/Lauder joint degree program is an excellent way for students to prepare for global business leadership, integrating language and in-country immersion into the MBA experience. For more information on the Wharton/Lauder joint degree program, be sure to visit the Lauder Institute website, read our recent blog update on the program, or check out the detailed application information in the Clear Admit School Guide to Wharton!

Tuesday, January 09, 2007

Trivia Tuesday: MIT Sloan’s Independent Activities Period

Welcome to another edition of Trivia Tuesday, where we examine differences in the programs, resources, and opportunities offered by the leading business schools.

While other MBA students are home resting up for the second half of the school year, students at MIT Sloan are using the winter break to explore new topics and make new connections on campus.

Every winter break at MIT, students, faculty, staff and alumni across the Institute are able to use the special four-week January term to organize or participate in a wide range of activities. Included as part of tuition, the Independent Activities Period, or IAP, offerings typically include how-to sessions, lectures, tours, recitals, athletic events, forums and films. Since members of the MIT community are responsible for proposing and organizing IAP events, the available activities change depending on the interests of the MIT campus at large.

Because the IAP is open to all members of the MIT community, the month-long session gives Sloan students an opportunity to form connections with students and faculty outside of the business school. This kind of extended opportunity for campus-wide interaction is unique to MIT Sloan among the leading business schools. These connections may help create many of the business/science partnerships that underlie MIT Sloan’s reputation as a center for the commercialization of new technologies.

For more information on the options MBA students have during the January break, be sure to visit the schools’ websites or check out the special programs featured in the Clear Admit School Guides!

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Trivia Tuesday: Elective Selection at Harvard, Stanford and Tuck

Welcome to the new year and new edition of Trivia Tuesday, a weekly column in which we examine the contrasting policies and procedures that impact the student experience at the leading business schools. Last week we discussed the auction-style course selection system used by many MBA programs to manage class enrollment. This week we’ll look at the very different systems used by Harvard, Stanford and Tuck.

Harvard’s course registration for second year students takes place during April of the first year and is done through a computerized assignment system. Each student submits a ranked list of up to 30 elective courses (though 15-20 is the norm) to the Course Services department. These lists are then entered into a computer program that allocates ten courses to each student based on student preference and classroom capacity. Of course, career objectives and course preferences sometimes shift over the summer, so spaces in over-enrolled classes may open up in the fall. Second-year students receive their tentative EC schedules in mid-August and after a several day add/drop period at the beginning of fall term, Harvard students finalize their schedules in early September.

Stanford employs a preference ranking model similar to H