Posted by Clear Admit on March 28, 2011, at 1:00 pm
Posted in:  Admissions Tips , Events , Interview: London Business School , School: IE , School: IESE , School: IMD , School: London Business School , School: MIT / Sloan , School: USC / Marshall , School: Virginia / Darden , School: Yale The Economist this week will host an exclusive online MBA event connecting selected MBA candidates with admissions officers, current students and professors from some of the world’s top MBA programs.
The Economist MBA Circle will take place on March 29th and 30th, featuring webinars and videos about the MBA admissions process, chat sessions on student life and special programs and the opportunity for participants to meet online with admissions officers, current students and alumni. » Continue reading
Posted by Clear Admit on February 1, 2011, at 1:00 pm
Posted in: Rankings , School: Chicago , School: Columbia , School: Harvard , School: IE , School: IESE , School: London Business School , School: MIT / Sloan , School: Penn / Wharton , School: Stanford The Financial Times this week released its 13th annual MBA rankings, and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania returned to the top spot, sharing it this year with London Business School (LBS). Harvard Business School (HBS) completed the top three.
Last year, LBS beat out Wharton to hold the number one spot by itself, breaking the Philadelphia school’s nine-year reign as number one, either jointly or on its own. According to the FT report, Wharton’s return to number one this year was aided by the fact that alumni earnings data showed a strong rebound from the year before, when salaries dropped following the economic downturn. Last year’s graduates also had an easier time finding jobs than graduates from the year before. » Continue reading
Posted by Clear Admit on December 28, 2010, at 1:00 pm
Posted in: MBA News , School: IESE As the latest effort in its ongoing Africa Initiative program, Spain’s IESE Business School has helped establish a new business school in the Ivory Coast, the school reported last week. With support from IESE, the Ivory Coast school formerly known as the IHE-Afrique (Institut de Hautes Etudes-Afrique) has been renamed MDE, for Management Développement d’Entreprise, and is now positioned as one of the country’s leading business schools.
In its former incarnation, the West African institution has offered executive education courses since 2004. Now, through partnership with IESE and Lagos Business School, MDE will offer West Africa’s first advanced management program. » Continue reading
Posted by Clear Admit on August 30, 2010, at 3:00 am
Posted in: Admissions Tips , Events , School: Berkeley / Haas , School: Chicago , School: Columbia , School: Dartmouth / Tuck , School: Duke / Fuqua , School: Harvard , School: IESE , School: IMD , School: INSEAD , School: London Business School , School: Michigan / Ross , School: MIT / Sloan , School: Northwestern / Kellogg , School: NYU Stern , School: Penn / Wharton , School: Stanford , School: UCLA / Anderson , School: UNC / Kenan Flagler , School: Virginia / Darden , School: Yale For all those applicants who have recently opened a calendar to plot out the next few months only to realize they can’t possibly fit in campus visits on top of full time jobs and essay writing, never fear! It’s true that traveling to a school’s campus is the ideal way to learn about their MBA program, but visiting is often not a viable option for applicants who are located remotely or unsure of their level of interest in a given school. The good news is that business schools might very well come to them. Many b-schools are getting ready to hit the road and embark on worldwide tours to dispense information and recruit qualified applicants. Such events offer a great opportunity for interested students to meet with admissions staff (and sometimes with current students and/or alumni), learn about the program and ask specific questions.
Some of the top schools are already on the road, so we recommend looking into the travel schedules for programs of interest and planning accordingly. Keeping in mind that these schedules are updated and amended throughout the fall, here are some of the top programs’ itineraries for the months ahead: » Continue reading
Posted by Clear Admit on July 21, 2010, at 2:07 pm
Posted in: Deadlines , School: IESE The IESE deadlines for the 2010-2011 admissions season have been released. The six rounds are as follows:
Round 1
Deadline: October 25, 2010
Notification: December 17, 2010
Round 2
Deadline: December 7, 2010
Notification: February 18, 2011
Round 3
Deadline: January 17, 2011
Notification: March 18, 2011
Round 4
Deadline: February 28, 2011
Notification: April 15, 2011
Round 5
Deadline: April 11, 2011
Notification: June 3, 2011
Round 6
Deadline: June 6, 2011
Notification: June 30, 2011
All applicants should note that Rounds 4, 5 and 6 are provisional and may change. Non-EU citizens are encouraged to apply by Round 5. For more information, make sure to visit the program’s website.
Posted by Clear Admit on April 29, 2010, at 2:51 pm
Posted in: EMBA , School: Harvard , School: IESE , School: IMD , School: INSEAD , School: Penn / Wharton Business schools throughout Europe have felt the impact of Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano eruption as its ash has interrupted the flight plans of students travelling to and from executive MBA (EMBA) programs from France to Switzerland to the United Kingdom, the Financial Times reports.
Last week, France’s INSEAD had to cancel two short enrollment programs because not enough participants were able to make it, according to the FT report. “The worst thing for us is students that don’t show up,” INSEAD Dean Miklos Sarvary told the paper with an eye on his bottom line. But because most of those managers will participate in a future version of the program, Sarvary believes the school’s revenues will only be affected in the short term.
Ash from the Icelandic volcano also prevented international participants from reaching EMBA programs at IMD in Switzerland, according to the FT report. About 10 percent of students – most from Japan and the U.K. – failed to make it for last week’s programs, IMD Dean of External Relations Sean Meeham told the FT. Most have signed up for a later program, though, Meeham added.
Other business schools, such as the U.K.’s Ashridge, also reported decreased student numbers as well as “misplaced” faculty – professors who were stuck in one place when they were needed in another. “I have faculty in Dubai, Geneva, Istanbul . . .,” Kai Peters, Ashridge chief executive, told the FT. “I have a customized program beginning in Brazil, but the faculty can’t get there, and open enrollment programs are running in the U.K. but the students can’t get here,” he said. Student numbers at the school were down 30 percent last week and 10 percent for the month, he continued.
In Spain, where airports mostly remained open, business schools were less affected, the FT reported. IESE in Barcelona did not cancel any programs, although a customized program for Banco Santander was missing participants from the U.K. who couldn’t get there.
U.S. business schools also have faced fewer problems. At Harvard Business School, faculty was unaffected and only a small number of executive students failed to make it for EMBA programs. Likewise at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in Philadelphia, EMBA programs continued as scheduled, with about a dozen students unable to make it. Wharton did, though, postpone three week-long custom programs in Europe because of the air traffic restrictions, Jason Wingard, vice dean for executive education, told the FT.
For more on this story, click here.
The Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) hosted its first online MBA fair earlier this month, featuring virtual booths from 24 MBA and master programs from around the world as well as informative “expert sessions” and networking opportunities for prospective MBA applicants. Clear Admit’s Graham Richmond led an expert session on the MBA admissions process, offering valuable admissions tips, for free, to prospective business school applicants.
Called the GMATCH MBA and Masters Virtual Fair, the online MBA fair was organized by GMAC, the organization that owns the GMAT entrance exam. It was designed to provide prospective applicants in locations around the world direct personal contact with admissions staff at leading MBA programs via chat and webcam. The live online event took place on April 7th, but interested prospective applicants can still register and access an archive of all event materials, as well as interact with schools and fellow applicants, through May 7th.
GMAC invited Clear Admit’s Graham Richmond to lead a virtual session on the MBA admissions process as part of a series of expert presentations housed in the GMATCH virtual auditorium. His presentation, “Application Strategies that Maximize Your ‘Admissions Equation,’” is available for free through May 7th to anyone who registers with GMATCH. It features a 30-minute video of Richmond sharing admissions tips and fielding questions from prospective applicants, as well as an accompanying slide deck covering major points. Some of the subjects he addresses include what schools look for in applications, how various components of an application are weighed relative to one another and how candidates can proactively address any weaknesses in their applications.
“Very useful!” wrote online participant Mariana Ferreira Lopes of Richmond’s presentation. “I guess I clarified nearly all my major doubts. The tips on how to address our weaknesses were great,” she continued. Another participant, Abdurrahman Al-Qahtani, also noted that the section on how to address weaknesses was particularly helpful. Richmond’s session was well attended, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive.
“Candidates from across the globe took part in this innovative event,” Richmond said reflecting on the value of the virtual fair. “It’s a very unique offering and perhaps the wave of the future for the MBA fair format,” he continued. “I suspect that GMAT will do more of these in the future with perhaps even more schools as programs look to cut down on travel costs and meet applicants virtually,” he added.
Twenty-four programs took part in the inaugural GMATCH virtual fair, including top schools such as Stanford Graduate School of Business, London Business School, the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia and Spain’s IE and IESE business schools. And because applicants were asked to upload some facts about their backgrounds as part of the GMATCH registration process, school representatives were more informed about them once they met than would be the case at a traditional MBA fair.
To access the complete GMATCH archive or to reach admissions staff through participating schools’ virtual booths, simply register at http://www.g-match.com/. To access Richmond’s presentation on the MBA Admissions process, visit the “GMATCH Auditorium” once you have registered. Registration is free, and the archive will be accessible through May 7th.
Posted by Clear Admit on March 30, 2010, at 3:08 am
Posted in: Admissions Tips , Events , School: IESE , School: Stanford , School: Virginia / Darden 
On Wednesday, April 7, 2010, the Graduate Management Admissions Council® (GMAC®) is conducting a virtual fair for prospective applicants to graduate management programs.
The GMATCH MBA and Master Virtual Fair (GMATCH) is an online recruitment fair that will give you the opportunity to connect with 24 MBA and Master programs from around the world. Through live chat or webcams, participants will be able to interact with admissions staff and attend sessions run by admissions officers, current students, and GMAT and other industry professionals. Moreover, you can take part in GMATCH wherever you are and at a time that is convenient to your schedule.
Register for this free fair now and get a chance to:
• Talk to representatives from business schools around the world, such as Stanford Graduate School of Business, Darden School of Business, HEC and IESE
• Discover what’s needed to get into your program of choice
• Meet fellow prospective students
• Hear firsthand accounts from current students and alumni and ask them what it’s really like
• Take part in group discussions in the student lounge
As part of the GMATCH agenda, Clear Admit co-founder Graham Richmond will be running an ‘expert session’ on application strategies. His session will take a look at the various aspects of a candidate’s profile that every admissions committee considers, such as academics, professional experience, career goals, outside activities and leadership capacity. Richmond will also discuss how you will be assessed, why admissions committees emphasize certain areas, and how you can best present yourself in the application process.
To register for GMATCH and to find out more details on timing, participating programs and more, click here.
Posted by Clear Admit on March 23, 2010, at 2:10 pm
Posted in: MBA News , School: IE , School: IESE , School: INSEAD , School: ISB Business schools throughout Europe have seen their application volumes soar in the past year, in part as students from around the world are drawn by shorter programs catering to older students focused on entrepreneurial and socially minded career shifts, a recent BusinessWeek article reports.
IESE in Barcelona is looking to add a fourth stream to its full-time MBA in response to greater than ever application volume, a phenomenon that schools around the globe – but especially in Europe – are experiencing. Attendance at the QS World MBA Tour was up 5 percent overall this year, and most European business schools have reported increases of 10 percent or more in applications, according to BW.
The BW report attributes the surge in demand for MBA programs in Europe to a combination of factors, including financial services professionals looking to change career paths following the financial crisis, the growing popularity of entrepreneurial pursuits and socially responsible career fields and an increase of “return-homers,” MBA students planning to return home to emerging markets upon completion of their degree.
According to the BW report, 18 percent of attendees at the QS World MBA Tour in Europe came with a financial background, up from 14 percent the year before, as more and more financial services professionals look to change career paths following the financial crisis. European MBA programs, many of which are one-year programs that tend to attract a slightly older demographic than U.S. schools, are attractive to these career changers, BW reports.
Data from the 2009 QS World MBA Tour reveals two additional trends that may be contributing to the spike in interest in European MBA programs, including rising interest in entrepreneurial pursuits and socially responsible careers. These trends benefit European schools with strong entrepreneurship programs as well as those that have build corporate social responsibility into their curricula, BW reports.
Finally, more and more international students at business schools today are planning to return home to emerging markets upon graduation, rather than begin a new life in the country in which they attend business school.
“A higher percentage [of graduates], perhaps as many as two out of every three, are returning to work in their home countries, or in emerging markets, rather than staying in the U.S.,” Professor Mauro Guillen at the Wharton School, told BW. European business schools are appealing to this crop of “return-homers” by highlighting their international student mix and their focus on teaching international business practices, the BW report added.
For the full BW story, click here.
Posted by Clear Admit on March 11, 2010, at 1:00 pm
Posted in: GMAT News , School: IESE , School: INSEAD , School: London Business School The number of European citizens taking the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) rising rapidly and a growing number of these test takers are having their scores sent to management education programs in Europe, according to recent research from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), which owns the GMAT.
According to GMAC, increased test taking activity in Europe is part of surge in interest in MBA and other graduate management education programs worldwide. During the 2009 testing year, which runs from July 1st to June 30th, global GMAT testing volume reached an all-time high of 265,613. Of these test takers, for the first time ever this year more than half were non-U.S. citizens. Overall, test taking volume is up 32 percent since 2004. In Europe specifically, it has grown by 30 percent during the same time period.
The recent analysis of test taking volume also revealed new trends in where test takers are sending their scores. Almost 10 percent of GMAT score reports sent globally in testing year 2009 went to programs located in 10 European countries, up from 6.9 percent of scores sent five years earlier. Of these 10 European countries, the United Kingdom and France received the most number of score reports.
“More and more Europeans are recognizing that high-quality management education is available in their own back yard,” Julia Tyler, GMAC marketing executive, said in a statement.
GMAC researchers have found that European citizens are sending a significantly smaller share of their GMAT score reports to programs in the United States and instead sending them to programs in Europe, particularly to British, French, Dutch and Spanish business schools. According to GMAC’s data, the most popular European MBA programs among European citizens in 2009 were those at INSEAD, London Business School and IESE Business School.
For more details on trends in GMAT testing and score sending, click here.
Welcome to February’s first installment of Wiki Wednesdays, in which we set a spotlight on the latest submissions to the Clear Admit Wiki, an online repository for MBA applicants to share their experiences with admissions interviews. We’ve received a number of interview reports this past week – for Chicago Booth, Cornell / Johnson, Dartmouth / Tuck, IESE, Michigan / Ross, Northwestern / Kellogg and UVA / Darden – and we’d like to thank everyone who has been sharing their experiences this season!
Before getting into contest details, let’s take a peek at a few snippets from some of the latest contributions! A Round 2 applicant to IESE shared the following questions from an adcom member:
- Tell me something about your family.
- Describe your school life.
- When is the last time you met your college friends?
- How would your friends describe you?
- Describe the characteristics of your best friend.
- What is your take on the trade situation in China?
- Are you comfortable talking in front of/ addressing large audiences of 70-80 people?
- How will you finance your MBA, if you don’t get a scholarship?
On behalf of Booth, an alumnus interviewed a Round 2 candidate:
- What do you expect from Booth?
- Which other schools are you applying to?
- What leadership experiences you have? How is your interaction day to day with your team?
- What do you expect from your MBA in the long term?
- What are the differences you’ve found between different nationalities while working in a multinational?
Thank you to everyone who has helped fellow applicants by sharing your interview experience! If you’re eager to contribute, we’ll be awarding a $10 Amazon gift certificate to applicants that submit interview reports for Columbia Business School, Cornell / Johnson, NYU / Stern or UCLA / Anderson through next Tuesday, February 9th! In other words, all you have to do is send us your interview field report for the selected schools for inclusion in the Wiki and we’ll send you a $10 Amazon gift certificate. You must send your interview report to wiki@clearadmit.com to be eligible; we’ll post it to the Wiki and notify the winners by e-mail (Limit: one iTunes or Amazon gift card per person).
The most helpful and informative reports usually include the following information:
- Date/Admissions Round
- Description of visit and/or interview atmosphere
- Type of interview (alum vs. adcom, blind vs. application-based)
- List of interview questions
- Commentary (What did you think of the interview? What surprised you? What didn’t surprise you? What might you conclude about the school based on this experience?)
Applicants who would like to supplement the information available on the Wiki can check out our Clear Admit Interview Guides, which provide school-specific insight about admissions interviews. Best of luck to those undergoing Round 2 interviews!
The Economist this week released its annual rankings of top business schools, with European schools IESE and IMD taking the first and second spots respectively, followed by Berkeley’s Haas School of Business, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and Harvard Business School – in that order – rounding out the top five.
In an accompanying article, the Economist helps make sense of why business schools seem to fall in such different orders depending on the ranking you choose. For example, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School barely made it into the top ten in the Economist’s ranking this year (up from 17th last year) but ties for number one (with London Business School) in the Financial Times’ 2009 rankings.
Why such disparity? Because the different publications that produce rankings – which include BusinessWeek, the Wall Street Journal and U.S. News & World Report as well as the FT and the Economist – employ different methodologies to compile their lists. According to the Economist article, that publication’s rankings rely heavily students’ own assessment of their time at business school and how their earning power and marketability increased upon obtaining a degree. This year at IESE, 98 percent of graduates found jobs within three months of graduation with an average basic salary of $125,000, propelling the Spanish school to the top of the list.
The FT’s rankings, meanwhile, focus on academic research as well as graduates’ salaries. And BW ranks U.S. and European schools separately. Hence the wildly different rankings of schools all in a single year. But as the Economist article point, even as different as they are – or perhaps, because they are so different – the rankings still serve a valuable purpose, which is to highlight the many different ways in which business schools can excel.
As always, those of us here at Clear Admit encourage you to consider the rankings as you try to decide which business school will best help you meet your individual goals, but only as one part in a comprehensive evaluation of schools.
To view the Economist’s rankings in their entirety, click here.
Posted by Clear Admit on August 31, 2009, at 2:48 am
Posted in: Admissions Tips , School: Berkeley / Haas , School: Chicago , School: Columbia , School: Dartmouth / Tuck , School: Duke / Fuqua , School: Harvard , School: IESE , School: IMD , School: INSEAD , School: London Business School , School: Michigan / Ross , School: MIT / Sloan , School: Northwestern / Kellogg , School: NYU Stern , School: Penn / Wharton , School: Stanford , School: UCLA / Anderson , School: UNC / Kenan Flagler , School: Virginia / Darden , School: Yale For all those applicants who have recently opened a calendar to plot out the next few months only to realize they can’t possibly fit in campus visits on top of full time jobs and essay writing, never fear! It’s true that traveling to a school’s campus is the ideal way to learn about their MBA program, but visiting is often not a viable option for applicants who are located remotely or unsure of their level of interest in a given school. The good news is that business schools might very well come to them. Many b-schools are getting ready to hit the road and embark on worldwide tours to dispense information and recruit qualified applicants. Such events offer a great opportunity for interested students to meet with admissions staff (and sometimes with current students and/or alumni), learn about the program and ask specific questions.
Some of the top schools are already on the road, so we recommend looking into the travel schedules for programs of interest and planning accordingly. Keeping in mind that these schedules are updated and amended throughout the fall, here are some of the top programs’ itineraries for the months ahead:
Berkeley / Haas:
https://ssl.haas.berkeley.edu/Admissions/Events/index.cfm
Chicago Booth:
http://www.chicagobooth.edu/fulltime/admissions/events/
Columbia:
http://www0.gsb.columbia.edu/events
Duke / Fuqua:
https://www.fuquaworld.duke.edu/www/public/infosess_all_view.jsp
HBS:
http://www.hbs.edu/mba/admissions/events.html
Northwestern / Kellogg:
http://bit.ly/Zrg7b
Michigan / Ross:
http://www.bus.umich.edu/Admissions/Mba/forumsreceptions/RossReceptions.htm
MIT / Sloan:
http://mitsloan.mit.edu/academic/events.php
Stanford GSB:
http://www.gsb.stanford.edu/mba/outreach/info_sessions.html
NYU / Stern:
http://w4.stern.nyu.edu/admissions/cgibin/sched_events.cgi
Dartmouth / Tuck:
http://www.tuck.dartmouth.edu/admissions/events.html
UCLA / Anderson:
http://www.anderson.ucla.edu/x5525.xml
UNC / Kenan Flagler:
http://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/News/Events/embambainfo.cfm
UVA / Darden:
https://apply.darden.virginia.edu/admissions/events/EventsSchedule.tap?sp=103
U Penn / Wharton:
http://www.wharton.upenn.edu/mba/admissions/admission-events.cfm
Yale SOM:
http://mba.yale.edu/MBA/admissions/events.shtml
IESE:
http://www.iese.edu/aplicaciones/emba/events/events_emba.asp?lang=en
IMD:
http://www.imd.ch/programs/mba/infosessions/index.cfm
INSEAD:
http://www.insead.edu/mba/offevents/index.cfm?fuseaction=offcampus
LBS:
http://www.london.edu/programmes/infoevents/do?progSelect=MBA&locationSelect=
Posted by Clear Admit on July 30, 2009, at 9:09 am
Posted in: Deadlines , School: IESE The IESE deadlines for the 2009-2010 admissions season are now online. The six deadlines are as follows:
Round 1
Deadline: October 26, 2009
Notification: December 4, 2009
Round 2
Deadline: November 30, 2009
Notification: January 29, 2010
Round 3
Deadline: January 18, 2010
Notification: March 19, 2010
Round 4
Deadline: February 22, 2010
Notification: April 16, 2010
Round 5
Deadline: April 19, 2010
Notification: May 21, 2010
Round 6
Deadline: June 7, 2010
Notification: July 2, 2010
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