School Guides
Clear Admit School GuidesBecome an expert on your target schools overnight! Get the program-specific details you need to craft essays that stand out. See how schools compare head-to-head in key areas like recruiting, curricular structure, elective offerings and more. Available for immediate download. As featured in the Economist.

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

Admissions Tip: Off-Campus Information Sessions

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

2010-2011 Clear Admit MBA School Guides to Darden, INSEAD, Johnson, Kenan-Flagler, London Business School and Tepper Now Available!

We are pleased to announce the release of the 2010-2011 Clear Admit MBA School Guides to Darden, INSEAD, Johnson, Kenan-Flagler, London Business School and Tepper! As previously announced in this space, also available are the updated versions of the Clear Admit MBA School Guides to Chicago Booth, Columbia, Fuqua, Haas, Harvard, Kellogg, MIT Sloan, NYU Stern, Ross, Stanford, Tuck, UCLA Anderson, Wharton and Yale, which were released earlier this summer.

All twenty of the 2010-2011 Clear Admit MBA School Guide titles feature the most current information from the programs, including the latest admissions guidelines, class demographics and placement statistics, and offer insight into year-over-year trends.

Applauded by admissions officers and applicants alike, the Clear Admit MBA School Guides are informative and detailed profiles of leading business schools that combine the views of faculty, students, alumni and the popular press. They are available electronically (in PDF format) to help you meet your tight time constraints.
 » Continue reading

Clear Admit Featured in MBA Podcaster Video “Navigating the Trilogy”

Do you have your sights set on the upper echelon of MBA programs? Clear Admit co-founder Graham Richmond shares valuable tips on how to target top schools Harvard, Stanford and Wharton as part of a recent video by MBA Podcaster.

The video, entitled Navigating the Business School Trilogy, aired on August 9th as part of MBA Pod TV, MBA Podcaster’s YouTube video channel. In this most recent episode, Richmond offers a comparison of what many consider to be the top three MBA programs in the country: Harvard Business School (HBS), Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He examines what sets the schools apart and provides insight to prospective applicants on how to approach the application process at each school.  » Continue reading

Condoleezza Rice to Join Stanford’s Graduate School of Business Faculty

Former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will join the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) faculty in September, the school’s dean announced on his Twitter feed earlier this week.

Rice will serve as co-director of the GSB’s Center for Global Business and the Economy, Dean Garth Saloner tweeted on Monday. The Global Center houses the Global Management Program, which provides academic and experiential learning opportunities designed to help MBA students develop a global mindset and manage effectively in a global economy. Details about just what Rice will do in this new role have yet to be released.  » Continue reading

2010-2011 Clear Admit School Guides to Fuqua, Haas, MIT Sloan, NYU Stern, Tuck, UCLA Anderson and Yale Now Available!

We are pleased to announce the release of the 2010-2011 Clear Admit School Guides to Fuqua, Haas, MIT Sloan, NYU Stern, Tuck, UCLA Anderson and Yale! As previously announced in this space, also available are the updated versions of the Clear Admit School Guides to Chicago Booth, Columbia, Harvard, Kellogg, Ross, Stanford and Wharton, which were released earlier this summer. All of the 2010-2011 titles feature the most current . . . → Continue Reading

Out Now: 2010-2011 Clear Admit School Guides to Chicago Booth, Columbia, Harvard, Kellogg, Ross, Stanford and Wharton!

Available for immediate purchase and download are the 2010-2011 versions of the Clear Admit School Guides to Chicago Booth, Columbia, Harvard, Kellogg, Ross, Stanford and Wharton.  These titles feature the most current information from the programs, including the latest admissions guidelines, class demographics and placement statistics, and offer insight into year-over-year trends.

Applauded by admissions officers and applicants alike, the Clear Admit School Guides are informative and detailed profiles of leading business schools that combine the views of faculty, students, alumni and the popular press. They are available electronically (in PDF . . . → Continue Reading

Trivia Tuesday: International Consulting Opportunities at Stanford GSB and Wharton

As business goes global, more MBA students are looking for ways to gain international experience. A number of leading business schools offer students an opportunity to gain in-country experience while using their knowledge of business to help address pressing social issues. Today we’ll take a closer look at the programs offered by Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and the Wharton School at UPenn.

At Stanford, the school’s Global Management Program organizes the Global Management Immersion Experience (GMIX), a month-long internship that takes place at the end of the first summer, usually after a longer traditional internship. Sponsor organizations range from international companies to small startups and non-profits, and they generally seek students to work on a focused project over the course of . . . → Continue Reading

‘Just-in-Time’ Hiring Boosts MBA Employment Figures

Thanks to an acceleration of “just-in-time” hiring by companies across a range of business sectors, some recent MBA graduates are once again finding they can be choosy when it comes to accepting a job offer, according to a recent report by the Financial Times.

“There’s been a flurry of activity in the past few weeks,” Robert Weiler, director of career services for UCLA’s Anderson School of Management, told the FT, as many companies hire graduates just in time to fill sudden manpower demands.

After last year – one of the most dismal hiring years for MBAs in recent history – the change is a welcome one that allows graduates to be more discriminating in their job searches. “The students have learned to expect . . . → Continue Reading

Stanford GSB Essay Topic Analysis 2010-2011

Following the announcement of Stanford’s deadlines and essay topics, we’d like to take some time to provide guidance on the essays.  The essay topics are virtually identical to last year’s, and applicants are again required to respond to four prompts.  As with last year, Stanford allocates a 1,800 word limit to be used among the four essays, with word limit suggestions for each individual essay.  All essays should be written double-spaced in 12-point font.

Essay 1: What matters most to you, and why? (Recommended 750 words)
The open-ended and somewhat philosophical nature of this question can make it a challenging starting point. If a topic doesn’t immediately spring to mind, a constructive approach might be . . . → Continue Reading

Stanford GSB Essay Topics 2010-2011

Stanford GSB has released its essay topics for the Class of 2013. The three required essay questions for the 2010-2011 admissions season are below:

Essay 1: What matters most to you, and why?

Essay 2: What are your career aspirations? What do you need to learn at Stanford to achieve them?

Essay 3: Answer two of the four questions below. Tell us not only what you did but also how you did it. What was the outcome? How did people respond? Only describe experiences that have occurred during the last three years.

Option A: Tell us about a time when you built or developed a team whose performance exceeded expectations.
Option B: Tell us about a time when you made a lasting impact on your organization.
Option . . . → Continue Reading

Trivia Tuesday: Supporting Entrepreneurship at Stanford

Welcome to another edition of Trivia Tuesday, our weekly examination of the distinguishing details of MBA programs. This week we turn our attention to the campus support – both formal and informal – for Stanford MBA students interested in creating their own ventures.

Stanford devotes considerable resources to the examination of entrepreneurship and support of students and graduates seeking to launch their own companies. The GSB’s Center for Entrepreneurial Studies (CES) was founded in 1996 and today supports over 30 faculty members who teach courses or perform research in entrepreneurship.

The Center also provides students with opportunities for practical experience. Through the Entrepreneurial Summer Program, students who are interested in spending the summer working in an entrepreneurial environment are matched with small companies . . . → Continue Reading

San Francisco MBA Panel Discussion to Feature Harvard, Stanford, Wharton Representatives

On Tuesday, June 29th, the Harvard Alumni Club of the San Francisco Bay Area will host a panel discussion on MBA admissions featuring representatives from Harvard Business School (HBS), Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

The panel, entitled “MBA Admissions: The Experts Speak,” is open to all aspiring MBA candidates interested in the MBA program at any of the three schools. Panel presenters include Wharton alumni interviewer Archana Ravichandran (MBA ’08), Stanford GSB Director of Admissions Kirsten Moss and HBS Admissions Board Member Hilary Caplan Somorjai (HBS ’96). They will discuss a range of topics including curriculum enhancements, job market prospects, global exchanges and admissions trends.

The event will take place at the University . . . → Continue Reading

Fund Partners with 10 Top MBA Programs for New Fellowship Program for Emerging Leaders

The William G. McGowan Charitable Fund will partner with 10 top MBA programs across the United States as part of a new fellowship program designed to support promising students who demonstrate academic excellence and social leadership during their first year of MBA studies.

The fellowships, which will be presented to one student from each of the ten partner schools, will cover the full cost of tuition for the second year of MBA studies. Partner schools include Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business, Columbia University Graduate School of Business, Duke University Fuqua School of Business, Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, MIT Sloan School of Business, Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management, Stanford University Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago Booth School . . . → Continue Reading

Stanford GSB Deadlines 2010-2011

The Stanford GSB deadlines for the Class of 2013 are now available online. The three rounds are as follows:

Round 1
Deadline: October 6, 2010
Notification: December 15, 2010

Round 2
Deadline: January 6, 2011
Notification: March 30, 2011

Round 3
Deadline:  April 6, 2011
Notification: May 18, 2011

Applicants should note that all applications are due by 5:00 . . . → Continue Reading

Jeff Skoll to Be Stanford Graduate School of Business First-Ever Guest Graduation Speaker

Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) will feature a guest speaker as part of its graduation ceremony for the first time ever this spring. Philanthropist and entrepreneur Jeff Skoll, the first president of eBay, will address the Class of 2010 in what is expected to be the beginning of a new tradition for the annual business school degree ceremony. “Our students asked us for an inspirational speaker on this important day to help them envision the roles they may undertake to change lives, change organizations, and change the world through managed organizations of all kinds,” Stanford GSB Dean Garth Saloner said in a statement announcing the news. “I can’t think of anyone better to model the life of meaning and impact . . . → Continue Reading

Progress on New Stanford Graduate School of Business Campus Continues “Fast and Furious”

Construction is underway on a new eight-building campus for the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB), and progress remains “fast and furious”, according to a recent post on the Stanford GSB Admission Blog.

Originally slated to open in 2010, the Knight Management Center is now on track for an April 2011 completion date, according to Stanford Admissions. The new campus, all 360,000 square feet of it, features a flexible design intended to support a wide variety of teaching and learning methods and more collaboration and engagement with the Stanford campus at large.

The new campus will encompass 100,000 square feet more than the existing GSB facilities and will include more flexible teaching spaces for both larger and smaller class configurations. It . . . → Continue Reading

Student Government Presidents from Seven Top Schools Launch MBA Peer School Forum

Outgoing and incoming student government presidents of seven major business schools convened earlier this week at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School for a three-day President’s Summit, where they announced the formation of a new MBA Peer School Forum.

The forum, a student government coalition with representatives from the Wharton School, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Columbia Business School, Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management, Harvard Business School, MIT’s Sloan School of Management and Stanford Graduate School of Business, was developed to help create inter-school cohesion and collaboration and support student-led initiatives designed to positively impact business and society.  » Continue reading

Recent GMAT Virtual MBA Fair Features Expert Session on MBA Admissions by Clear Admit

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 . . . → Continue Reading

A Closer Look at U.S. News & World Report’s 2011 MBA Rankings

Harvard Business School (HBS) and the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) have once again tied for first in the 2011 U.S. News & World Report MBA rankings, released late yesterday. While the major players in the top 15 remain largely unchanged from previous years, there were some notable shifts up and down the ranks.

Stanford, for its part, showed a slight rebound. After a slip to number two last year, the Palo Alto school this year once again forced HBS to share the number one spot, as it had in 2009. MIT’s Sloan School of Management also gained some ground to come in at number three, advancing from the number five spot.

MIT Sloan displaced the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton . . . → Continue Reading

Stanford Graduate School of Business Announces Scholarships for Prospective Bangladeshi, Indian MBA Applicants

In a post to the Stanford Graduate School of Business (GSB) Admissions Blog yesterday, the school announced that it is now accepting applications for two scholarship programs aimed toward prospective applicants with financial need from Bangladesh and India. 

The first scholarship, the Grameen Fellows Program, is for Bangladeshi students interested in pursuing an MBA at Stanford GSB who demonstrate financial need. The award covers all financial costs related to tuition and living expenses for the MBA program as well associated application and examination fees. Recipients of the Grameen scholarship agree to return to Bangladesh upon completion of the Stanford MBA program for at least two years of work in the public or private sector.

As part of the Grameen Fellows application, . . . → 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

Submit a Report for Columbia Business School, MIT / Sloan, UCLA / Anderson or Stanford GSB to Win an Amazon.com Gift Card!

Welcome back to another installment of Wiki Wednesdays, a weekly column in which we set the spotlight on some of the latest interview reports added to the Clear Admit Wiki.  We’ve received a number of great interview reports this past week, namely for: London Business School, MIT / Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, Stanford GSB and Wharton. Let’s take a closer look at a couple of the newest reports before covering the contest…

A Round 3 candidate for Northwestern / Kellogg shared the following questions from an interview with an alumnus:

Why do you want to make this particular career transition? What attracts you to the field? (not exact words, but that . . . → Continue Reading