Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast

This edition of the Clear Admit MBA Admissions podcast kicks off with a quick review of the upcoming MBA admissions deadlines for this week, including final decisions from both Duke / Fuqua and UVA / Darden for their Early Action rounds. Alex and Graham then discussed the considerable activity last week on Live Wire in terms of interview invites for several top MBA programs. Graham highlighted three Real Humans pieces for Cambridge / Judge, CMU / Tepper and Rice / Jones and also noted the new adcom Q&As for INSEAD and CMU / Tepper. Your hosts then weighed in on the Class of 2024 profile for Michigan / Ross, which further highlighted the downturn in applications across the board for last season. Beyond the news and notes, Graham shared an email he and Alex received from a candidate who appears to be strong in all areas, but has a lower GMAT of 680. Alex offered some guidance with that predicament, some of which included aiming a little higher!   Before moving into the candidate profile reviews for this week, Graham reminded listeners Clear Admit’s upcoming Deferred Enrolment event; signups are here: https://bit.ly/defermba As always, this episode features in-depth reviews of three ApplyWire entries: First up, Alex selects a candidate from India who has already applied to 13 programs in Round 1! Your hosts discuss the merits and risks of such a strategy, and wonder if they would have been better served with a more targeted approach. Their GRE is decent (326) but their converted GPA might also raise some concerns. They are a civil engineer, with tech consulting experience, and are also involved in three NGOs. This week's second candidate appears to have a strong profile in health care, and is looking to pivot to investment banking in the short run. Alex and Graham think this pivot makes sense based on the applicants long-term plans in healthcare private equity. This profile also prompted your hosts to get into a protracted discussion on the merits of having work experience from a brand-name firm. This week's final candidate appears to have had interesting start-up experience, and is looking to switch into tech product management, post MBA (they do have an engineering degree). This led to a discussion on the value of working in an entrepreneurial, start-up-type environment, in terms of being able to showcase impact. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered in the City of Brotherly Love by Dennis Crowley. Thanks for listening and please remember to spread the word about this podcast, and to rate and review wherever you may listen.

This week's action-packed episode runs the gamut from admissions gossip to HBS interview invites, and from Fortune's MBA ranking to candidate profile reviews...  Alex and Graham kick things off by reviewing the upcoming MBA admissions deadlines, including UNC / Kenan Flagler, Texas / McCombs and USC / Marshall.  They also discuss the activity on MBA LiveWire as Harvard released its Round 1 interview invites. This led to a segment on the forthcoming departure of Chad Losee from Harvard, who joins admissions directors from Stanford, Columbia, Michigan, Tepper, and more as part of an admissions exodus. Graham then highlighted the Real Humans pieces from Emory / Goizueta, ESADE, London Business School and Rochester / Simon as well as the recently published class profiles for Stanford, Chicago / Booth and UVA / Darden. And finally, before tackling three ApplyWire entries, Graham asked Alex to weigh in on the recent MBA ranking from Fortune. As to the this week's profile reviews: first up, Alex picks a finance candidate from London. They have very good numbers (750, 4.0) and have targeted all the usual suspects in terms of top programs in the Northeast of the U.S. While they are active at work, with respect to additional activities, Alex and Graham are curious what they do outside of work. There was also some discussion regarding their heritage, and its potential impact on their candidacy. This week's second candidate also has an outstanding GMAT (750), but their GPA is slightly lower. They are a reapplicant, and have made some improvements over the additional year. Their goal is entrepreneurship, and Alex and Graham encouraged them to also consider UPenn / Wharton (they do not want to be on the West Coast, which rules out some additional options). Finally, Alex selects an Indian lawyer, who is targeting next season. There is a lot to like about their experience, and the numbers are very good, too. Because they already have 8 years of experience, Graham and Alex would have preferred if they were targeting this season, but next season, in the first rounds, may well be fine, as long as they have a good focus on their “fit”. Fit because they are a lawyer, and also because they are on the longer end of the work experience spectrum. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered in West Philadelphia by the Steve Albini of podcasts, Dennis Crowley. Thanks for tuning into the show and please remember to subscribe, rate, and review this show wherever you may be listening!

This week's show begins with a review of the upcoming MBA admissions deadlines for this week, including UVA / Darden, UCLA / Anderson, and Emory / Goizueta. Graham and Alex then turn their attention to the recent announcement of the departure of Kirsten Moss from Stanford (the Chad Losee departure from Harvard was not yet announced at the time that we recorded the podcast). These are indeed very interesting times. Graham highlighted the Adcom Q&A for IESE, while also noting their keen focus on purpose-driven business goals, including sustainability issues. Graham also highlighted the Real Humans stories recently published from Chicago / Booth and Indiana / Kelley. Your hosts then look at the Michigan / Ross employment report, which showed some great numbers related to average salary increases. Graham also shares Yale SOM’s class profile, which further suggests application volumes were down last season, especially among the U.S. applicant pool. As usual, this episode breaks down three candidate profiles, sourced from ApplyWire: First up, Alex selects a candidate from Nigeria with an outstanding GRE (338) and three years of work experience, who is targeting several programs, including eight in the first round. Because there seem to be more and more candidates from Nigeria, Alex and Graham wonder if they might be considered “over-represented” in the applicant pool, presenting some additional challenges. This week's second candidate has decent numbers (720/3.54) with an engineering degree, working in the engineering domain. Alex and Graham think she will have good opportunities at top programs, as someone who may well be under-represented, and potentially has faced additional challenges as an engineer. Her involvement in setting up a women’s group at work suggests this might be the case. This week's third profile review features an Indian candidate who’s career and undergrad has been undertaken in Canada. It sounds like their experience is quite technical, but includes some leadership, and they are not being overly ambitious for their target programs. That said, they are targeting round 2, and as someone who is potentially over-represented in the pool, Alex suggests they should consider retaking the GRE so as to boost their current score of 322. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by Dennis Crowley in rain-soaked Philadelphia. Thanks so much for tuning in and please remember to tell friends about the show!

Our latest podcast begins with Alex looking at the upcoming MBA admissions deadlines for Duke / Fuqua, Dartmouth / Tuck, Columbia ED and Georgetown / McDonough; interview invites are also scheduled for Oxford / Said.  Graham then makes a final plea for a new survey we have published which asks about brand perceptions for each of the top programs. More details are here: https://bit.ly/mbabrands Amazon gift cards are available to some respondents! Beyond deadlines and surveys, Graham and Alex highlighted the new class profile for Northwestern / Kellogg, which fell in line with similar programs within the “M7”. Graham also highlighted the recent Real Humans pieces for Harvard and NYU / Stern; these are great resources for MBA candidates targeting these programs. Graham then highlighted this Wednesday's final essay insights workshop; participating MBA programs are UCLA / Anderson, Dartmouth / Tuck, INSEAD, London Business School and Georgetown / McDonough. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/clearadmitfall As usual, Alex selected three candidate profiles for review, in this instance all came from ApplyWire entries: First up, Alex chose a candidate from Pakistan who has 15 years of work experience in banking, as well as an MBA that they completed early in their career. While their experience appears to be strong, Alex and Graham tackled some of the bigger issues they will face in the admissions process: the need to fit in and the need to justify the second MBA, the need to demonstrate academic readiness, etc. This candidate still needs to complete the GMAT, which will have a lot riding on it. The second candidate featured this week is a software engineer lead, who is looking to use the MBA to transition to tech product management. They have super numbers (760 on the GMAT) and look like they might be a decent candidate for M7 calibre programs. Our final candidate is from Australia, with decent work experience as well as community experience. This, combined with superb numbers, suggests they should be targeting the very best programs. They have also targeted a few programs that gave them applicant fee waivers; which leads to a discussion regarding the folly of applying to programs you wouldn’t be thrilled to attend. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by Dennis Crowley in leafy West Philadelphia. Thanks for listening; it means a lot to all of us involved in producing the Clear Admit podcast!

This episode delves into exciting news from Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, the introduction of an online MBA offering. This makes McDonough one of just a handful of leading MBA programs to enter the online MBA domain. Shelly Heinrich, the Associate Dean for MBA Admissions and Director of Marketing, and Prashant Malaviya, Professor of Marketing and Senior Associate Dean of MBA Programs, join your host Graham Richmond to discuss the new offering.

This week's episode of the Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast begins with a peek at the upcoming deadlines for this week, which includes Michigan / Ross, Chicago / Booth, Berkeley / Haas and Cornell / Johnson; interview invites are also scheduled for Duke / Fuqua and IESE. Graham then makes a plea for a new survey we have published which asks about brand perceptions for each of the top programs. More details are here: https://bit.ly/mbabrands Amazon gift cards are available to some respondents! Graham also highlighted the new class profiles for Harvard, Haas, and Dartmouth / Tuck. Overall, the profiles look very decent, but it’s clear application volumes are down about 15% across most top tier programs. Haas reduced its class size this season, and this might be a consequence of that drop. This week's episode also includes a discussion about the recent Bloomberg MBA ranking, which led to a discussion on the merits of Clear Admit's own tiered ranking methodology. Graham then noted the newly published Real Humans pieces for Fuqua and Columbia, as well as the Adcom Q&As for Georgia / Terry and Washington / Olin. Graham also highlighted the essay workshop series; last Wednesday’s event had over 400 MBA applicants in attendance, this Wednesday the participating MBA programs are Columbia, Duke / Fuqua, CMU / Tepper, Texas / Austin and UNC / Kenan Flagler. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/clearadmitfall As always, our WireTaps portion of the show tackles three real candidate profile reviews, taken from ApplyWire entries on the site: First up, Alex has selected a candidate from South Africa with super numbers and a long term goal to return to the region, which both Graham and Alex like. Their work experience is a little on the shorter side (less than 3 years) but your hosts think there’s a lot of potential for targeting the top tier programs. This week's second candidate is originally from Nigeria and is working in London in an auditing capacity. Alex and Graham discuss the reasons why some speculate that auditing and accounting is not seen in the same light as strategy consulting and other more strategy-focused careers. This candidate plan to retake the GRE (current score of 321) and split their applications between rounds 1 and 2. Our third candidate this week is from higher-ed fundraising and development, and has already completed MBA Math (to make up for a slightly lower GPA) while targeting a high GRE. His goals are very interesting, and might well be a strong candidate for top programs. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by Dennis Crowley in West Philadelphia. Thanks for listening to the show week and and week out - we truly appreciate it! Please note that you can reach out to your hosts by emailing info@clearadmit.com at any time. We love hearing from you!

Our latest episode of the Clear Admit podcast begins with Alex reviewing the upcoming MBA admissions deadlines for this week, which include Stanford, Yale SOM, Northwestern / Kellogg and NYU / Stern. Graham then makes a plea for listeners to take a new survey we have published which asks about brand perceptions for each of the top programs. More details are here: https://bit.ly/mbabrands (Note: Amazon gift cards are available to some of the respondents!) Graham then highlighted the new class profiles for Columbia and Duke / Fuqua, which led to your hosts debating some of the inconsistencies in reporting these numbers across programs, and how frustrating that can be. Graham also mentioned the recently published Adcom Q&As for Yale SOM, Austin / McCombs and Minnesota / Carlson, as well as a piece we published on interview locations for each of the top programs. It looks like many top programs are sticking with virtual interviews (at least as an option). Graham then commented on the Real Humans piece for Cornell / Johnson, which is great reading for anyone applying to that program. Before moving into the usual candidate profiles, Alex asked Graham a question about whether a candidate should disclose a DUI (criminal conviction) in their application, even if the school does not explicitly ask. This led to some interesting debate...   Graham then highlighted the upcoming essay workshop series, which includes three events, and begins this week, on Wednesday  with Berkeley / Haas, Yale SOM, Chicago / Booth, Cornell / Johnson, and Wharton.   Signups are here: https://bit.ly/clearadmitfall As usual, this WireTaps episode features three real candidate profile reviews, taken from recent ApplyWire entries. First up, Alex selects a candidate who appears to have a pretty decent profile for the programs they are targeting, but their GMAT is 690. It might be enough to gain admissions, but we really think it makes sense to retake the test if they feel there’s any opportunity to increase the score. This may make their current target programs more accessible and also could provide more opportunity for programs in the next tier. This week's second candidate is a corporate lawyer from India. Their GMAT is 710, and they plan to retake, and spread their applications over Round 1 and 2. Graham highlighted the rationale for a lawyer who wants to seek an MBA, using a 'referee' analogy. Finally, Alex picked out what appears to be an outstanding candidate who is only targeting the “trilogy” of Harvard, Stanford and Wharton. A little risky, but there is a lot to like. They are over-represented, but they have already applied in Round 1. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by Dennis Crowley in glorious West Philadelphia. Please remember to rate and review the show wherever you may listen!

This week's show kicks off with a short “celebration” of the 250th episode of Clear Admit’s podcast. Over 3+ years we’ve had 264,000 listens, with listeners tuning in from nearly every corner of the globe! Alex then discussed this week’s upcoming deadlines, which include Harvard, UPenn / Wharton, UVA / Darden and Duke / Fuqua. Graham highlighted the Real Humans piece recently published for Michigan / Ross MBA students, and your hosts discussed the value of these pieces for understanding fit for each of these programs. Graham also highlighted the Adcom Q&As from Vanderbilt / Owen and Rice. Graham then reviewed NYU / Stern’s recently released MBA student class profile. Some very interesting numbers, in terms of applications, admits and class size. Graham also highlighted two recent news stories regarding Harvard’s new needs-based scholarship commitment, and a gift received by Emory / Goizueta to help fund scholarships. Finally, Graham alerted listeners to the upcoming essay workshop series, which includes three events on September 14 (Berkeley / Haas, Yale SOM, Chicago / Booth, Cornell / Johnson), September 21 and September 28. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/clearadmitfall As usual, this episode tackled three profile reviews, drawn from recent ApplyWire entries. First up, Alex chooses a female engineer with five years of experience and a passion for sports. Her post-MBA goals make sense, and there’s a lot to like in the overall profile - but the GRE is 319. This might be enough for her dream target school (Duke/Fuqua) but Alex and Graham debate the notion of her delaying applications to Round 2 and taking one more shot at pushing the score up a few points. This week's second candidate appears to have a very strong profile coupled with great numbers (328/3.73). They are weighing whether to apply this season or next season, and we strongly encourage a few applications for this season. Our final candidate is from North Africa,  and is somewhat of a non-traditional entrepreneur. At 33, they are going to be older than their classmates, but the biggest concern is their undergraduate GPA. We suggest some remedial work, but do think they might have what it takes for some of the European programs they are targeting. This episode was produced and engineered by Dennis Crowley in historic Philadelphia. It was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. Thanks for reading this far, and for tuning in!

This week's episode kicks off with a look ahead to this week’s admissions deadlines for Oxford / Said and ISB. Graham and Alex also discussed the current activity on MBA LiveWire from those applying to Columbia Early Decision and J-Term rounds. Graham noted two recently published Adcom Q&As, from the ISB and UC Irvine; he then brought up the recent publication of a 'Real Numbers' piece on the percent of students who are US minorities at the top programs in the United States. This led to a discussion regarding the important distinction between being an under-represented minority versus an over-represented minority; where Alex drew parallels from the international student cohort. Graham also highlighted the upcoming essay workshop series, which begins on September 14 with admissions representatives from Berkeley / Haas, Yale SOM, Chicago / Booth, Cornell / Johnson and Wharton / U.Penn.  Signups are here: https://bit.ly/clearadmitfall Before diving into the three candidates featured this week, Alex and Graham talked about the upcoming webinar for Clear Admit+ members (today, August 28th at 12 pm ET!).  The episode then moved into the breakdown of three ApplyWire entries: First up, Alex picks a candidate who is a dual citizen (an Eastern European country and the United States) and has a very strong professional background. Their work experience and extracurriculars might well be decent - and their GPA of 3.5 is solid. The big issue is the 312 on the GRE. Alex and Graham really hope they plan to retake the test, even if this means pushing their candidacy to Round 2. This week's second candidate is from the GCC region, working for a Sovereign Wealth Fund. Their work experience looks impressive (and unique!), they also appear to have strong extracurriculars. Their GPA is low (3.1) and their GMAT is rather modest for top programs (700). Alex and Graham encourage this applicant to retake the GMAT, which may also help them overcome the more modest GPA. Our final candidate this week is an Indian candidate who is working in Dubai, and wants to return to Dubai post-MBA. They appear to have decent work experience and are active in their community; this activity has helped shape their long term goal, and both Alex and Graham like that connection. They do have very respectable numbers (740/3.78) to round out what appears to be a strong profile. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the infinitely talented Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, PA, home of the suddenly surging Philadelphia Phillies. Thanks for listening and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen.

This week's podcast kicks off with a discussion of the recently released class profiles for UCLA / Anderson and Cornell / Johnson. Both programs showcase impressive incoming students and stats overall, but there are some notable trends to observe around application volume and an uptick in the percentage of international students at these US-based programs. This potentially leads to a downward pressure on gender diversity, as the international pool traditionally has fewer women (as a percentage) than the domestic pool. Alex noted the fast-approaching R1 deadlines for this season, and Graham highlighted the Adcom Q&As that were recently published for Washington / Foster, Maryland / Smith, Ohio State / Fisher, SMU / Cox, Boston College / Carroll, Manchester / Alliance and IMD. Graham also highlighted our recent Real Humans Alumni event, which included alums working at Deloitte, Disney, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and BCG. Graham then pitched the upcoming essay workshop series, which includes three events on September 14, September 21 and September 28. And finally, Graham and Alex also chatted about the upcoming private webinar for Clear Admit+ members, slated for August 29th.  You can join CA+ and the webinar here: https://www.clearadmit.com/clearadmit-plus-members/ As always, this episode features in-depth breakdowns of three candidacies - all from ApplyWire this week: First up, Alex chooses an Indian candidate who worked in investment banking before building an EdTech startup with $1m in revenue to date and some substantial impact. With a rather unorthodox 10 years of work experience, they are seeking a top FT MBA program in the U.S., but have not yet taken the GMAT. Although there are several challenges to consider, Alex and Graham suggest that targeting the first rounds would be helpful, if the candidate can (move up the GMAT), spreading their list of target programs will also help (MIT / Sloan has a deadline of September 29). This week's second candidate has a super GMAT, strong engineering academics, and what appears to be strong work experience in the Aerospace and Defense industry. This led to a discussion on their gender, and if and why that might matter; Alex thinks they should also target Stanford. This week's third candidate is an enlisted Army linguist working in the intelligence field. They also have a super GMAT. We think they might adjust their target programs a little, and perhaps fine-tune their goals, but potentially there is a lot to like. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by Dennis Crowley in Illadelphia, home of the potentially wild-card bound Phillies. Thanks for reading this far, and for joining us! Please tell like 100 people about how much you enjoy the show!

Wire Taps 247—Super GMAT modest GPA conundrum. Hungarian consultant. Brazilian banker

Wire Taps 246—Over-represented, retake the GMAT? Professional gambling pastime. Military candidate, seeking deferral.

Wire Taps 245—Space career to help differentiate. Lots of potential, for next season. Using the MBA to help relocate?

Episode 244: Admissions Director Q&A with Eddie Asbie of Cornell Johnson

Wire Taps 243—Belgian who flies. Electrical engineer, targeting reach schools. Policy advisor, aiming high.