Wire Taps 257—13 Applications in one round? Pivoting to investment banking. Start-up experience to tech PM

Summary: 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.