Podcast appearances and mentions of cornell johnson

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the recent events and activities that Clear Admit has been involved in, including our MBA Fair in Boston, and online admissions events series that wrapped up last week. More than 600 attendees participated in our most recent virtual event, which included admissions representatives from UPenn / Wharton, Stanford, Texas / McCombs, Columbia and Yale SOM. Graham noted two articles that have been recently published on Clear Admit. The first focuses on the different teaching methods that are used in top MBA programs. The second focuses on financial aid issues relevant to U.S.-based candidates, including FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Graham then highlighted two Real Numbers articles that focus on Consumer-Packaged Goods (CPG) and Health Care placements. Graham highlighted five Real Humans alumni spotlights, alums from Yale SOM working at Amazon, IMD working at Disney, Cornell / Johnson working at Invenergy, UPenn / Wharton working at Aepnus Technology, and Chicago / Booth working at American Express. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry: This week's first MBA admissions candidate has a 695 GMAT and 3.8 GPA. They are seeking a top MBA with goals to pivot to the entertainment industry. This week's second MBA candidate has not yet taken the GMAT, but everything else about their profile looks very strong. Their long-term goal is to develop a chain of dental practices. The final MBA candidate is deciding between Northwestern / Kellogg, with a significant scholarship, and Harvard. They want to work in venture capital or private equity. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA admissions podcast we began by discussing the Round 3 activity on LiveWire; interview invites and final decisions continue to roll out for this shortened application round; next week UPenn / Wharton, Northwestern / Kellogg, IESE, MIT / Sloan, Yale SOM, Minnesota / Carlson, Columbia, Washington / Foster, UCLA / Anderson and Washington / Olin are scheduled to release final decisions. Graham noted a new Clear Admit promotion, where for every new entry we receive on DecisionWire, that maps out a candidate's entire application journey, Clear Admit will donate $10 to the Forte Foundation. Graham then highlighted Clear Admit's MBA admissions fair in Boston, on Wednesday. This event includes panel discussions, one of which is focused on Consulting hiring and is led by Bain. Twenty-four of the top 25 U.S.-based MBA programs are planning to attend, along with London Business School. Signups for this event are here: https://bit.ly/mbafair2025 The remainder of Application Overview events series will then be hosted, virtually, on May 20 and 21. Signups for those events are here: https://bit.ly/appoverview25 Graham noted two articles recently published on Clear Admit. The first covers the broad topic regarding what you can do with an MBA, looking at post MBA careers. The second article is a deep-dive research piece that examines placement statistics of the top MBA programs, for those seeking an MBA for their entrepreneurial ambitions. It's no surprise that Harvard and Stanford top the list of programs that future entrepreneurs join. Graham highlighted three Real Humans alumni spotlights, alums from HEC / Paris who established a Search Fund, Washington / Olin working at Applied Materials, and Ohio State / Fisher working at Bank of America. Finally, Graham discussed a forthcoming podcast featuring the leader of career services at Georgetown / McDonough. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry: This week's first MBA admissions candidate is an engineer who is now working in the renewable energy space. They have a 3.57 GPA and need to retake the GRE. This week's second MBA candidate is from Canada, and is also an engineer, working in Toronto. They have nine years of experience, and a 337 GRE. The final MBA candidate is deciding between Cornell / Johnson, UVA / Darden and Michigan / Ross, and is seeking a career in investment banking. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the Round 3 activity on LiveWire; interview invites are now starting to roll out for this shortened application round. Graham then announced the recent partnership Clear Admit has now established with Leland, which will now become our partner for MBA admissions coaching, test prep, and career counseling. Graham noted Clear Admit's Application Overview May series of events. These online events will be hosted on May 6 and 7, and May 20 and 21. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/appoverview25 Sandwiched in the middle of these events is Clear Admit's MBA admissions fair in Boston, on May 14th. Twenty-four of the top 25 U.S.-based MBA programs are planning to attend, along with London Business School. Signups for this event are here: https://bit.ly/mbafair2025 Graham noted a Clear Admit admissions tip focused on what candidates need to do, if they were not able to secure admissions at the targeted MBA programs. Graham then highlighted two recent articles from Clear Admit that focus on NYU / Stern's new dean, and UPenn / Wharton's new AI major. We then discussed the recent publication of 2025 US News's rankings, which led to a discussion on their overall methodology. Graham highlighted four Real Humans alumni spotlights, alums from IMD working at Johnson & Johnson, Cornell / Johnson working at Elephant Energy, Vanderbilt / Owen working at Amazon, and London Business School working as an entrepreneur. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected one ApplyWire entry and two DecisionWire entries: This week's first MBA admissions candidate is clearly non-traditional; for that reason, we discussed some of the approaches that non-traditional candidates need to pursue, including a strong focus on “why MBA” and their goals. This week's second MBA candidate is choosing between Berkeley / Haas and Northwestern / Kellogg's MBAi. They want to do product management in tech, in Texas. The final MBA candidate is choosing between UVA / Darden and NYU / Stern. They have a full-ride scholarship at both and want to purse MBB consulting. This episode was recorded in Atlanta, Georgia and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the Round 2 activity on LiveWire; Harvard, Northwestern / Kellogg, Chicago / Booth, Berkeley / Haas, Washington / Foster, UCLA / Anderson, Texas / McCombs and London Business School were among the top MBA programs releasing decisions last week. For this upcoming week, Stanford, UPenn / Wharton, MIT / Sloan and Cornell / Johnson are scheduled to release their final decisions. Graham highlighted the Spring Survey that Clear Admit conducts each season. These surveys are important to understand the decisions of each applicant-cohort. Here is the link for this season's survey: https://bit.ly/casurvey25 Graham noted Clear Admit's Application Overview series of events scheduled for May. These online events will be hosted on May 6 and 7, and May 20 and 21. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/appoverview25 Sandwiched in the middle of these events is Clear Admit's MBA admissions fair in Boston, on May 14th. Twenty-four of the top 25 U.S.-based MBA programs are planning to attend. Signups for this event are here: https://bit.ly/mbafair2025 Graham noted a Clear Admit article that shines the spotlight on ESADE and their work to become carbon neutral. He then highlighted the first in a series of Clear Admit career trends articles, focused on Class of 2024 consulting placements at leading MBA programs. As we have reported over several episodes this season, consulting placements are generally down across the top MBA programs. However, consulting remains a critical industry for top MBA graduates - with most schools sending a third of their class into the domain. Graham then noted a Fridays-from-the-Frontlines feature that focuses on MBA students from London Business School who traveled to Singapore and explored sustainability efforts. Graham highlighted four Real Humans alumni spotlights, alums from Duke / Fuqua working at McKinsey, Indiana / Kelley working at Microsoft, Michigan / Ross working at JP Morgan and Columbia working at Netflix. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry: This week's first MBA admissions candidate is from the UK and now lives in the US. They have a 675 GMAT score, and a 3.1 GPA undergraduate degree, followed by a 3.8 GPA master's degree in finance. Their focus is on real estate. This week's second MBA candidate is an electrical engineer who also has a master's degree. They work in the semiconductor industry as a product manager; they also have a 675 GMAT score. The final MBA candidate is deciding between Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua (with a $40,000 scholarship), and Georgetown / McDonough. They are seeking a consulting career. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the Round 2 activity on LiveWire; UNC / Kenan Flagler, Yale SOM and Georgetown / McDonough were among the top MBA programs scheduled to release Round 2 decisions last week. For this upcoming week, IESE, Harvard Business School, Northwestern / Kellogg, Columbia, Chicago / Booth, Berkeley / Haas, UCLA / Anderson, Texas / McCombs, Washington / Foster, Boston College / Carroll, Michigan State / Broad, Imperial College and London Business School are releasing their final decisions. Graham highlighted the Spring Survey that Clear Admit conducts each season. These surveys are important to understand the decisions of each applicant cohort. Here is the link for this season's survey: https://bit.ly/casurvey25 Graham noted that we have now nearly finalized the line-up for our Application Overview series of virtual events in May. These events will be hosted on May 6 and 7, and May 20 and 21. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/appoverview25 Sandwiched in the middle of these events is Clear Admit's MBA admissions fair in Boston, on May 14th. Twenty-four of the top 25 U.S.-based MBA programs are planning to attend. Signups for this event are here: https://bit.ly/mbafair2025 May truly kicks off the new season of MBA admissions at Clear Admit! Graham mentioned a recently published admissions tip that offers a primer on the Executive Assessment test. This article is a result of the queries we are seeing on the Ask Clear Admit AI bot tool. Graham then highlighted a Real Humans alumni spotlight, an alum from NYU / Stern working at PepsiCo. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three DecisionWire entries: This week's first MBA admissions candidate is choosing between Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, and UVA / Darden. They want to work in consulting on the west coast after business school. This week's second MBA candidate is choosing between Chicago / Booth's EMBA program and Cambridge / Judge's full-time program. They are from Japan and wish to begin a career in the United States. The final MBA candidate is deciding between Cornell / Johnson, Dartmouth / Tuck, and Michigan / Ross. They want to work in tech in New York City. They have a $100k scholarship offer from Ross, and a $30k offer from Johnson. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing Round 2 activity on LiveWire; interview invites continue to roll out for Round 2 candidates; Harvard was one of the top MBA programs to release their interview invites last week. This week, London Business School is scheduled to release their Round 2 interview invites. We then had a quick discussion regarding our new admissions bot, “Ask Clear Admit”. It is very interesting to be able to see what types of prompts MBA applicants are using for the bot, some of which are a little unexpected. We are now planning to write a prompt guide, to help users get the most out of their bot experience. You can find the chat bot here: https://ai.clearadmit.com Graham noted two upcoming webinar series. The first is for Deferred Admissions candidates, with signups here: https://bit.ly/de0225 The first webinar in this series, on this Wednesday, features Berkeley / Haas, UPenn / Wharton and Stanford. Next week we have CMU / Tepper, Chicago / Booth, Columbia, Yale SOM and UVA / Darden. The second webinar series is for Masters in Management candidates, with signups here: https://bit.ly/mim0225 Graham highlighted two MBA news stories. The first story covers the best business school podcasts, focusing on podcast from M7 programs. The second looks at an entrepreneurial program at Georgetown / McDonough called “Bark Tank”. Graham then mentioned three admissions tips, each focused on the MBA admissions interview process. Finally, we discussed two more MBA career reports from Cornell / Johnson and INSEAD. Both MBA programs show the same resilience as other top MBA programs, while facing the headwinds of a tighter employment market. That said, it's clear that top European-based MBA programs, like INSEAD, have a lower starting salary than their peer programs in the United States. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected one ApplyWire entry and two DecisionWire entries. This week's first MBA admissions candidate is from India and has a strong GMAT score of 715. They also have solid work experience, but are worried that they have a lower GPA and few outside activities. We were also concerned that they were only able to target Round 2. This week's second MBA candidate is choosing between CMU / Tepper and Texas / McCombs. They have a decent sized scholarship from Tepper. They want to move into tech product management. The final MBA candidate is deciding between Columbia and Kellogg. They are targeting consumer-packaged goods and marketing, but they have a preference for New York City. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the new season of MBA admissions; this upcoming week we have many Round 2 application deadlines, including Harvard, Dartmouth / Tuck, UCLA / Anderson, Emory / Goizueta, Georgetown / McDonough, CMU / Tepper, Rice / Jones, Chicago / Booth, Yale SOM, UVA / Darden, UNC / Kenan Flagler, Washington / Foster, Notre Dame / Mendoza, SMU / Cox, Stanford, Northwestern / Kellogg, Johns Hopkins / Carey, Vanderbilt / Owen, Berkeley / Haas, Duke / Fuqua, Cornell / Johnson, USC / Marshall, IESE, Georgia / Terry and Georgia Tech / Scheller. Graham highlighted two admissions tips for those finalizing their admissions essays; these essay tips focus on word limits and the optional essay. Graham then discussed a Real Humans post focused on holiday celebrations. Graham then presented the Class of 2024 career placement reports from Columbia, Northwestern / Kellogg and UPenn / Wharton. This finalizes our reviews of the M7 career reports, and we are seeing the outcomes of a tougher placement market for these top programs. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry: This week's first MBA admissions candidate is only applying to two programs, Duke / Fuqua and UVA / Darden. They did apply last season to some different programs, and we worry that they may be challenged by applying in Round 2 this season. This week's second MBA candidate was a NCAA Div 1 athlete with an outstanding GPA. They now work in their family business, focused on sports. While their GMAT is not outstanding, we wonder if they should target a few programs from a higher tier. The final MBA candidate is deciding between Washington / Foster, with $66k scholarship and Vanderbilt / Owen with $100k scholarship. They want to pursue a career in consulting or technology. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the activity of MBA LiveWire; upcoming this week several top MBA programs will be releasing their Round 1 decisions including Stanford, Chicago / Booth, Yale SOM, Michigan / Ross, Cornell / Johnson, CMU / Tepper, Emory / Goizueta, Boston College / Carroll and Georgia / Terry. INSEAD is scheduled to release its Round 2 interview invites. Graham highlighted the upcoming webinar series for Masters in Management programs, which will be held this week on December 3rd and 4th, and include Chicago / Booth, Georgetown / McDonough, Michigan / Ross, Duke / Fuqua, Emory / Goizueta and Notre Dame / Mendoza. Signups are still available: https://bit.ly/camim24 Graham then shared four admissions tips. The first two tips focus on those who applied in Round 1, helping candidates decide between different offers, and what to do if you are placed on a wait list at your target MBA program. The second two tips focus on those who are applying in Round 2, helping candidates identify target programs, and choosing their recommenders. We then discussed two Real Humans stories, focused on MBA students at UCLA / Anderson and Washington / Foster. Graham then presented the first career placement report of the Class of 2024 season, from UVA / Darden. Frankly, their placement statistics, which were very similar to last season, look quite impressive given the potential challenges in the hiring market we've been hearing about (with tech layoffs and a slowing of consulting hiring). Finally, Graham previewed a podcast episode he recently conducted with Erin Nixon, the Assistant Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at Stanford GSB. This will be published this week, so watch this space! For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries: This week's first MBA admissions candidate has significant work experience in the media and entertainment space and has now come to the realization that an MBA may well be a good next step. We think she will have interesting opportunities if her quant profile is strong. This week's second MBA candidate is targeting next season and has a GMAT score of 770. They also have very decent tech-focused work experience, and we think they should also have great options next season. The final MBA candidate is from Ghana and is an older candidate at 32. We discussed some of the challenges that older MBA applicants might face in the admissions process, and how to overcome those challenges. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the activity on MBA LiveWire; UPenn / Wharton released its interview invites for Round 1 last week, while Chicago / Booth released deny decisions for those who it did not invite for an interview. Several other top MBA programs continue to roll out interview invite decisions. For this upcoming week, Cornell / Johnson is scheduled to release its interview invite decisions for Round 1, while Irvine / Merage, Oxford / Said, Maryland / Smith and Washington / Olin all have application deadlines. Georgetown / McDonough is scheduled to release its Early Action round decisions. Graham highlighted the upcoming webinars series scheduled for deferred admissions candidates, which begins on November 6 with Columbia, Harvard, Chicago / Booth and Yale SOM, signups are here: https://bit.ly/cadefermba Graham also noted the upcoming webinar series for Masters in Management programs, which begins on December 3, signups are here: https://bit.ly/camim24 Graham then highlighted a recently published story that covers the history of the “M7” group of MBA programs, as well as an admissions tip on some of the more unusual interview practices at top MBA programs. Graham then noted three Real Humans stories, focused on MBA students at Emory / Goizueta, Vanderbilt / Owen and Boston College / Carroll. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries. This week's first MBA admissions candidate is from Italy, now living in Spain.  They appear to have a very solid career history and outside activities. They also have a master's degree in economics. Unfortunately, they were not able to perform well on the GRE test, so have requested test waivers. We think this will harm their MBA options, overall. This week's second MBA candidate applied to all their programs in Round 1 and appears to have a decent profile, overall. This includes a 3.64 GPA, 324 GRE and 5 years of work experience. They already have an interview invite at Dartmouth / Tuck. The final MBA candidate is from Brazil, and appears to have a very good profile overall, but has taken the Executive Assessment test, instead of the GMAT or GRE. Like our first candidate this week, we think this may negatively impact their overall options. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the activity on MBA LiveWire; we are starting to see interview invites released for Round 1 for programs like Yale SOM, Berkeley / Haas, and Northwestern / Kellogg. Upcoming this week, we have several Round 1 deadlines including MIT / Sloan, Duke / Fuqua, UCLA / Anderson, CMU / Tepper, USC / Marshall, Washington / Foster, Washington / Olin, Maryland / Smith, SMU / Cox, Minnesota / Carlson, UVA / Darden, Emory / Goizueta and Georgia Tech / Scheller. Oxford / Said has its Stage 2 deadline, too. Graham highlighted the upcoming webinar focused on MBA programs from the West Coast, including Berkeley / Haas, Stanford, UCLA / Anderson, Washington / Foster and UC / Irvine. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/westcoastmba Graham then highlighted two recently published admissions tips focused on letters of support, and different types of MBA admissions interviews. Graham then noted two Real Humans stories, focused on MBA students at Cornell / Johnson and London Business School. We then discussed three recently published class profiles, from Harvard, MIT / Sloan and Dartmouth / Tuck. Like prior profiles for this season, application volumes are up, and the profile of the incoming classes remains strong. This did, however, lead to a discussion regarding median GMAT scores versus GRE scores. Finally, Graham noted a recently published podcast he hosted with David Simpson of London Business School. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries: This week's first MBA admissions candidate has an outstanding academic profile, with a 3.85 GPA and 750 GMAT score. They have a health care focus, and as part of their school selection, they need to consider their partner's continuing career. This week's second MBA candidate has a 720 GMAT and a 329 GRE, which led to a conversation as to which is better. They have a strong technical focus, which includes their own entrepreneurial experience. The final MBA candidate for this week is a reapplicant for USC / Marshall. They have improved their GRE score, and other elements of their profile should also be improved. We suggest they also apply to UCLA / Anderson. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the activity on MBA LiveWire; we have a couple of MBA admissions deadlines upcoming this week, for NYU / Stern and Chicago / Booth. The Clear Admit “Inside the MBA Admissions Process” event series continues this week and next week. Our second event, on Wednesday, includes Dartmouth / Tuck, Berkeley / Haas, Yale SOM, UNC / Kenan Flagler, and NYU / Stern. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/insidemba Graham highlighted a recently published admissions tip focused on understanding the importance of the word count requirements for the MBA admissions essays. Graham then noted a Clear Admit story on the rise of Master's in Management programs in the United States, as well as an Adcom Q&A from Rice / Jones. We then discussed two recently published class profiles. Both Michigan / Ross and Cornell / Johnson reported strong profiles for their incoming classes, following the early trend we are seeing for this season's new MBA candidates. Finally, Graham noted a recently published podcast he hosted with UNC / Kenan Flagler, which focuses on their renowned Investment Management program. One of the student co-hosts on the podcast used to be a Wire Taps listener when they were applying to top MBA programs! For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries: This week's first MBA admissions candidate is from Southern Europe and has worked extensively in the hospitality sector. They have a strong undergraduate GPA, but their GRE is 319. They are taking MBA Math. This week's second MBA candidate has a very strong focus on technology in the energy sector. They have a PhD and a GMAT score of 750. They also have 10 years of experience. They have a very specific goal focus, but we wonder if they need to broaden their list of target programs. The final MBA candidate for this week is planning to use the MBA to transition to their family business, to create a tech-focused vertical. They also have significant work experience of nine years, and they have a decent GRE score of 327. Their GPA is likely their weakest element, at 3.12. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the busy season that is upon us; we have several MBA admissions deadlines upcoming this week; Georgetown / McDonough and Johns Hopkins / Carey have their Early Action round deadlines. Stanford, Michigan / Ross, Columbia, Yale SOM, INSEAD, Northwestern / Kellogg and Berkeley / Haas have their Round 1 application deadlines. The Clear Admit “Inside the MBA Admissions Process” event series begins this week and runs for three weeks, on September 11th, 18th and 25th. Our first event includes INSEAD, London Business School, UPenn / Wharton, Emory / Goizueta and Michigan / Ross. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/insidemba Graham highlighted recent news from GMAC, which is launching a new writing exam, now that the AWA element of the traditional GMAT test has been eliminated. We discussed Harvard admissions team's desire to see a writing sample for all its candidates. Graham then highlighted several admissions-related articles that have been recently published on Clear Admit. They include admissions tips focused on GMAT and GRE test waivers (don't if you are able to take a test) and MBA programs which don't require the test (we still encourage candidates to take a test). Admissions tips that focus on video essays, which are becoming more popular, and the need to avoid comparing your target MBA program with other programs, through the admissions process. Finally, Graham noted an in-depth survey of visa requirements for international MBA students who plan to study outside their home country. Graham highlighted three Adcom Q&As, from IMD, Vanderbilt / Owen and Cornell / Johnson. We then discussed two recently published class profiles. UCLA / Anderson experienced an incredible 41% increase in application volume last season, and Duke / Fuqua was able to recruit a class where female enrolment eclipsed 50% for the first time. Both these class profiles are very impressive. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries and a Question from LiveWire: This week's first MBA admissions candidate is going to be sponsored for their MBA by a “big 4” consulting firm. They appear to have done very well at work, and they also have a very good profile for sustainability initiatives. Their numbers, 3.3 GPA and 690 GMAT, are a potential area of concern. This week's second MBA candidate enlisted in the military straight out of high school. Once they completed their military service they started their undergraduate degree at a community college, they have now transferred to Stanford, and are studying Mechanical Engineering. We anticipate they have a very interesting “lived experience” that may play well in MBA admissions. The final MBA candidate for this week posed a question on MBA LiveWire regarding their reapplication process. They are planning to retake the GRE, as well as transition to a new job. The question is whether to apply in Round 1 or Round 2. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the activity on MBA LiveWire; a few MBA programs are still reducing their wait lists as pre-terms approach; we then discussed the value and importance of pre-term to help set up candidates for their MBA experience. Clear Admit's summer essay workshops have now come to a very successful conclusion; the next series of events will begin in September. Graham highlighted Harvard's recent announcement that their MBA program is now STEM certified. This allows international students more scope for remaining in the United States in the short term, post MBA. Harvard is following a significant trend for leading MBA programs which started with Rochester / Simon. Graham noted that Berkeley / Haas has a new dean; one of Haas's previous deans has now moved up in the administration at Berkeley (Rich Lyons, as Chancellor of UC Berkeley), which we assume is a good thing for the business school, generally. Graham then highlighted two admissions tips. The first focuses on the value of campus visits, the second is essentially a useful list of all the early round deadlines for the top MBA programs. This useful resource also includes links to each program's respective essay topic analysis, and much more. Graham then discussed three recently published Adcom Q&As, from Chicago / Booth, Boston College / Carroll, and CEIBS. Graham then highlighted two recently published podcasts he recorded during GMAC's annual conference. These interviews feature admissions officers from Yale SOM and Cornell / Johnson, answering three questions related to MBA admissions: candidates' use of AI in the admissions process, the use of video in the admissions process, and aspirational trends that they a seeing from their candidates. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries: This week's first MBA admissions candidate was a medical doctor and then moved on to McKinsey. We really like that profile. They are targeting the trilogy of Harvard, Stanford and Wharton, which is quite ambitious, but they can always expand their selection in the second round, if necessary. This week's second MBA candidate is from the Midwest and has a rather unorthodox pathway to pursuing the MBA, starting out their career as a reporter, then working at a startup, and now in banking. They do have a strong profile; the one weakness may be their quantitative abilities. The final MBA candidate for this week is a military candidate who has also worked in the private sector for a couple of years after leaving the service. If we can assume a strong military experience, we think there's a lot to like, and targeting top 16 programs makes sense. They are also a marathoner. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

Executive Director of Admissions and Scholarship at the Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management, Eddie Asbie, sat down with Clear Admit Co-Founder Graham Richmond at the GMAC Conference this summer for a chat about MBA admissions. Eddie covers a lot of ground about the Cornell Johnson MBA in this short interview! The Cornell Johnson MBA application features a "fill in the blank" career goals prompt, which Eddie digs into in the special Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast episode below. Eddie also talks about trends in the applicant pool, particularly regarding careers, as well as how artificial intelligence can play a part in the application process. He also touches on what they're looking for in their Impact Essay and what can come up in the admissions interview. And, if you're interested in investment banking, hear why you should add Cornell Johnson to your target b-school list. It's another must-listen Live Admissions Q&A!

In this episode, Eddie Asbie, Executive Director of Admissions and Scholarship at Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management, shares an overview of the admissions process. He provides insights into the application process at Cornell Johnson, including the testing and test waiver policy, the interview process, and advice for re-applicants. He offers details on the new essay questions for the upcoming application cycle and shares his thoughts on using AI for essays.Relevant Links:Cornell Johnson Full-time MBAMBA Admissions QuizRelevant shows:Do You Have the Spike for Toronto Rotman MBA?So You Want to Do an MBA Outside the U.S.How to get Accepted at Michigan RossFormer Wharton/Lauder Admissions Director How to Get into HEC Paris MBA?Follow UsYouTubeFacebookLinkedInContact Uswww.accepted.comsupport@accepted.com+1 (310) 815-9553

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the activity on MBA LiveWire, which soon turned into a short quiz with Alex testing Graham on key admissions dates for next season; Cambridge / Judge leads the way with a Round 1 application deadline of August 27. Graham highlighted the summer application series that Clear Admit is hosting, which concludes this Wednesday, July 31, with Yale SOM, Columbia, Michigan / Ross, and IESE. Signups are here: https://www.bit.ly/summeressays We then discussed a recently published article on Clear Admit which clusters together the key themes for essay topics for MBA programs. While Alex guessed two key themes correctly, he failed on the remainder; the clusters do reveal what is very important for admissions officers as they review their MBA candidates. Graham noted two recently published MBA admissions tips. The first focuses on creating an MBA admissions resume, the second was an admissions tip for younger MBA candidates. Graham then discussed four recently published Adcom Q&As, from Cambridge / Judge, Notre Dame / Mendoza, UPenn / Wharton and Toronto / Rotman. Graham then highlighted three recently published, and soon to be published, podcasts that were recorded during GMACs annual conference. These podcast feature admissions officers from Cambridge / Judge, Duke / Fuqua and Cornell / Johnson, answering three questions related to MBA admissions: candidates' use of AI in the admissions process, the use of video in the admissions process, and aspirational trends that they a seeing from their candidates. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries: This week's first MBA admissions candidate is a Hispanic male with a PhD, and experience at an MBB; this experience revealed to them why they need an MBA. They have entrepreneurial aspirations. This week's second MBA candidate is from India, and is a little worried about the quant score of their GMAT. We are less concerned, and think they need to leverage their interests in the life sciences as part of their MBA strategy, all while applying in Round 1. The final MBA candidate for this week is currently still an undergraduate student, but has been working 40 hours a week, while maintaining a super GPA and being very active on campus. They are debating whether to pursue an MBA, or MS in Finance, directly after completing their undergraduate degree. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the activity on MBA LiveWire, where last season is essentially closing out, with MBA programs reducing their wait lists as the beginning of orientation approaches. Graham highlighted the summer essay insights series that Clear Admit is hosting, which continues this Wednesday, July 24, with CMU / Tepper, Chicago / Booth, Georgetown / McDonough, Cornell / Johnson and Vanderbilt / Owen. Signups are here: https://www.bit.ly/summeressays Graham noted a recently published article on MBA programs and their use of AI, clearly a fast moving area. Graham then discussed three recently published Adcom Q&As, from NYU / Stern, Duke / Fuqua and Bath. Graham then highlighted a recently published podcast that was recorded during GMACs annual conference. This podcast features a long-serving adcom from Dartmouth / Tuck answering three questions related to MBA admissions: candidates' use of AI in the admissions process, the use of video in the admissions process, and aspirational trends that they a seeing from their candidates. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries. This week's first MBA admissions candidate has a decent profile, with a strong finance background. Their academic record is strong, their GMAT is 720, after a couple of retakes. The key question is how competitive they will be at the M7 programs they are targeting. This week's second MBA candidate is from India, and has a pretty entrepreneurial story, to date. They have also co-founded a school, which appears to have had good impact. Their GMAT is an outstanding 760. The final MBA candidate for this week is currently still an undergraduate student, and is debating whether to pursue a masters in management degree, ahead of pursuing an MBA degree in a few years. They do appear to be very active on campus, and have an outstanding academic record, and decent internships. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we kicked things off with our usual rundown of the latest admissions news.  We are still seeing some activity around wait lists at few MBA programs. We then discussed the delayed roll-out of the Harvard MBA admissions essay for this upcoming season. It looks like HBS is planning to change their more traditional essay prompt, and there appears to be much anticipation about this change.  All will be unveiled later this month... Graham highlighted the upcoming summer application essay series that Clear Admit hosts, which begins on Wednesday, July 10, and will include the majority of the top MBA programs. Signups have recently opened and are here: https://www.bit.ly/summeressays Graham then noted the publication of a new podcast episode which is a recording of one of the panel discussions during the in-person Chicago MBA admissions event that Clear Admit hosted. This discussion centered on answering several key questions about the MBA degree; who is it for, when should one pursue it, why, what's the ROI, etc.  The show features admissions directors from Cornell / Johnson, Harvard, NYU / Stern and Michigan / Ross, with Graham moderating. Graham then highlighted a recently published Clear Admit admissions tip, which focuses the importance of the campus environment; this led to a discussion about the Penn campus in Philadelphia. Graham then noted the publication of Clear Admit's first Adcom Q&A for this new season, from Ohio State/Fisher. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries: This week's first MBA admissions candidate is from India, and is reapplying next season, after gaining admissions this season for USC / Marshall and CMU / Tepper. They have a strong blend of tech and entrepreneurial experience, as well as decent additional activities. They have a very good GMAT, but their GPA is the weak spot. This week's second MBA candidate is a military candidate with a 700 GMAT score and a 3.15 GPA. They are not being overly ambitious with their target programs. They plan to retake the GMAT this summer, as well as take some additional coursework to bolster their profile. The final MBA candidate for this week is also from the military, this time on the nuclear engineering side for the Navy. They have a strong GMAT of 740, and while their GPA is a little modest, they played Division 1 Baseball as an undergraduate. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

Recorded live at the Clear Admit MBA Fair, admissions directors from top business schools share their insights on key questions prospective MBA students often need answering in this special episode of the Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast. The episode features Eddie Asbie from Cornell Johnson, Dana Fernandez from Harvard Business School, Matthew Ganderson from Michigan Ross, and Lindsay Lloyd from NYU Stern.

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began with a quick report from Graham on how Clear Admit's first ever in-person event for applicants went in Chicago; spoiler alert: it was a great success!  Alex then followed with an update on the latest MBA application decision releases for this season: this week, a few top MBA programs are releasing final decisions for Rounds 3 and 4, including Cornell / Johnson and Georgetown / McDonough; Harvard and UPenn / Wharton are releasing interview invites for their deferred admissions rounds. Graham highlighted the final spring online webinar that Clear Admit is hosting this Wednesday at 12 pm ET, which will feature CMU / Tepper, Columbia, UPenn / Wharton, INSEAD and London Business School. Signups are here: https://www.bit.ly/caspringwebinars Graham then mentioned a recently published Clear Admit admissions tip, regarding background checks on admitted candidates, before moving on to discuss three 'Real Humans Alumni' pieces, an MBA alum from Duke / Fuqua who works at Pfizer, an MBA from Columbia who works in AI for Amazon, and an MBA alum from Chicago / Booth who works at Xbox. We then discussed the MBA Class of 2023 career report from UCLA / Anderson. This report is quite late in the cycle, but highlights the many strengths of the Anderson MBA program, especially if you are interested in being on the West Coast after business school. Finally, we discussed a U.S. Department of Energy competition won by MBA students from Duke / Fuqua. The winning concept related to how to manage power generation when the renewable inputs are variable. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry: This week's first MBA admissions candidate appears to have a very strong professional career, and is from Latin America. While their GMAT is decent (710), their GPA is the weak point. We discussed strategies to mitigate the lighter GPA. This week's second MBA candidate also has a modest GPA of 3.0. They have a super GMAT (695 on the new version of the test) and appear to have done well in their marketing career, despite navigating a layoff. The final MBA candidate for this week is deciding between Duke / Fuqua and London Business School. These are two quite different options, and we discussed those differences. They want to be in the United States in the longer term, post MBA. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the latest MBA application deadlines and interview releases as the 2023-24 admissions season draws to a close. This week, a few top MBA programs are releasing final decisions for Round 3, including Stanford and Chicago / Booth. Graham highlighted the Spring Online Webinar series that Clear Admit is hosting. The second event in the series is on Wednesday, and includes Dartmouth / Tuck, Yale SOM, UVA / Darden, and UNC / Kenan / Flagler. Signups are here: https://www.bit.ly/caspringwebinars Graham then highlighted a recently published Clear Admit article that highlights the benefits of posting an entry to MBA ApplyWire. This is Clear Admit's tool that allows candidates to share their profile and list of target MBA programs, and then get feedback from the Clear Admit MBA community. Some of these profiles are then discussed on this Wire Taps podcast. Graham then noted one Real Humans Alumni piece, an MBA alum from Cornell / Johnson who works at Amazon. Finally, we discussed a Friday's From the Frontline piece which focused on a Duke / Fuqua MBA student who discussed his long pathway to the realization that an MBA was a good next step. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry: This week's first MBA admissions candidate has a strong passion for focusing on income inequality issues, and how an MBA can help them develop their skills to further impact this issue. They also have decent numbers, and may well be a strong MBA candidate. This week's second MBA candidate is from India, and appears to have an impressive professional background, evolving from accountancy to product management in tech, with a focus on social impact. They should target the first rounds. The final MBA candidate for this week is deciding between NYU / Stern, to which they have already paid a deposit, and Columbia, where they have only recently been admitted. In the long run, they want to be on the west coast. This episode was recorded in Chicago, Illinois and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the latest application deadlines and decision releases for this season. This week Round 3 and 4 continue with several application deadlines; some programs are also releasing final decisions for Round 3, including UVA / Darden, Georgetown / McDonough, Dartmouth / Tuck, Berkeley / Haas, Texas / McCombs and Michigan / Ross. Graham highlighted the May 15th event we are hosting in Chicago, which will be Clear Admit's first in-person MBA candidate event. Signups are here: https://www.bit.ly/cachicagofair Graham also noted the Application Overview webinar series that Clear Admit is hosting. The first event is on May 8th, and includes Berkeley / Haas, Duke / Fuqua, Emory / Goizueta, Georgetown / McDonough and Texas / McCombs. Signups are here: https://www.bit.ly/caspringwebinars Graham then mentioned two admissions tips that focus on MBA scholarship negotiation, and how important scholarship offers can be to a final decision. Graham then noted four Real Humans Alumni pieces, alums from: Northwestern Kellogg at Google, Duke / Fuqua at Accenture, Rochester / Simon at Bain and Texas / McCombs at Tesla. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry: This week's first MBA admissions candidate has a very strong GRE score of 332, and they graduated with a first class engineering degree, in India. Their career focus has been in software engineering in the non-profit sector. We like their overall profile, and recommend they target the first rounds. This week's second MBA candidate is planning several years ahead for their MBA experience. They need to overcome a very low 2.4 GPA. There are steps they can take to help mitigate this concern, and we detailed some of those steps. The final MBA candidate for this week is deciding between Cornell / Johnson and UVA Darden, with a goal for MBB consulting. They are an international student and wonder whether the Ivy name from Johnson should be a factor. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the MBA application deadlines and interview releases for this season. This week Round 3 continues with several application deadlines, and UPenn / Wharton and Duke / Fuqua are scheduled to release interview invite decisions. Graham started with a story of his random meeting with a podcast listener (and current Wharton student), who he met at a car rental agency. Graham then highlighted the May 15th event we are hosting in Chicago, which will be Clear Admit's first in-person MBA candidate event. Signups are here: https://www.bit.ly/cachicagofair Graham also noted the Spring Online Webinar series that Clear Admit is hosting, with signups here: https://www.bit.ly/caspringwebinars We then had a discussion about the recently published 2024 U.S. News MBA ranking of U.S. based MBA programs. For the second year in row, there is a significant emphasis on career outcomes in this ranking, rather than an emphasis on the quality of the incoming class. Some of the order of the ranking appears to be off, as a consequence of this. Graham highlighted a recently published admissions tip focused on the waitlist, which also provides direct access to a video that we hosted for the Admissions Academy. This video is now freely available for all to watch. Graham then noted three Real Humans Alumni pieces, alums from: Cornell / Johnson working at Amazon, Columbia working at Google, and Georgetown / McDonough working at Johnson & Johnson. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry. This week's first MBA admissions candidate is applying next season. They have decent numbers, with a 3.72 GPA and 326 GRE. They have 3 years of work experience in consulting. We discussed what they might do to improve their overall profile, over the next several months. This week's second MBA candidate has recently left their work, to take a break, before starting business school. They appear to have a strong professional record at top tech companies, and a decent GPA. They have gained a test waiver to the programs they are targeting; we are not convinced that's the right approach. The final MBA candidate for this week is deciding between Northwestern / Kellogg, Duke / Fuqua (with money) and IESE. They also need to consider their spouse's options, as they weigh whether to do an MBA in Europe or the United States. This episode was recorded in Schenectady, New York, USA and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

As usual, this week's MBA Admissions podcast kicks off with a discussion of all the latest MBA application deadline and decision release news for this season. Last week, MIT / Sloan released its Round 2 final decisions. Cornell / Johnson also released some of their final decisions. This week Round 3 continues with several application deadlines. Graham promoted the MBA applicant survey we now have in the field. We are trying to encourage as high a response rate as we can get. The survey is at https://www.bit.ly/caspringsurvey Graham also noted the May 15th event we are hosting in Chicago, which will be Clear Admit's first in-person MBA candidate event. Signups are here: https://www.bit.ly/cachicagofair Graham highlighted two recently published admissions tips focused on how candidates should decide between different MBA program offers, and how to get the most out of the admitted students events that many top MBA programs offer in the month of April. These events are very important to attend for two broad reasons: to help candidates make their final decisions, as well as to begin the process of transitioning to the new MBA adventure. Graham then noted three Real Humans Alumni pieces, alums from London Business School working at Uber, Maryland / Smith working at Merck, and UPenn / Wharton working at General Mills. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry. This week's first MBA admissions candidate applied to London Business School this season, but was rejected after the interview phase. They have a 319 GRE score and a 3.1 GPA. While they appear to have a strong professional background, we are encouraging them to retake the GRE, ahead of next season. This week's second MBA candidate also has a 3.1 GPA, but there GMAT is a little better, at 710. They also have a very decent professional background, as well as very interesting extra-curricular activities and interests. Their target is Duke / Fuqua's early action round. We think there is a strong potential benefit from retaking the GMAT, if they can gain 20-30 points. The final MBA candidate for this week is deciding between UCLA / Anderson with some scholarship and UNC / Kenan Flagler with a full scholarship. We think the decision really boils down to where they want to be, geographically, post MBA. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began with our usual rundown of MBA application deadlines and decision releases for this season. Last week we saw several top MBA programs release their final Round 2 decisions. This week, MIT / Sloan and Cornell / Johnson are among those releasing decisions. There are also several Round 3 application deadlines. Graham highlighted the new Spring survey that Clear Admit is running, to get a better sense of how MBA candidates select their target programs. Answering this survey really helps Clear Admit better understand the MBA community, and provides great insights for top MBA programs. The survey is here: https://bit.ly/caspringsurvey Graham then mentioned a new Clear Admit event, which is an in-person MBA admissions fair, to be held in Chicago on May 15. Most of the top MBA programs will be in attendance. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/cachicagofair Graham highlighted three Real Humans Alumni pieces: alums from IMD working at Bain, Ohio / Fisher working at JPMorgan Chase, and NYU / Stern working at Hulu. Finally we discussed the second in Clear Admit's series of post-MBA career reports. This one focuses on consulting careers, and not only which programs send the most candidates into consulting careers, but also which programs have a stronger focus on MBB (McKinsey, Bain, BCG) consulting. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry. This week's first MBA admissions candidate has very strong numbers, with a 334 GRE and a 3.83 GPA. They have four years of experience, most recently as part of the legal team at a Private Equity firm. They want to pursue the MBA to return to private equity, on the investment side. We think this is very doable, but might be worth looking at investment banking as a short term goal. This week's second MBA candidate has been a lawyer for eight years, and wants to use the MBA to pivot to consulting in the short term, then a strategy or general counsel role in the longer term. They have a strong GPA of 3.75, but perhaps are a little light on the quant side. They still need to take the GMAT, so a very strong score will help. The final MBA candidate for this week is deciding between Berkeley / Haas and Texas/McCombs, with a $35k scholarship. They have free tuition based on the GI bill. They want to do consulting, post MBA. They also have additional personal reasons that makes this decision a little more complicated. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the latest MBA application deadlines and decision releases. This upcoming week Yale SOM, Harvard, Stanford, UVA / Darden, CMU / Tepper, Emory / Goizueta, Dartmouth / Tuck, Berkeley / Haas, Georgetown / McDonough, Duke / Fuqua, Michigan / Ross and Cornell / Johnson are all scheduled to release Round 1 decisions. Graham highlighted the upcoming MBA admissions events this week. On Monday, December 4, Clear Admit is hosting its monthly Clear Admit+ event, open to all registered users. This is an opportunity to ask questions to our podcast hosts as we move towards the Round 2 deadlines. On Wednesday, December 6, Clear Admit is hosting its second Masters in Management program webinar. Schools participating in this event include Duke Fuqua, Emory Goizueta, Georgetown McDonough, Northwestern Kellogg, and Notre Dame Mendoza. Signup for this event here: https://bit.ly/clearadmitmim We then had a discussion on the recently released LinkedIn ranking of top MBA programs. They use their self-reported employment data to rank the programs, which is an interesting approach. The outcome of the ranking is reasonable, with a few exceptions. Graham then highlighted a recent article that Clear Admit published for its Sustainability series, from Northwestern / Kellogg. He then noted a three Real Humans articles from Texas / McCombs, London Business School and Georgetown / McDonough. We then discussed two Admissions Tips: one focused on the increasing use of video essays, the second on the importance of the data forms in the admissions process. We then reviewed the London Business School class of 2025 profile, which looked very reasonable for a top European program in terms of the statistics. We did wonder whether European application numbers were harmed by the Brexit situation (Europe + the U.K. only represents 18% of this recent class). Finally, we discussed the MBA employment report for UVA / Darden Class of 2023. Their employment statistics fall in line with other top programs, with an increase in consulting placements (even if some of those are delayed), and a small reduction on tech placements, which appears to be in line with the wider employment environment. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries. This week's first MBA admissions candidate has a super GRE score of 335. They are an engineer, from India, now working in the U.S. They are targeting next season. They do have three degrees already, so the MBA will be the fourth; they will need to make it clear that they are not simply collecting degrees, and there are broader goals that make sense of their pathway. We also hope they have some hobbies and interests that further differentiate them from other very bright engineers from India. This week's second MBA candidate also has a great test score, with a 750 on the GMAT. They are from Azerbaijan, and they are targeting Round 2 for this season. Their longer term goals are for entrepreneurship, and we were very interested in whether this is back in their home country, or where they study for the MBA. We also like their community activities. The final MBA candidate for this week is debating whether to apply for full-time of part-time programs, weighing up the risk / reward trade offs of both. They appear to have a very decent profile, but their GRE score is at 317. They are targeting next season, so we hope they can really boost that score, and then potentially apply to both program options, to see what opportunities this presents. This episode was recorded in Milan, Italy and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

As usual, this week's MBA Admissions podcast begins with a rundown of all the latest news regarding application deadlines, interview releases, and decisions. While a few interview invites may remain, and a few candidates are still interviewing, we are moving to the stage of waiting for decision releases; this upcoming week Chicago / Booth and London Business School are scheduled to release Round 1 decisions. Graham highlighted three upcoming admissions events: on Wednesday, November 29, at 12 pm ET, Clear Admit is hosting an event for Masters in Management programs. Schools participating in this event include Chicago / Booth, Michigan / Ross, and CMU / Tepper. The following Wednesday (same time), Clear Admit's second event for Masters in Management programs will include Northwestern / Kellogg, Georgetown / McDonough and Notre Dame / Mendoza. Signup for these events here: https://bit.ly/clearadmitmim On Thursday, November 30th, Clear Admit is hosting an admissions event with seven leading MBA programs, which will share key tips on how to optimize candidates' MBA admissions opportunities. These seven programs are Berkeley / Haas, Cornell / Johnson, Duke / Fuqua, Michigan / Ross, NYU / Stern, Yale SOM and UVA / Darden. Signups for this event are here: https://bit.ly/catoptips Graham also mentioned a recent article that Clear Admit published for its Sustainability series, from Michigan / Ross. He then noted a Real Humans article from Johns Hopkins / Carey. We then discussed an Admissions Tip about how to convince schools you 'mean business' by demonstrating the research you've done and ensuring it comes to light in your MBA application essays. Finally, we discussed two employment reports, from Yale SOM and Cornell / Johnson. Despite a slowdown in technology and consulting hiring, both programs have pretty fantastic numbers across the board in terms of the careers their candidates are able to move into.  This is very much in line with other top MBA programs we've profiled on recent episodes. For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries: This week's first MBA admissions candidate is from South Africa, and has a good combination of a strong GPA and 730 GMAT. Their work experience, via a rotational program in tech, looks very decent. They are also quite involved in activities outside of work. They are targeting the very elite M7 programs, but we do think they have a strong overall profile. This week's second MBA candidate is originally from East Asia, but now lives and works in Canada, from where they did their undergraduate degree. Their GPA is slightly lower than average, but Canada has less grade inflation. Their GRE score is 326, which is decent. They are targeting top 16 programs, which do look within reach. This episode was recorded in Cornwall, England and Paris, France. It was produced and engineered in Philadelphia, USA by Dennis Crowley. Please remember to rate and review this podcast wherever you listen and to 'stay safe everybody'!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we ran down all the latest MBA application deadlines and interview releases. While a few interview invites remain, and a few candidates are still interviewing, we are moving to the oft-challenging stage of waiting for decision releases. This waiting period does create considerable anxiety for MBA candidates. Graham highlighted the upcoming MBA admissions event on November 30, where seven of the world's leading MBA programs will share tips on how to optimize their MBA admissions opportunities. Signups for the event are here: https://bit.ly/catoptips Clear Admit is also hosting two events for Masters in Management programs, on November 29 and December 6. Schools participating in that event include Chicago / Booth, Michigan / Ross, CMU / Tepper, Northwestern / Kellogg, Georgetown / McDonough and Notre Dame / Mendoza. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/clearadmitmim Graham then highlighted two articles that Clear Admit published for its Sustainability series, from Chicago / Booth and Cornell / Johnson. He then noted a Real Humans article from UNC / Kenan Flagler, which led to a story about how the MBA student challenged their fear of heights. We then discussed an Admissions Tip: knowing your audience, which details the importance of understanding the admissions officers who will be reviewing the applications. Finally, Graham previewed a recently recorded podcast that he conducted with Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), and two students who successfully used the service and attended Stanford GSB and Columbia Business School.  Stay tuned for more on this... For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries: The first MBA admissions candidate is targeting next season for their applications. They have a 700 GMAT and 3.3 GPA. They do plan to retake the GMAT. They have very interesting experience within the Federal Government, helping small businesses in underserved communities. Their goals for the MBA make great sense, and they would appear to be a potentially strong candidate, especially if they improve their numbers profile. This week's second MBA candidate has a strong career in sales within the tech industry, and is looking for the MBA to help them relocate from New York to the west coast, and potentially seek opportunities in the media and sports industries. They do have a lower GRE score of 316, but are planning a retake. We finished this podcast episode with a short discussion on the risks associated with doing a self-diagnosis in terms of determining why a candidate is rejected from an MBA program. This episode was recorded in Cornwall, England and Paris, France. It was produced and engineered in Philadelphia, USA by Dennis Crowley. Please remember to rate and review this podcast wherever you listen and to 'stay safe everybody'!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by reviewing the latest MBA application deadlines and interview releases. We are still seeing Round 1 interview invites on MBA LiveWire continuing to roll out for Berkeley / Haas, Stanford, Cornell / Johnson, and several other programs; INSEAD is scheduled to release its Round 1 decision next week. Graham highlighted the second deferred admissions event that Clear Admit is hosting this upcoming Wednesday, which includes Berkeley / Haas, Columbia, Yale SOM and CMU / Tepper. Signup for the event here: https://bit.ly/declearadmit Clear Admit is also hosting its first events for Masters in Management programs on November 29 and December 6th. Schools participating in those events include Chicago / Booth, Michigan / Ross, CMU / Tepper, Northwestern / Kellogg, Georgetown / McDonough, Emory / Goizuetta, Duke / Fuqua and Notre Dame / Mendoza. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/clearadmitmim We then had a discussion on the impact of the Forte Foundation on female enrollment in top MBA programs. New data reveals that in 58 leading MBA programs, female enrollment is now averaging 42%. We also know that at some of the very top programs, that number rises to above 50%. This is an impressive leap forward from the 30% we were seeing 20 years ago. Some great and important work has been done in this area. Graham then highlighted three Real Humans pieces, from Cambridge / Judge, Notre Dame / Mendoza and NYU / Stern. Hearing directly from students at these programs is a great way to learn more about the culture of these programs. We then discussed three recently published employment reports, from Georgetown / McDonough, Duke / Fuqua and Emory / Goizueta. Consulting still appears to be the key industry for placements, which also helps drive up the overall median salaries to record levels at these programs. Graham then mentioned our ongoing fall survey for MBA applicants, which will allow MBA programs to better understand candidates' communication preferences, interest in sustainability, and international business. You can access the survey here: https://bit.ly/clearadmitfallsurvey For this week, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries for the candidate profile review portion of the show: This week's first MBA admissions candidate has a great GPA of 3.93 and was top of their class. Their GRE score is also decent, at 326. They are a software engineer from India, so they will be potentially considered over-represented, which may present additional challenges as they target round 2. Outside of work, they have a passion for fine art, which may help differentiate their profile. This week's second MBA candidate is also from India, and has a super GMAT of 760. They have worked in digital marketing, with great success. They are also very active outside of work, with several different activities, including classical singing. They did apply in Round 1, and have interview invites for all the programs they have targeted. They are now considering their Round 2 strategy. We finished this podcast episode with a short discussion on speculating patterns for the release of interview invite decisions, for those MBA programs which release decisions over several weeks. This episode was recorded in Cornwall, England and Paris, France. It was produced and engineered in Philadelphia, USA by Dennis Crowley. Please remember to rate and review this podcast wherever you listen and to 'stay safe everybody'!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the MBA application deadlines and interview releases reported over the past week. We are seeing Round 1 interview invites on MBA LiveWire continuing to roll out for Berkeley / Haas, Stanford, Cornell / Johnson, and several other programs. Graham highlighted the deferred admissions events that Clear Admit is hosting, which begin this Wednesday, with Harvard, Stanford, UPenn / Wharton, Chicago / Booth, and UVA / Darden. Signups for the two deferred admissions events are here: https://bit.ly/declearadmit Graham then mentioned a recently published story for Clear Admit's sustainability series, from Berkeley / Haas, as well as Clear Admit's “spooky” admissions tips. He then asked listeners for some help with our fall survey for MBA applicants, which will allow MBA programs to better understand candidates' communications preferences. You can access the survey here: https://bit.ly/clearadmitfallsurvey We then discussed two Real Humans pieces, one from Emory / Goizueta and the second from Boston College / Carroll. As usual, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries. This week's first MBA admissions candidate has super numbers, a 770 GMAT and 3.94 GPA. But they only have two years of work experience. We discussed the advantages of applying now, versus waiting for another year, with more work experience. This week's second MBA candidate also has a great GMAT (760). They have 10 years of experience, and are now based in Australia. They are of Indian heritage, but with Australian citizenship. They are debating whether to target Round 2 with additional applications (they applied to a couple of programs in Round 1) or wait until next season. We suggest they target Round 2 as a first step. The final MBA candidate comes from the military and speaks fluent mandarin. They are also seeking a joint degree with International Relations. We are very interested in their long term goal, and how that fits their narrative. But their overall profile could be very appealing to MBA admissions committees. This episode was recorded in Cornwall, England and Cassis, France. It was produced and engineered in Philadelphia, USA by Dennis Crowley. Please remember to rate and review this podcast wherever you listen and to 'stay safe everybody'!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the MBA application deadlines and interview releases for this week. The past week has seen Round 1 interview invites on MBA LiveWire for UPenn / Wharton, Columbia, UCLA / Anderson, Georgetown / McDonough, Emory / Goizueta, as well as Berkeley / Haas, Stanford, and Cornell / Johnson. Graham highlighted two upcoming events that Clear Admit is hosting. Our monthly Clear Admit+ event is on Wednesday at 12 pm ET; we also have two events for candidates who are targeting deferred admissions, featuring Berkeley, Columbia, Chicago, Carnegie Mellon, Harvard,  Stanford, Wharton, UVA Darden, and Yale.  Signups for these deferred admissions events are here: https://bit.ly/declearadmit Graham then highlighted recently published stories from Clear Admit's new sustainability series, featuring Yale SOM and Duke / Fuqua. He then noted the publication of an admissions tip that focuses on video-based interviews, and a schedule for Round 2 deadlines. The majority of those deadlines fall on three consecutive days after the new year, making things challenging for candidates targeting those programs. We then discussed the recently published employment report for NYU / Stern. Like other recent employment reports, the numbers are impressive, with an average starting salary of $175,000. Consulting is the largest employer, moving ahead of finance, which was a little surprising. Finally, we discussed two Real Humans pieces, one from INSEAD and one from Cornell / Johnson. As usual, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries: This week's first MBA admissions candidate appears to have very decent work experience in consumer packaged goods. They also have a very solid GRE score of 331. Their GPA is a little lower than the medians of the programs they are targeting. They did undertake lots of extra-curricular activities while at university. They applied to several programs in Round 1, with interview invites to all their targets except for Wharton. This week's second MBA candidate is a mechanical engineer with only one year of work experience. They are hoping to apply next season, with two years of experience. They still need to take the GMAT. We had a good discussion on whether two years of work experience will optimize their opportunities in terms of MBA programs. The final MBA candidate is a first-generation immigrant, based in Philadelphia. They have had a very unorthodox career, to date, and are now completing their undergraduate degree. But we think they have a very interesting story to tell. Their GPA is outstanding. They still need to take the GRE. And we think they should broaden their list of target programs. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the upcoming MBA application deadlines and interview releases for this new season; for this week UPenn / Wharton and Duke / Fuqua are scheduled to release interview decisions. We are also seeing Round 1 interview invites on MBA LiveWire for Columbia, Michigan / Ross, as well as Berkeley / Haas, Stanford, Dartmouth / Tuck and Cornell / Johnson. Graham highlighted a $25 million gift that was received by Northwestern / Kellogg to add further support to its Entrepreneurial Programs, via its Zell Fellows Program. Graham then highlighted two class profiles recently published on Clear Admit, for Michigan / Ross and for Georgetown / McDonough. Both classes look to be holding steady, but it was interesting to see an uptick in international enrollment at McDonough. We then discussed a Real Humans piece for Georgia / Terry. The statistics on class size for these three programs highlights the fact that generally, the higher the tier of a top MBA program, the greater the class size, which makes perfect sense. (Exceptions to this rule include Stanford GSB). Graham also reported on our first employment report for the Class of 2023, this from Michigan / Ross. Their numbers look very decent, with an average starting salary of $175,000. Consulting is the largest sector of employment, led by McKinsey, Bain and BCG (MBB) as the schools top employers. This led to a discussion about hiring freezes in strategy consulting and how delayed start dates we are hearing about may not be captured in the statistics. Finally, Graham highlighted two additional podcast he's recently hosted; the first with Indiana / Kelley with a focus on career services, and the second with NYU / Stern, discussing career pivots (coming soon). As usual, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries: This week's first MBA admissions candidate has had a strong nine-year career in the Army and is looking for the MBA to allow them to transition to the private sector. Their goals of consulting, followed by a leadership role in an aerospace or defence company, make perfect sense. Their stats are decent, with a 326 GRE and a 3.51 GPA.  Can they overcome being an older candidate, and are they targeting the right schools? This week's second MBA candidate has super numbers, and is an investment banker, based in Hong Kong. We worry that they are applying with only two years of work experience completed. Because they have strong numbers, they may still be successful, but we wonder if their opportunities might not be better in 1-2 more years.  There are also some concerns around their ECs... The final MBA candidate is from Ghana and has an aerospace undergraduate degree. Their work experience has been with their family business in textiles, with a focus on business development and supply chain management. Their goals appear to be around entrepreneurship, and they are now looking to see which MBA programs they should target.

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the upcoming MBA application deadlines; for this week it's NYU / Stern and UNC / Kenan Flagler; we are also seeing Round 1 interview invites on MBA LiveWire for Chicago / Booth, London Business School, as well as Berkeley / Haas, Stanford, Dartmouth / Tuck and Cornell / Johnson. This week, Duke / Fuqua and UVA / Darden will be releasing their Early Action round decisions. We then discussed a new content series that Clear Admit launched last week, which focuses on what top MBA programs are doing to prepare leaders for the challenges of climate change and broader sustainability issues. The first article in the series comes from Harvard. Graham highlighted the continuing Real Humans series; last week Clear Admit published content from Duke / Fuqua, Toronto / Rotman and Michigan / Ross. We then discussed the newly published class profiles from CMU / Tepper, NYU / Stern, Texas / McCombs and MIT / Sloan. Each of these class profiles reflects strong classes, despite a small downturn in application volumes. Graham then mentioned two upcoming events that Clear Admit is hosting: the first is with Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) on Wednesday, signups are here: https://www.bit.ly/clearadmitmlt The second event will be a Real Humans event, bringing together MBA students from leading programs, later in October. Finally, Graham talked about two additional podcasts that he's recently hosted: the first is an Adcom Q&A with Stanford, and the second is a discussion with Manish Dharia from GMAC, exploring the roll out of the new GMAT Focus Edition. As usual, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries. This week's first MBA admissions candidate is from China, which led to a discussion as to whether they are coming from an over-represented group of candidates. They completed an undergraduate degree in journalism, but pivoted to investment banking, which we thought was a very interesting pivot. They have a very solid GMAT of 730, but a slightly lower GPA of 3.3. This week's second MBA candidate is a 29 year old female, originally from Pakistan, who completed their undergraduate and their work experience in the United States. They appear to be a very interesting candidate, but we do worry about the combination of a lower GPA (due to cultural adjustments) and lower GRE of 317. They have taken the test several times, but plan to take it one more time, ahead of Round 2. The final MBA candidate has had a career in Real Estate, and is originally from Peru, with goals to return to Peru in the long run. They have a strong GPA from the United States, but have not yet taken the GRE. Their work experience also looks very strong, they have been working for 9 years. They also have a masters degree in Real Estate.

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the upcoming Round 1 deadlines; for this week it's Texas / McCombs; we are also seeing Round 1 interview invites on MBA LiveWire for Dartmouth / Tuck, Northwestern / Kellogg, Yale SOM, Stanford and Harvard, which released all its Round 1 interview invites last week. This week, London Business School and INSEAD are scheduled to release Round 1 interview invites. Graham highlighted two events Clear Admit is hosting in the upcoming weeks: one is a Real Humans event featuring MBA students from leading programs, the second is an event Clear Admit is hosting with Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT). Last week, we hosted our monthly Clear Admit+ event, which focused on Round 1 interview prep. It was a very good event, with lots of terrific questions from the audience. Our next Clear Admit+ event will be held in early November. Graham then highlighted an Adcom Q&A with Northwestern / Kellogg, and detailed a couple of new classes the program is offering; one focused on AI and the rules for AI, the second focused on energy financing with a focus on sustainable energy. Graham then mentioned  several Real Humans profiles, published on Clear Admit, from Indiana / Kelley, CMU / Tepper, and ASU / Carey. We then discussed several class profiles that have been announced, from Stanford, Chicago / Booth, UVA / Darden, Cornell / Johnson and Berkeley / Haas. The numbers from Stanford are just really impressive, but all programs appear to be holding quite steady with their class profiles, despite a small downturn in application volumes. As usual, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries. This week's first MBA admissions candidate has a super GMAT of 780, and a slightly low-than-average GPA (3.4). They were super busy during their undergraduate studies. They appear to have had an interesting career path in fintech, and now want to move over to media, with a tech focus. They also have very decent activities outside of work. This week's second MBA candidate worked as a school teacher before switching to human resources at a consulting firm. Her numbers are a little on the lighter side (680 / 3.3), and she is now doing MBA Math. She applied to MBA programs in Round 1, so should be getting some early indications on where she stands. We think it might make sense to look at a couple of Top 16 programs for Round 2, and to consider retaking the GMAT, if necessary. The final MBA candidate is a sponsored candidate from PWC. They've worked in strategy consulting, and will return, but they also have a nice focus on biotech and healthcare; they have very solid additional activities. A strong GMAT of 760 also helps. They do look like a decent candidate for M7 programs. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the upcoming application deadlines; for this week Georgetown / McDonough, CMU / Tepper, Washington / Foster, Emory / Goizueta and UCLA / Anderson have Round 1 deadlines, and Cambridge / Judge has a Round 2 deadline; we are also seeing Round 1 interview invites for Dartmouth / Tuck, Northwestern / Kellogg and Yale SOM on MBA LiveWire. This week, Harvard and IESE will be releasing interview invites. Graham highlighted two recently published Adcom Q&As from Berkeley / Haas and INSEAD, and discussed two recently published MBA admissions tips which address letters of support, as well as the five most popular MBA interview questions. We then discussed four newly published MBA Class Profiles, from Harvard, Kellogg, Yale SOM and Tuck. This included an interesting conversation regarding median GRE scores. Finally, we promoted the upcoming Clear Admit+ webinar, scheduled for Wednesday of this week. The primary focus of this webinar will be on MBA interview preparation. Signup is here: https://www.clearadmit.com/private-webinar-series/ As usual, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries. This week's first MBA admissions candidate is a military candidate who enlisted, and then went back to gain their undergraduate engineering degree from a Service Academy, and is now a helicopter pilot. They have had an unorthodox pathway, but we think they have a strong profile in most aspects. We do worry a little about their age, and how this relates to their post MBA pathway. This week's second MBA candidate worked in the oil and gas sector, and then pivoted to clean energy via MBB. We really like their overall profile, and think their weakest link is the GMAT of 710. They might want to add 1-2 more target programs, but overall we really like their goals. The final MBA candidate is a first-generation candidate who has also had a career in the oil and gas sector, and is also looking to switch to a clean energy focus. Their GMAT is also a 710, which will be a little below the median of the programs they are targeting. We do suggest casting a slightly wider net, including MBA programs like Michigan / Ross and Cornell / Johnson. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the upcoming Round 1 deadlines for this new season; for this week NYU / Stern, IESE, Cornell / Johnson and Chicago / Booth all have their Round 1 MBA application deadlines; Duke / Fuqua is scheduled to release interview invites for its Early Action round. Graham highlighted our next Essay Insights series, which continues on Wednesday of this week, with CMU / Tepper, Columbia, Georgetown / McDonough, Texas / McCombs and UNC / Kenan Flagler; these events are very popular and bring together the leading MBA programs to talk about their admissions essay topics. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/cafallessays Graham then shared some insights from a recently published Adcom Q&A from Shelly Heinrich at Georgetown McDonough. Our final discussion focused on the recently published MBA class profile for Duke / Fuqua. Their class profile matched some of the observations we identified with the class profile of UCLA / Anderson (the class profile we discussed on last week's show). Fuqua is reporting a smaller class size, while keeping the quality of the class close to constant. We did also discuss the ranges of test scores and GPAs, but we think candidates would prefer to know the medians, or both. As usual, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries: This week's first MBA admissions candidate is from India - and therefore is over-represented in the pool.  At the same time, they appear to have very good numbers and strong work experience, balanced by decent volunteer activities outside of work. They are not over-reaching with their target programs in the first round, and we wonder if they should have targeted 1-2 M7 level programs. This week's second MBA candidate is also a strong candidate, based in the U.S. An All-American athlete from a top liberal arts college, they are working in consulting (MBB) with a focus on the climate. Their only weaker area is a slightly lower-than-average-for-top-programs GRE score. Should they apply in Round 1 with this score (325) or delay to Round 2 with a higher score. We think the latter might be a good strategy, or at least split the applications over two rounds. The final MBA candidate is an entrepreneur who has a great GRE score (333) but a poor GPA (2.9). While they have an upward trend for the GPA, they will need to use the optional essay to add context. They might also consider taking Business Fundamentals, or other similar options to show that they are prepared and committed to the academic aspect of the MBA experience. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the upcoming Round 1 deadlines for this new season, as we close out last season. Graham then highlighted several events that Clear Admit is hosting over the next month. Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 22, we host a webinar with CMU / Tepper: https://bit.ly./teppermbawebinar, on Monday, August 28, we have a Clear Admit+ webinar, and we have a Real Humans webinar which includes alumni and students from top MBA programs on August 30th: https://bit.ly/rhwebinar5. We will also be hosting our next Essay Insights series in early September... Graham then highlighted three Adcom Q&As, where we interview admissions directors at Cornell / Johnson, Washington / Olin and ESMT Berlin. Later in this podcast episode, we also had a conversation about UPenn / Wharton's recently released class profile for the Class of 2025. This is the first released profile from a top MBA program. What was notable, aside from a decline in application volume, was the corresponding 5 point drop in the average GMAT score. It will be interesting to see if these declines are reflected at other top programs... As usual, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries: This week's first MBA admissions candidate is an instructor pilot in the Air Force. They appear to have done very well during their military service. They have a strong GRE of 334, but their GPA is their weak point, at 2.5. Taking Business Fundamentals, MBA Math, or the equivalent may help. We do hope they are able to overcome this aspect of their candidacy as everything else looks very strong. This week's second MBA candidate has a strong entrepreneurial profile, both in Argentina and the United States. They are also first generation, and do some additional work for those with low incomes. The one worry we have for this profile is the combination of the GMAT (710, 42 quant) and GPA of 3.2. Because the quant score of the GMAT is low, we really think any improvement there will have impact. And they can then apply in Round 2. The final MBA candidate is a two-time cancer survivor, which had impact on their academic record (3.36). They do have a 337 GRE, and their work experience and community experience looks strong. Their goals are related to their life experience, and overall, this does look like a very strong candidate. This episode was recorded in Philadelphia, PA and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast Graham led things off by discussing the MBA Essay Insights series which wraps up this Wednesday. This season's series has seen record levels of attendees (600+ each week); our final event brings together MBA admissions leaders from Cornell / Johnson, UCLA / Anderson, Washington / Foster, INSEAD, and London Business School. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/cambaessay  Graham then highlighted the recent survey Clear Admit has developed to understand the media habits of MBA candidates. These anonymous surveys allow us to gather data to really understand the behavior of the MBA applicant community, and we really appreciate all participation. The survey is here: https://bit.ly/casummersurvey Moving on to recent news and admissions tips, Graham talked about a Clear Admit article that covers the cost of applying to top MBA programs. This piece features a podcast listener's journey through the MBA admissions process and offers some amazing advice on how to save money in the b-school application process. Alex and Graham then discussed two Adcom Q&As, the first featuring SMU / Cox and the second featuring IESE. Graham then highlighted Clear Admit's very popular essay topic analysis series, and last week we featured the essays from Yale SOM. As usual, Alex and Graham tackled three candidate profile reviews, drawn from recent ApplyWire entries: This week's first MBA admissions candidate has not yet taken the GMAT, but everything else points to a very strong profile, so Alex and Graham hope that with a GMAT in the 700s, she will be strongly considered by the very best programs. One concern this candidate expressed is her extra curricular profile, which is something Alex and Graham discuss on the show. This week's second candidate appears to have a very solid work profile, combined with strong numbers (740 GMAT, 3.76 GPA). Alex and Graham encourage them to apply in the first round, as it's possible that they are part of a more over-represented pool of MBA candidates. Our final candidate comes from the military, and also has a masters degree. They are only targeting Georgetown / McDonough and Yale SOM, for personal reasons. Their GRE score is 319, after 5 days of prep, and having taken the test several years ago. Alex and Graham really hope they retake this test after more thorough preparation. This should open more opportunities (including scholarships) for an otherwise strong candidate. This episode was recorded in Philadelphia, PA and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast Alex and Graham begin by discussing some recent waitlist admissions posts on MBA LiveWire; for those still on waitlists, there is still some hope! Your hosts then discussed the recent updates to the Clear Admit website, which should make the user experience better. The new website also means that all the features that were previously only accessible to Clear Admit+ subscribers are now available to all registered users, for free! This includes the Admissions Academy video series, Clear Admit's LiveWire Data Dashboard (which allows users to parse the data from MBA LiveWire), and several other key features. Alex and Graham really hope this makes for a great MBA admissions resource for all MBA candidates that participate in the Clear Admit community. Getting down to business, Graham highlighted two Admissions Directors Q and As, featuring Duke / Fuqua and Rochester / Simon. Graham also mentioned two admissions tips: one focusing on MBA admissions resumes, and the second targeting younger applicants. Graham then highlighted the July event series, Essay Insights, which continues this Wednesday with Columbia, CMU / Tepper, Michigan / Ross, UNC / Kenan / Flagler and Yale SOM. This is a very popular series with last week's event bringing more than 700 candidates; signups are here: https://bit.ly/cambaessay As usual, this episode features profile reviews taken from three recent ApplyWire entries: This week's first candidate is an architect by training, but pivoted early in their career, via Teach for America to work in FAANG recruiting. They have a 3.3 GPA, and are targeting a GMAT score above 700. They also have a masters in education with a specialization around mathematics instruction. Alex and Graham really like this profile overall, and think that with a good GMAT score they should have some solid options. Candidate #2 is a Nigerian who has now transitioned to living in London, working in finance in a consulting capacity. Their GPA is a little lower than average, but they have a super GRE score of 335. Alex and Graham encourage them to apply in the first rounds, to their target programs, and then develop a second round strategy, if necessary. Your hosts also think Cornell / Johnson and NYU / Stern are programs they might want to consider. This week's final candidate is very early in their career, after completing a very strong undergraduate experience. Alex and Graham encourage them to seek out more work before applying in about two years' time. While they might gain access to a decent MBA program now, they will likely gain access to better-tiered programs if they wait, and their MBA experience will also be more meaningful. This episode was recorded in Philadelphia, PA and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

Happy Memorial Day!  On this episode of WireTaps, Alex and Graham officially open BBQ season with a look at what's been cooking on LiveWire, including waitlist decisions and final decisions from Rounds 3 and 4. Alex reminds listeners that we also should see final decisions coming out for Georgetown / McDonough, Cornell / Johnson and CMU / Tepper (for its Future Leaders program) in the coming week.  Alex also pointed out that new deadlines and essay topics are starting to be unveiled by the top MBA programs for next season; this led to a discussion regarding Clear Admit's Essay Topic Analysis series. Graham highlighted two recently published stories from Clear Admit; the first is about Northwestern / Kellogg's new healthcare course that focuses on biomedical marketing, and the second story looks at Chicago / Booth's initiatives targeting disadvantaged youth. Graham then discussed four Real Humans Alumni stories: a Stern/Tech MBA grad at Google, a Booth grad at Accenture, a London Business School grad at BCG and a Duke / Fuqua grad at Google. Graham then highlighted a Real Humans event, where Clear Admit brings together students and alumni of top programs for a discussion regarding their experiences. This event is scheduled for June 20th, and registration is at https://bit.ly/RealHumansMBA As usual, WireTaps features three candidate profile reviews - this week they were selected from three recent ApplyWire entries: First up is candidate is from Nigeria, working in the UK. She is a lawyer who is also active outside of work, building an online community for African females. She is targeting 330 on the GRE, and with a score like that, and a strong academic record from a Russel Group university, Alex and Graham think there's a lot to like. Graham did question some of the school selection, given her goals of returning to the UK, or Nigeria. This week's second candidate appears to have an outstanding military career, and decent numbers. In short, he would appear to be a typical high-profile candidate from the military, with lots of options. Alex and Graham did question some of the school selection for the first round, but it's clear that a solid plan is taking shape. This week's final candidate is applying to Booth and Kellogg, because her partner has started a Ph.D. at U. Chicago. She has some decent work experience, but already has two degrees, which means there will be an increased focus on having a strong post-MBA goal. She also has some concerns over her verbal score on the GRE, which Alex and Graham discussed. This episode was recorded in Cornwall, England and Paris, France. It was produced and engineered in 'always sunny' Philadelphia by Dennis Crowley. Please remember to rate and review this podcast wherever you listen and to 'stay safe everybody'!

Spring is in full bloom in Cornwall, England and Paris, France, as Alex and Graham check in for the latest episode of WireTaps!  This week's show begins with a discussion of activity on LiveWire, which includes waitlist decisions (all rounds) and final decisions (from Round 3). This upcoming week, Alex anticipates R3 decisions coming out for UNC / Kenan Flagler, Stanford, Chicago / Booth and Michigan / Ross. Graham highlighted the announcement of a new dean at Cornell / Johnson, Vishal Gaur, who comes in with an illustrious academic pedigree. Graham also commented on a “Friday's from the Frontline” piece which highlighted a Duke / Fuqua student who has explored a path in the alternative protein space. Graham then discussed one Real Humans Alumni story, an Emory / Goizueta grad working at Pfizer. This episode's opening segment wrapped up with some discussion around the MBA admissions event series that Clear Admit is hosting in May, which concludes this Wednesday with Columbia, Johnson, Georgetown / McDonough, and UVA / Darden. This series offers admissions overviews and strategic advice from each of the programs. Event signup is here: https://bit.ly/cambaevents This episode features three candidate profile reviews, drawn from recent entries on ApplyWire: The first candidate is based in Asia, and is looking to transition from the public and private sectors to a career in social impact work. Their GRE is decent (327) and they have six years of experience. The issue that Graham and Alex needed to discuss is the candidate's desire for an MBA that also offers a full scholarship. This week's second candidate is considering applying to business school while they simultaneously make a move from L.A. to New York City. Their career has been in real estate, and they want to transition to the property tech world (including venture capital focused in that domain). There are some complicated issues to unpack, here... The third and final candidate for this episode has a very interesting profile overall; they are a South African working in Asia. They also have extensive and adventurous outdoors activities that they pursue. Everything looks very promising, except their abysmal undergraduate showing. Alex and Graham discussed the necessary steps to try to mitigate this important aspect of their profile. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

Alex and Graham are back with another episode of WireTaps, kicking things off with a rundown of the latest activity on LiveWire - which includes wait list decisions and final decisions from Round 3. Alex mentioned that this upcoming week should feature final decisions coming out for USC / Marshall, IESE, UCLA / Anderson, Oxford / Said, MIT / Sloan, Yale SOM and Washington / Foster. Graham highlighted four Real Humans Alumni stories: an Indiana / Kelley grad at Apple, a Cornell / Johnson grad at Bain, a Foster grad at Accenture and a Stanford grad at Bain. Graham then highlighted a recently published admissions tip on reapplying. This episode also featured an interesting discussion about the impact of ChatGPT (and other generative AI tools) on the admissions process, and how this might change admissions policies in the future. Graham then highlighted the MBA admissions event series that Clear Admit is hosting in May, which continues this Wednesday with CMU / Tepper, NYU / Stern, Michigan / Ross, Yale SOM and Dartmouth / Tuck. This series offers admissions overviews from each of the programs.  Event signup is here: https://bit.ly/cambaevents As always, this episode features three candidate profile reviews (all sourced from ApplyWire entries this week): WireTaps candidate #1 is a military candidate (special ops) who already has a deferred offer at a top 6 law program, and is debating whether it makes sense to stay the course or consider pivoting and applying to top tier MBA programs. Alex and Graham discussed some of those opportunities, and also whether or not this applicant should retake the GRE. Their current score is 326, but they achieved this without any preparation... This week's second candidate is also from the military (a naval helicopter pilot) and has fantastic numbers. Their one concern is the relative lack of extra curricular/volunteer activities. Alex and Graham discussed why the adcom is generally more flexible in this regard, for military candidates. (Both of these military candidates look like they belong at top tier MBA programs!) Wiretaps candidate #3 is from Nigeria and is reapplying to several programs for next season. They have improved their GRE score from 302 to 337, which is an incredible jump! Alex and Graham really think this will certainly help, because their other potential area of weakness was their relatively lower GPA. Their work experience and extra activities sound very interesting. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in 'always sunny' Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

Our latest episode of WireTaps begins with Graham and Alex taking stock of all the latest MBA LiveWire activity and mentioning upcoming deadlines for UNC / Kenan Flagler, Cambridge / Judge, MIT / Sloan and Berkeley / Haas. Graham then highlighted recently published content on Clear Admit, including a piece that compares the GMAT to the GRE; we then discussed whether to take the current GMAT or the newly formatted GMAT. Graham then highlighted seven Real Human's alumni pieces, offering a variety of perspectives from MBA alumni working in Consulting, Banking, Tech, and Entertainment, from a host of leading MBA programs. Graham also highlighted the Real Humans of Stanford article that features several current Stanford MBAs. Graham then noted the upcoming event series that Clear Admit is hosting in May (each Wednesday), which will feature the majority of the leading MBA programs. This series will offer application overviews from each of the programs. We will then follow up with our equally popular essay workshop series in the months ahead. For the candidate profiles this week, Alex and Graham tackled one ApplyWire entry and two DecisionWire entries: The first candidate featured this week is targeting next season. His numbers are very decent (730 GMAT, 3.75 GPA in chemical engineering). He works in “Big 4” consulting and hails from the Midwest. He is still early in his career, and also asked if he should retake the GMAT, even though it is already quite high. Alex and Graham discussed these two issues. This week's second candidate is weighing offers from UVA / Darden (with no scholarship, yet) and Cornell / Johnson, with scholarship. Their post MBA goals still lack a little clarity, which makes selecting the right program a little tougher. They are from India, and Alec and Graham suggest that Johnson with the scholarship support might make good sense. This also led to a discussion related to STEM. This week's third and final candidate is considering whether to attend a one year MBA, with post MBA goals of consulting, or wait another year and reapply in the first rounds. They are also still on the waitlist for another two programs. This led to an interesting debate in terms of how the current economic climate might make things a little tougher for one year programs. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

This episode of WireTaps begins with some discussion around the flurry of MBA LiveWire posts (Harvard and Stanford were among the top MBA programs releasing decisions last week). For those of you keeping score at home, MIT / Sloan and Cornell / Johnson are scheduled to release their admissions decisions this week, and, there are a number of Round 3 application deadlines in the coming days. Following all the chatter about deadlines, Graham highlighted two stories we published, one covering how to select your target MBA programs, and the other discussing the importance of scholarship when determining where to attend. Graham also highlighted two Real Human Alumni pieces, one from an INSEAD graduate working at Amazon, the other from a UPenn / Wharton alum working at Google. This episode also features three candidate reviews, one taken from an ApplyWire entry and two taken from DecisionWire entries: First up this week is a candidate in the Bay Area working in compliance. They want to move over into finance (specifically PE and VC) and are debating whether to apply to Berkeley / Haas for their full-time program or their part-time offering. Alex and Graham think that with their career pivot they might be better off looking at full-time options, and should perhaps look beyond only targeting Haas. They still need to take the GMAT as well. This week's second candidate has the good fortune of choosing between offers at Texas / McCombs, UCLA / Anderson, Yale SOM and NYU / Stern. They have scholarship money to factor in, too. But more interestingly, they are really debating whether they should attend a full-time MBA program given their current salary level (high) their age (older) and their desire to start a family. Alex and Graham discuss the importance of considering the long term implications of the choice. The third and final candidate this week is weighing offers between Michigan / Ross and UCLA / Anderson, with a desire to work for big tech post-MBA. Both appear to be very comparable in terms of what they can offer, so geography and fit should be key factors in their decision making. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who've been joining us. Please remember to rate and review the show, and to help spread the word to anyone you know who might be considering an MBA!

In this episode of WireTaps, Alex and Graham discuss the flurry of interview invites popping up on MBA LiveWire. Many programs are starting to release their Round 2 invites - and some appear to be earlier than last season. Graham highlighted the renewal of Dartmouth Tuck's Dean's tenure, as well as the s school's decision to waive the GMAT for recently laid-off tech workers; your hosts discussed the implications of that latter decision, which is a tactic that several programs are adopting. Graham also commented on a recently published piece that looks at trends in tech recruiting (we are clearly seeing the down slope of what might have been a bubble). Your hosts then discussed a recently published piece on the cost of European MBA programs, where there is quite a broad range in price. Graham then reminded listeners about the two deferred enrolment events that Clear Admit is hosting this Wednesday and then on February 8. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/defer23 For this episode's candidate reviews, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry: The first candidate reviewed is targeting next season. She has a very interesting profile, with a strong focus on data analytics. Her academic record also looks very strong. Her big concern is the GMAT test, which she hasn't taken, but is nervous about as she claims to be a poor standardized test taker. Alex and Graham discussed the implications of this, and how things might be if she had a GMAT score of 650 vs. 700+.  This week's second candidate looks to have a decent career in financial services and is awaiting word from Cornell / Johnson and NYU / Stern on R2 applications. Alex and Graham worry about the combination of a 700 GMAT score and 3.2 GPA (an international degree). Despite these concerns, your hosts are keeping their fingers crossed for interview invites. This week's final candidate is taken from a DecisionWire entry.  The lucky applicant is debating between offers from UPenn / Wharton and Yale (with a large scholarship). They are focused on entrepreneurship and there are potentially good reasons to choose either option... This episode was recorded in Cornwall, England and Paris, France. It was produced in 'always sunny' Philadelphia by Dennis Crowley. Please remember to rate and review this podcast wherever you listen and to 'stay safe everybody'!

Did you know that Cornell Johnson has the largest Executive MBA program in the United States with four distinct flavors? I didn't, but let's learn together about Johnson's EMBA program, its unique distributed classroom, and how to get in from its dean and director. [SHOW SUMMARY] Welcome to the 506th episode of Admission Straight Talk, Accepted's podcast. Thanks for tuning in. Before I dive into today's interview, I want to invite you to download Ace the EMBA, expert advice for the rising executive. This free guide will compliment today's podcast and give you suggestions on how to choose the right EMBA program for you, differentiate yourself from your competition in a positive way and present yourself effectively as a future business leader, who will bring credit to any program that accepts you. It gives me great pleasure to have for the first time on Admissions Straight Talk, Dean Mark Nelson, the Anne and Elmer Lindseth Dean and Professor of Accounting at Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management, and Dr. Manoj Thomas, Senior Director of EMBA and MSBA programs, and the Nakashimato Professor of Marketing, also at Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management. Dr. Nelson and Dr. Thomas, welcome to Admissions Straight Talk. [Dean Mark Nelson] Thanks for having us. [Dr. Manoj Thomas] Thank you, Linda, delighted to be here. Dean Nelson, what makes a Cornell Executive MBA program different from other EMBA programs? [1:55] [Dean Mark Nelson] That's a great question, Linda. I mean, first off is the fact that we have these four different flavors of a Cornell MBA. And that's very intentional, it's been developed over time. We started initially with our Metro EMBA program, which is based in New York City, and which is focused on a general management EMBA, providing that jurisdiction, that market. Second, then we have our Americas EMBA program, and that's a really unique program where we're reaching out to executives throughout the Americas using our own unique approach to distributed learning. And then third, we created an FMBA program, a collaboration with Tsinghua University, a finance-focused EMBA, and that's bilingual and offered in Beijing. And then fourth, we have our MBA/MS in Healthcare Leadership program, which is providing both an EMBA and also an MS in healthcare from two great institutions, the Johnson School and the Weill Cornell Medicine. And so I go through that because the unique combination here is that we've got a general interest EMBA in New York, we've got something focused in the healthcare sector, we've got something that's a unique and leading program in China, and then this Americas program serving the Americas. And I see that as a pretty special and unique roster of great EMBA programs. Now, when you think about what's the spine that relates all these together, there's a couple things that I'd shout out, and then I'd maybe ask my colleague, Manoj, if there's anything he wants to add in. One is that in all of these programs, we have a team-based learning approach that we think is really, really important. And by that I mean that we have students that, of course they're performing individually, but they're also on small teams, they're coached, they're assessed, they're given feedback. So we think of business as a team sport, and the ability of these executives to deliver exceptionally well in that context, we think it's really important and so we're very intentional about how we go about that approach. It is the case that in all of these programs, the students are working on problems that they're addressing at work right now, so they're able to put it into practice, and we think that team-based approach is really key. And I guess the other thing that is unique, not only about the EMBA programs but about Cornell is that we have our Cornell Tech campus in New York City. So we are based in Ithaca, New York, but what a lot of people don't realize is that we won the oppo...

WireTaps kicks off this week with a timely discussion about the importance of interview preparation for those candidates entering that phase of the MBA admissions cycle (this included a conversation about Clear Admit's free Interview Archive: https://www.clearadmit.com/category/interview-reports/).  Graham then highlighted the employment reports recently published for Stanford and Cornell / Johnson. Both programs are offering impressive numbers from last season. The challenge to business schools this season will be how to replicate these strong numbers in the less favorable economy that we are now experiencing. Graham also highlighted a recent Clear Admit article that focuses on the decline in the tech sector for MBA job seekers; this led to some discussion about whether or not this news portends a more challenging time across the board for the Class of 2023. Before getting into this week's candidate reviews, Graham mentioned the two deferred enrolment events that Clear Admit is hosting on February 1 and February 8. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/defer23 This week's featured candidates were sourced from two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry: First up, an early-bird candidate who appears to have a very interesting military background with a focus on cyber security. They worry about their undergraduate record (3.04 in Electrical and Computer Engineering) and are taking steps to mitigate that. As part of that, they need to target a very strong GMAT score. That said, Alex and Graham love the overall profile, and think there might be options at the very best programs when this candidate applies next season. This week's second candidate has a super GMAT of 760. They have an accounting degree with a 3.23 GPA (slight concern) and a CPA. They also have a passion for online gaming, which may shape their long term goal, and Alex and Graham think this might be an interesting aspect of their profile to set them apart. Along those lines, your hosts did wonder why USC / Marshall is not a target program. Finally, this week's final candidate review comes from a DecisionWire post where a lucky applicant is debating between offers at UPenn / Wharton, Columbia and MIT / Sloan. They want a large network, which favors Wharton and Columbia, and they want to be in New York City, post MBA, in tech or early stage VC. Comments on the site leaned towards Wharton, but the applicant may need to wait to see if Columbia will offer them scholarship... This episode was recorded in Cornwall, England and Paris, France. It was produced and engineered in Philadelphia by the incredibly hard-working, always reliable Dennis Crowley (shout-out to Dennis's dad, who Dennis credits with instilling in him these traits). Please remember to rate and review this podcast wherever you listen and to 'stay safe everybody'!

Happy New Year to all of our podcast listeners!  Alex, Graham, and the entire Clear Admit team wish you all the best for 2023!  This episode begins with some discussion of this week's blitz of Round 2 application deadlines; on Wednesday and Thursday there are at least 15 deadlines for the programs Clear Admit covers! Graham then highlighted the recently published Real Humans from Northwestern / Kellogg. Your hosts then moved into a discussion of the employment reports from CMU / Tepper and USC / Marshall. Being in the same tier, their average starting salaries are very similar. What is interesting is how the two programs differ from a geographic placements perspective; Tepper sends students to all areas of the United States, whereas Marshall has a very high concentration of graduates staying on the West Coast. In terms of upcoming events, Graham highlighted the two deferred enrollment webinars that Clear Admit is hosting for current college students on February 1 and February 8. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/defer23 As always, this episode features reviews of three current MBA candidates - in this case, two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry. First up, Alex picks a candidate who has completed an electrical engineering degree in Canada, and has worked for four years, two in consulting, and two as a product manager in tech. They are of Indian heritage (despite having never lived in India) and the one real weakness is their lower GMAT of 640. Unfortunately, as things stand, Alex and Graham think this will be a problem for their target programs, despite the fact that they have taken the test four times. This week's second candidate is from India, and has a very low GPA due to health issues at the time of their education. Applying in Round 2 makes things more challenging, and while their GMAT is decent (710), it's not outstanding in terms of overcoming the lower GPA. They are being more realistic about their target programs, but the GPA may still be a significant challenge. The final candidate for this episode, taken from DecisionWire, is debating between attending Kellogg as a part-time student, or NYU / Stern, UVA / Darden, Cornell / Johnson or Michigan / Ross as a full-time student with significant scholarships. Alex and Graham discussed the merits of going full-time versus part-time as well as which of the full-time offers may make more sense. This episode was recorded in Cornwall, England and Paris, France. It was produced and engineered in West Philadelphia by Dennis Crowley. Please remember to rate and review this podcast wherever you listen and to 'stay safe everybody'! Here's to a happy and healthy 2023 for all!

This week's episode kicks off with the usual rundown of recent activity on MBA LiveWire, which included admits for Cornell / Johnson's Round 1 and interview invites for Berkeley / Haas.  In terms of upcoming dates of note, this week INSEAD has its Round 2 deadline. Graham highlighted the Real Humans pieces for INSEAD, Haas, and Boston College / Carroll as well as a recently published focus on two veterans at NYU / Stern and an interview with Georgetown / McDonough's Career Services Director. Alex and Graham then discussed the recently published employment report for Northwestern / Kellogg (impressive, including 40% heading to consulting and an average starting salary of $165,000); this led to a discussion on whether we are heading into a recession, and its implications for prospective MBA students. Graham also reminded listeners about Clear Admit's upcoming Deferred Enrolment event for this Wednesday; signups are here: https://bit.ly/defermba As usual, this episode of WireTaps features three candidate profile reviews, taken from ApplyWire entries on the site. First up, Alex selected a female candidate from Nigeria who is targeting Round 1 next season. She's an M.D., and has a strong focus on the business-side of healthcare. She hasn't taken the GMAT yet, but Alex and Graham are hoping for a high score so she can target the very best U.S.-based healthcare MBA programs. This week's second candidate works in a family business in India. She's targeting Round 2 this season, and Alex and Graham had a conversation about her overall strategy, and whether it's worth keeping in mind that she might be a stronger candidate in Round 1 for next season. The final candidate for this episode has some somewhat pedestrian numbers, but Alex and Graham really like what's under the surface. This applicant is originally from Central Asia, and plan to return there in the long run, to focus on the sustainable energy industry. This episode was recorded in Cornwall, England and Paris, France. It was produced and engineered in Philadelphia by Dennis Crowley. Please remember to rate and review this podcast wherever you listen and to 'stay safe everybody'!

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!

Tune in to hear all that Cornell Johnson's dynamic MBA program has to offer, and more [Show Summary] Eddie Asbie, Executive Director of Admissions and Scholarship at Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management, dives into this dynamic program that equips students for careers in finance, tech, healthcare, and more.  Interview with Eddie Asbie, Executive Director of Admissions and Scholarship at Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management [Show Notes] Welcome to the 488th episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for tuning in. Before we speak with our wonderful guest, I want to invite you to take advantage of a fantastic tool at Accepted, the MBA Admissions Quiz. Are you ready to apply to your dream MBA programs? Are you competitive at those programs? Accepted's MBA Admissions Quiz can not only give you a quick reality check, but also tips on how to improve your qualifications. Plus, it's all free. Use the calculator at accepted.com/mbaquiz. It gives me great pleasure to have, for the first time on Admissions Straight Talk, Eddie Asbie, Executive Director of Admissions and Scholarship at Cornell Johnson Graduate School of Management. Eddie earned his bachelor's in communications from the University at Buffalo and a masters from SUNY Buffalo in Student Personnel Administration. Between his undergraduate and graduate degrees, he worked at SUNY Buffalo and while in grad school, he served as an Admissions Advisor at the University of Buffalo. He joined the Johnson School in 2012 as an Assistant Director of Admissions and Financial Aid and became the Executive Director of Admissions and Scholarship in June 2021.  Can you give an overview of the Cornell Johnson full-time MBA program, focusing on its more distinctive elements? [2:16] We're located in Ithaca, New York, which is in central New York. Our MBA program is a general management MBA program that allows our students to really get the basic business fundamentals while also expanding personally and professionally throughout their career goals. We are known for elements of our program, such as our immersion learning program, which gives our students the opportunity to immerse themselves in their particular career paths. This happens in the spring semester of their first year. It gives students that hands-on experience while taking advanced level courses in their particular immersions so they can ultimately be able to hit the ground running with the internship itself. We also have Cornell Tech, MBA program located in New York City. If you are looking for a residential two-year program, there are opportunities for our program to collaborate with the Cornell Tech campus in New York City.  There are a lot of other great features like flexibility in the program to work with other departments. Our program really gives you the opportunity to customize the program the way you best see fit. We understand it's a business school, but we also understand the direction that our students are going into spans so many different industries, whether it is hospitality, healthcare, tech, or anything else. We have some great programs here at Cornell that allow students to be able to tap into other areas. Is there anything new at Cornell Johnson that you'd like to highlight? [4:49] I will say that within my time here at Johnson, we've done a pretty good job of making sure that we stay relevant with what's happening and changes to our curriculum. One of the new exciting things that I would like to share is the opportunity to do a 1+1 program, which is a full year here in Ithaca, along with a full year at Cornell Tech. This program gives our students, who are applying to the two-year residential MBA program, the opportunity of going through the standard core in the first semester and during a tech-focused immersion experience in the second semester. Then in the second year, you would join the Cornell Tech students, focusing on their startup curriculum where 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!

Welcome to today's episode of the Crack The MBA Show with Navneet Banka who is a graduate of Cornell Johnson's full-time MBA class of 2022. Currently, Navneet is working at McKinsey in the M&A division in New York City. We discussed Navneet's experience at Cornell, MBA admissions strategies, recruiting for consulting and finance. Through this conversation, we discuss the following: 00:00 Introduction 03:18 Why Cornell Johnson 04:38 MBA Admissions Process; Advice for Prospective Applicants 10:01 Cornell's Unique Value Proposition 12:50 Tips for Networking 14:19 Life in Ithaca 18:00 Housing 19:00 Wish I Knew Before Cornell 21:03 Must-Do Experience at Cornell 22:45 Leadership Crisis Challenge 24:43 Favorite Academic Experiences (Courses & Professors) 27:10 Extra-curricular Activities @ Cornell Johnson 37:09 Recruiting Timeline (Cornell Johnson 1Y Program - Consulting, Finance, Tech) 39:50 Navneet's Recruiting Process (Corporate Finance, Finance & Leadership Development @ Amazon) 45:07 Navneet's Recruiting Process (Consulting) 54:11 Placements for Indian MBA students 57:12 Parting Advice for Incoming Students 58:33 Parting Advice for Prospective Applicants Thank you for watching! — Nupur Gupta is the founder of Crack The MBA (https://crackthemba.com), India's leading MBA admissions consulting firm. Every year, Crack The MBA's clients attend ivy league, M7 and other top MBA programs globally. Nupur is a graduate of the full-time MBA program at The Wharton School. She has been recognized by Economic Times among the 'Most Promising Women Leaders', by Business Insider among the 'World's Leading Admissions Consultants', along with other honors. Nupur serves on the board of the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants (AIGAC) - the primary industry association in MBA admissions. Nupur has also served as two-term president of AIGAC. Follow Nupur and Crack The MBA on our social media platforms for more updates: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nupurgupt/ https://www.facebook.com/CrackTheMBA/ https://www.instagram.com/crackthemba/

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!

This week's episode of WireTaps kicks off with some discussion about the recent rollout of Clear Admit+, our new subscription service (which we are very excited to have launched!). Clear Admit+ comprises more than 4 hours of proprietary video content that Graham and Alex recently recorded in London. The subscription also includes access to our data dashboard, unlimited access to Clear Admit publications, and a monthly webinar series, the first of which is scheduled for today. More details are here:  https://www.clearadmit.com/clearadmit-plus-members/ Beyond chatting about Clear Admit+, Graham highlighted the recent Adcom Q&As with Stanford and Arizona State / Carey. Graham then highlighted the ongoing MBA essay workshop series; this Wednesday's final event includes admissions representatives from Cornell / Johnson, UNC / Kenan Flagler, Yale SOM, UCLA / Anderson, and Michigan / Ross. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/cambaessays As always, this episode features in depth discussion about three real MBA applicants, taken from our ApplyWire tool: First up, Alex selects an India engineer, who has focused their career in Space. We like that experience and hope it becomes part of their long term goal, as a point of differentiation. They have average numbers for their demographic (710 GMAT, 3.3 GPA), so career differentiation will help. They may also seek to retake the GMAT. This week's second candidate is earlier in their career, but is planning on applying in another year. She is a software engineer at Microsoft, born in Spain, but migrated to the US several years ago with her family. Her numbers are very decent (720, 3.77) but should she - as an early bird - consider retaking the GMAT?  Finally, Alex and Graham profile another candidate who may need to tackle the issue of an over-represented profile (this is not entirely clear). They work in finance, and started their career in India then moved to Dubai. They are using the MBA, in part, to move geographies to either Europe or America. A strong GMAT (730) with a decent (but potentially not outstanding) GPA should keep them in the running, but more details are needed to fully understand their strategy. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by Dennis Crowley in glorious West Philadelphia. Thanks for listening, and for telling at least 1 person about this show!

In our latest installment of our Admissions Director Q&A series, we welcome Eddie Asbie, Executive Director of Admissions & Scholarship at the Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell University to discuss the leading business school's offerings and more.

This week's episode finds Graham in Baltimore, USA, as he attends the Annual GMAC conference to catch up with admissions industry professionals at all the major MBA programs; Alex is a little jealous (recalling fond memories of past GMAC conferences he attended). On the admissions front, Alex highlighted the increasing switch from activity from this season (dwindling waitlist movements) to next season (more admissions deadlines and essay topics being announced). Graham highlighted two Real Humans Alumni pieces, Michigan / Ross and Cornell / Johnson, both working for McKinsey. Graham also highlighted the upcoming MBA essay workshops, scheduled for July, signups are here: https://bit.ly/cambaessays As usual, this episode features a detailed breakdown of three candidate profiles, via ApplyWire: First up, Alex picks a candidate who appears to have very interesting experience as a congressional staffer. They are weighing their options between going to a part-time MBA (and continuing on the path they are currently on), or seeking a full-time MBA to pivot their career. Alex posits that they need not make that decision yet (they can apply to both options) and suggests they really push for a strong GRE score to compliment their already very interesting profile. This week's second candidate comes from Germany and has several degrees already (we discuss this challenge).  He is also considerably older than his peers who are applying (we discuss that challenge). That said, there is a lot to like, if he can execute a flawless application. Finally, we have a first-generation “Brit” who has spent several years in the teaching domain in Taiwan. Like the prior two candidates, he is also quite unorthodox, but like those candidates, there is also a lot to like about their profile. All three candidates will face the challenge of showing fit, while they should each easily be able to stand out. This episode was recorded in Baltimore, Maryland and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the incredible Dennis Crowley in West Philadelphia (right near the best Vietnamese hoagie shop in Philly). Please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

Alex and Graham are back with another episode of WireTaps, kicking off this week's show with a discussion of the recent roll-out of several Clear Admit 'essay topic analyses' (which we prepare each season), as the likes of Tuck, Darden, HBS, CBS, and more have published their topics for 2022-23.  Speaking of essays, Graham also announced the upcoming essay workshops, which run throughout the month of July and into August.  The first workshop includes school representatives from Berkeley / Haas, Chicago / Booth, Dartmouth / Tuck, and Virginia / Darden. You can sign up here: https://bit.ly/cambaessays   Moving on from essays, Graham highlighted three Real Humans alumni pieces, including a Michigan / Ross graduate working at Amazon, an NYU / Stern graduate who has landed with McKinsey, and a Cornell / Johnson alum now with Morgan Stanley. We also discussed the recent waitlist activity on LiveWire, which we believe will continue, deep into the summer months. As with every episode of WireTaps, Alex and Graham review the profiles of three candidates - this week, all three are from ApplyWire. First up, Alex picks a candidate from Central Asia with strong manufacturing experience. They have also done some interesting things in their community which helps show they are well rounded. A great GPA (3.9) means that they just need a solid GMAT and can likely target the top programs. They note that Yale SOM is their dream program. Our next candidate has some really interesting “skunkworks”-type experience, and great numbers. We worry they've been in a hurry with their career and life, and hope they can show the requisite maturity to get the most out of their MBA, and their career. A big question that Alex and Graham tackle is how to weave their less traditional hobbies into their narrative. This week's final candidate is a first-gen female with eight years of experience and a solid GPA. She is waiting to take the GMAT, but also wondering about the opportunity of a GMAT waiver (if she fails to hit the 700 mark she is targeting). Alex and Graham offer thoughts on the matter of waivers, lower scores, and more. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was lovingly produced in the early morning hours, by Dennis Crowley in West Philadelphia, USA. Please remember to rate and review this podcast and to share with friends, family, and anyone who might enjoy!

Happy Memorial Day! This week's podcast kicks off with some discussion of latest wait list movements and anticipation of more activity over the next couple of weeks. Graham then discussed the Application Overview Workshops that have now concluded and previewed Clear Admit's July webinar series, which will be focused on each MBA program's essays. Graham also noted a special webinar event on June 8, focused on entering the management consulting field (signups are here: https://bit.ly/caconsultingjune). Graham then highlighted two 'Real Humans Alumni' pieces; a Cornell / Johnson graduate working as a Technical Account Manager for Google and a Columbia MSFE graduate working as a Software Engineer (also at Google).  Finally, your hosts discussed the news of the new dean at Michigan / Ross. For the WireTaps portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries to review: First up, is a candidate with outstanding numbers (3.9/740) who appears to have done well at work. Alex and Graham had some thoughts regarding their goals, and would like to know more about their activities outside of work. With that said, all the information on hand does look promising. The second candidate this week has an “unconventional" career trajectory and will need to expand on the “whys” behind those career decisions. Their numbers will raise concerns at the very best MBA programs, so they need to attend to that. Graham and Alex also wanted to know more about their goals in green tech. This week's final candidate has a 730 GMAT, and despite that high score, we debate whether it's worth a retake. For some candidates, this may well be the case. Their GPA is 'modest', and while it appears they have done well at work, their work experience is going to be a little 'over-represented'. We also have questions about their 'consulting in non-profit' goals. This episode was recorded in Cornwall, England and Paris, France. It was produced in 'always sunny' Philadelphia by Dennis Crowley.

Graham and Alex are back for another Wire Taps episode as Round 3 decisions continue to roll out (this upcoming week includes UPenn / Wharton, Northwestern / Kellogg, Michigan / Ross and Berkeley / Haas). Your hosts discussed anticipation of significant movement on the wait lists over the next few weeks and Graham put Alex on the spot with a question about the application process. Graham then highlighted two Real Humans alumni pieces; the first a Ross graduate working as an Associate at McKinsey, and the second a Stanford graduate working on matters of energy transition and decarbonization for Deloitte. Graham also noted the Application Overview workshop from last week (and what he learned about Haas's approach to the standardized test), and the upcoming workshop this week which includes CMU / Tepper, Cornell / Johnson, Duke / Fuqua, Upenn / Wharton and Texas / McCombs. Signups are still open at https://tinyurl.com/clearadmitevents As always, this episode includes detailed analysis of three real candidates - with all three sourced on ApplyWire this time.  First up, Alex selects a military officer with Ranger training and a Physics degree. His numbers are very respectful for the top programs, and his experience in Cyber Security appears to be quite interesting. Alex and Graham discuss the dilemma of how a candidate approaches discussing their experience when it is “classified”, noting the importance of sharing the experience's impact, rather than the identifiable details of the experience itself. This week's second candidate is a food scientist whose aspirations might lead them to the World Food Program. She has a little hurdle to overcome, regarding a failed class during graduate coursework, coupled with a decent-but-not-outstanding GMAT. Let's hope her nerves don't get the better of her during a planned GMAT retake. Finally, Alex picks a candidate with great “counting stats” (GRE of 336, GPA of 3.85 and 5 years of experience in the Energy sector) - but a somewhat puzzling selection of target programs, as they target the technology sector in the northeast of the U.S. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by Dennis Crowley, the 'Steve Albini' of podcast audio. Thanks for listening and please be sure to tell at least 3 people you know about this show!

This episode of the podcast kicks off with Alex and Graham discussing the Round 3 decisions that are starting to roll out, noting how it's a much shorter cycle than the prior rounds with rapid turnarounds. Graham then highlights several 'Real Humans: Alumni' pieces, including a CMU / Tepper graduate working at Google, a Cambridge / Judge alum who has landed with Microsoft, a recent INSEAD graduate who chose the Boston Consulting Group, a Cornell / Johnson alumna who also works for BCG, and a USC Marshall alum working Google. Graham also mentioned the first of our Application Overview workshops, scheduled for this Wednesday. Signups are still open at https://tinyurl.com/clearadmitevents. Programs attending this first event are Berkeley / Haas, INSEAD, Yale SOM and Michigan / Ross. As always, the show features three real candidacies selected by Alex - and this week they are all from ApplyWire entries WireTaps goes "all in" on the new application cycle. First up, Alex has chosen a candidate with a 333 GRE, a master's degree from a “rural ivy” and entrepreneurial (and related) experiences in China. They are seeking an MBA to pursue consulting in the health care space.  Alex and Graham think there is a lot to like, especially regarding the transition to China. This week's second candidate has a very unorthodox pathway to the MBA; this includes not completing an undergraduate degree and experience in the sports industry; they are also from Greece. They do have a master's degree, and their GMAT is a superb 750. They will really need to execute well on their applications, and fill in the gaps we couldn't discern. But there are possibilities... Finally, we have a candidate from Canada, with what looks like very strong engineering experience and very decent extra curriculars. Their post MBA goal includes being in Europe, so they are looking at a mix of Euro-based programs and top US-based programs. We think they should take a flyer at HSW and possibly INSEAD, and if they think there is improvement in their GMAT, then retake it. This show was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced by Dennis Crowley in glorious West Philadelphia. Thanks for listening and please be sure to rate, review, and share this podcast!

In this episode of the Clear Admit MBA Admissions podcast, Alex and Graham talk about getting together in London to work on a “top secret” project... (which actually means that if the project fails, no one will be the wiser!).  Speaking of London, Graham highlighted the career report from London Business School; there are some very interesting differences in this career report, as compared with top U.S.-based programs. Graham also points listeners to the latest Real Humans alumni pieces; the first features a Michigan / Ross graduate who navigated from a pre-MBA career in retail merchandising to a post-MBA job investment banking at Morgan Stanley, and the second of which used a Cornell / Johnson, MBA to get into investment banking at JP Morgan. And finally, in the new category, Graham discussed a survey we now have in the field and would really love you to complete; you can access it here: https://bit.ly/casurvey2022 (Amazon gift cards are available for some survey respondents - with one lucky winner getting a $400 Amazon or Apple card). For the WireTaps portion this week, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries and a DecisionWire entry. First up, Graham introduces a candidate targeting deferred admissions programs. The candidate appears to have a strong academic record, internships and is engaged on campus. All good ingredients for these types of programs. The 730 GMAT is a very good score, overall. But there's a potential blemish; the quant score is below average. This may be a minor “red flag” issue. This week's second candidate shows a lot of potential and strong numbers (3.85 and 750) - but with two years of experience, Alex and Graham ponder whether next season the right time to apply to maximize their opportunities. Finally, from DecisionWire, we have a candidate who is weighing Rice / Jones, Texas McCombs, and UCLA / Anderson. They want to do investment banking/PE in the energy/clean energy sectors. There's some great advice on the DecisionWire platform to help make that decision. This episode was recorded in Cornwall, England and Paris, France. It was produced and engineered by Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, PA. Thanks for listening!

In this episode of WireTaps, Graham and Alex discussed this week's forthcoming release of admissions decisions for CMU / Tepper and INSEAD. Your hosts also highlighted our new content series: Top MBA Career Placement Outcomes. Two pieces published last week revealed interesting insights regarding regional placement within the U.S. and more pieces on the horizon will unpack all kinds of placement nuggets. Graham and Alex then shifted gears to talk about two Real Humans Alumni pieces which focused on making the move from Northwestern / Kellogg to Google and from and Georgetown / McDonough to BCG. Graham also mentioned the recently published career report for USC / Marshall, where 84% of the Class of 2021 graduates remained out west (and a sizable number pursue Media and Entertainment and Interactive Gaming). For the featured WireTaps candidates this week, Alex chose two ApplyWire entries and a DecisionWire entry. First up, is a candidate from West Africa who is based in the United States, working in manufacturing. They are targeting the M7, next season, and are concerned about their GMAT, which sits at the 700 mark after three attempts. Alex and Graham do think one more go at the test could pay dividends, and that the addition of some more strategic long term goals will help this candidacy as well.  Considering 1-2 programs outside of the M7 group would also be a wise move.  This week's second candidate is from India, seeking to apply in Round 3 with a test waiver. Alex and Graham think this will be a big longshot, given they are from an over-represented applicant pool and very late to the game. Round 1 next season, with a strong test score, will increase their opportunities. But can they wait? Finally, from DecisionWire, Alex chooses a candidate who is weighing options between Columbia (no money) and Cornell / Johnson with the full tuition Park Fellowship, seeking MBB placement post MBA. Another tough call, but a lot of fun to debate! This episode was recorded in Cornwall, England and Paris, France. It was lovingly produced in West Philadelphia by Dennis Crowley.

Welcome back to another episode of your friendly MBA-neighborhood podcast!  The big conversation from last week's MBA admissions activity centered around the interview invite releases of Harvard and Michigan / Ross (note: Alex and Graham somehow neglected to mention the release of Duke / Fuqua's Round 2 invites, also heavily reported on MBA LiveWire). Alex put Graham on the spot about his own experience interviewing at HBS, and after diving into that topic a bit Graham called listeners attention to Real Humans piece on UVA / Darden, and the employment report for Cornell / Johnson. It was no surprise that a whopping 36% of students head into Finance from Johnson. Graham and Alex also discussed SMU / Cox's merging of MBA Admissions and Career Services, and how that might, or might not, work at a larger program. Graham excitedly shared a lovely email - and audio clip - from a faithful listener. As always, this week's episode features three real candidate reviews, including two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry: First up, Alex picked out a candidate from India who applied in Round 2, and is not being overly ambitious with their school selection. Your hosts like the overall profile, but wonder whether waiting to the following season, with apps in the first rounds, might allow them to target some higher profile programs. This week's second candidate also hails from India, but has completed an MS in the United States. With a solid engineering background and good numbers, there is a lot to like about the overall profile. Alas, this candidate is on the waitlist from Round 1 at a couple of programs, and has targeted a few top 16 programs in Round 2. Fingers crossed! Finally, from DecisionWire, Alex chose a candidate who has several offers, and is weighing UVA / Darden with a full ride against Berkeley / Haas with a $90k award. Looking at the personal preferences of the candidate, Darden may have the edge, here. This episode was recorded in Cornwall, England and Paris, France. It was produced in also-snowy West Philadelphia by Dennis Crowley. Please remember to rate and review this podcast wherever you listen and to 'stay safe everybody'!

Alex and Graham are back with a jam-packed episode including Harvard Business School interview-timing news, breakdowns of the MIT Sloan and Yale SOM employment reports, and even some Wordle tips! Graham also reminds listeners of Clear Admit's upcoming events for deferred enrollment applicants (the first of which is this Wednesday, February 2nd and includes Berkeley Haas, CMU Tepper, Chicago Booth, and Columbia Business School). Sign up here: https://bit.ly/demba22 As to the WireTaps portion of the show, first up Alex and Graham look at an 'early bird' candidate for next season who is really trying to figure out whether the MBA is the right next step. She has an interesting background as a refugee who is now working in clinical research. If she aces the GMAT, and really develops a concrete post-MBA plan, top programs should be very interested in her profile. Next, Alex chooses a profile that has two parts to it: on the one hand there is really interesting and impressive looking work experience across parts of Africa - showing very good levels of impact. On the other hand, a sub-3.0 GPA is cause for serious concern. Finally, from DecisionWire, our hosts look at a candidate who is weighing options between UVA / Darden (without a scholarship) and Cornell / Johnson (with $80K). They are seeking a consulting career, but may also look into investment banking. This episode was recorded in Cornwall, England and snowy New York, NY. It was produced in also-snowy West Philadelphia by Dennis Crowley. Please remember to rate and review this podcast wherever you listen and to 'stay safe everybody'!

This Martin Luther King Day edition of the podcast takes a moment to recognize the unparalleled contributions of Dr. King before moving into the latest news from the MBA admissions front. With R2 deadlines mostly in the rearview, Graham is impatient about interview invites and Alex offers him some advice in this regard. Your hosts then break down the latest Employment Report from Kellogg and mention the recent publication of Real Humans pieces for UT Austin, Vanderbilt Owen, and Boston Carroll. Also of note, two upcoming 'deferred enrollment' events hosted by Clear Admit and featuring admissions representatives from Berkeley, Chicago Booth, Columbia, CMU Tepper, UVA Darden, Wharton, Yale SOM, and MIT Sloan - sign up here! https://bit.ly/demba22 As to this week's featured candidates, Alex and Graham kick things off with a close look at a Dartmouth grad who has worked for 11 years in Japan. He's launched several entrepreneurial ventures, most recently setting up a language school. A super GMAT and fascinating experience helps, but he will really need to show fit and that he plans to fully engage during his MBA experience. Next, Alex selects a Syrian American chemical engineer who has worked in the petrochemical industry and wants to move to consulting and sustainability. She also has a passion for advocacy work and is currently in the midst of a 'gap year' to pursue that passion (while applying to b-school). Finally, from DecisionWire, Graham and Alex break down the dilemma for a candidate who is weighing offers from Chicago / Booth, Cornell / Johnson, Yale SOM and NYU / Stern - with varying scholarship amounts. The admitted student is from West Africa and is seeking to enter Investment Banking. Your hosts also give credit to the contributions from the community on DecisionWire for this entry. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was mixed, produced, re-mixed, and version-ed, by the incredible Dennis Crowley in sunny Philadelphia. Please remember to rate and review this podcast wherever you listen, and to tell at least 100 friends about it. Thanks for listening!

Achieving diversity and inclusion in educational institutions and workplaces is not easy, but it is a goal which we should all be collectively working towards, whether we are an employer or employee, student or teacher. On today's show, we are joined by Jamie Joshua, a lawyer by profession who is the director of Cornell Johnson's Office of Diversity and Inclusion. Jamie explains the programs and projects that she is currently involved with, and sheds light on the elements that are essential for creating spaces that are diverse and inclusive. Our discussion covers strategies that can help people to understand one another better, the benefits of a diverse workforce, and ways that you can find out which companies are prioritizing things that are important to you. Finding a workplace that aligns with your values is so important, and it's never too late! See www.tjfcareercoach.com/episodes for more details, speaker bios and resources mentioned in the episode.

This week, Alex and Graham tackle a number of key admissions questions, ranging from the importance of GMAT/GRE 'recency' to potential hurdles candidates may face when coming from 'back office' roles. Along the way, our hosts also counsel an early bird applicant thinking of applying in 2024 and a recently admitted applicant weighing offers from UCLA Anderson (with $100K) vs. UT Austin McCombs (with $30K). Other topics in this jam-packed episode include R3 applications and the state of the waitlist at top schools this season. Two final items of note this week: 1. Take our MBA admit survey here: http://bit.ly/MBAadmitsurvey, and 2. Join us for a conversation with admissions directors from Yale SOM, UNC Kenan Flagler, Duke Fuqua, Cornell Johnson, and Dartmouth Tuck this Wednesday, May 12th. You can sign up here: http://bit.ly/MBAappoverview. Please remember to rate and review this podcast wherever you listen! This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, UK. It was mixed and produced by Dennis Crowley in West Philadelphia, USA.