Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast

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MBA Wire Taps 420—Potential degree collector. Darden vs wait. INSEAD vs Stern’s Tech MBA. Apr 21, 2025

Show notes

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. Next week Harvard and UPenn / Wharton have deadlines for their deferred admissions programs.

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. 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

Graham noted a recently published article on Clear Admit that focuses on three alumni from Dartmouth / Tuck who are focusing on areas of social impact. This does help illustrate the broad relevance and impact of a top tier MBA.

Graham highlighted three Real Humans alumni spotlights, alums from Maryland / Smith working at JPMorgan Chase, Harvard working at Disney+, and Yale SOM working at Microsoft.

Finally, we discussed two late-arriving 2024 career reports, from UCLA / Anderson and USC / Marshall. Both programs are showing similar trends that we have seen from other top programs this season. This includes a slight dip in the percentage of those who have offers, that were seeking jobs. Both programs do show some very similar statistics, overall.

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 has an undergraduate degree in accounting, a master’s in accounting, and is now pursuing a master’s in finance, part-time, while looking at MBA programs. This led to a discussion on the dangers of being considered a degree-collector.

This week’s second MBA candidate is choosing between UVA / Darden or waiting a year to reapply. They are seeking a career in consulting.

The final MBA candidate is choosing between INSEAD and NYU / Stern’s one-year Tech 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!

MBA Wire Taps 419— Non-traditional, 16 years of experience. Haas vs Kellogg’s MBAi. Darden vs Stern. Apr 14, 2025

Show notes

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!

MBA Wire Taps 418—710 GMAT, Brazilian banker. Booth vs Kellogg. Ross vs Kelley. Apr 07, 2025

Show notes

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the Round 2 activity on LiveWire; Stanford, UPenn / Wharton and MIT / Sloan were among the top MBA programs releasing decisions last week. For this upcoming week, Round 3 admissions deadlines are rolling on, while Oxford / Said and Ohio State / Fisher have decision deadlines.

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. Signups for this event are here: https://bit.ly/mbafair2025

Graham noted a Clear Admit article from the Friday’s-from-the-Frontline series from an LBS MBA student, discussing the EQUALL conference, which is focused on gender equality. Graham also noted a recently published admissions tip that focuses on how to negotiate scholarships with business schools.

Graham highlighted three Real Humans alumni spotlights, alums from UPenn / Wharton working at Pfizer, Ohio State / Fisher working at Deloitte, and Chicago / Booth working at Nike.

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 Brazil, and has an undergraduate degree in civil engineering, and is now working at a bank, focused on data. They have a 710 GMAT score and are targeting next season.

This week’s second MBA candidate is choosing between several top MBA programs, including Chicago / Booth and Northwestern / Kellogg. They want to work in consulting in Chicago, post MBA.

The final MBA candidate also has several choices, but has narrowed down their decision to be between Indiana / Kelley, with a full scholarship, and Michigan / Ross.

MBA Wire Taps 417—3.1 GPA, health issues. Electrical engineer, Product manager. Tuck vs Fuqua. Mar 31, 2025

Show notes

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.

MBA Wire Taps 416—Tuck vs Fuqua and Darden. Judge vs Booth’s EMBA program. Johnson vs Tuck and Ross. Mar 24, 2025

Show notes

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.

MBA Wire Taps 415— Military, GRE 331. Arizona Carey vs Marshall. Haas vs Kellogg. Mar 17, 2025

Show notes

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the Round 2 activity on LiveWire; Dartmouth / Tuck, Emory / Goizueta, UVA / Darden, Michigan / Ross, Rice / Jones, Indiana / Kelley and Vanderbilt / Owen were among the top MBA programs releasing Round 2 decisions last week. For this upcoming week, UNC / Kenan Flagler, Yale SOM, Georgetown / McDonough and INSEAD are releasing their final decisions.

Graham highlighted the Spring Applicant 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 also mentioned an AMA event that Clear Admit is hosting with NYU / Stern this week, on Wednesday. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/nyusternama

Graham noted that Clear Admit now has several admissions-related events for the month of May available on the website; this includes the MBA admissions fair Clear Admit is hosting 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 mentioned two recently published articles by Clear Admit that focus on fellowships and community for women targeting business school and a similar piece highlighting support and funding options for minorities at the leading MBA programs. These articles also address the wider political context, in the United States, that makes these efforts more important. Graham then noted an admissions tip that focuses on choosing between MBA program options, post admissions decisions.

Graham also highlighted four Real Humans alumni spotlights, alums from Emory / Goizueta working at Deloitte, Rice / Jones working at Pfizer, Berkeley / Haas working at JP Morgan and UCI / Merage working at Microsoft.

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 a military candidate who has a 331 GRE score. Their overall profile looks very strong; we want them to focus a little more on their short-term goal.

This week’s second MBA candidate is choosing between Arizona / Carey and USC / Marshall. They have a better scholarship offer at Carey.

The final MBA candidate is deciding between Northwestern / Kellogg and Berkeley / Haas. They are looking to a career in consulting or tech.

MBA Wire Taps 414—20 years of service, Deferred admissions. Fuqua vs Kelley. Mar 10, 2025

Show notes

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing Round 2 activity on LiveWire; CMU / Tepper was among the top MBA programs releasing Round 2 decisions last week. For this upcoming week, Rice / Jones, UVA / Darden, Emory / Goizueta, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, Michigan / Ross, Vanderbilt / Owen, Notre Dame / Mendoza, Georgia / Terry and Indiana / Kelley are releasing their Round 2 decisions. Minnesota / Carlson is releasing their Round 3 decisions.

Graham noted that Clear Admit now has several admissions-related events for the month of May; this includes the 2025 MBA Fair Clear Admit is hosting in Boston, on May 14th. Twenty-four of the top U.S.-based MBA programs are planning to attend. Signups for this event are here: https://bit.ly/mbafair2025

Graham mentioned two recently published articles by Clear Admit that focus on leading MBA programs’ efforts to support students who are focused on sustainability and social impact, both really important fields in the world in which we now live. Graham then highlighted a Real Humans alumni spotlight on an HBS alumni who is now working at American Express. He notes the real value of all the case studies he was exposed to during his MBA.

Graham also highlighted two Real Numbers features, that focus on average GMAT scores for European MBA programs, and average GRE scores for U.S.-based MBA programs. Graham then mentioned the publication of an admissions tip that focuses on Welcome Weekend events that top MBA programs host, once they have released their Round 2 decisions.

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 a military veteran who is looking to transition from the military after 20 years of service. This led us to discuss which is the right format of MBA to pursue.

This week’s second MBA candidate is still in college and is applying via the deferred admissions process. They have outstanding credentials, despite their 48th percentile in the verbal reasoning section of the GMAT.

The final MBA candidate is deciding between Duke / Fuqua and Indiana / Kelley. They have a Forte Fellowship and are pursuing an MBA in health care.

Episode 413–Managing an MBA & Major League Baseball: Sam Fuld on Wharton, Leadership & the Phillies Mar 04, 2025

Show notes

From the outfield to the office, Sam Fuld has built a career in "America's favorite pastime"--baseball. Host Graham Richmond sits down with Fuld, current General Manager of the Philadelphia Phillies and a student in the Wharton MBA program. Fuld is widely known for his successful career as an MLB outfielder and his transition into the Phillies' front office, where he has played a key role in shaping the team's strategy and performance. Now, as he pursues his MBA at Wharton, Fuld is preparing for a major transition to the role of President of Business Operations upon his graduation in 2026. This episode explores the intersection of baseball and business, discussing why Fuld decided to pursue an MBA, how the degree is preparing him for his future role, and what lessons he’s learned along the way.

MBA Wire Taps 412—315 GRE, ex-military. Over-represented, interview invites. Kellogg vs Wharton Mar 03, 2025

Show notes

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing Round 2 activity on LiveWire; a few MBA programs are still releasing a few interview invites, but we are getting closer to the end of the Round 2 cycle; CMU / Tepper, Johns Hopkins / Carey and Ohio State / Fisher are scheduled to release final decisions for R2 candidates this upcoming week.

Graham highlighted the MBA Fair Clear Admit is hosting in Boston, on May 14th. Twenty-four of the top 25 U.S.-based MBA programs are planning to attend. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/mbafair2025

Graham then mentioned the publication of an admissions tip that focuses on strategies for those on a waitlist. Graham then discussed a new Real Humans piece that focuses on students at Harvard Business School.

Graham also highlighted two Real Numbers features, that focus on average GMAT scores at leading b-schools and the percentage of international students in MBA programs. We then discussed the Class of 2024 career report released by Texas / McCombs. They did see an uptick in recruiting for tech-related jobs, which bucked a trend we are seeing with other top MBA programs. This may be a function of another recent trend - tech firms moving to Texas.

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, and had experience in the military in special operations, as well as more recent role as a financial advisor. They have a total of 13 years of experience, but we worry their current GRE score of 315 is a little low.

This week’s second MBA candidate applied in Round 2, is from India and works in the tech space. Despite being potentially over-represented, they have received several invitations to interview, including from Stanford.

The final MBA candidate is deciding between Northwestern / Kellogg, with a scholarship, and UPenn / Wharton.

MBA Wire Taps 411—Impact of GRE verbal. Same firm or branded firm. Foster vs McCombs. Feb 24, 2025

Show notes

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing Round 2 activity on LiveWire; UPenn / Wharton and MIT / Sloan released their interview invites last week; Washington / Olin, Georgia Tech / Scheller, SMU / Cox and Oxford / Said are scheduled to release final decisions this upcoming week.

We then discussed the “user behavior” of Ask Clear Admit, Clear Admit's new AI chatbot. The bot has received nearly 1,500 prompts since its launch.

Graham then highlighted the webinar series for Master’s in Management candidates; the final webinar in this series is on Wednesday, and features Chicago / Booth, Emory / Goizueta, Indiana / Kelley, Duke / Fuqua and London Business School. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/mim0225

Graham noted the continuation of Clear Admit’s articles about great podcast, where we place the spotlight on podcasts from the leading MBA programs. This final spotlight features podcasts from leading business schools in Europe.

We then had an animated discussion on the recently published Financial Times 2025 global MBA rankings. One key point we made is that a ranking of top MBA programs really does need to include Stanford...

Graham then mentioned the publication of two admissions tips that focus background checks and applying to MBA programs as a couple, as well as two Adcom Q&As, from INSEAD and Babson / Olin.

Finally, Graham highlighted a Real Numbers feature on US minority representation at top MBA programs, and a recently recorded podcast episode featuring the GM of the Philadelphia Phillies, who is doing an Executive MBA at Wharton.

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 planning ahead but needs to retake the GRE (score of 292) and also consider taking additional coursework to counter their 3.0 GPA.

This week’s second MBA candidate is also planning ahead in terms of their applications, is a first-generation college graduate, who appears to have a strong career and activities record. They will also need to perform well on the standardized test.

The final MBA candidate is deciding between USC / Marshall, Texas / McCombs and Washington / Foster, with very similar scholarship offers.

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