Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast

Latest Episodes:

MBA Wire Taps 290—Wine Guy, 770 GMAT. 322 x4, one more try? Fuqua vs Haas. May 08, 2023

Show notes

Another, week, another episode of WireTaps! Alex and Graham began the show with the usual discussion around activity on LiveWire, which now includes decision deadlines for the shorter Round 3 application cycle and some deferred enrollment interview invites. Graham then highlighted three Real Humans Alumni stories, an INSEAD grad at Accenture, a CMU / Tepper grad at Amazon and a UPenn / Wharton grad at Pfizer. Graham also mentioned a recently published admissions tip that covers scholarship negotiation. He then reminded listeners about the MBA admissions event series that Clear Admit is hosting in May, which began last Wednesday, and continues this Wednesday with Duke / Fuqua, UNC / Kenan Flagler, Emory / Goizueta, and Texas / Austin. This series offers admissions overviews from each of the programs. Event signup is here: https://bit.ly/cambaevents For this week's candidate profiles and dilemmas, Alex and Graham tackled two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry: The first featured candidate has super numbers (770, 3.68) and spent two years in a leadership development program before moving to a family business (a winery). Alex and Graham like their experience and think that they should be targeting the top programs. The one concern is their post MBA goals; Alex and Graham want to ensure the goals are relevant and plausible while also being impactful. Your hosts also discussed issues related to sourcing recommendations, and around the candidate's desire to be in Salt Lake City, post-MBA. This week's second candidate appears to have interesting work experience across four countries, including Germany. We do worry about their combination of numbers (322, 2.9); they have taken additional coursework to bolster their GPA. They have also already taken the GRE four times. There are strengths in this profile, but there are weaknesses that need mitigating. The third and final candidate this week is weighing offers from Berkeley / Haas with no scholarship and Duke / Fuqua with a large scholarship. They do want to be in the Bay Area, or Seattle, post MBA, which favors Haas, but they are not seeking tech employment. We encourage them to look closely at the Fuqua networks in those regions, and see if they think that Fuqua might work. They also love Fuqua’s culture, which is an important consideration. 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 289—323 GRE, from Colombia. Health care, no test score. Tuck vs Kellogg May 01, 2023

Show notes

This episode begins with an in-depth review of the 2024 U.S. News full-time MBA rankings, which were released last week after a delay. U.S. News has changed its ranking methodology which caused some shifts in their ranking, but Chicago / Booth did retain the top spot! Alex and Graham share thoughts on the rankings changes, and continue to assert the reality that a tiered ranking system is always better than an ordinal one. Graham noted that 5 of the top MBA programs now have a median GMAT score of 740, which is pretty crazy. Your hosts then speculate that this is a result of more admitted candidates taking the GRE. Graham highlighted four Real Humans Alumni stories, a Georgetown / McDonough grad at Citi, a Harvard grad at Bain, a NYU / Stern grad at Accenture and a Michigan / Ross grad at Bain. These are always great reads for anyone targeting those programs or companies. Graham also highlighted the upcoming virtual event series that Clear Admit is hosting in May, which begins on Wednesdaywith Harvard Business School, UPenn / Wharton, Berkeley / Haas, London Business School, and INSEAD. This series offers admissions overviews from each of the programs and vital insights into the application process. Event signup is here: https://bit.ly/cambaevent For candidate profiles this week, Alex and Graham tackled two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry: WireTaps candidate #1 is from Colombia and works in Real Estate and Construction. They have a 323 GRE score, and may plan to retake the test. They had originally targeted applying in the late rounds this season, but have now pushed their plans to the first rounds next season. Alex and Graham really like the profile, and hope that with a slightly higher GRE score, and early round applications, they will have very decent options. This week's second candidate is from a more non-traditional background, but with a focus on health care. They have had a difficult upbringing which has helped inform some of their decisions. They have a strong undergrad GPA, but still need to take the GMAT or GRE. Their work experience does look very decent, but Alex and Graham have questions about their goals, outside interests, personal background, and more. The final candidate for this week has been admitted to Dartmouth / Tuck with a decent scholarship, Ross (slightly less money), Northwestern / Kellogg (less, still) and Yale SOM (with no support). Alex and Graham argue that it’s a toss up between Kellogg and Tuck... This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in leafy West 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 288—Strong profile, weak GRE. Yale vs Ross for consulting. Haas vs Kellogg for tech. Apr 24, 2023

Show notes

This episode kicks off with some discussion of a few big news stories in the MBA Admissions world. This includes the news of the delay in the release of the U.S. News MBA rankings (and the speculations surrounding the cause of the delay); the acquisition of Poets and Quants by Times Higher Education (THE), and the decisions from McKinsey and Bain to delay the start dates of their new hires. Graham then highlighted three Real Humans Alumni pieces, including a London Business School graduate running Nona Women, a Duke / Fuqua graduate working at Microsoft, and a UNC / Kenan Flagler graduate working at J.P. Morgan. Graham also highlighted the upcoming event series that Clear Admit is hosting in May (each Wednesday), which will feature the majority of the leading MBA programs. The first event includes Harvard Business School, Berkeley / Haas, Wharton / Upenn, London Business School, and INSEAD. This series will offer application process overviews from each of the programs. We will then follow up with an essay workshop series in the months ahead. Event signup is here: https://bit.ly/cambaevent For our candidate reviews, we tapping into one ApplyWire entry and two DecisionWire entries: The first candidate looks to have a very strong profile, and is from Ghana. Alex and Graham are a little concerned about their weaker GRE score (315) which then led to a discussion on whether they might seek out a GRE waiver. Alex also stressed the need for this candidate to choose one short-term goal; currently they’re debating between consulting and banking. This week's second candidate is considering offers from Yale and Ross, with scholarship support, and from Kellogg with no additional support. They want to work in Seattle as a consultant, post MBA. It’s not a clear cut decision. The final candidate for this episode is debating between Haas and Kellogg for a product manager role in tech. They are an international student wanting to work in the U.S. for a period of time after their MBA. Haas would likely provide them better access to Silicon Valley, especially during their MBA, Kellogg would provide more geographic flexibility. 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 287—Chemical Engineer at Big 4. Johnson vs Darden. One year vs Wait. Apr 17, 2023

Show notes

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!

MBA Wire Taps 286—Special Guest William Keller Discusses Journey from the Marines Through Admissions Apr 10, 2023

Show notes

We have a special edition of MBA Wire Taps today as we welcome William Keller, a marine who will start an EMBA program this fall at either the Wharton School or UVA Darden. Keller served eight years in the Marine Corps and is now transitioning to civilian life to pursue a career in consulting. He’s also a longtime listener of the Clear Admit MBA Podcast and we are excited to have him share his experience with the admissions process!

MBA Wire Taps 285—Haas, Part-time versus Full-time. Older candidate, to start an MBA or not. Ross versus Anderson for big tech Apr 03, 2023

Show notes

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!

Episode 284—Admissions Director Q&A with Liz Hutchinson of IE Business School Mar 30, 2023

Show notes

Tune in for another edition of our Admissions Director Q&A series, as we welcome Elizabeth Hutchinson, the Head of Admissions, Graduate Programs at IE University in Madrid, Spain. Get an inside look at the MBA admissions process there along with additional advice on how to tackle the essay and more.

MBA Wire Taps 283—Brazilian, 710 GMAT. Kenan Flagler ($) versus Darden. Kellogg versus Stern ($) Mar 27, 2023

Show notes

MBA Admissions 'March Madness' continues as this episode kicks off with Alex and Graham discussing the R2 decisions activity on MBA LiveWire: UPenn / Wharton, Berkeley / Haas and several other leading MBA programs released Round 2 decisions last week. This upcoming week will include Northwestern / Kellogg, Harvard and Stanford. Graham highlighted a new “by the numbers” article focusing on GMAT scores at top programs. Stanford leads the way with a median score of 737! Alex and Graham then discussed UVA / Darden’s career report. The school reports a very high median starting salary of $175,000. This positions them them very well against M7 programs, and the figure is likely influenced by the large portion of the graduating class going into consulting, at 43.5%. Graham highlighted two Real Humans Alumni stories, a CMU / Tepper alum at Microsoft and a Michigan / Ross alum at Google. For the candidates reviewed this week, Alex selected one ApplyWire entry and two DecisionWire entries: The first candidate is from Brazil and appears to have very solid work experience and strong community service activities. They graduated top of their class, too. They are applying in the final round, which may harm them a little. Alex and Graham are also a little concerned about their GMAT at 710, but ultimately think this type of candidate should be at a top program. This week's second candidate is deciding between a free-ride at UNC / Kenan Flagler or Darden with no scholarship. This is a classic dilemma, when weighing offers between programs in two different tiers, where money helps redress the balance. They want to move into consulting. The final candidate featured in this episode is debating between Kellogg, NYU / Stern (with a large scholarship) and USC Marshall. They are seeking a career in Media and Entertainment. At first glance, Stern looks like the winner here... This episode was recorded in Philadelphia, USA and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the magnificent Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who’ve been joining us! Please remember to tip your servers, and to rate and review your podcasts...

MBA Wire Taps 282—Fighter pilot, low GPA. Carlson versus Bocconi. Tepper versus Ross, online MBA. Mar 20, 2023

Show notes

This week's episode tackles 'March Madness' - of the MBA admissions variety - as more and more top MBA programs are releasing their final decisions for Round 2. UPenn / Wharton is one of the many programs scheduled to release their decisions this upcoming week. Graham highlighted a recently published admissions tip that focuses on navigating the wait list. He then highlighted two alumni Real Humans pieces, for HBS and Deloitte, and NYU / Stern and Carlyle. The latter alumna discussed the importance of patience and persistence when recruiting outside of the traditional career paths of consulting and investment banking. Alex and Graham then discussed a recently published piece on Clear Admit that reviewed the demand for tech jobs at leading MBA programs; that discussion was tempered with the recent news of all the layoffs in the tech sector. As always, this episode features real candidate profiles, sourced from one ApplyWire entry and two DecisionWire entries: WireTaps candidate #1 is a fighter pilot who appears to have a very strong military career. The one area of their application that is concerning is a lower undergrad GPA (a 2.8 in aerospace engineering). Alex and Graham discuss options for mitigating this area of concern as well as the importance of a longer term post-MBA goal, especially for an older candidate. This week's second candidate is weighing two quite different options, a full-ride at Minnesota Carlson, versus a place at SDA Bocconi. They are looking at FMCG or Luxury retail for their post-MBA goals, hence the diverse considerations. Alex and Graham discuss some of the key factors that should help influence their decision. This week's final candidate is looking at options between two online MBA programs (CMU / Tepper and Michigan / Ross) and the full-time program at Vanderbilt / Owen. It looks like they prefer the online route, so they can remain at work. Alex and Graham provide some guidance in terms of how to choose between these two options. This episode was recorded in Philadelphia, USA and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who’ve been joining us, and please remember to rate and review this podcast wherever you listen!

MBA Wire Taps 281—Army ranger, modest GRE. Fire service, now undergrad. Aerospace engineer. Mar 13, 2023

Show notes

Our first candidate is an Army Ranger (Special Forces) and no doubt has some pretty amazing experience. They have a very solid GPA and a good plan regarding their post MBA goals. Their GRE score is 319. For the programs they are targeting, this might well be high enough, but we wonder whether they should have one more go at trying to boost the score into the 320s. We think they belong at an M7 program. Our second candidate has a very unorthodox background, which includes 15 years with the fire service, before attending their undergrad program, which they are now completing. This presents several challenges that the candidate will face, and which we discuss in detail. A top GMAT score will help, too. Our final candidate is an aerospace engineer with outstanding numbers. They are a little earlier in their career and their goals are not as well developed as we would like. If they can develop their goal focus between now and the round 1 deadlines, we think they will have some good options.

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