Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast

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Wire Taps 260—Healthcare data scientist. 15 years of experience, low GPA. First generation, energy career Nov 07, 2022

Show notes

This week's podcast kicks off with a look at the latest activity on MBA LiveWire, which led to a disussion about the anxiety the interview invite process creates for candidates. Graham highlighted the recently published Real Humans pieces for Toronto / Rotman and SMU / Cox before calling listeners attention to the congested application deadlines for Round 2; on January 4 and 5, there are 16 top MBA programs with Round 2 deadlines! Graham also highlighted this Tuesday’s webinar with Georgia / Terry, focused on Experiential Learning, signups are here: https://bit.ly/experientialmba Graham also reminded listeners of Clear Admit’s upcoming Deferred Enrolment event featuring Wharton, MIT Sloan, Chicago Booth and many other leading programs; signups are here: https://bit.ly/defermba As usual, this episode features candidate profile reviews for three real applicants, each selected from ApplyWire. First up, Alex selects a data scientist in the healthcare domain, who has a 720 GMAT (decent) and a 3.3 engineering undergraduate degree. They have also completed a masters degree, with a 3.8. They are an over-represented minority (likely Asian American), and Alex and Graham discussed the programs they are targeting, and whether Wharton should be included, because of its strength in the healthcare domain. This week's second candidate has 15 years of experience, and unfortunately has a low undergraduate GPA, due to some mental health issues. They have subsequently completed a masters degree with a stronger result (but did not share the exact GPA). Beyond the potential academics problem, they will need to address issues related to fit because of their additional length of work experience. The final candidate this week is targeting next season, and is a first generation candidate who’s pivoted from engineering into finance. Alex and Graham like that pivot, and had a long conversation about their goals, post MBA, and whether they should stick to an energy theme, which has formed the basis of their prior experiences. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the immensely talented Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, home of the National League Champion Phillies. Thanks for joining us and for reading these descriptions! Please remember to share the Clear Admit podcast with friends, colleagues, and anyone who might benefit from tuning in. Stay safe everybody.

Wire Taps 259—Military candidate, dings at Harvard and Wharton. Waitlisted last season, waiting this season. Stanford or bust? Oct 31, 2022

Show notes

Happy Halloween! This week's podcast starts off with a truly spooky tale about the "Infamous HBS 119"...a story that didn't end well for MBA applicants back in 2005. On more of an upbeat note, Alex and Graham congratulated Stanford GSB alum, Rishi Sunak, on his new role of Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. Activity on MBA LiveWire was very busy last week with many candidates reporting interview invites including UPenn / Wharton and MIT / Sloan candidates - Alex and Graham mentioned that they anticipate the same for this upcoming week. Graham then highlighted the new Real Humans pieces from UMD / Smith, UGA / Terry, IMD and UNC / Kenan Flagler. Graham also highlighted the Adcom Q&A from Emory / Goizueta as well as its employment report. Emory has a terrific average starting salary ($165k) which is likely tied to the school's sending 55% of graduates to consulting. 66% of their students remain in the Southern region of the United States, making it a very strong program for that area. Graham and Alex also discussed MIT / Sloan’s Class of 2024 profile. The profile, itself, is very good, but the class size appears to have dropped quite considerably, leading your hosts to believe that they also experienced a drop in applications. Graham also highlighted Clear Admit’s upcoming Deferred Enrolment event; signups are here: https://bit.ly/defermba As usual, this episode features three candidate profile reviews, taken from ApplyWire entries: First up, Alex choses a military candidate, with nine years of experience who has unfortunately been rejected in Round 1 by Harvard and Wharton (without interviews). While Alex and Graham understand this is a tough start to the process, they believe there is a spot for this candidate among the top programs with his remaining applications in Round 1. If Round 2 is needed, Alex and Graham think he should still target M7 and top-16 programs. This week's second candidate is an Indian national, with strong tech and operations experience in the United States. He also has strong numbers and was waitlisted last season at several top programs. He reapplied to the same in Round 1 this season, and there is everything to suggest they may have better news this time out. The third candidate profile featured this week only targeted Stanford in Round 1, and has received an interview invite. He is very focused on the online video gaming industry and wondering whether any other top programs would be suitable, if he is not successful with Stanford. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the marvelous Dennis Crowley in the City of Brotherly Love. Please tell at least one person about the Clear Admit podcast and don't forget to rate and review this show wherever you listen! Best of luck to everyone applying to business school, and don't forget you can always email Graham and Alex at info@clearadmit.com using the subject line 'Wire Taps'.

Wire Taps 258—Columbia ED ding, what now? Sports management in London. Economics faculty in India. Oct 24, 2022

Show notes

This week's episode of the Clear Admit MBA Admissions podcast kicks off with a review of the upcoming admissions deadlines, including R1 interview invites for UPenn / Wharton and Duke / Fuqua. Your hosts also discuss the wave of Early Action decisions out of Darden and Fuqua. Graham then highlighted the Real Humans pieces for Vanderbilt / Owen and Ohio State / Fisher as well as a recent adcom Q&A with Fuqua' Shari Hubert, noting that half their incoming class receives some form of merit-based scholarship. Graham also presented NYU / Stern’s recently released employment report, which includes huge average starting salaries; Alex suggested that the large number of finance placements and the school's New York City location must be at least partially responsible for these impressive figures. Graham highlighted an upcoming webinar on Wednesday, focused on whether or not to take a test (GMAT/GRE vs. waiver); signups are here: https://bit.ly/testornotest. Graham also highlighted Clear Admit’s upcoming Deferred Enrolment event; signups are here: https://bit.ly/defermba As usual, this episode features three real candidate profile reviews; coming from both LiveWire and ApplyWire entries. First up, Alex selects a candidate who was denied admission at Columbia ED, following their alumni interview. They have a very strong GMAT, work in MBB consulting, and are from South Africa. Based on the limited information shared by this candidate, the decision appeared surprising, so Alex and Graham discussed some of the possible reasons. Your hosts also encouraged the candidate to not loose focus, and to continue applying to top programs in Round 2. This week's second candidate has charted a path from Colorado to Philadelphia (UPenn undergrad) to London where she is working for a large sports team, in human resources. Alex and Graham really like her profile, and think with the less traditional career path, she may be an appealing candidate for top programs, despite her numbers not jumping off the page (they are certainly near the averages at leading MBA programs). She also has a great post-MBA plan. The final candidate for this episode is a faculty member of economics at a university in India. They now want to transition into the business world. Alex and Graham wonder if they might be better off applying next season, with a more concrete plan... This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the immensely talented Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia. Thanks so much for tuning in to the show. Please remember to rate, review, and share the Clear Admit MBA Admissions podcast! Best of luck to all who are currently applying to business school...

Wire Taps 257—13 Applications in one round? Pivoting to investment banking. Start-up experience to tech PM Oct 17, 2022

Show notes

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

Wire Taps 256—London-based finance guy. Tech applicant seeking entrepreneurship. Indian lawyer, next season. Oct 10, 2022

Show notes

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

Wire Taps 255—Nigerian with 338 GRE. Female engineer, solid numbers. Indian in Canada Oct 03, 2022

Show notes

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

Wire Taps 254—Pakistani banker, 15 years out. Software engineer, good numbers. Australian, stand out numbers Sep 26, 2022

Show notes

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

Episode 253: New Online MBA at Georgetown McDonough Sep 23, 2022

Show notes

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

Wire Taps 252—South African candidate, strong numbers. Nigerian candidate, works in London. Higher-ed candidate, may seek impact investing role. Sep 19, 2022

Show notes

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!

Wire Taps 251—690, should they retake? Indian corporate lawyer. Targeting the trilogy (HSW) Sep 12, 2022

Show notes

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!

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