Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Wire Taps 250—319 GRE, Round 1 vs Round 2. Apply this year or next year? African entrepreneur Sep 05, 2022

Show notes

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!

Wire Taps 249—Eastern European with low GRE score. Retaking the GMAT, modest GPA. Strong numbers, strong profile Aug 29, 2022

Show notes

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.

Wire Taps 248—Indian EdTech entrepreneur. Aerospace and Defense engineer. Enlisted Army linguist. Aug 22, 2022

Show notes

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!

Wire Taps 247—Super GMAT modest GPA conundrum. Hungarian consultant. Brazilian banker Aug 15, 2022

Show notes

This week's episode of WireTaps kicks off with a discussion on the percentage of international students at the top US MBA programs. There is quite a difference in the numbers at Stanford and Columbia versus Wharton and Harvard; Alex and Graham speculated as to the reasons. Your hosts also noted the upcoming MBA admissions deadlines for Round 1, which begin at the end of August. Graham then highlighted an upcoming webinar (August 17) featuring alumni who appeared in our Real Humans series to discuss their career paths. You can sign up here: https://bit.ly/realhumanswebinar Graham also highlighted the upcoming Essay Workshop Series, which includes three events; September 14, September 21 and September 28. And of course, your hosts also chatted about Clear Admit+ https://www.clearadmit.com/clearadmit-plus-members/ As always, this episode features in-depth analysis of three candidate profiles: First up, Alex selects a female candidate with a super GMAT (750) and more modest GPA. She appears to have done well at work (two promotions) and is very active outside of work, including starting a non-profit. She’s aiming high, as she should; Alex and Graham thought she might also consider Northwestern / Kellogg and possibly MIT / Sloan. This week's second candidate hails from Hungary, which will make them under-represented. Their GMAT is very good (730) but their GPA is (again) a little light. We wonder about the conversion, and what the class rank is. They’ve completed a masters degree, which is good, but they’ll also need to address, in more detail, why the MBA at this stage. The work experience does look good, but Alex and Graham note a lack of information/insight on any additional non-work interests and activities. However, your hosts do think there are some good possibilities for a candidate from a country that is under-represented. The third candidate hails from Brazil with a super GMAT (a bit of a theme for this podcast) and four years of investment banking experience. They have applied to Columbia Early Decision and we think that the credentials they have provided look very positive. They are concerned with some possible negative interaction with a current student, and the implications of that... This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the one and only Dennis Crowley from the 'Streets of Philadelphia'. Please remember to rate and review this podcast, wherever you may be listening, and to tell your friends to tune in as well. Thanks for listening!

Wire Taps 246—Over-represented, retake the GMAT? Professional gambling pastime. Military candidate, seeking deferral. Aug 08, 2022

Show notes

This episode kicks off with a brief conversation about Alex and Graham's first webinar for Clear Admit+ subscribers. It was a fun and intimate event, allowing your hosts to provide direct feedback on specific subscriber questions. The second Clear Admit+ webinar is scheduled for Monday, August 29. More details on Clear Admit+ are here: https://www.clearadmit.com/clearadmit-plus-members/ Beyond ClearAdmit+ news, Graham highlighted the recently published UPenn / Wharton class profile. Wharton is the first school to announce their class profile this season, and it certainly includes some impressive numbers. One element that your hosts neglected to mention is the drop in application volume (14%), which will likely be a feature of most class profiles for this season. Graham then noted how we are closing in on the start of next season’s early deadlines, which begin at the end of August. He also noted a Real Numbers piece on the percentage of women in MBA classes. Wharton leads the way at 52% (this has now dropped slightly to 50% with the new incoming class) with Northwestern / Kellogg close behind. USC / Marshall, which had been the first top program with more than 50% female students, has dropped back to 36%. Graham also highlighted an upcoming webinar, scheduled for August 17, which brings together alumni from top programs who now work at firms like Microsoft and Deloitte to talk about their MBA journey. As usual, this episode features assessments of three real candidates, taken from ApplyWire entries on the site. First up we have a candidate who is originally from India, and now works in the oil and gas industry with an interest in seeking out sustainable solutions for less developed communities (based on their own childhood experience). The dilemma they face is whether they should retake their GMAT and push their applications to Round 2, or apply in Round 1 with a 720 GMAT score. We discuss the pros and cons, and also highlight an alternative pathway. Our second candidate works in the sports and entertainment sector for a consulting firm, and is a sponsored MBA prospect. They are planning to retake the GMAT (currently at 680) and are weighing whether they should discuss their outside-of-work experiences in sports betting. Finally we have a military candidate who is going to apply with 10 years of experience, much of this with the special forces. They plan to retake the GRE and potentially take HBS CORe. Their main question revolves around the process of deferral, and whether they can apply this season with the aim to defer to the following season. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by Dennis Crowley in the City of Brotherly Love. Thanks for listening!

Wire Taps 245—Space career to help differentiate. Lots of potential, for next season. Using the MBA to help relocate? Aug 01, 2022

Show notes

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!

Episode 244: Admissions Director Q&A with Eddie Asbie of Cornell Johnson Jul 27, 2022

Show notes

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.

Wire Taps 243—Belgian who flies. Electrical engineer, targeting reach schools. Policy advisor, aiming high. Jul 25, 2022

Show notes

The latest episode of the podcast begins with an exciting announcement about Clear Admit+, our new subscription service! Clear Admit+ provides subscribers with exclusive content and tools. It includes access to the Admissions Academy, a digital course consisting of more than four hours of proprietary video content that podcast hosts Graham and Alex recently recorded in London. It’s designed to move you through the admissions process, from researching the right programs, developing your “personal inventory”, tackling each element of the written application, and preparing for the interviews. The subscription also includes access to the Clear Admit Data Dashboard (a tool to explore historical admissions outcomes), a private monthly webinar series, and unlimited access to our publications. More details are here: https://bit.ly/clearadmitplus Beyond all the excitement about Clear Admit+, Graham highlighted the recent Adcom Q&As with Harvard, CEIBS and Rochester / Simon. He also noted the Real Numbers piece that looks at class sizes; this turned into a conversation about why top programs have larger class sizes (Stanford is an exception to this rule). Graham then highlighted the ongoing MBA essay workshop series; this Wednesday’s event includes admissions representatives from Columbia, MIT / Sloan, Stanford, UPenn / Wharton and NYU / Stern. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/cambaessays As usual, this WireTaps episode features extensive reviews of three MBA applicants, taken from a set of ApplyWire entries: First up Alex picked a candidate from Belgium who works in the live entertainment space and is also a pilot in his spare time. He has completed a master’s degree, but is a little concerned about his GMAT (710). Despite these concerns, Alex and Graham feel there is a lot to like about the overall candidacy. This week's second candidate has a better overall GMAT score (730), but curiously has a lower quantitative score. We use the word 'curious' because he is an electrical engineer by training, working in the energy sector. He is looking only at 'reach' programs this season, and will reapply next season if not successful. Finally, we have a candidate who is a policy advisor for a Republican Senator. Prior to this, they worked in Big 4 consulting. Alex and Graham express concern about their academic profile; the numbers aren’t outstanding, and they are essentially targeting only the very best programs. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the one and only Dennis Crowley in leafy West Philadelphia. Please remember to rate and review our show wherever you may listen.

Wire Taps 242—Ballet dancer to non-profit arts management. Three time GMAT test taker, strong engineer profile. Long term goal clarity, for someone planning ahead. Jul 18, 2022

Show notes

This episode of WireTaps begins with some fun Q&A; specifically Graham quizzing Alex about his upbringing, a desired superpower, and other questions typically reserved for our 'real humans' guests. Alex and Graham then go on to discuss the slow-down in waitlist activity of late, cautioning that it’s not over until students arrive on campus. Graham highlighted an Adcom Q&A, recently published, for MIT / Sloan, and noted the recent anonymous gift that Dartmouth / Tuck received: $52 million for a new summit to focus on health, wealth and sustainability. Graham then highlighted the ongoing MBA essay workshop series; this Wednesday’s event includes admissions members from Duke / Fuqua, Texas / McCombs, CMU / Tepper, London Business School, and INSEAD. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/cambaessays As usual, this episode features extensive discussion of three real candidate profiles, in this instance taken from recent ApplyWire entries. First up is a retired professional ballet dancer who has more recently been working in operations in the non-profit domain. His goals make perfect sense, based on his background. He also has an outstanding GPA. The only missing element is the test score (forthcoming); it’s possible that he might also benefit from completing MBA Math or HBS CORe. This week's second candidate has a strong academic profile (double major in Electrical Engineering and Math, plus a master's degree) and looks to have a decent work profile and decent additional activities. They’ve taken the GMAT three times (710 is their best score) and are considering taking the GRE, for one final attempt. Finally, we discuss a consultant who is seeking sponsorship from her company, and looking to apply in a couple of years’ time. Alex and Graham would like to see a little more clarity for her long term goal. They also recommend that she preps and takes the test (perhaps preferring the GRE over the GMAT) to provide more clarity on her profile, but there should certainly be decent opportunities available for her. Thanks for tuning in to the show, and please, if you enjoy what you've been hearing, please rate and review the show wherever you listen. 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. Stay safe everybody!

Wire Taps 241—Army vet in Real Estate. Super numbers, strong healthcare focus. Stellar GMAT, but more modest GPA. Jul 11, 2022

Show notes

This episode kicks off with some talk about the activity on MBA LiveWire, which included Harvard’s decision release for its 2+2 program, as well as some additional waitlist movement. Graham highlighted some tidbits from the Adcom Q&As recently published, for Northwestern Kellogg and Chicago Booth, as well as a 'Real Numbers' piece focused on average GRE scores; kudos goes to Yale SOM with a median score of 331! Graham also noted the upcoming MBA essay workshops, beginning this Wednesday with Berkeley Haas, Chicago Booth, Dartmouth Tuck, and UVA Darden; signups are here: https://bit.ly/cambaessays Alex and Graham also leaked some information about a special project the Clear Admit team has been working on for the past several months, which we anticipate will launch later this month - stay tuned for details! As usual, the show features breakdowns of three candidates, this time from a set of ApplyWire entries: First up is an army veteran who enlisted prior to going to university, and post-university has been working in real estate. This is an unorthodox pathway, but he appears to be doing very well in his current work environment. Alex and Graham discuss some of the challenges he will face in the admissions process as an older candidate, and also consider whether other types of graduate management programs might be appropriate. Our second candidate has had to overcome some medical challenges, which has set him on a pathway in the healthcare arena. He appears to have really excelled and has all the ingredients necessary for a candidacy to top programs, this includes terrific numbers (740/3.68). Finally we discuss a candidate who has a stellar GMAT (770) but less-than-stellar GPA (3.07). This is something they might need to address in their optional essay. They work in the construction industry with goals in the renewable energy space. This episode was recorded in Cornwall, England and Paris, France. It was produced and engineered by Dennis Crowley in glorious West Philadelphia. Please remember to rate, review, and shout from the rooftops if you love this podcast. Or to write to your hosts at info@clearadmit.com!

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