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.

This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who’ve been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing Round 2 activity on LiveWire; 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.

This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who’ve been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing Round 2 activity on LiveWire; 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.

This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who’ve been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing Round 2 activity on LiveWire; interview invites continue to roll out for Round 2 candidates; UPenn / Wharton and MIT / Sloan have yet to release their Round 2 interview invites.

Alex discussed the release of a “Prompt Guide” for Clear Admit’s new Ask Clear Admit admissions bot. This guide is designed to help candidates get the most out of their engagement with the chat bot. So far, we have seen more than 1,000 prompts.

Graham then highlighted the upcoming webinar series for Master’s in Management candidates; the first of these webinars features Michigan / Ross, CMU / Tepper and Georgetown / McDonough.  Signups are here: https://bit.ly/mim0225

Graham noted the continuation of Clear Admit’s series of articles about podcasts, where we place the spotlight on podcasts from the leading MBA programs. Graham then mentioned the publication of an admissions tip focused on post interview activities. This led to a plea for MBA interview reports, in order to support Clear Admit’s comprehensive MBA interview archive.

Graham then highlighted two real numbers stories, focused on female enrollment (very well done, Johns Hopkins / Carey!) and tuition costs for European-based MBA programs.

Finally, we discussed one more MBA career report from London Business School. Their career statistics generally follow similar patterns we have identified with prior career reports that we have published this season, although they were able to gather data from an impressive 100% of the graduating class.

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 Brazil and is looking ahead for the MBA applications. They have still to take the GMAT, and they are seeking other areas they can strengthen before they apply.

This week’s second MBA candidate has a 334 GRE and strong legal experience from London. They also appear to have interesting activities outside of work and could be a very strong candidate.

The final MBA candidate is deciding between Chicago / Booth and Northwestern / Kellogg, with very similar scholarship offers.

This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who’ve been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing Round 2 activity on LiveWire; interview invites continue to roll out for Round 2 candidates; last week, Chicago / Booth, Columbia, and Michigan / Ross released interview invites, along with those programs which trickle out invitations across several weeks (e.g. Stanford, Yale, et al). This week, INSEAD is scheduled to release their Round 3 interview invites.

Graham highlighted the second webinar for Deferred Admissions candidates, scheduled on Wednesday, which includes CMU / Tepper, Chicago / Booth, Columbia, Yale SOM and UVA / Darden. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/de0225 Graham then mentioned the upcoming webinar series for Masters in Management candidates, taking place later this month, with signups here: https://bit.ly/mim0225

Graham mentioned several MBA news stories: London Business School is launching a Smart EMBA, which takes a blended learning approach. Clear Admit published two podcast-related posts; the first focuses on podcasts from some of the top-16 MBA programs, and the second looks at UPenn / Wharton’s Ripple Effect podcast. Finally, Clear Admit also published a story regarding Duke / Fuqua students doing a career trek in Silicon Valley.

Graham then highlighted two admissions tips. The first focuses on the versatility of the MBA, the second looks at questions a candidate might want to prepare, ahead of their MBA interview. Clear Admit’s Real Numbers series is now back; the first two articles in this series focus on class sizes across the top US MBA programs, and the yearly cost of attendance at American b-schools.

Finally, we discussed one more MBA Class of 2024 career report from Berkeley / Haas. Their career statistics follow similar patterns we have identified with prior career reports that we have published this season.

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 through the deferred admissions process, so is still an undergraduate student. They have a 3.9 GPA and a 730 GMAT score.

This week’s second MBA candidate is planning to apply either next season, or the season after. They have a 3.2 GPA, with a positive upward trend. They have a 322 GRE, which we think they might want to retake. They are also still determining between post-MBA goals in finance or consulting.

The final MBA candidate is deciding between Dartmouth / Tuck and Berkeley / Haas, and they are seeking a short-term goal in private equity.

This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who’ve been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing Round 2 activity on LiveWire; interview invites continue to roll out for Round 2 candidates; Harvard was one of the top MBA programs to release their interview invites last week. This week, London Business School is scheduled to release their Round 2 interview invites.

We then had a quick discussion regarding our new admissions bot, “Ask Clear Admit”. It is very interesting to be able to see what types of prompts MBA applicants are using for the bot, some of which are a little unexpected. We are now planning to write a prompt guide, to help users get the most out of their bot experience. You can find the chat bot here: https://ai.clearadmit.com

Graham noted two upcoming webinar series. The first is for Deferred Admissions candidates, with signups here: https://bit.ly/de0225 The first webinar in this series, on this Wednesday, features Berkeley / Haas, UPenn / Wharton and Stanford. Next week we have CMU / Tepper, Chicago / Booth, Columbia, Yale SOM and UVA / Darden. The second webinar series is for Masters in Management candidates, with signups here: https://bit.ly/mim0225

Graham highlighted two MBA news stories. The first story covers the best business school podcasts, focusing on podcast from M7 programs. The second looks at an entrepreneurial program at Georgetown / McDonough called “Bark Tank”.

Graham then mentioned three admissions tips, each focused on the MBA admissions interview process.

Finally, we discussed two more MBA career reports from Cornell / Johnson and INSEAD. Both MBA programs show the same resilience as other top MBA programs, while facing the headwinds of a tighter employment market. That said, it’s clear that top European-based MBA programs, like INSEAD, have a lower starting salary than their peer programs in the United States.

For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected one ApplyWire entry and two DecisionWire entries.

This week’s first MBA admissions candidate is from India and has a strong GMAT score of 715. They also have solid work experience, but are worried that they have a lower GPA and few outside activities. We were also concerned that they were only able to target Round 2.

This week’s second MBA candidate is choosing between CMU / Tepper and Texas / McCombs. They have a decent sized scholarship from Tepper. They want to move into tech product management.

The final MBA candidate is deciding between Columbia and Kellogg. They are targeting consumer-packaged goods and marketing, but they have a preference for New York City.

This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who’ve been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing Round 2 activity on LiveWire; this upcoming week we have two more application deadlines, Arizona / Carey and Minnesota / Carlson. Last week, we saw more interview invitations rolling out for UVA / Darden, Dartmouth / Tuck, Yale SOM, Northwestern / Kellogg and CMU / Tepper.

We then discussed the role out of Clear Admit’s latest innovation, our “Ask Clear Admit” chat bot, which launched the prior Thursday. We have seen hundreds of prompts come in from applicants as we launched, and the quality of the responses has impressed! You can find the chat bot here: https://ai.clearadmit.com

Graham noted two upcoming webinar series. The first is for Deferred Admissions candidates, with signups here: https://bit.ly/de0225 The first webinar in this series, on February 5, features Berkeley / Haas, UPenn / Wharton and Stanford. The following week we have CMU / Tepper, Chicago / Booth, Columbia, Yale SOM and UVA / Darden. The second webinar series is for Masters in Management candidates in late February, with signups here: https://bit.ly/mim0225

Graham highlighted two MBA news stories. The first story focuses on Stanford GSB’s new Dean, Sarah Soule, who has appeared on a prior Clear Admit podcast. The second covers the release of U.S. News 2025 online MBA rankings. Indiana / Kelley tops those rankings, as it has done in prior years.

Graham then highlighted an admissions tip focused on the five most commonly asked MBA interview questions.  Graham also noted a Real Humans story from HEC / Paris.

Finally, we discussed two more MBA career reports from Chicago / Booth and Yale SOM. Both MBA programs show the same resilience as other top MBA programs, while facing the headwinds of a tighter employment market.

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 based in India and working for a large conglomerate to which they intend to return. They are applying in Round 2, and we are a little concerned that this may present more challenges than if they had been able to apply in Round 1.

This week’s second MBA candidate also has a very interesting MBA profile but has a weak GPA of 2.9. We discussed mitigating actions they will need to take, ahead of applying next season.

The final MBA candidate is deciding between Columbia and Yale SOM, and are planning a career in Clean Tech, hoping to move into private equity in that industry.

This episode was recorded in Philadelphia, USA and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who’ve been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing Round 2 activity on LiveWire; this upcoming week we have two more application deadlines, Imperial College and Boston College / Carroll. Last week, we saw more interview invitations rolling out for UVA / Darden, Dartmouth / Tuck, Yale SOM, Northwestern / Kellogg and CMU / Tepper.

We then discussed the roll out of Clear Admit’s latest innovation, our “Ask Clear Admit” AI chat bot. We are excited to get customer feedback and hope this new tool will become a “best in class” for chatbots that are specifically trained on MBA admissions-related content. You can find the chatbot here: https://ai.clearadmit.com

Graham noted two upcoming webinar series. The first is for Deferred Admissions candidates, with signups here: https://bit.ly/de0225 The first webinar in this series, on February 5, features Berkeley / Haas, UPenn / Wharton and Stanford. The second webinar series is for Masters in Management candidates, with signups here: https://bit.ly/mim0225

Graham highlighted two admissions tips. The first admissions tip focuses on the role of letters of support, and how they are different to letters of recommendation. The second admissions tip focuses on group interviews like the Wharton team-based discussion exercise.

Graham also noted two Real Humans stories from Manchester / Alliance and Emory / Goizueta’s MIM program.

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 based in India and working at one of the MBB firms. They have super numbers (335 GRE, 3.94 GPA) and are planning ahead for a future admissions season.

This week’s second MBA candidate also has a very strong profile (331 GRE, 3.7 GPA), and works for an MBB firm in the United States. Their passion appears to be in the urban mobility space.

The final MBA candidate is deciding between Columbia, Stern, Yale SOM and a few other top MBA programs. They also have very good scholarship offers. They are seeking a career in social impact, in New York City.

This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who’ve been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the next round of 2024-25 MBA admissions activity; this upcoming week we have more application deadlines, including MIT / Sloan, Texas / McCombs, Florida / Warrington, BYU / Marriott, UC Irvine / Merage, and Toronto / Rotman. INSEAD and NYU / Stern have Round 3 application deadlines, and Maryland / Smith has a Round 4 application deadline.

Graham noted two upcoming webinar series. The first is  for Deferred Admissions candidates, with signups here: https://bit.ly/de0225 The second webinar series is for Masters in Management candidates, with signups here: https://bit.ly/mim0225 Graham also noted three Real Humans stories from ASU / Carey, Minnesota / Carlson and Georgetown / McDonough’s MIM program.

Graham highlighted three admissions tips; two of these tips are focused on those who are preparing for MBA admissions interviews, and the third focuses on finalizing MBA admissions essays.

Graham then presented the career placement reports from Duke / Fuqua and Georgetown / McDonough. There is now further evidence, and some acknowledgment, of the tougher recruiting environment that MBA graduates are experiencing this season.

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 India and is targeting Round 1 for next season. They appear to have a very decent overall profile but have one potential issue with their undergraduate transcript.

This week’s second MBA candidate also has a very decent profile, overall, with a 695 GMAT score and a strong GPA. They have been working in consulting for four years.

The final MBA candidate is deciding between Columbia, Stern, and Duke / Fuqua. They are targeting investment banking and would like to remain in New York City.

This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the fabulous Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA. Thanks to all of you who’ve been joining us and please remember to rate and review this show wherever you listen!