Clear Admit MBA Admissions Podcast

Alex Brown is a former admissions officer from the Wharton school and current Clear Admit community manager and podcaster. He also teaches digital marketing for some top business schools, including Columbia Business School and London Business School. Graham Richmond is the co-founder of Clear Admit and former admissions officer at Wharton, where he received his MBA. He leads marketing, technology, and research initiatives for Clear Admit.

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the current state of the MBA admissions season, with interview invites continuing to roll out. This upcoming week, Duke / Fuqua is scheduled to release interview invites, and Columbia is scheduled to have released all its Round 1 interview invites. Ohio / Fisher is scheduled to release its Early Action round decisions, Michigan State / Broad is scheduled to release its Round 1 decisions and Oxford / Said is scheduled to release its Stage 2 decisions.

Graham highlighted the upcoming deferred enrollment webinar, scheduled for Wednesday, and the upcoming Masters in Management (MiM) webinar series. Signups for all these events are here, https://www.clearadmit.com/events The next livestream AMA is scheduled for Tuesday, November 25; here’s the link to Clear Admit’s YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/cayoutubelive.

Graham noted three admissions tips recently published by Clear Admit. The first focuses on the steps to take after the MBA admissions interview is completed. The next tip focuses on the importance of the business school campus environment, and the final tip addresses the role of volunteer experience in the MBA admissions process. Graham also noted a recently published article that identifies eight key benefits of earning a Masters in Management (MiM).

Graham highlighted three Real Humans pieces that spotlight students from London Business School, Indiana / Kelley and CMU / Tepper. We then addressed three recently published Class of 2027 admissions profiles, from Stanford, MIT / Sloan and Chicago / Booth.

For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries:

This week’s first MBA admissions candidate is from Australia and is seeking a test waiver. We are encouraging them to consider taking the test, to then target the very top MBA programs.

This week’s second MBA applicant is from India and is targeting several top MBA programs in the U.K. They want to be in London, post MBA. They are currently retaking the GRE.

This week’s final MBA candidate works in Real Estate, for a family business. They have a 330 GRE.

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 current state of the MBA admissions season, with interview invites continuing to roll out. This upcoming week, Oxford / Said has its Stage 3 application deadline, INSEAD has its Round 2 application deadline and Washington / Olin is scheduled to release its Round 1 decisions.

Graham highlighted the upcoming deferred enrollment webinar series, signups for all these events are here, https://www.clearadmit.com/events The next livestream AMA with Alex and Graham is scheduled for Tuesday, November 25; here’s the link to Clear Admit’s YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/cayoutubelive.

We then had a deep-dive discussion covering Wharton’s Team-Based Discussion topic and how to best prepare. These interviews will be hosted by Wharton, virtually, over the next two weeks.

For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries:

This week’s first MBA admissions candidate is an entrepreneur with 11 years of work experience. They also have a super GRE score of 337.

This week’s second MBA applicant is an engineer with a great GPA of 3.8 and strong GRE score of 333. They want to transition from consulting to finance.

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 current state of the MBA admissions season, with interview invites continuing to roll out. This week, Georgetown / McDonough is scheduled to release its Early Action decisions and Cornell / Johnson is scheduled to release its Round 1 interview invites. We also anticipate that MIT / Sloan will release its Round 1 interview invites.

We then had a discussion on the H1-B visa situation, concluding that US MBA graduates residing in the USA may now be at an advantage, over those who apply for the visa from their home country. This is an ongoing and impactful situation for top MBA candidates.

Graham highlighted next week’s events being hosted by Clear Admit, concluding a series focused on MBA programs in different regions of the United States. Signups for all these events are here, https://www.clearadmit.com/events Graham also highlighted our next livestream AMA, which is scheduled for today, Monday, October 27; here’s the link to Clear Admit’s YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/cayoutubelive.

Graham noted two recently published admissions tips. The first focuses on Wharton’s Team-Based Interview; Wharton released its interview invites for Round 1 last week. The second focuses on developing a target program list, helpful for those applying in Round 2.  He also shared a peek at some comments from a first year MBA student at Duke / Fuqua, as part of our ongoing Real Humans series.

We then reviewed the Berkeley / Haas Class of 2026 profile, and the NYU / Stern Class of 2026 profile. Both declared slightly smaller class sizes, and a higher proportion of international students in the class.

For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries:

This week’s first MBA admissions candidate applied in Round 1 to a few programs and is now considering their Round 2 strategy. They have progressed from an analyst role to a product management role.

This week’s second MBA applicant is an investment banking analyst in the digital infrastructure domain. They have a 320 GRE, and we really hope they retake the test.

The final MBA candidate is from Mexico and has a 685 GMAT score. Their overall profile does look strong, and they want to do investment banking in the short term, post MBA.

This episode was recorded in Saratoga Springs, New York 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 current state of the MBA admissions season, with interview invites continuing to roll out. This week, John’s Hopkins / Carey has its Round 1 deadline, UPenn / Wharton is scheduled to release its Round 1 interview invites and UVA / Darden and Johns Hopkins / Carey are scheduled to release their Early Action Round decisions.

Graham highlighted several upcoming events being hosted by Clear Admit that begin this week, including a Real Humans series and a series focused on MBA programs in different regions of the United States. Signups for all these events are here, https://www.clearadmit.com/events Graham also highlighted our next livestream AMA, which is now scheduled for Monday, October 27; here’s the link to Clear Admit’s YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/cayoutubelive.

Graham recognized Stanford’s 100-year anniversary by quizzing Alex on some of the history of the MBA Program degree and business schools in general. Graham then noted several recently published admissions tips which focus interview preparation, as well as an admissions tip that focuses on assessment days that are offered by a few top MBA programs.

Graham highlighted a Real Humans piece that focuses on MBA students at Columbia Business School, and also reviewed Yale SOM’s Class of 2027 profile, which appears to be very impressive.

For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries.

This week’s first MBA admissions candidate has a remarkably high salary, as a software engineer at a FANG company. We hope they will consider retaking the GRE.

This week’s second MBA applicant has a very high GMAT score of 705. They want to be in Austin Texas, post MBA. They are also very concerned with gaining scholarship to help defray costs.

The final MBA candidate is a data scientist and is debating their post MBA goals. They want to do investment banking but worry how that would appear for adcom.

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 current state of the MBA admissions season, with interview invites continuing to roll out. This week, Ohio State / Fisher, Notre Dame / Mendonza, Boston College / Carroll, Texas / McCombs, USC / Marshall, Indiana / Kelley, Arizona / Carey, UCI / Merage, Florida / Warrington, Rice / Jones and The Consortium all have their Round 1 deadlines. NYU / Stern has its Round 2 deadline. Duke / Fuqua, Oxford / Said and Notre Dame / Mendoza are all scheduled to release final decisions from early rounds. INSEAD and Imperial Business School are scheduled to release interview invites.

Graham highlighted several upcoming events being hosted by Clear Admit this month, including a Real Humans series and a series focused on MBA programs in different regions of the United States. Signups for all these events are here, https://www.clearadmit.com/events Graham also highlighted our next livestream AMA, scheduled for Tuesday, October 28; here’s the link to Clear Admit’s YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/cayoutubelive.

Graham noted a recently published admissions tip which focuses on which types of questions a candidate can ask their MBA admissions interviewer, at the end of the interview.

Finally, Graham highlighted a Real Humans piece that focuses on Class of 2027 MBA students at ESADE in Barcelona.

For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries:

This week’s first MBA admissions candidate has applied in Round 1 with a GRE score of 315. They do plan to retake it and submit the new score to the schools to which they have already applied.

This week’s second MBA applicant is based in Canada and has a 2.9 GPA. This is due to their first two years of study, where they really struggled. They also have a 317 GRE score. We recommend they retake the test, one more time.

The final MBA candidate is from Africa and is targeting European MBA programs. They need to refine their goal focus and perform well in either the GMAT or GRE.

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 current state of the MBA admissions season. Last week, Harvard released all its Round 1 interview invites. This week, UNC / Kenan Flagler and Georgia / Terry have Round 1 application deadlines. Cambridge / Judge and SMU / Cox have Round 2 application deadlines, and London Business School and IESE are scheduled to release their Round 1 interview invites.

Graham highlighted several upcoming events being hosted by Clear Admit in October, including a Real Humans series and a series focused on MBA programs in different regions of the United States. Signups for all these events are here, https://www.clearadmit.com/events Graham also highlighted our next livestream AMA, scheduled for Tuesday, October 28; here’s the link to Clear Admit’s YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/cayoutubelive.

Graham noted two recently published MBA admissions articles. The first focuses on the ongoing topic of H-1B visas, and the second summarizes all the top MBA programs' in-person events for October. Graham also highlighted two admissions tips that focus on the key interview questions all MBA candidates should be ready for, and a best practice for preparing (hint: don't script your responses!).

Finally, Graham highlighted a Real Humans piece that focuses on MBA students in Wharton's Class of 2027.

For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries:

This week’s first MBA admissions candidate is trying to use the MBA to transition from a transportation-related role to a career in consumer-packaged goods. They also want to switch geographies within the U.S.

This week’s second MBA applicant is a chemical engineering graduate who now works in Wealth Management. We worry their 655 GMAT does not fully represent their aptitude.

The final MBA candidate has a very strong profile, overall, but their post MBA goals need more development.

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 current state of the MBA admissions season. This week, MIT / Sloan, Duke / Fuqua, CMU / Tepper, UVA / Darden, UCLA / Anderson, Emory / Goizueta, Georgetown / McDonough, Washington / Foster, Vanderbilt / Owen, Georgia Tech / Scheller, Maryland / Smith and Minnesota / Carlson have Round 1 application deadlines. Oxford / Said has its Stage 2 application deadline.

Graham highlighted several upcoming events being hosted by Clear Admit in the upcoming months, including a Real Humans series, a deferred admissions series and a series focused on MBA programs in different regions of the United States. Graham also highlighted our next livestream AMA, scheduled for Tuesday, October 28; here’s the link to Clear Admit’s YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/cayoutubelive.

Graham noted that two new business-related academic programs were announced last week: Wharton’s MS in Quantitative Finance and Georgetown’s MS in Business Analytics. Graham then noted two recently published admissions tips, focused on MBA interview etiquette and the role of letters of support.

Graham discussed the recently published Real Humans series focused on NYU / Stern. This led to a brief discussion on GMAT preparation. We then discussed the Class of 2027 admissions profile from Wharton, within the context of class profiles from Anderson and Johnson.

For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries.

This week’s first MBA admissions candidate has a strong international focus and can speak several languages. They have a super GRE score of 331.

This week’s second MBA candidate is a West Point graduate with a 2.76 GPA. We discussed potentials for mitigation, which might include retaking the GRE. They currently have a 321 GRE score.

The final MBA candidate is from Pakistan and has a terrific GRE score of 335. They are working in energy sector consulting and looking to switch to a more health-care focused career.

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 upcoming MBA admissions season. This week, Dartmouth / Tuck, IESE and Imperial Business School have their Round 1 application deadlines; Duke / Fuqua is scheduled to release its interview invites for its Early Action Round.

Graham noted that our second livestream AMA is scheduled for this Tuesday on YouTube; here’s the link to Clear Admit’s YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/cayoutubelive.  Graham then highlighted the ongoing September series of admissions events. The third session is on Wednesday, and includes Berkeley / Haas, INSEAD, London Business School, Michigan / Ross and UNC / Kenan / Flagler. Signups for this series are here: https://bit.ly/cainsidemba

We then had a detailed discussion on the recently released 2025-26 MBA rankings from LinkedIn and Bloomberg / Business Week.

Graham noted two recently published MBA admissions-related tips that focus on completing the business school application data forms, and whether it is advisable to skip the GMAT or GRE and seek a test waiver.  We continued our series of profiling star MBA professors. This week we feature two professors from Columbia Business School and Northwestern / Kellogg. We then discussed our first student-focused Real Humans for this season, from UNC / Kenan Flagler.

Finally, we had our first class profile to review, from the Duke / Fuqua Class of 2027.

For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries:

This week’s first MBA admissions candidate graduated from the Naval Academy and was a division 1 athlete. They appear to have a very decent career in the navy. Unfortunately, they have a low GPA and a modest GRE score.

This week’s second MBA candidate is from Mexico and targeting Dartmouth / Tuck and several Canada-based programs. They are a chemical engineer graduate with several years of business experience.

The final MBA candidate has recently had a fourteen-month break from work. They also want to waive the GMAT. They do appear to have strong prior experience and academics, but we caution against the waiver.

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 upcoming new MBA admissions season. This week, NYU / Stern, Chicago / Booth, INSEAD and Cornell / Johnson have their Round 1 application deadlines.

Graham highlighted the ongoing September series of admissions events, where Clear Admit hosts the majority of the top MBA programs to discuss Round 2 application strategy. The second session is on Wednesday, and includes Chicago / Booth, Columbia, Texas / McCombs, Toronto / Rotman and Yale SOM. Signups for this series are here: https://bit.ly/cainsidemba Our second livestream AMA is scheduled for Tuesday, September 23rd on YouTube; here’s the link to Clear Admit’s YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/cayoutubelive.

Graham then noted a recently published MBA admissions-related tip that focuses on polishing your business school application essays.  He also reminded listeners about the 25 videos in our free Admissions Academy video series, of which five videos are exclusively about the essay writing process. We also continue our series of Adcom Q&As; this week we hear from IMD's Francesco Farné.

For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries:

This week’s first MBA admissions candidate works for Microsoft as a software engineer. They want to switch into product management.

This week’s second MBA candidate has already completed one major career pivot from engineering and sales to real estate investing. They want to use the MBA to explore the latter, further.

The final MBA candidate is from India, has a 755 GMAT score and works for the space agency. They also have quite significant activities outside of work.

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 upcoming new MBA admissions season. This week, Michigan / Ross, Stanford, Northwestern / Kellogg, Yale SOM, Toronto / Rotman and Berkeley / Haas have their round 1 deadlines. Georgetown / McDonough and John’s Hopkins / Carey have their Early Action round deadlines.

Graham highlighted the upcoming September series of admissions events, where Clear Admit will host the majority of the top MBA programs to discuss Round 2 application strategy. The first session is on Wednesday, and includes Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, Georgia Tech / Scheller, UPenn / Wharton and UVA / Darden. Signups for this series are here: https://bit.ly/cainsidemba Our second livestream AMA is scheduled for Tuesday, September 23rd on YouTube; here’s the link to Clear Admit’s YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/cayoutubelive.

Graham then noted two admissions-related tips. The first focuses on all the in-person events that the top MBA programs are conducting in the month of September, the second focuses on the increasingly popular video essays.

We continue our new series profiling some of the leading MBA faculty at the top MBA programs. For this week, we have profiles on two faculty from Chicago / Booth.

We also continue our series of Adcom Q&As; this week we hear from Vanderbilt / Owen and Indiana / Kelley.

For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries:

This week’s first MBA admissions candidate is from India with a 655 GMAT score. While the remainder of their profile looks very decent, we wonder if they can increase their GMAT score.

This week’s second MBA candidate is targeting Round 2 and has not yet completed the GRE test. They also have an International Relations masters degree.

The final MBA candidate has a 337 GRE score. They began their career in the private sector then enlisted in the military.

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!