In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing interview invite news out of Harvard and Duke.  As we get further into the R2 cycle, we are now starting to see more invites for candidates, specifically for aforementioned programs like Harvard and Duke, but also for the likes of Chicago / Booth, Yale SOM, Dartmouth / Tuck, UVA / Darden and Northwestern / Kellogg. This upcoming week, London Business School will release its Round 2 interview invites.

Clear Admit is hosting is its monthly Clear Admit+ webinar later today, Monday, February 5. Alex and Graham will take all questions related to MBA admissions. A big focus of the event will be on MBA interview preparation.  On Wednesday, February 7 (and again February 14), Clear Admit is hosting events for deferred admissions candidates, with several leading MBA programs; signups are here: https://bit.y/defeb24 On Thursday, February 8,  Clear Admit is hosting an AMA with UC / Irvine. More details on our website.

Graham highlighted Real Humans pieces for Maryland / Smith and ESCP that were recently published on Clear Admit. We then discussed a Fridays from the Frontline feature on a student at Duke / Fuqua, who is pivoting from digital marketing to brand management.

Because we have moved into interview season, we are seeing more interview tips being published on Clear Admit; last week the focus was on interview etiquette. Graham then highlighted a recently recorded podcast episode with Georgetown / McDonough that focused on leadership...stay tuned for details!

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 an army veteran, with a legal background. They have really good numbers, too. Because they have worked for 10 years, we think they need to focus on fit, as well as articulate a firmer long-term goal.

This week’s second MBA candidate has a really interesting background in the performing arts. Their numbers are very decent, although the quant section of their GRE might raise a concern. Doing some additional course work, like GMAC’s Business Fundamentals, might well serve them well.

The final MBA candidate for this week has offers from NYU / Stern and UNC Kenan Flagler with a considerable scholarship at the latter. Because of their personal circumstances, we think that Kenan Flagler may be the better option, but it's clearly a tough call.

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!