MBA Wire Taps 305—Air Force pilot, 2.5 GPA. Argentinian entrepreneur. Cancer survivor, 337 GRE

In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the upcoming Round 1 deadlines for this new season, as we close out last season. Graham then highlighted several events that Clear Admit is hosting over the next month. Tomorrow, Tuesday, August 22, we host a webinar with CMU / Tepper: https://bit.ly./teppermbawebinar, on Monday, August 28, we have a Clear Admit+ webinar, and we have a Real Humans webinar which includes alumni and students from top MBA programs on August 30th: https://bit.ly/rhwebinar5. We will also be hosting our next Essay Insights series in early September...

Graham then highlighted three Adcom Q&As, where we interview admissions directors at Cornell / Johnson, Washington / Olin and ESMT Berlin. Later in this podcast episode, we also had a conversation about UPenn / Wharton’s recently released class profile for the Class of 2025. This is the first released profile from a top MBA program. What was notable, aside from a decline in application volume, was the corresponding 5 point drop in the average GMAT score. It will be interesting to see if these declines are reflected at other top programs...

As usual, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected three ApplyWire entries:

This week’s first MBA admissions candidate is an instructor pilot in the Air Force. They appear to have done very well during their military service. They have a strong GRE of 334, but their GPA is their weak point, at 2.5. Taking Business Fundamentals, MBA Math, or the equivalent may help. We do hope they are able to overcome this aspect of their candidacy as everything else looks very strong.

This week’s second MBA candidate has a strong entrepreneurial profile, both in Argentina and the United States. They are also first generation, and do some additional work for those with low incomes. The one worry we have for this profile is the combination of the GMAT (710, 42 quant) and GPA of 3.2. Because the quant score of the GMAT is low, we really think any improvement there will have impact. And they can then apply in Round 2.

The final MBA candidate is a two-time cancer survivor, which had impact on their academic record (3.36). They do have a 337 GRE, and their work experience and community experience looks strong. Their goals are related to their life experience, and overall, this does look like a very strong candidate.

This episode was recorded in Philadelphia, PA 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!