July 18, 2022

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.

39 minutes

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!

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