The latest episode of the podcast begins with an exciting announcement about Clear Admit+, our new subscription service! Clear Admit+ provides subscribers with exclusive content and tools.  It includes access to the Admissions Academy, a digital course consisting of more than four hours of proprietary video content that podcast hosts Graham and Alex recently recorded in London. It’s designed to move you through the admissions process, from researching the right programs, developing your “personal inventory”, tackling each element of the written application, and preparing for the interviews. The subscription also includes access to the Clear Admit Data Dashboard (a tool to explore historical admissions outcomes), a private monthly webinar series, and unlimited access to our publications. More details are here:  https://bit.ly/clearadmitplus

Beyond all the excitement about Clear Admit+, Graham highlighted the recent Adcom Q&As with Harvard, CEIBS and Rochester / Simon. He also noted the Real Numbers piece that looks at class sizes; this turned into a conversation about why top programs have larger class sizes (Stanford is an exception to this rule). Graham then highlighted the ongoing MBA essay workshop series; this Wednesday’s event includes admissions representatives from Columbia, MIT / Sloan, Stanford, UPenn / Wharton and NYU / Stern. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/cambaessays

As usual, this WireTaps episode features extensive reviews of three MBA applicants, taken from a set of ApplyWire entries:

First up Alex picked a candidate from Belgium who works in the live entertainment space and is also a pilot in his spare time. He has completed a master’s degree, but is a little concerned about his GMAT (710).  Despite these concerns, Alex and Graham feel there is a lot to like about the overall candidacy. This week's second candidate has a better overall GMAT score (730), but curiously has a lower quantitative score. We use the word 'curious' because he is an electrical engineer by training, working in the energy sector. He is looking only at 'reach' programs this season, and will reapply next season if not successful. Finally, we have a candidate who is a policy advisor for a Republican Senator. Prior to this, they worked in Big 4 consulting. Alex and Graham express concern about their academic profile; the numbers aren’t outstanding, and they are essentially targeting only the very best programs. This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England. It was produced and engineered by the one and only Dennis Crowley in leafy West Philadelphia. Please remember to rate and review our show wherever you may listen.