In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the current state of the MBA admissions season. While many R2 deadlines were last week, there are still deadlines for NYU / Stern, MIT / Sloan, Texas / McCombs, USC / Marshall and Imperial Business School this week.

Graham highlighted MBA webinar events that are on the horizon that Clear Admit is hosting. The first webinar looks at the enduring value of the MBA. The second series of events is for deferred admissions candidates who are currently completing their first degrees. Signups for all Clear Admit are here: https://www.clearadmit.com/events

Graham noted an MBA admissions tip focused on fine-tuning the MBA admissions essays. Graham then noted two Real Humans pieces spotlighting students from Texas / McCombs and Manchester / Alliance. We then discussed the Class of 2025 employment report from Yale SOM.

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 has one admit in Round 1 for an M7 program and is targeting four more M7 programs in Round 2.

This week’s second MBA applicant is a consultant from Sydney, Australia. We worry that their slightly lower GMAT score of 655 may harm them for the very top MBA programs.

This week’s final MBA candidate has several offers from leading MBA programs. They want to begin their post MBA journey in investment banking, and we think Cornell / Johnson may be their best current option.

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. Twenty-nine leading MBA programs have an application deadline during this upcoming week! In fact, the only top schools without deadlines this week are NYU / Stern, MIT / Sloan, Texas / McCombs, USC / Marshall and INSEAD - and these programs all have deadlines next week or the following week.

Graham highlighted MBA webinar events that are on the horizon that Clear Admit is hosting. The first webinar looks at the enduring value of the MBA. The second series of events is for deferred admissions candidates who are currently completing their first degrees. As always, signups are for our events are here: https://www.clearadmit.com/events

Graham noted a news story recently published on Clear Admit which takes stock of the past year and looks ahead to MBA predictions for 2026. These predictions, from the Clear Admit team, include a shift in the admissions process that focuses more on areas of the process that cannot be impacted by AI, the possibility that the GRE becomes the most popular MBA admissions test, and the notion that b-schools will continue to roll out specialized masters to help young professionals get the tools needed in today's workforce. Graham also noted four MBA admissions tips, focusing on scholarship negotiations, the data forms, optional essays, and how to show an MBA program that you’ve done the research on their offering.

Graham then noted a Real Humans piece spotlighting students from the University of St Gallen MBA in Switzerland. We then discussed two recently published Class of 2025 employment reports from Wharton and Columbia.

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 appears to have an interesting background, from Colombia. However, we fear that their 309 GRE score will harm their chances at the very top MBA programs.

This week’s second MBA applicant is an investment banker and has a very strong background. But they have a DUI from their university days. We discussed those implications.

This week’s final MBA candidate has several offers from leading MBA programs. They are seriously weighing the offers between Booth (with $130K scholarship and a dual degree offer) and Harvard.

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. We are still seeing an uptick in activity of MBA Decision Wire, as many candidates begin to weigh their MBA options.

Graham highlighted MBA webinar events that are on the horizon that Clear Admit is hosting. The first webinar looks at the enduring value of the MBA. The second series of events is for deferred admissions candidates who are currently completing their first degrees. Signups are here: https://www.clearadmit.com/events

Graham noted a news story recently published on Clear Admit that focuses on Washington / Olin’s new MS in AI for Business. Graham also highlighted two admissions tips. The first focuses on how scholarships should impact MBA program selection. The second admissions tip explores the importance of respecting word counts and other similar constraints in the admissions process.

Graham then noted a Real Humans piece spotlighting students from Washington / Olin. We then discussed two recently published Class of 2025 employment reports from Booth and Kellogg.

For this week, for the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected one ApplyWire entry and two DecisionWire entries.

This week’s first MBA admissions candidate appears to have a very decent profile overall, but their GRE score of 324 is potentially their weakest element. Should they consider a retake?

This week’s second MBA applicant is deciding between Duke / Fuqua ($50K), Northwestern / Kellogg ($30k) and UPenn / Wharton.

This week’s final MBA candidate has offers and a variety of scholarships from UNC / Kenan Flagler, Georgetown / McDonough, CMU / Tepper, Cornell / Johnson and Emory / Goizueta. They have a 316 GRE score.

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 was the final week of decision releases for Round 1, for the top MBA programs. This now corresponds with an uptick in activity of MBA Decision Wire, as many candidates begin to weigh their MBA options.

Graham noted two admissions tips recently published on Clear Admit. The first focuses on GMAC’s Common Letter of Recommendation, which has been adopted by many of the top MBA programs. The second admissions tip explores the recent phenomenon of some MBA programs offering test waivers.

Graham highlighted an Adcom Q&A featuring Yale SOM's Bruce DelMonico. This led to a discussion on the value of the institutional brand for Yale’s MBA program. Graham then noted a Real Humans piece spotlighting students from Dartmouth / Tuck. We then discussed the recently published employment reports from Tuck and MIT / Sloan.

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 has superb numbers, including a 339 GRE score. They work at Accenture and want to target the Ed Tech space, post MBA.

This week’s second MBA applicant also has very strong numbers, and works in the video gaming industry. They want to move to product management in the gaming industry, post MBA.

This week’s final MBA candidate has offers from Tuck, Darden and Goizueta, while applying with a test waiver. They may take the test and develop a Round 2 strategy.

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, admissions decisions rolled out for several top MBA programs including Harvard, Stanford, UPenn / Wharton, MIT / Sloan and Northwestern / Kellogg. This upcoming week, USC / Marshall, Rice / Jones, Texas / McCombs, UNC / Kenan Flagler, Vanderbilt / Owen and Washington / Foster are scheduled to release their Round 1 decisions.

The next livestream AMA with Graham and Alex is scheduled for this Tuesday, December 16th; here’s the link to Clear Admit’s YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/cayoutubelive. Last week Clear Admit livestreamed its first Decision Day Watch Party. We scheduled this for December 10, when several top MBA programs were scheduled to release their Round 1 decisions. Several admissions officers joined us for the event, and it was a huge success.

Graham highlighted a recently published Financial Times 2025 ranking of European business schools that ranks institutions across multiple programs (MBA, MiM, EMBA, and Executive Education), rather than individual programs, which we thought was a strange approach.

Graham noted several admissions-related pieces of content recently published on Clear Admit. The first focuses on how to choose between MBA programs, once you have your offers. The second focuses on the dreaded wait list, and what steps can be taken. The third article looks at how candidates who didn’t get positive results can reflect. The final admissions-related piece focuses on MBA essay construction, which led to a conversation about how best to use Clear Admit’s AI Chat Bot.

Graham highlighted two Real Humans pieces spotlighting students from Chicago / Booth and Emory / Goizueta. We then discussed the recently published employment reports from Stanford and NYU / Stern.

Finally, Graham profiled a podcast that focuses on The Forté Foundation.

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 Brazil but now resides in Chicago. They are looking at the Booth part-time MBA program. A potential concern is their 313 GRE score.

This week’s second MBA applicant is working in research, looking at the impact of tech on young people. They reside in New York City and are only looking at Columbia and Stern.

This week’s final MBA candidate has a strong professional background, transitioning from investment banking to private equity. They have a 3.8 GPA and a 325 GRE score.

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, admissions decisions rolled out for several top MBA programs including Yale SOM, CMU / Tepper, Chicago / Booth and Michigan / Ross. This upcoming week, MIT / Sloan, Harvard, Stanford, UPenn / Wharton, Northwestern / Kellogg, UVA / Darden, Georgetown / McDonough, Johns Hopkins / Carey, Berkeley / Haas, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, UCLA / Anderson, Notre Dame / Mendoza and Arizona / Carey are scheduled to release their Round 1 decisions.

Graham highlighted a webinar event focused on MBA career paths, scheduled for Thursday. Signups are here: https://www.clearadmit.com/events The next livestream AMA is scheduled for Tuesday, December 16th; here’s the link to Clear Admit’s YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/cayoutubelive.

Graham noted several admissions-related pieces of content recently published on Clear Admit. The first focuses on December admissions events being hosted by top MBA programs. The second looks at how best to manage the congested schedule of Round 2 MBA application deadlines that arrive in January. The third piece looks at some of the issues related to applying to b-school as a younger candidate. The final article dives into whether deferred MBA admissions is a good pathway for undergraduate students.

Graham highlighted a Real Humans piece spotlighting students from Berkeley / Haas, and then we discussed the recently published Harvard Business School employment report for the Class of 2025. This led to a discussion on search funds.

Finally, Graham profiled a soon-to-be published podcast that focuses on leadership, from a conversation with Texas / McCombs.

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 685 GMAT score. They applied to programs in the first round and subsequently have started a new experience in Africa. We discuss their options for this season versus next season.

This week’s second MBA applicant is a military candidate with a master’s in computer science. They applied in Round 1 with an EA score of 160. They may decide to apply to Sloan in Round 2, depending on results.

This week’s final MBA candidate has a 333 GRE score and has had several startup experiences. They are targeting Harvard, Stanford and Wharton.

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!