PRESS EXCERPTS

Clear Admit has frequently been featured in the press as both a prominent company in the admissions consulting space and an authority on the MBA application process. Here are some highlights:

U.S. News and World Report, March 26th, 2008
Hot Tips for a Graduate Degree in Business

The University of Chicago's business school is one of several that require candidates to follow an honor code stating their application material is their own work. But admission consultants, whose services include essay help, aren't necessarily off limits. "Anyone who works with us can say it is their own work," says Graham Richmond, chief executive officer of Clear Admit in Philadelphia. His consultancy, which charges at least $200 an hour, doesn't write essays, and others shouldn't either. Find advisers who have agreed to follow ethical practices at aigac.org.

BusinessWeek, May 24th, 2007
A Booming Business in MBA Coaches by Jane Porter

Many top programs have explicit policies against outside help. The Web site of the Stanford Graduate School of Business warns that applicants "cross a line when a piece of the application ceases to be exclusively yours in either thought or word." At Harvard, admissions officers interviewed 15% more applicants this year in an effort to "get to the authentic person," says Deirdre C. Leopold, managing director of MBA admissions and financial aid. At Fuqua, a rigorous in-house system of background checks will be in place for next year.

Graham Richmond is quick to defend consulting firms like Clear Admit, which he founded with a fellow Wharton grad six years ago. His goal, he says, is to "perfect the admissions process, not pervert it." He helped launch the Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants this month to help legitimize the field.

BusinessWeek, January 22th, 2007
A Smaller B-school Can Be a Big Plus by Kerry Miller

If that line of thinking sounds familiar - and admissions consultants such as Clear Admit's Graham Richmond say it's quite common - you might want to take a step back and consider that the experience of attending B-school in a town like Charlottesville, Va., Hanover, N.H., or Ithaca, N.Y. has its own upside. While many of those advantages are of the more intangible variety (how do you put a value on school spirit?) satisfied alums say the small-town, small-school experience can bring big-time payoffs.

"Many of our clients tell us that they view the more rural programs as a chance to actually escape the 'buzz' of cities and the daily grind of the professional world," Richmond says, especially for MBAs who realize that B-school might be their only chance before retirement to live outside a major urban center. "Spending two years in a place like Hanover really gives students the chance to unplug and devote themselves entirely to academic study and MBA community events."

The Economist, October 30th, 2006
Educating Applicants (subscription required)

Admissions consulting firms occupy a controversial niche in business education. Some business schools believe the firms, which offer guidance to prospective students, prevent admissions officers from forming an honest and candid view of applicants. The consultants retort that their main task is to educate their clients on the features of business schools, with the aim of finding the institutions that best suit their clients' aspirations.

Clear Admit, an admissions consulting firm based in Philadelphia, has taken a step to bolster that claim. The firm has begun offering research reports that provide information on a school's academic programmes, student demographics, campus life, job placement and admissions, among many other things. Most of the data in the reports are supplied by the schools--one reason why admissions officers claim consultants are unnecessary. But few applicants have time to compile statistics and information in depth on each of the schools they are considering.

BusinessWeek, December 4th, 2006
How to Survive the Waitlist by Kerry Miller

Admissions consultant Graham Richmond of Clear Admit says in some cases visiting a school can be a good way to show them you're interested. "Even if you haven't been promoted, maybe you visited and had coffee with the head of the real estate club, if that's your field of interest, and you've learned some new things that make you even more enthusiastic," he says.

But don't use a school visit as an excuse to plead your case in person, warns Richmond. "Some people do the old 'demand a meeting with an admissions officer,' or just show up on campus asking to sit down with someone, the assumption being, 'Oh, if I can just get five minutes of face time, I'll talk my way in.' Usually it has the opposite effect."

iMarketing Connection, September 13th, 2006
Tips for Measuring Engagement by Brian Manning

Clear Admit... is a great example of a company that uses wikis to tap into the collective knowledge of its customers. The Clear Admit MBA Admissions Wiki is composed of actual user insight and experiences at each step in the admissions process, from the interview to the application stage. Instead of a costly top-down approach of providing static wisdom to users, Clear Admit can leverage an inexpensive bottom-up approach based on recent customer experience.

BusinessWeek, June 27th, 2006
Détente in the Admissions Office by Kerry Miller

One problem, say consultants, is that admissions officers don't always know who is who. "They don't know which companies are behaving ethically and which companies are more fly-by-night, selling essays," says consultant Graham Richmond of Clear Admit.

To help solve this problem, the admissions consultants on the GMAC panel announced plans to form an association to promote honesty and integrity within their field by setting a standard of principles and best practices - an idea that went over well with admissions officers. "If you had a code of conduct and a board of accreditation for consultants, then we'd know exactly what type of assistance they're giving, and that would be a wonderful thing," says Linda Meehan, executive director for admissions and financial aid at Columbia Business School. Richmond says it's still in the planning phase.

GMAC Newsletter, July/August 2006
Admissions Consultants: Love 'em, Hate 'em, Use 'em.

Although it may seem that admissions consultants interfere in the traditional process, Graham Richmond of ClearAdmit encouraged the audience to work with consultants as a "part of the equation." Consider them in the same light as guidance counselors who prepare high school students for college and college students for law or medical school, he said. Traditional candidates for graduate management programs don't have the same resources as current students; most are already in the workplace.

Instead of looking at cooperation with consultants as unethical, Richmond advised the audience to consider the "Tuck approach"; Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business hosted admissions consultants for a three-day info session about the school. That kind of partnership, Richmond said, offers a valuable marketing opportunity.

BusinessWeek, April 20th, 2006
Unfinished Business: Is the Degree Key? by Francesca Di Meglio

The road to success was rockier for some, especially those who left B-school during the heady days of the Internet boom. In the late 1990s, it was in vogue to drop out and launch a startup, says Graham Richmond, co-founder of admissions-consulting firm Clear Admit in Philadelphia. "There was a culture of leaving," he says. "Ten to 15 people would leave every year, and not all of them came back"...

With tuition often costing upwards of $80,000, many students who are already enrolled in top MBA programs have made a hefty financial commitment that includes student loans and tuition payments. Richmond says his clients would probably require a really special reason for thinking about quitting once enrolled.

Admissions consultants advise potential and current students about applying to or leaving B-school on a case-by-case basis. But most of them say they believe in the power of the degree. "You might get the job offer without an MBA, but how will you perform without it?" asks Richmond. On the other hand, some of those who left business school say they had already gotten all they needed from the program.

The Boston Globe, February 6th, 2006
Wrangling over Applications by Robert Weisman

"We're starting to get some recognition by business school admission committees that we exist, that we're not going away," noted Alex L. Brown, senior admissions counselor at ClearAdmit LLC in Philadelphia, who worries that a small group trafficking in second-hand essays on the Internet is spoiling the image of the rest of the industry. "There are people out there who say, 'We'll write your essay for you, or we'll sell you an essay for Harvard,' " he acknowledged. "They give a bad name to those of us who are providing professional feedback."

Tech-savvy consultants at ClearAdmit have created a weblog and a collaborative website, known as a wiki, to keep their business school candidates abreast of admission trends and invite them to provide feedback. Brown, one of two former Wharton admissions officers now working as consultants, said he sometimes lunches with his former colleagues, though he does not lobby them on behalf of clients.

Brown said lobbying would be unethical -- and unnecessary. "Obviously," he said, "I have insight into how their process works."

The Diva Marketing Blog, January 4th, 2006
Is 2006 - The Year of the Wiki

Clear Admit, an educational counseling firm that guides MBA candidates through the maze of applying to top B-school programs, launched an interesting wiki that supports its Clear Admit Blog.

The Clear Admit MBA Admissions Wiki provides people going through the MBA experience an opportunity to share what they've learned. There are tabs for the interview process and the application. There's even a tab for current students to tell the real scoop on what's going on in classes and on campus. The wiki includes links to some of the schools' bloggers.

Between the blog and the wiki Clear Admit has created a comprehensive resource for MBA wannabees. What makes The Clear Admit wiki unique is that it works in tangent with the blog. Click on the blog links to Interview Reports and Bloggers by School you'll be taken to the wiki pages. Information flows back and forth.

BusinessWeek, February 11th, 2005
European B-School's New Allure by Jeffrey Gangemi

The downside of earning a European MBA? Critics say even the most prominent European schools can't compete with American heavyweights like Wharton and Kellogg, with their worldwide reputations for excellence. Radhesh Welling, an IMD grad, says despite the more international nature of the European MBA, the American version has more clout globally because the programs are generally older and better established.

Nonetheless, many students in European schools view their programs' youth as no serious drawback. David Brooks, an American in Oxford's eight-year-old Said MBA program, sees big advantages "just from having friends and classmates in 44 countries."

Some aspiring MBAs also fret that a one-year model doesn't work well for career switchers. "Finding employment after graduation is the one factor that trumps all others when deciding on schools," says Graham Richmond, cofounder of the MBA application service Clear Admit. Missing out on that internship can make a difference in the job search if you're looking to switch industry or function.

Your Higher Education Marketing Newsletter, February 8th, 2006
Admissions Stories from Top MBA Schools, Bob Johnson Consulting

Visit the Clear Admit MBA Admissions Wiki... to read what people think about their admissions interviews, campus visits, and more at MIT, Cornell, Yale, Harvard, Duke and others.

Future students recount their experiences on the quest for a prestigious MBA.

Not only is this an excellent site for aspiring MBA students to share and compare details of the admissions process, it also seems a fine place for those with a bent for competitive research.

Visit often if MBA admission is of interest.

BusinessWeek, June 6th, 2005
Testing Times for B-School Hopefuls by Jeffrey Gangemi

Graham Richmond, founder of ClearAdmit, a business school admissions consulting service, says GMAT test prep business hasn't experienced a corresponding downturn, because those who apply are savvier than ever about application techniques. It's unusual for someone to refrain from investing in test prep materials, particularly if the applicant is interested in top-tier schools, Richmond adds.

Wall Street Journal College Journal, September 2004
Admissions Coaches Become More Popular by Eileen Gunn

Consulting services, which range from national players like Kaplan to smaller boutiques and solo practitioners, charge anywhere from $125 an hour for editing an essay to $5,000 to $8,000 for unlimited help on five to seven applications.

Graham Richmond graduated from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and then co-founded Clear Admit, an admissions counseling firm in Philadelphia. Many clients are what he calls "overly traditionals" -- people who got top grades at elite colleges, went directly into jobs at brand-name consulting or financial firms and now want to set themselves apart from the countless applicants who did exactly the same thing. (A female first-year student at Wharton sums up the dilemma: "I graduated summa cum laude and got a 700 on my GMATs, but so did a bunch of my classmates. So how do you differentiate yourself?")

BusinessWeek, June 17th, 2004
The Year of the MBA Applicant by Mica Schneider

Significant declines in application volume at the top management schools have made the 2003-04 MBA admissions season the year of the applicant. Demand for the degree is lower due to a slow economic recovery, fewer MBA-age workers, and fewer non-U.S. applicants. So schools dipped deeper into their applicant pools to find new MBAs -- and deeper into their coffers to help fund them.

"MORE OFFERS." Plenty of evidence, both anecdotal and statistical, shows that applicants were accepted to more B-schools than in years past. Graham Richmond, CEO of MBA-admissions consultants Clear Admit, says he saw clients get 30% more offers of admission than in the 2003 academic year. "Since we haven't totally changed our methods, and since clients are still applying to the same number of programs [on average], this indicates that the schools must be handing out more offers," he says.

Back in the more competitive years of 2000 and 2001, Richmond says even his best applicants only had a couple of options, "rarely gaining acceptance to more than one of the top three [schools]." In 2004, his clients are weighing offers from the likes of Harvard, Wharton, Stanford, and Columbia. "It's rare to see the top few schools in such direct competition [for the same students]."

The Chronicle of Higher Education, February 6th, 2002
Online Editors Scrutinize Admissions Essays of the Skittish--for a Fee, by Michael Arnone

To the consternation of admissions officials, many college and graduate-school applicants are now hiring online editors to go over their application essays. The editing companies cater to applicants skittish about their writing ability, ambitious to get into the institution of their choice, or just looking for a second opinion.

Companies large and small are hawking their virtual red pencils to applicants seeking entry or a return to academe. Not surprisingly, these companies -- with names such as IvyEssays, EssayEdge, and Accepted.com -- emphasize that the personal essay is a crucial part of the application. Many of them advertise that they can improve an applicant's chances of getting into a particular college by helping craft the essay.

Some sites edit all kinds of applications, while other focus on a few or even just one type of degree. For example, Clear Admit works exclusively to get applicants accepted into master-of-business-administration programs. Some of the companies help on the essays only, while others guide customers through the entire application process, so that they end up with an integrated package.

The Wall Street Journal, January 10, 2002.
Admissions Essays Made Easy--But at a Price by Paul Glader

…Despite the cost--between $20 and $400 an essay, depending on the length, and up to $3,000 per M.B.A. application--these are boom times for online essay companies. And they're just part of the growing college-preparation market. Some estimate the total market for test prepping, essay editing and application consulting could be as high as $1 billion a year. And it's only going to get bigger. In 1998, 14.5 million students were enrolled in U.S. colleges, but enrollment is expected to reach 17.5 million by 2010.

What a service can do best is "stop the applicant from saying something damaging or politically incorrect"… Many essay editors claim experience in academia or insider knowledge of how Ivy League institutions work.

Graham Richmond, a founder of Clear Admit, evaluated applications for the admissions office at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania while a student there. Since his Philadelphia-based company was launched this past fall, he and his business partner have been spending 60 hours a week reading essays, often exchanging e-mails with applicants on evenings and weekends.

Despite the criticisms of some admissions directors, he defends the practice of helping students find an edge, for a fee. After all, he says, "any writer needs feedback."

AUDIO INTERVIEWS

Clear Admit has been called upon by sites like the Economist Online and MBA Podcaster to weigh in on topics of significant interest to MBA applicants.

The Economist Online MBA Fair, October 10th, 2006
Creating a Quality Application, interview by Roger McShane

Graham Richmond, the co-founder of Clear Admit, talks about admissions strategies and the benefits of using a consultant.

Download the Audio (13.13 mins | 12.1 MB)
View the Feature (subscription only)

MBA Podcaster
MBA Resources: MBA Tours, Forums and Guides with host Janet Nakano

The Clear Admit School Guides are featured in a podcast about informative resources for MBA applicants, which also covers the MBA Tour, the World MBA Tour, and the Forte Foundation. Graham Richmond represents Clear Admit in the interview.

"How would you suggest that an applicant use the information in your guides? 'We think that there are four points in the MBA process that a Clear Admit School Guide could come in handy. The first would be if you're thinking about business school and trying to assemble a list of target programs, you could use the Clear Admit School Guides to learn about each school, see how they compare and make some decisions about where you'd fit. The second is in the essay writing process, so [applicants have] already determined which schools they are going to apply to and they purchase the Clear Admit school guides for those programs, read up on them. Then they use that information to bring their essays to life when it comes to incorporating school specific detail into their essays.

"The third thing that we've found is that applicants are buying them before they go for an interview at a school and they're looking for a kind of executive summary or research report on the program that they can download and throw in their brief case to read on the plane. Then the last thing that we've found with the guides is that people buy them in the spring when they are trying to make decisions about which program they want to attend. So they might use the career section of the School Guides, in which we compare regional placement, industry placement across all of the leading schools, to hone in on what program might be appropriate for them.'"

Download the Audio (28:35 mins | 10.30 MB)
Stream the Podcast or Read the Transcript

In a podcast featuring representatives from the leading firms in the MBA admissions consulting space, Graham Richmond explains what makes Clear Admit unique and comments on how candidates can take full advantage of the service in enhancing their applications.

"How can applicants make the most of your services? 'I think the first thing is to start early. Starting early in the process allows the candidate to really have the time to reflect rather than coming to Clear Admit the last week of September with just a set of essays that they want us to review. When they come to us in July or June you can really take the time to think through your candidacy, make the right choices in terms of school selection, in terms of how you're presenting your goals and really think strategically, as opposed to someone who's showing up at the last minute who has already made a number of strategic choices that are sort of irreversible. Starting with us in the beginning allows you to really get the fully tailored approach that we provide.'"

Download the Audio (39:31 mins | 13.50 MB)
Stream the Podcast or Read the Transcript

Clear Admit's Graham Richmond offers advice on essay strategy and tips on the writing process in a segment that also features insight from Wharton Director of Admissions Thomas Caleel from and Ben Lohr, Director of MBA Admissions at Notre Dame.

"Above all, both admissions directors and admissions consultants all agree that the most important thing to consider is one's fitness for an MBA program. Again, Graham Richmond from Clear Admit: 'But even beyond that, you need to - probably before you even consider schools - take stock of your candidacy. And that's something we actually work with our clients on. It's just getting them to understand who they are, what they bring to the table, where they measure in terms of work experience, academic profile - all the things that go into one's candidacy - extracurricular activities. At the end of the day, before you can properly select schools, you need to know who you are, and what your career goals are, and which schools might be most appropriate - and then beyond that - which topics are going to be most appropriate to select when responding to a school's essay questions because a lot of that is going to come out of what you know about your candidacy and what your message is going to be in this process.'"

Download the Audio (17:33 mins | 6.03 MB)
Stream the Audio or Read the Transcript

MBA Podcaster
MBA Admission Consultants with host Janet Nakano

Joining Judith Silverman of the Wharton School and a current business school student, Clear Admit's Graham Richmond lends a third perspective in this feature on the practices and perception of admissions consultants.

"There's been some controversy over getting that extra help, and it's a likely reason why clients sway the spotlight. Graham Richmond is co-founder of Clear Admit, an MBA admissions consulting service. He says much of the debate originates from services that don't just give helpful advice - like those that will write an essay for you. Richmond says reputable consultancies don't corrupt the admissions process and, instead, perfect it. 'We view ourselves as guidance counselors and coaches, much in the same way when you're in high school, you go to your high school college guidance counselor and you find out about different schools that might fit you... The truth is that most people who are applying to business school are out there in the work force; they're kind of isolated, and unless they have colleagues who are applying, they don't really have someone to talk to about this process. So, that's really the objective - to just provide them with feedback, help sort of walk them through this process, and give them informed feedback on how it works."

Download the Audio (10:45 mins | 9.8 MB)
Stream the Audio or Read the Transcript

Q&A and CHAT TRANSCRIPTS

BusinessWeek, October 18th, 2007
Finding the Right Business School

Graham Richmond, co-founder of MBA admissions consultant Clear Admit, offers tips on how to find the "best fit" business school.

BusinessWeek recently hosted its third online MBA Expo, an information-gathering session for potential business school applicants. BusinessWeek business schools editor Phil Mintz explored the Expo's theme of finding a best-fit business school with several admissions directors from top business schools, as well as with a private admissions consultant. Here's an edited transcript of BusinessWeek's discussion with Graham Richmond, co-founder of Clear Admit, an MBA admissions consulting firm.

We're talking today about finding the "best fit" business school. I guess, as with clothing, there are plenty of styles of business school to choose from, but not everything fits everyone equally. What's the first thing you ask someone when you're trying to help them pick a business school that's right for them?
View the Transcript

Manhattan GMAT Blog, February 27th, 2007
Conversation with an Admissions Consultant

In the inaugural post to their blog, Manhattan GMAT shares the transcript of an interview with Graham Richmond about the role of the GMAT in the admissions process, among other topics.

Manhattan GMAT: Why do business schools require applicants to take the GMAT?

Graham Richmond: For a variety of reasons. First, they see it as a measure of certain specific math and verbal skills. Second, they see it as a measure of your ability to think under pressure - the exam is timed. Third, it allows them to compare the academic preparation of people from very different backgrounds. A high GPA from one college, for example, may not represent the same level of achievement as a high GPA from another. But the GMAT allows business schools to level the field, so to speak.

BusinessWeek, August 16th, 2005
Applications That Get a "Yes", moderated by Francesca Di Meglio

Graham Richmond, co-founder and CEO of Clear Admit, and Alex Brown, senior admissions counselor, recently fielded questions from audience members and BusinessWeek Online's Francesca Di Meglio in an online chat.
View the Transcript

BusinessWeek, August 19th, 2003
Tips from an Admissions Whiz, moderated by Mica Schneider

Clear Admit co-founder Graham Richmond has staked his business on giving applicants specialized advice. He and his small team of counselors will advise another 200 MBA wannabes this year on choosing which schools to apply to, plus essay writing, interviewing skills, and what to do if you're waitlisted.

Aside from his recent work at Clear Admit, Richmond has experience in the B-schools admissions field dating back to 1995, when he worked at MCS Multi-App, an educational-software startup that offered application aids for business- and law-schools. From 1999 to 2001, he attended the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, and also worked in the school's admissions office as a student admissions officer, reading hundreds of applications and attending weekly admissions committee decision meetings.

Richmond was the guest for a BusinessWeek Online chat on July 30, 2003.
View the Transcript

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