Posts by Alex Brown

About

Alex is a co host for Clear Admit's Wire Taps podcast. He has spent 30 years in the MBA admissions industry, and authored the book: Becoming a Clear Admit: The Definitive Guide to MBA Admissions Alex also teaches digital marketing through executive education programs for London Business School, Imperial College Business School and Columbia Business School.

Published: November 9, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 455: Australian, test waiver. Indian, retaking GRE. Real estate, family business.

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the current state of the MBA admissions season, with interview invites continuing to roll out. This upcoming week, Duke / Fuqua is scheduled to release interview invites, and Columbia is scheduled to have released all its Round 1 interview invites. Ohio / Fisher is scheduled to release its Early Action round decisions, Michigan State / Broad is scheduled to release its Round 1 decisions and Oxford / Said is scheduled to release its Stage 2 decisions. Graham highlighted the upcoming deferred enrollment webinar, Read more

Published: November 2, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 454: Wharton’s TBD, Entrepreneur, 337 GRE. Consulting to Finance

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the current state of the MBA admissions season, with interview invites continuing to roll out. This upcoming week, Oxford / Said has its Stage 3 application deadline, INSEAD has its Round 2 application deadline and Washington / Olin is scheduled to release its Round 1 decisions. Graham highlighted the upcoming deferred enrollment webinar series, signups for all these events are here, https://www.clearadmit.com/events The next livestream AMA with Alex and Graham is scheduled for Tuesday, November 25; here’s the link to Clear Admit’s Read more

Published: October 26, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 453: PM, 327 GRE, 320 GRE, retake? 685 GMAT, from Mexico

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the current state of the MBA admissions season, with interview invites continuing to roll out. This week, Georgetown / McDonough is scheduled to release its Early Action decisions and Cornell / Johnson is scheduled to release its Round 1 interview invites. We also anticipate that MIT / Sloan will release its Round 1 interview invites. We then had a discussion on the H1-B visa situation, concluding that US MBA graduates residing in the USA may now be at an advantage, over those Read more

Published: October 19, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 452: Huge salary, 317 GRE. 705 GMAT, Austin TX. Data Scientist to IB.

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the current state of the MBA admissions season, with interview invites continuing to roll out. This week, John’s Hopkins / Carey has its Round 1 deadline, UPenn / Wharton is scheduled to release its Round 1 interview invites and UVA / Darden and Johns Hopkins / Carey are scheduled to release their Early Action Round decisions. Graham highlighted several upcoming events being hosted by Clear Admit that begin this week, including a Real Humans series and a series focused on MBA programs in Read more

Published: October 12, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 451: Law firm leadership. Mitigating a 2.9 GPA. From Africa to Europe.

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the current state of the MBA admissions season, with interview invites continuing to roll out. This week, Ohio State / Fisher, Notre Dame / Mendonza, Boston College / Carroll, Texas / McCombs, USC / Marshall, Indiana / Kelley, Arizona / Carey, UCI / Merage, Florida / Warrington, Rice / Jones and The Consortium all have their Round 1 deadlines. NYU / Stern has its Round 2 deadline. Duke / Fuqua, Oxford / Said and Notre Dame / Mendoza are all scheduled to release Read more

Published: October 5, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 450: From the Railroads to CPG, Chemical Engineering to Finance. Top candidate, fuzzy goals.

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the current state of the MBA admissions season. Last week, Harvard released all its Round 1 interview invites. This week, UNC / Kenan Flagler and Georgia / Terry have Round 1 application deadlines. Cambridge / Judge and SMU / Cox have Round 2 application deadlines, and London Business School and IESE are scheduled to release their Round 1 interview invites. Graham highlighted several upcoming events being hosted by Clear Admit in October, including a Real Humans series and a series focused Read more

Published: September 28, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 449: 331 GRE, Tokyo goal. 2.76 GPA, can it be overcome. 335 GRE from Pakistan.

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the current state of the MBA admissions season. This week, MIT / Sloan, Duke / Fuqua, CMU / Tepper, UVA / Darden, UCLA / Anderson, Emory / Goizueta, Georgetown / McDonough, Washington / Foster, Vanderbilt / Owen, Georgia Tech / Scheller, Maryland / Smith and Minnesota / Carlson have Round 1 application deadlines. Oxford / Said has its Stage 2 application deadline. Graham highlighted several upcoming events being hosted by Clear Admit in the upcoming months, including a Real Humans series, a Read more

Published: September 21, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 448: Naval Academy graduate. Mexico to Canada, or Tuck. Fourteen-month break.

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the upcoming MBA admissions season. This week, Dartmouth / Tuck, IESE and Imperial Business School have their Round 1 application deadlines; Duke / Fuqua is scheduled to release its interview invites for its Early Action Round. Graham noted that our second livestream AMA is scheduled for this Tuesday on YouTube; here’s the link to Clear Admit’s YouTube channel: https://bit.ly/cayoutubelive. Graham then highlighted the ongoing September series of admissions events. The third session is on Wednesday, and includes Berkeley / Haas, INSEAD, London Read more

Published: September 14, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 447: Software engineer to PM. Engineering to real estate investing. From India, space career.

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the upcoming new MBA admissions season. This week, NYU / Stern, Chicago / Booth, INSEAD and Cornell / Johnson have their Round 1 application deadlines. Graham highlighted the ongoing September series of admissions events, where Clear Admit hosts the majority of the top MBA programs to discuss Round 2 application strategy. The second session is on Wednesday, and includes Chicago / Booth, Columbia, Texas / McCombs, Toronto / Rotman and Yale SOM. Signups for this series are here: https://bit.ly/cainsidemba Our second livestream Read more

Published: September 7, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 446: 655 GMAT, Indian. Masters in International Relations. 337 GRE, Military

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the upcoming new MBA admissions season. This week, Michigan / Ross, Stanford, Northwestern / Kellogg, Yale SOM, Toronto / Rotman and Berkeley / Haas have their round 1 deadlines. Georgetown / McDonough and John’s Hopkins / Carey have their Early Action round deadlines. Graham highlighted the upcoming September series of admissions events, where Clear Admit will host the majority of the top MBA programs to discuss Round 2 application strategy. The first session is on Wednesday, and includes Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Read more

Published: August 31, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 445: 685 GMAT, South Korea. Take or waive the GMAT. 330 GRE, Product Manager.

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the upcoming new MBA admissions season. This week, Duke / Fuqua, UVA / Darden and Notre Dame / Mendoza have their Early Action deadlines. Harvard, UPenn / Wharton, Columbia and London Business School have their round 1 deadlines, and Oxford / Said has its Stage 1 deadline. Graham highlighted the upcoming September series of admissions events, where Clear Admit will host the majority of the top MBA programs to discuss Round 2 application strategy. The first session is on Wednesday, and includes Dartmouth Read more

Published: August 24, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 444: Low GPA, from India. 740 GMAT, first generation. 332 GRE, from Nigeria

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the upcoming new MBA admissions season. Cambridge / Judge leads the way with its first-round deadline next week! Graham and Alex plan to host monthly AMA-style webinars, as this new admissions season gets underway. The first is scheduled for this Tuesday, on YouTube; here’s the link to Clear Admit’s YouTube channel so you can subscribe and not miss any of the streaming: https://bit.ly/cayoutubelive. Graham also highlighted the upcoming September series of admissions events, where Clear Admit will host the majority of the Read more

Published: August 17, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 443: Wealth Management to VC. Mechanical Engineer, from India. 625 GMAT, retaking

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing upcoming webinars that Clear Admit is hosting. Graham and Alex will be hosting an AMA-style webinar on August 26th via YouTube, as the new admissions season gets underway! Here’s the link to follow us on YouTube and join the livestream: https://bit.ly/cayoutubelive. Graham also highlighted the upcoming September series of admissions events, where Clear Admit will host the majority of the top MBA programs to discuss Round 2 application strategy. Signups for this series are here: https://bit.ly/cainsidemba Graham then noted an admissions Read more

Published: August 10, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 442: Comedy to MBA, Data scientist to MBA. 331 GRE, 2.75 GPA.

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing a couple of webinars that are in the works. Graham and Alex will host an AMA-style webinar, as the new admissions season gets underway on August 26. More details to follow, but it will be livestreamed on YouTube! Graham also highlighted the September series of admissions events, where Clear Admit will host the majority of the top MBA programs to discuss Round 2 application strategy. Sign ups for this series are here: https://bit.ly/cainsidemba Graham then noted a few new publications on Read more

Published: August 3, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 441—Super GMAT, poor GPA. Indian candidate, non-US programs. Super profile, small firm.

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by highlighting the upcoming webinar on Thursday, hosted by Alex, which will cover the application process for those targeting the M7 MBA programs and feature admissions coaches from our friends at Leland. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/m7clearadmit Graham then noted the weekly refresh series that Clear Admit publishes during this time of year, which is designed to keep MBA applicants updated with admissions-related updates at the leading MBA programs. Graham also discussed a new admissions tip which focuses on all the standardized tests that Read more

Published: July 27, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 439—655 GMAT, MBB consultant. 332 GRE, undecided goals. Targeting HSW.

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began with a wonderful review of the podcast, from an industry professional! Graham highlighted Clear Admit’s ongoing summer series of webinars, which focuses on top MBA programs’ admissions essays, and is attended by more than 20 of the top MBA programs. The final event is on Wednesday of this week, and includes CMU / Tepper, Chicago / Booth, MIT / Sloan, Texas / McCombs and UVA / Darden. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/mbaessay0725 Graham then discussed a new webinar focused on M7 MBA admissions, scheduled Read more

Published: July 20, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 437—695 GMAT, enlisted. MBA and Sustainability. 331 GRE, Startup founder.

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing some of the recent activity on LiveWire, recognizing that we are now moving into the new application cycle. Graham highlighted Clear Admit’s ongoing summer series of webinars, which focuses on top MBA programs’ admissions essays, which will be attended by more than 20 of the top MBA programs. The third event is on Wednesday of this week, and includes Columbia, Georgia Tech / Scheller, Insead, London Business School and Washington / Foster. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/mbaessay0725 Graham then noted two admissions tips. Read more

Published: July 13, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 435—705 GMAT, private equity. Architect in London. Enlisted military, 332 GRE.

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing some of the recent activity on LiveWire; we followed this by highlighting a new article published by Clear Admit that summarizes the current situation for international students seeking visas to study in the United States. Graham noted Clear Admit’s summer series of webinars, which focuses on top MBA programs’ admissions essays, which will be attended by more than 20 of the top MBA programs. The second event is on Wednesday of this week, and includes Georgetown / McDonough, Michigan / Ross, UNC Read more

Published: July 6, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 433—Entrepreneur to Investment Banking. Waive the test or submit 312 GRE. Engineer, passion for dance.

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing some of the recent activity on LiveWire, which did include more waitlist movement last week. There is still some considerable uncertainty with respect to enrollments of international students who are waiting for their visa interviews. Graham highlighted Clear Admit’s summer series of webinars, which focuses on top MBA programs’ admissions essays, which will be attended by more than 20 of the top MBA programs. The first event is on Wednesday of this week, and includes Berkeley / Haas, Cornell / Johnson, Dartmouth / Read more

Published: June 29, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 432—329 GRE, Biotech sector. 3.86 GPA, Hospital administration. 685 GMAT, AI and robotics.

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing some of the recent activity on LiveWire, which is now becoming quieter as we move into the summer season. We then continued our discussion on the recent U.S. Government decisions as they pertain to international MBA students; Harvard appears to have won a recent decision in their fight with the U.S. Government in terms of being able to enroll international students. Graham highlighted Clear Admit’s summer series of webinars, which focuses on top MBA programs’ admissions essays, which will be attended by more Read more

Published: June 22, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 431—Japanese in the US. 326 GRE, consider retake? LBS vs INSEAD.

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing some of the recent activity on LiveWire, which includes a little movement on wait lists. We then continued our discussion on the recent U.S. Government decisions as they pertain to international MBA students; visa interviews are now available again. No doubt this whole situation is causing great anxiety. Graham highlighted Clear Admit’s new summer series of webinars, which focuses on top MBA programs’ admissions essays, which will be attended by more than 20 of the top MBA programs. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/mbaessay0725 Read more

Published: June 15, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 430—337 GRE, 2.96 GPA. 327 GRE, 3.8 GPA. Booth vs Darden.

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing some of the recent activity on LiveWire, which includes some movements on wait lists. We then continued our discussion on the recent U.S. Government decisions as they pertain to international MBA students, and the consequences for U.S. citizens who remain on the summer waitlists. Graham then noted a deep dive article, published last week by Clear Admit, that summarizes the sequence of events that has led to where we are with international students seeking an MBA in the United States. Graham highlighted Read more

Published: June 8, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 429—Part-time vs Full-time. Reapplying, from India. Judge vs LBS.

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the recent U.S. Government decisions as they pertain to international MBA students, and specifically those who are applying and are admitted to Harvard’s MBA program. Graham then discussed the recent Paris-based MBA admissions event he helped moderate, which brought 10 of the best U.S.-based MBA programs to Paris. Graham noted three articles that have been recently published on Clear Admit. The first focuses on a program CMU / Tepper offers that places Tepper MBA students with non-profit boards in the Pittsburgh area. Read more

Published: June 1, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 428—From China, 675 GMAT. From Africa, 333 GRE. Columbia vs Yale.

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the recent events and activities in the news; specifically, we discussed the recent U.S. administration’s decisions around visa interviews for international MBA students. These are, frankly, very disturbing times, which can seriously harm the MBA experience at for all candidates at top MBA programs in the United States. We are hoping that good sense will prevail, in the near future. Graham highlighted an admissions event he is helping to moderate in Paris this upcoming week, which includes ten of the top MBA Read more

Published: May 25, 2025

MBA Wire Taps 427—Entertainment goal, 695 GMAT. Consultant, no GMAT yet. Kellogg vs HBS.

Weekly Roundup for Clear Admit’s MBA Podcast In this week’s MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing the recent events and activities that Clear Admit has been involved in, including our MBA Fair in Boston, and virtual admissions events that wrapped up last week. More than 600 attendees participated in our most recent virtual event, which included admissions representatives from UPenn / Wharton, Stanford, Texas / McCombs, Columbia and Yale SOM. Graham noted two articles that have been recently published on Clear Admit. The first focuses on the different teaching methods that are used in top MBA programs. The Read more

MBA Livewire

May 7, 2026 8:13pm ET

Rejected at Berkeley / Haas

Round: Round 3

Received via email May 7, 2026

Standardized Test: GMAT

GPA: 3.74

GMAT: 615

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Post MBA Career: Healthcare

Application Location: Bay Area, California

Note:

Recommended to transfer application to EWMBA

Juno Member: Not yet

May 7, 2026 5:01pm ET

Interview Invite to Indiana / Kelley

Round: Round 4

Received via email May 7, 2026

Standardized Test: Granted Waiver

GPA: 3.36

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Consulting

Application Location: United States, San Antonio

Juno Member: Not yet

May 7, 2026 5:00pm ET

Interview Invite to Georgetown / McDonough

Round: Round 3

Received via email on April 15, 2026

Standardized Test: Granted Waiver

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Consulting

Application Location: United States, San Antonio

Juno Member: Not yet

May 7, 2026 4:59pm ET

Accepted to Boston College / Carroll

Round: Round 4

Received via phone on April 28, 2026

Standardized Test: Granted Waiver

GPA: 3.36

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Consulting

Application Location: United States, San Antonio

Juno Member: Not yet

May 7, 2026 2:12pm ET

Accepted from Waitlist to Chicago Booth

Round: Rolling Admissions

Received via email May 7, 2026

Standardized Test: GMAT

GMAT: 645

Program Type: Traditional Two-Year

Target Career: Entrepreneurship

Note:

Admitted from Round 2 Waitlist. Entrepreneurship post-MBA industry

Juno Member: Not yet

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