Posts by Lauren Wakal

This edition of our Admissions Director Q&A series takes us to the dynamic city of Austin and leading business school there, the University of Texas McCombs School of Business.  Rodrigo Malta, the Managing Director of MBA Recruitment and Admissions at Texas McCombs, was born and raised in Brazil and moved to the U.S. in high… Read more

Early Action / Round 1 MBA Application Deadlines To help you stay organized, we’ve compiled all of the earliest deadlines, including Early Action and Round 1, of the top business schools in one place. For schools that have announced their essay topic(s), you’ll find links to our corresponding Essay Topic Analysis in the “Essay(s) Released”… Read more

Whether you have worrisome stats or vague career goals, our admissions experts, Graham Richmond and Alex Brown, have you covered in this podcast episode of Wire Taps. The duo advise three MBA hopefuls about the upcoming application season.  Preview the applicants’ profiles from MBA ApplyWire below, and then tune in. The first MBA applicant is… Read more

Located between Los Angeles and San Diego, the University of California, Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business puts MBA students in the center of Southern California’s Tech Coast. In this edition of our Admissions Director Q&A series, we hear from Taylor Martini, who serves as the Executive Director of UCI Merage’s full-time MBA program. He… Read more

When entrepreneurial business needs intersect with science and tech, NYU Stern MBA students can partake in the Endless Frontier Labs to strengthen their experience knowledge and abilities.  Learn more about the course in this edition of Fridays from the Frontline, as Wilson Keng, an MBA graduate of NYU Stern, shares his student experience with the… Read more

Welcome to Friday Refresh, a weekly roundup of admissions advice and updates on the Clear Admit site. In this edition, we’re catching up with essay tips, deadlines, admissions news and recommendation questions from the month of July. Essay Tips Drafting your application essays? See the latest of our experts’ advice in our Essay Topic Analysis.… Read more

We continue our Admissions Director Q&A series with Rebekah Lewin, Assistant Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at the University of Rochester, Simon Business School.  She has more than 20 years of experience working in undergraduate and graduate admissions, financial aid and student experience roles, primarily within the University of Rochester.  In her current position,… Read more

Diversity and inclusion stand out in the thorough Duke MBA admissions process.  Here to tell us all about it in our ongoing Admissions Director Q&A series is Shari Hubert, Associate Dean of Admissions at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.  Hubert is responsible for overseeing recruitment and admissions for Fuqua’s Daytime MBA, Weekend Executive MBA, Global… Read more

Big dreams and solid stats fill this podcast episode of Wire Taps. The three MBA hopefuls, however, need some guidance to maximize their chances of success this admissions season.  Our admissions experts, Graham Richmond and Alex Brown, weigh in with advice on school choice and more.  Preview the applicants’ profiles from MBA ApplyWire below, and… Read more

In this edition of our Admissions Director Q&A, the Director of Graduate Student Recruitment, Rebecca Mallen-Churchill, joins us to discuss the W.P. Carey School of Business at the Arizona State University (ASU). ASU is located just outside of Phoenix, AZ, and the W.P. Carey MBA program boasts executive connections and an interdisciplinary curriculum. Rebecca Mallen-Churchill, Director… Read more

Student members of the India Business Club at Northwestern Kellogg showcased how the school community is acclimating to the new virtual world with their online Bollywood Bash.  Read all about the fun cultural event in this edition of Fridays from the Frontline. 2020 Bollywood Bash Digital Dhamaka: Uniting a Community Over Zoom By Akshat Agarwal… Read more

The Anderson School of Management at UCLA boasts diverse career placement, but stands out for its strengths in marketing and technology. MBA students also enjoy a tight knit community—class size hovers around 360—amid the larger setting of Los Angeles.  Here to discuss additional features of the leading MBA program is Alex Lawrence, the Assistant Dean… Read more

In addition to being one of the Best Business Schools for Finance, the Chicago Booth School of Business also stands out for its culture of curiosity and a teaching style called The Chicago Approach.  The educational philosophy of The Chicago Approach is about critical thinking—by understanding fundamental scientific disciplines, the resulting theoretical frameworks help define… Read more

In this podcast episode of Wire Taps, Graham Richmond and Alex Brown advise MBA applicants who need help with defining their career goals and determining fit.  Preview their profiles from MBA ApplyWire below, then tune in. The first MBA hopeful has a military background: Another applicant is undecided about their career goals: The third applicant… Read more

“Collaboration is a buzz word that is often used, but at Cambridge we live and breathe it,” says Margaret O’Neill, Head of MBA Marketing, Admissions and Careers at Cambridge Judge Business School (CJBS). O’Neill has oversight of the whole MBA journey, from the moment candidates first engage with the school, to the time they leave… Read more

In this edition of Fridays from the Frontline, Stanford GSB student, Judd Olanoff, introduces his entrepreneurial project, Storyist. Read on for how an MBA class inspired his idea, and how the Stanford GSB program helped him bring it to life. At Stanford GSB, Reimagining the News By Judd Olanoff, Stanford MBA ’20 Judd Olanoff, Stanford… Read more

Lisa Rios, the Executive Director of MBA Admissions at NYU Stern, joins us in this Admissions Director Q&A to cover the hallmarks of the Manhattan-based MBA program. A member of the admissions team since 2008, Rios works with the Full-time MBA programs. Prior to Stern, she worked in industry at JP Morgan Chase and Liz… Read more

The new MBA admissions season is upon us, as applicants fill this week’s Wire Taps podcast episode.  Our admissions experts, Graham Richmond and Alex Brown, advise three new MBA hopefuls who posted to MBA ApplyWire. Get a glimpse of their profiles below and then tune in. The first applicant has a passion for the automotive… Read more

We continue our Admissions Director Q&A series with Blair Mannix, the Director of Admissions of the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School in Philadelphia.  In addition to rigorous quantitative training, Wharton MBA students enjoy an intimate learning environment due to the Learning Team and cohort structure. Students spend their first year divided into Learning Teams of… Read more

This edition of Fridays from the Frontline highlights a valuable organization for diversity in business school: The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management. Current MBA student at UCLA Anderson, Carmen Chávez, shares her story of the support and guidance she received through the Consortium. Student Perspectives: The Consortium at Anderson By Carmen Chávez, UCLA Anderson MBA… Read more

When it comes to community, Harvard Business School’s Chad Losee, current Managing Director of MBA Admissions and HBS MBA ’13, can attest: Business school classmates transcend campus relations and become lifelong friends. As we all continue to adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic, Losee cites the support of his HBS sectionmates in these trying times—and he… Read more

MBA admissions directors from around the world will be discussing their programs, the admissions process, essays, interviews and more in our annual Admissions Director Q&As.  We are excited to kick off the 2020-2021 series with insights from Lihao (Steven) Ji, the assistant director of the MBA Marketing, Admissions & Financial Aid Department at CEIBS. Lihao (Steven)… Read more

We are excited to bring you our 50th episode of Wire Taps! Our admissions experts, Graham Richmond and Alex Brown, have certainly enjoyed recording this weekly podcast to deliver admissions strategies and tips. See which profiles from MBA ApplyWire and MBA DecisionWire they discuss this week below and then tune in. The first applicant is… Read more

Current Duke MBA student, Sandeep Panda, took to Fuqua’s student blog to share how the faculty and community have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic.  Read on for Sandeep’s story in this edition of Fridays from the Frontline. How Fuqua Forged Ahead During the Pandemic Sandeep Panda, Duke Fuqua MBA ’21 By Sandeep Panda, Duke Fuqua… Read more

This podcast episode of Wire Taps is chock full of decision-making advice about when to apply and where to matriculate.  In this episode, MBA hopefuls who have posted to MBA ApplyWire and MBA DecisionWire get direct feedback on their potential choices from our admissions experts, Graham Richmond and Alex Brown. See which profiles they discuss… Read more