Matthew Korman
Coronavirus Concerns Disrupt MBA Admissions Interviews, Testing and More
As the number of confirmed coronavirus cases reaches over 80,000 globally, mounting concerns have disrupted normal operations of MBA admissions testing, interviews and events. Entrance Exam Sessions Suspended GMAT, GRE, IELTS, and TOEFL testing in mainland China has been pushed back further to the end of March. On its official website, the Graduate Management Admissions Council, which owns and administers the GMAT and Executive Assessment, states the following: “In the interest of the health and safety of our candidates, all testing in Mainland China has been suspended through March 31, 2020. Previously scheduled GMAT and Executive Assessment test appointments at test... Read more »
Wharton School Announces New Dean, Erika H. James
Erika H. James will begin her tenure as the newest dean of The Wharton School on July 1, 2020. She is the first woman and person of color to lead the school in its 139-year history. James, former dean of Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, succeeds Geoff Garrett, who plans to head to USC Marshall School of Business this summer. Erika H. James succeeds Geoff Garrett as dean of The Wharton School this summer. Penn President Amy Gutmann remarked in the official announcement, “A passionate and visible champion of the power of business and business education to positively transform communities... Read more »
MBA DecisionWire Spotlight: Midwest Decisions
In this MBA DecisionWire Spotlight, which highlights MBA candidates’ choices as shared in Clear Admit’s DecisionWire, we highlight an MBA candidate looking for a potential career in the manufacturing/automotive/aerospace industries, with a lot of choices on their mind. Despite already earning enrollment in Indiana/Kelley, the OP has some primary concerns—namely, their desire to work in the northeastern United States. However, the candidate notes that the University of Florida Warrington College of Business also offers some undeniable allure, potentially altering their geographic preferences. In addition, they have also applied to Illinois/Gies. Clear Admit resident expert, Alex Brown, believes that Indiana/Kelley may have... Read more »
MBA DecisionWire Spotlight: Carolina Connection
In this MBA DecisionWire Spotlight, which highlights MBA candidates’ choices as shared in Clear Admit’s DecisionWire, we highlight a few posts in which several future MBAs seem to be leaning to North Carolina’s most prominent business schools—Duke / Fuqua and UNC Kenan-Flager. Our first candidate, located in Washington DC, gained acceptance to Duke / Fuqua and NYU Stern, but was curious to know more about each school’s social impact career tracks: The original poster notes that they hope to transition from a background in nonprofits to “CSR” (corporate social responsibility) after they earn their MBA. Clear Admit resident expert, Alex Brown,... Read more »
U.S. H-1B Visa Premium Processing Suspension Extended
For those hoping to quickly secure themselves an H-1B visa, the wait just got a bit longer. Last March, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that premium processing for H-1B visa applications would be suspended until September 10, 2018. That suspension, however, was extended until February 19, 2019, according to Bloomberg. The framework of the policy adjustment, originally, was centered around the excess of priority H-1B premium applications. Premium processing allowed applicants to obtain an H-1B work visa within 15 days, rather than the standard six-month waiting period, for a fee of $1,225 USD. Some companies took full advantage... Read more »
MBA ApplyWire Spotlight: A Wide Net
As new MBA applicants try to figure out their admissions chances and strategies, many are posting to Clear Admit’s ApplyWire, a platform for feedback from our community of top-tier applicants to help inform your final choice of schools and approach to admissions. In this edition of MBA ApplyWire Spotlight, we take a closer look at a “non-traditional” applicant who is hoping to move from a career trajectory in politics towards business. And in preparation for the move, the applicant appears to be casting a wide net. With a high GPA and GRE score, the applicant may have enough credentials to get... Read more »
MBA ApplyWire Spotlight: One Top Choice
As new MBA applicants try to figure out their admissions chances and strategies, many are posting to Clear Admit’s ApplyWire, a platform for feedback from our community of top-tier applicants to help inform your final choice of schools and approach to admissions. In this edition of MBA ApplyWire Spotlight, we take a closer look at a potential Duke/Fuqua applicant who only plans on applying to their top choice this year. With a wealth military experience and previous work with some of the largest consulting firms in the world, including Bain and Co. and Boston Consulting Group, the applicant might be applying... Read more »
Harvard Business School Tops Bloomberg Businessweek Ranking for Third Consecutive Year
For the third straight year, Harvard Business School reigned supreme in the annual Bloomberg Businessweek “Best Business Schools” ranking, topping the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and MIT Sloan School of Management. In joining HBS on the medals podium this year, those schools both saw significant gains over last year, climbing from sixth and seventh respectively. Rounding out the top five this year is the University of Chicago Booth School of Business —holding steady year over year at fourth—and Stanford Graduate School of Business, which fell from second place in 2016 to fifth this year. The methodology Bloomberg Businessweek uses to... Read more »
Finding the Best Laptop for Business School
Brand. Affordability. Technical specifications. While some matter more than others based on an individual’s specific needs, these principle factors are the three pillars to consider when purchasing a laptop. That’s true not only of the average consumer, but also of business school students. That said, before starting any MBA program, there are a few more things the business school set should keep in mind. Finding the Best Laptop for Business School Some schools, such as the UCLA Anderson School of Management, offer incoming students guidance on what kind of laptop they’ll need before beginning the MBA program. We think Anderson’s guidelines... Read more »
20th Annual Reaching Out LGBTQ MBA Conference Arrives in Boston
The ROMBA LGBTQ MBA and Graduate Student Conference, the largest annual gathering of LGBTQ graduate school students in the world, takes place Boston this week, running from October 12th through 14th. It is presented by Reaching Out MBA (ROMBA), a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping create the next generation of out business leaders by educating, inspiring, and connecting the student and alumni LGBTQ MBA and graduate studies communities. The 20th annual three-day conference offers thousands of attendees an incredibly unique opportunity to connect and expand their careers with a close-knit and inclusive community. Included in the ever-expanding event are multiple... Read more »
What to Expect at the 2017 NBMBAA Conference in Philadelphia
Tuesday, September 26th, marked the first day of the annual National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA) Annual Conference & Exposition, held at the Philadelphia Convention Center. The five-day event, stretching to Saturday, September 30th, brings together entrepreneurs, business leaders, students, and other seasoned professionals into an immense, collaborative atmosphere that helps introduce next-level vision to the business world. The centerpiece of the event is the two-day Career Exposition. Touted as the “largest diversity career fair in the country” by the NBMBAA, the event brings together more than 300 companies, government entities, nonprofits, and more to take part in on-site stations and active recruitment, helping... Read more »
Female Enrollment, GMAT Scores Rise for NYU Stern Class of 2019
Applications are up and acceptance rates are down, according to new statistics from the New York University Stern School of Business Class of 2019. A total of 3,927 applicants applied to join the NYU Stern Class of 2019, increasing around 4 percent from last year’s figure of 3,773. Despite the growing pool of applications, enrollment actually got tighter, dropping from 871 admissions last year to 822 for the class. Figures via NYU Stern From the 822 admitted students, a total of 402 elected to join the NYU Stern Class of 2019—up slightly from the 392 enrolled students in the Class... Read more »
New Scholarship Alert: HBS Announces Forward Fellowship for MBA Class of 2020
The Harvard Business School (HBS) recently announced that it will offer students from low-income backgrounds the brand new Forward Fellowship, beginning for the MBA Class of 2020. The needs-based fellowship will award students between $10,000-$20,000 for every year in which they apply. In the announcement, Chad Losee, the HBS Managing Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, said, “At HBS, we are intent on and proactive about maintaining the diversity of our student body and supporting individuals from all backgrounds. We believe it is important to acknowledge both where each of our students is now and how far they have come.... Read more »
Wharton Leadership Conference Finds Success from All Backgrounds
The Wharton Leadership Conference at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School was held in late June and featured a number of leaders from different backgrounds and industries. From academia to NASA to professional sports, 11 figures spoke to an audience of eager business minds about the many pathways that can lead to successful leadership. Peter Cappelli, the George W. Taylor Professor of Management and Director of Wharton’s Center for Human Resources, helped organize the event, and was one of the speakers at this year’s conference. An acclaimed economics scholar, researcher and author, much of Cappelli’s work centers around the employee-employer... Read more »
Newest AIGAC Survey Unveils Millennial Conflicts
The Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants (AIGAC) recently released the results of its annual survey, which found that—perhaps unsurprisingly—millennials are not an easy group to pin down. The newest AIGAC survey, results of which can be seen in full here, found that millennial graduate students wanted both easy access to information and a personal touch to guide them along their academic paths. Candidates reported that the most-relied-on source of information about graduate schools was program websites, followed by personal networking with MBA students, per the graph below. However, certain online methods of outreach—such as social media channels and school... Read more »
New GMAT Feature Offers Test-Taking Personalization
For hopeful business school students taking the Graduate Management Admissions Test (GMAT), a significant change will be going into effect on July 11, 2017. Previously, those taking the GMAT tackled exam sections in a set order: Analytical Writing Assessment, Integrated Reasoning, Quantitative, and finally the Verbal section. The amendment made by the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) offers considerably greater flexibility, giving test-takers some choice in the order in which they complete these tasks. The new GMAT feature, officially titled the Select Section Order, was implemented based on research from GMAC. “GMAC is committed to continuously improving the GMAT experience by providing control... Read more »
Owen Graduate School Renovating With Future in Mind
Earlier this month, speaking to 329 members of the Owen Graduate School of Business Class of 2017, Nasdaq CEO Adena Friedman recalled the recent past. A ‘93 Owen alum, Friedman fondly remembered her time as a student, dropping references to AOL floppy disks, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Meatloaf’s biggest hits. Beyond Friedman’s nostalgic flair, her commencement speech also emphasized how important innovation will be for Owen’s new MBAs. As the Class of ‘17 graduates ready to forge their paths, the school is shaping its own future in a vibrant way. Just in time for commencement, the business school officially completed the newly renovated... Read more »
Yale School of Management MBAs Take to the Basketball Court
Yale basketball isn’t one of the more celebrated collegiate athletic programs. Neither the men’s nor women’s teams earn much hardware beyond Ivy League conference titles. In fact, the most famous moment in Yale basketball history was big man Chris Dudley getting tormented in the post by a young Shaquille O’Neal during a now-infamous nationally televised game in 1999. Dudley, drafted into the league in 1987, was angry after being dunked on and knocked to the ground and chucked the ball to the turned back of the future NBA Hall-of-Fame player. At the April 12th Swersey Cup basketball game at Yale... Read more »
AirBnB Exec, Entrepreneur Chip Conley Announced As Ross Commencement Speaker
The Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan has announced its 2017 spring commencement speaker, heralded author, entrepreneur and current AirBnB executive Chip Conley. After earning his undergraduate degree from Stanford University in 1982, Conley promptly followed up his efforts by earning his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1984. Often described as a “rebel hotelier,” Conley made his first profound mark on the hospitality industry in 1987 when he founded Joie de Vivre Hospitality in San Francisco. While Conley has a reputation for being an open, alternative kind of entrepreneur (often sending... Read more »
Kenan-Flagler Names New Investment Management Fellows
UNC’s Kenan-Flagler School of Business has announced this year’s Kenan Investment Management Fellows, with three outstanding recipients from the MBA class of 2018 earning the honor. Each of the three fellows will receive significant assistance obtaining “summer internships and full-time offers with firms in the alternative investment space, including asset management, private equity, venture capital and hedge-fund firms,” according to a press release from Kenan-Flagler. The fellowship winners are as follow: Neeraj Agarwal, Amundi Smith Breeden intern Abhishek Kumar, intern at Echo Health Ventures Matthew Mildenberg, CBC Capital intern Responding to the announcement, Shawn Munday, finance professor and executive director of... Read more »
