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Decision Tips

Advice to help to you decide where to apply — and enroll — for your MBA.
Published: March 8, 2018
Four Things to Consider When Visiting Full-Time MBA Programs
Fridays from the Frontline The process of picking a business school is both an art and a science. Broadly speaking, prospective students must decide which industry they ultimately want to infiltrate and then figure out which MBA program will give them the necessary tools to get where they need to go. This all sounds simple and straightforward enough, but there are a host of other variables prospective b-schoolers must weigh in order to make an informed choice—geographic location, small, tight-knit community vs. huge class with expansive network, the prevailing on-campus cultural attitude, and the reputation of the school within one’s Read more
Published: December 19, 2017
Add Your Story to MBA DecisionWire
Over the last two weeks, many of the leading MBA programs have released their Round 1 decisions. For a number of you, this means you now know which b-school campus you will be heading to in 2018. Before you start packing for your new adventure, head on over to MBA DecisionWire and complete an entry. It’s anonymous and only takes a minute to post. Sharing your profile, listing your choice of schools and declaring your decision proves useful for candidates who are just starting to explore their MBA application journey—or are in a conundrum of acceptances themselves.  Since its inception three seasons ago, MBA DecisionWire has received thousands of entries from candidates sharing their stories with their fellow applicants. Read more
Published: December 18, 2017
MBA DecisionWire Spotlight: Undecided about Cambridge / Judge, Stanford GSB and Wharton
After receiving multiple Round 1 notifications (and reporting them on LiveWire), MBA candidates are now turning to DecisionWire, to post—and often seek advice on—where they are attending. This week, we're shining the MBA DecisionWire spotlight on a candidate with acceptances to Cambridge / Judge, Stanford GSB, and UPenn / Wharton.  Judge and Stanford also offered scholarship funds. Read on for more about the candidate and feedback from community members and our resident admissions experts, Alex Brown and Graham Richmond. Alex led off with what everyone was thinking: Read more
Published: September 19, 2017
Choosing the Best Business School for Consulting
If you are a prospective MBA applicant looking to business school as a way to enter or accelerate your career in the consulting industry, you are certainly not alone. According to the 2017 Prospective Student Survey conducted by the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC), consulting is once again the most sought-after postgraduate industry, with 33 percent of applicants surveyed citing consulting firms as their destination of choice. The consulting function, too, is a top draw. One in four indicated it as their chosen job function, after just marketing/sales (30 percent) and finance/accounting (28 percent). With so many MBA graduates vying for roles in the consulting field, one of the best ways to distinguish yourself is by going to one of the business schools best known for training top-notch consultants. Of course, this requires thorough research and a deep knowledge of individual school programs. Lucky for you, Clear Admit has done some of the legwork.  Read more
Published: September 4, 2017
HBS Admissions Director Offers Advice to Round 1 Applicants
HBS Managing Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Chad Losee A couple of weeks ago, with the September 6th Round 1 application deadline for Harvard Business School (HBS) drawing near, Chad Losee, managing director of admissions and financial aid, took to his Direct from the Directors Blog to provide a few bits of guidance to those busily working on their applications. “We won’t read any applications until after the noon EST deadline,” he wrote, adding that means there is no advantage to submitting earlier. Read more
Published: May 1, 2017
New Clear Admit Chat Series Offers Valuable Free Primer for the MBA Admissions Season
Note: You can join the chat in progress here https://www.clearadmit.com/chat/mba-admissions-series/ If you are planning to apply to business school in the coming year, listen up: We’re rolling out a brand-new series of 10 free expert-led chats that together offer a comprehensive overview of the steps successful applicants take in the MBA admissions process. Hosted by Clear Admit’s own Alex Brown—author of Becoming a Clear Admit: The Definitive Guide to MBA Admissions and former senior associate director of admissions at Wharton—each chat in the series will focus in on an individual component of the MBA admissions process. Read more
Published: April 17, 2017
MBA DecisionWire Spotlight: Chicago Booth, Northwestern / Kellogg or UPenn / Wharton for Finance
In this week’s MBA DecisionWire Spotlight, which pulls the admissions results of students and alumni as shared in Clear Admit’s DecisionWire, we round up responses to a candidate considering Northwestern / Kellogg with a scholarship, Chicago Booth or The Wharton School for finance. While the F.C. Austin scholarship from Kellogg sounded lucrative to many, several people chimed in for the other MBA programs, Chicago Booth and the Wharton School. This community member succinctly captured the potential conundrum: Read more
Published: January 24, 2017
HBS Round 2 Interviews Are Almost Here
As 12 p.m. Eastern time steadily approaches, the waning moments of anxiety and anticipation for Round Two interview invites to Harvard Business School are reaching a boiling point. Earlier this week, HBS Managing Director of Admissions and Financial Aid Chad Losee sent out a reminder to all applicants over at the HBS ‘Direct from the Director‘ blog. While nerves may certainly be on high for a host of applicants, Losee reminds everyone not to worry too much if you don’t receive an invite just yet. “Remember,” he writes, “this is only a portion of the interview invites; Read more
Published: December 4, 2016
Weighing Your MBA Admissions Results
As November has transitioned to December we have now reached ‘decision season’ for R1 applicants. By the third week of December the majority of leading programs will have released MBA admissions decisions for candidates who applied during Round 1. INSEAD and London Business School were first out of the gate several days ago, and Chicago Booth is scheduled to release its decisions on Thursday, December 8, after which we will hear from a host of top schools in rapid succession. Accordingly, MBA LiveWire should witness a significant increase in activity over the next few weeks, as candidates share Read more
Published: April 17, 2016
Admissions Tip: Making That Final MBA Enrollment Decision
With Round 2 results out, many candidates are now making their final decisions regarding which school to attend. We have seen an increase in decisions recently posted to MBA DecisionWire. As such, we’re dedicating this week’s admissions tip to help applicants remember what’s important when it comes to making that final decision regarding which school to attend. An MBA Degree Is A Means To An End The MBA is designed to help you accelerate or redirect your career. With that in mind it is important to select the program that will best serve your career aspirations. Examining the career reports of the schools to Read more
Published: March 30, 2016
MBA DecisionWire Reveals Candidates’ Gravitation Toward Certain Pairings of Schools
MBA DecisionWire, where candidates share where they’ve decided to attend business school based on the offers they received, has drawn hundreds of entries already in its inaugural season. This level of activity has prompted us to introduce a new bi-monthly column where we will share observations gleaned from the MBA DecisionWire data. Read on for our first set of insights, and stay tuned going forward for more of the same! Popular School Pairings Today we wanted to look at a few popular school pairings—that is, schools where candidates who apply to one program often also apply to the Read more
Published: March 1, 2016
MBA Admissions Mashup: Campus Visits, #FOMO, and R3 Applications
Every Wednesday, we share a round-up of the latest news from admissions blogs at the top business schools. Congratulations to everyone receiving interview invitations and positive admissions decisions! (Needless to say, if you haven’t already done so, we urge you to head on over to MBA LiveWire to share the good news!) One way to ace your MBA admissions interview is to be able to show fit with the program, an in-depth knowledge of the curriculum, student clubs, in addition to the campus. This week, we’re featuring some admissions blogs that make the case for campus visits, how to Read more
Published: February 10, 2016
Business School Deposit Deadlines: Decisions? Dilemmas? Do Tell!
The time has come for many Round 1 applicants to make a decision about where they will attend business school in the fall. Monday was the Round 1 deposit deadline at Harvard Business School (HBS), and tomorrow deposits are due at Chicago Booth, Duke’s Fuqua School, Northwestern’s Kellogg School, the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and Yale School of Management. For many, plunking down the cash to indicate to a school that you can’t wait to join their MBA class is as straightforward as it can be. No doubt there are quite a few triumphant applicants to HBS who sent in their $1,000 payments on Monday—or before—with glee. If you were gunning for HBS all along, getting the news you’d been accepted was possibly one of the happiest days of your life, and making your first payment felt like an unequivocal investment in your future. Read more
Published: January 12, 2016
MBA Admissions Mashup: Admitted Students Weekends
Every Wednesday, we share a round-up of the latest news from admissions blogs at the top business schools. Congratulations to all Round 1 applications who have received positive news from their target schools! (Needless to say, we urge you to head on over to MBA LiveWire to share the good news!) Now that you’ve been admitted, you’re surely receiving invitations to attend Admitted Student Weekends where you’ll have plenty of opportunity to mix and mingle with other future MBAs. Your future classmates await! With this in mind, we’re taking a look at schools hosting admit weekends as Read more
Published: December 20, 2015
Weighing Your MBA Admissions Results
Over the last couple of weeks the majority of leading programs have released MBA admissions decisions for candidates who applied during Round 1. Some programs even released decisions for their Round 2 candidates. MBA LiveWire has witnessed incredible activity as candidates shared their results. It is now time for many of our readers to start making decisions again, to select from one of the programs in which they were admitted (if they were fortunate to have multiple offers), or to submit additional applications in the coming rounds, with many deadlines in early January. This post examines the factors candidates Read more
Published: November 29, 2015
Understanding the Early Decision Round at Columbia Business School
The last couple of weeks have seen a flurry of activity on MBA Livewire regarding decisions for Columbia Business School’s Early Decision (ED) round. This makes Columbia one of the first MBA programs in the United States to get decisions out for the 2015-16 cycle – despite having a deadline for ED (October 7th) that falls after a number of other top schools. That Columbia is able to get decisions out in a shorter timeframe than many of its peers is commendable. With that said, many applicants and admissions consultants Read more
Published: November 22, 2015
Admissions Tip: How Round 1 Applicants Should Approach Round 2
For many applicants who have applied in Round 1, now is a time of great stress and uncertainty that is likely testing your patience. This is because any of the following scenarios might apply to you: You have been denied by schools without the opportunity to interview You have interviews scheduled with schools, but not yet completed You have completed interviews with schools and are awaiting a decision You have been told that your file is competitive but will be pushed into R2 for further review (a sort of mid-season waiting list, if you will) And of course, many of Read more
Published: December 14, 2014
How to Choose the Right MBA Program
Perhaps you’re at the beginning stage of the important process to identify which MBA programs you’ll apply to. Maybe, with multiple acceptances in hand, you have the exciting and life-altering task of deciding where you ultimately want to enroll. In either case, Ann Richards, interim director of admissions at Cornell University’s Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, has valuable insight to help you make the most informed decision possible. “There are a handful of key elements that are essential when trying to choose the right MBA program for you,” Richards says. “Research, visit and conduct a self-assessment to understand what’s important to you,” she advises. Read more

MBA Applywire

14
October 14, 2026 2:04pm ET
Applying: Berkeley / Haas, Chicago Booth, Columbia Business School, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, INSEAD, London Business School, Michigan / Ross, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg, Oxford / Saïd, Penn / Wharton, Stanford GSB, Yale SOM
Intake Year: 2027
Pre-MBA Career: Consulting
Post MBA Career: Energy, Other Industries
GRE: 333
GPA: 3.4
Years of Work Experience: 7
Location: India
Post MBA Location: US/Europe
Notes:

2 years in family business after undergrad. And in my 4th job in 5 years - have been working with BCG as consultant on contract for 2 years now (project has social impact - affordable digital access angle)

Worked for 2.5 years in social impact sector. Before that 1 year 3 months in KPMG as data science consultant.
4
October 13, 2026 1:16pm ET
Applying: Columbia Business School, Duke / Fuqua, MIT Sloan, Northwestern / Kellogg
Intake Year: 2027
Pre-MBA Career: Technology
Post MBA Career: Consulting
GRE: 167
GPA: -
EA: 167
Years of Work Experience: 6
Post MBA Location: US
8
October 6, 2026 7:05pm ET
Applying: Cornell / Johnson, Dartmouth / Tuck, Duke / Fuqua, Harvard Business School, Michigan / Ross, Northwestern / Kellogg, UVA / Darden, Yale SOM
Intake Year: 2027
Pre-MBA Career: NGO
Post MBA Career: Consulting
GRE: 320
GPA: 3.79
Years of Work Experience: 7
Location: NYC
6
October 3, 2026 10:42pm ET
Applying: Duke / Fuqua, Indiana / Kelley, Michigan / Ross, Northwestern / Kellogg, Notre Dame / Mendoza, UVA / Darden
Intake Year: 2027
Pre-MBA Career: Operations strategy
Post MBA Career: Consulting, Other Industries
GMAT: 645
GPA: 2.96
Years of Work Experience: 8
Location: USA
Post MBA Location: Midwest
Notes:

Veteran. Company sponsored.
5
October 2, 2026 2:40pm ET
Applying: Chicago Booth, Harvard Business School, Northwestern / Kellogg, Penn / Wharton, Stanford GSB
Intake Year: 2027
Pre-MBA Career: Analytics Consulting
Post MBA Career: Consulting
GRE: 333
GPA: 3.56
Years of Work Experience: 4
Location: India
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MBA LiveWire

October 15, 2026 2:43pm ET
Accepted to Duke / Fuqua
Round: Early Decision
Received via phone October 15, 2026
Standardized Test: GMAT
GPA: 3.52
GMAT: 725
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Post MBA Career: Technology, Amazon
Application Location: India
Juno Member: Not yet
October 15, 2026 2:34pm ET
Applied to Indiana / Kelley
Round: Round 1
Received via portal
Standardized Test: Granted Waiver
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Post MBA Career: Technology, Amazon, Google, Microsoft
Application Location: Peru, Lima
Juno Member: Not yet
October 15, 2026 1:33pm ET
Interview Invite to Northwestern / Kellogg
Round: Round 1
Received via email October 15, 2026
Standardized Test: GMAT
GPA: 3.8
GMAT: 685
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Post MBA Career: Energy
Application Location: United States
Juno Member: Not yet
October 15, 2026 1:25pm ET
Accepted to Duke / Fuqua
Round: Early Decision
Received via phone October 15, 2026
Standardized Test: GRE
GPA: 3.21
GRE: 320
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Post MBA Career: Consulting
Juno Member: Not yet
October 15, 2026 11:36am ET
Accepted to Duke / Fuqua
Round: Early Decision
Received via phone October 15, 2026
Standardized Test: GRE
GPA: 7.8
GRE: 327
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Post MBA Career: Consulting
Application Location: India
Juno Member: Not yet
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