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In this week's MBA Admissions podcast we began by discussing all the latest activity on LiveWire and DecisionWire.  Over, the past three weeks, we have witnessed all the top MBA programs releasing their Round 1 decisions. While things are a little quieter on MBA LiveWire now (as we enter the Christmas break), DecisionWire remains popular, with Round 1 MBA candidates starting to make decisions as to which MBA program they will enroll. We also noted that Round 2 deadlines are just after the New Year, so Round 2 candidates are likely to be busy with their preparation for these upcoming deadlines.

Graham noted a new admissions event that Clear Admit is hosting with CMU / Tepper on January 9, which focuses on its Data Analytics program. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/cmuanalytics Clear Admit is also hosting a Real Humans admissions event, scheduled for January 24. This event will bring together students from a variety of top MBA programs, ready to answer questions from MBA aspirants. Signups for this event are here: https://bit.ly/carealhumans Graham also mentioned the next Clear Admit+ event which is scheduled for January 3rd, one day before Round 2 deadlines for 10 of the leading MBA programs.

We then discussed a new program that Chicago / Booth is rolling out, to begin this upcoming fall term. To compliment their Masters in Management program, Booth is now launching a Masters in Finance program, for those who are completing their undergraduate degrees. We had a short debate about the trends in the specialized, pre-experience master's domain - and talked about what this means for the MBA market.

Graham then highlighted two recently published admissions tips, focused on weighing up MBA scholarship offers, and making decisions regarding which program to attend. Both these tips are very topical with the release of Round 1 decisions, and the subsequent entries on MBA DecisionWire.

Graham then highlighted three Real Humans pieces from Clear Admit, focused on Ohio State / Fisher, Dartmouth / Tuck and Washington / Foster.

For the candidate profile review portion of the show, Alex selected two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry:

This week’s first MBA admissions candidate is targeting next season for their applications. Their combination of GPA (2.98) and GRE (322) is a little on the light side for the top MBA programs they are considering; we are recommending a GRE retake as well as some additional coursework, which might include GMACs Business Fundamentals. Their work experience appears to be the strength of their profile.

This week’s second MBA candidate has a really strong academic profile, and a great GMAT of 740. They did drop out of medical school, and we had a long discussion on how to best present this, as they pivot their goals to the business-side of healthcare.

The final MBA candidate for this week is deciding between Emory / Goizueta (with scholarship) and UVA / Darden. They are targeting a career in Consulting in the North East. A very tough decision, indeed.