MBA Wire Taps 272—Cybersecurity candidate, needs to ace GMAT. Online gaming interest, 760 GMAT. Wharton vs Columbia, for tech in NYC

WireTaps kicks off this week with a timely discussion about the importance of interview preparation for those candidates entering that phase of the MBA admissions cycle (this included a conversation about Clear Admit’s free Interview Archive: https://www.clearadmit.com/category/interview-reports/).  Graham then highlighted the employment reports recently published for Stanford and Cornell / Johnson. Both programs are offering impressive numbers from last season. The challenge to business schools this season will be how to replicate these strong numbers in the less favorable economy that we are now experiencing. Graham also highlighted a recent Clear Admit article that focuses on the decline in the tech sector for MBA job seekers; this led to some discussion about whether or not this news portends a more challenging time across the board for the Class of 2023. Before getting into this week's candidate reviews, Graham mentioned the two deferred enrolment events that Clear Admit is hosting on February 1 and February 8. Signups are here: https://bit.ly/defer23 This week's featured candidates were sourced from two ApplyWire entries and one DecisionWire entry: First up, an early-bird candidate who appears to have a very interesting military background with a focus on cyber security. They worry about their undergraduate record (3.04 in Electrical and Computer Engineering) and are taking steps to mitigate that. As part of that, they need to target a very strong GMAT score. That said, Alex and Graham love the overall profile, and think there might be options at the very best programs when this candidate applies next season. This week's second candidate has a super GMAT of 760. They have an accounting degree with a 3.23 GPA (slight concern) and a CPA. They also have a passion for online gaming, which may shape their long term goal, and Alex and Graham think this might be an interesting aspect of their profile to set them apart. Along those lines, your hosts did wonder why USC / Marshall is not a target program. Finally, this week's final candidate review comes from a DecisionWire post where a lucky applicant is debating between offers at UPenn / Wharton, Columbia and MIT / Sloan. They want a large network, which favors Wharton and Columbia, and they want to be in New York City, post MBA, in tech or early stage VC. Comments on the site leaned towards Wharton, but the applicant may need to wait to see if Columbia will offer them scholarship... This episode was recorded in Cornwall, England and Paris, France. It was produced and engineered in Philadelphia by the incredibly hard-working, always reliable Dennis Crowley (shout-out to Dennis's dad, who Dennis credits with instilling in him these traits). Please remember to rate and review this podcast wherever you listen and to 'stay safe everybody'!