MBA Admissions Podcast: R1 Deadlines, Rankings, Test Waivers & Candidate Profiles

In this week’s MBA Admissions Podcast, Graham and Alex dive into the heart of Round 1 application season! Schools like Dartmouth Tuck, IESE, and Imperial Business School are hitting their Round 1 deadlines, while Duke Fuqua prepares to release interview invites for its Early Action Round.

📺 Our second livestream AMA is happening this Tuesday on YouTube—join us live and get your MBA questions answered:
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They also spotlight the ongoing September MBA Admissions Event Series, featuring Berkeley Haas, INSEAD, London Business School, Michigan Ross, and UNC Kenan-Flagler.
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Graham and Alex then unpack the latest 2025–26 MBA rankings from LinkedIn and Bloomberg Businessweek, and discuss two timely admissions tips:

Completing your data forms strategically

Whether skipping the GMAT or GRE with a test waiver makes sense

This week’s Faculty Spotlight highlights two professors from Columbia Business School and Northwestern Kellogg, and we feature the first student-focused Real Humans profile of the season—UNC Kenan-Flagler.

Finally, the team reviews the new Duke Fuqua Class of 2027 profile and three new ApplyWire entries:
🟨 A U.S. Naval Academy grad and Division I athlete with a strong career but lower academic stats
🟨 A Mexican chemical engineer targeting Tuck and top Canadian MBA programs
🟨 A candidate with a 14-month career break seeking a GMAT waiver but otherwise strong academics

This episode was recorded in Paris, France and Cornwall, England, and produced by the incomparable Dennis Crowley in Philadelphia, USA.

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