Before getting into contest details, let’s take look at a couple of the newest reports.  An accepted applicant to INSEAD shared the following questions from an alumnus:

1. Why entrepreneurship?  Do you think INSEAD will make an entrepreneur out of you?
2. Is [your] wife ready to move from US to France?
3. Why did [you] join [your] current company? Why US, Singapore and India?
4. [Describe your] proposed venture – its business model, how to raise capital, its market segment, how much energy, what kind of source for energy.
5. Why INSEAD? Why not some other school, like MIT or Kennedy School if [you] want to work in alternate energy?

A Round 2 applicant to London Business School shared the following questions, as posed by an alumnus:

1. Imagine the world without an MBA. What would you do?
2. If you can achieve your goals without an MBA why do you want to get an MBA?
3. How would you contribute to your study group at LBS from a professional point of view?
4. What will be your personal development after arriving at LBS?
5. Imagine that some people in your study group are not contributing enough and your talk to them didn’t help. What would you do next? How would you handle it? How would you feel?

Thank you to everyone who has shared their interview experiences this season and helped fellow applicants!  If you’re eager to contribute, we’ll be awarding a $10 Amazon gift certificate to applicants that submit interview reports for Columbia Business School, Harvard Business School, INSEAD, NYU / Stern or Wharton through next Tuesday, March 16th!  In other words, all you have to do is send us your interview field report for the selected schools for inclusion in the Wiki and we’ll send you a $10 Amazon gift certificate.   You must send your interview report to wiki@clearadmit.com to be eligible; we’ll post it to the Wiki and notify the winners by e-mail (Limit: one gift card per person).

The most helpful and informative reports usually include the following information:

1. Date/Admissions Round
2. Description of visit and/or interview atmosphere
3. Type of interview (alum vs. adcom, blind vs. application-based)
4. List of interview questions
5. Commentary (What did you think of the interview? What surprised you? What didn’t surprise you? What might you conclude about the school based on this experience?)

Applicants who would like to supplement the information available on the Wiki can check out our Clear Admit Interview Guides, which provide school-specific insight about admissions interviews.  Thank you to everyone who has contributed to the Clear Admit Wiki and helped fellow applicants prepare for MBA admissions interviews this season!

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In a post to her blog yesterday, Martinelli sought to clarify certain points made in a BusinessWeek article earlier this week entitled “Business Schools Revamp the Application.” The BW article cited Chicago Booth and UCLA Anderson as leaders among top business schools that are embracing new technology as part of their application process, noting Chicago Booth’s PowerPoint component and Anderson’s invitation to candidates to answer one essay question in audio or video format. But it went on to report that Chicago Booth had decided to eliminate the PowerPoint presentations starting with the 2010-11 academic year because they didn’t work.

“While the article covered the spirit of my conversation, it unfortunately missed providing the context,” Martinelli wrote on her blog. The BW article suggested that Chicago Booth planned to nix the PowerPoint slides because they didn’t help the admissions committee determine how well a candidate would fit the Booth culture. On the contrary, Martinelli wrote on her blog. “The PowerPoint presentation has been incredibly successful in our evaluation process in identifying students who are great fit and match for Chicago,” she wrote.

Over time, though – as candidates and consultants have become more familiar with the exercise – her office has begun to see more presentations that felt standard or rote, she continued. As it begins to design next year’s application, her team is considering each individual component, but the PowerPoint has not necessarily been eliminated, Martinelli says. “While this may be the last year of the presentation requirement in its current form, we have not yet made any final decisions as to what next year’s application will look like,” she wrote.

Of course, those of us here at Clear Admit will stay on top of the developments in Chicago Booth’s application and update our readers here as soon as any official changes are released.

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Casey Johnson — a member of the Johnson & Johnson family — died with approximately $75,000 in assets and with no will … according to legal documents filed by her father, Robert Johnson IV and obtained by TMZ.In the docs, Johnson, the owner of the …

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Nicolas Cage is getting sued for giving up a taste of the good life — too early. Translation … he allegedly broke the lease on two pricey Rolls Royce classics.Cage signed a 60-month lease agreement for a sweet 1964 Rolls Royce SCIII back in 2007. …

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Although sometimes a controversial figure in the NBA, Allen Iverson, AI, had it all. Big money, a marriage to his high school sweetheart, five beautiful children, and a promising career even for a mature and seasoned player. This year, however, the decline was obvious. He warmed the bench more than he was allowed to warm our hearts. And behind it all, behind his questionable value to the team where he spent many of his professional years, the demon was busy organizing a total dismantling of everything he worked so hard to achieve.

Like Iverson, I, too, had it all. Money, family, luxuries, and an exciting future. Like Iverson, I took the road less travelled …the path to doom. The good life was not good enough anymore, something was missing. For me, excitement came in the form of an occasional bet on the golf course, a visit to a casino, a friendly card game. When the excitement of that wore off, I turned to betting on the very games I officiated, in violation of my employment contract, and as I partnered with characters in the underworld, in violation of Federal Law. Like Iverson, it cost me everything: my job, my family, my freedom. In prison, in a place I like to call rock bottom, I started my healing. My treatment continues, and I am working toward piecing together my life.
The NBA offers a culture coveted by many. But along with the meteoric salaries, stellar opportunities and a collectively enormous ego comes temptation. Temptation to live life above the law. Drugs, alcohol, weapons, and gambling are just a few of the sirens that call out to some players, some coaches, some owners, and in my case, some referees. Like the rest of society, high-stakes, high-pressure lifestyles can often be offset by some harmless involvement in controlled substances and illegal behavior. When it stops becoming casual involvement and transforms into an addiction, the NBA, the employer, steps away, directing its efforts at maintaining their image and soothing the media.

The NBA launched an initiative in 2005, NBA Cares, stemming from a need to behave in a socially responsible way, by creating community outreach in order to donate time and resources to the underprivileged. It decided that it could capitalize on the visibility and popularity of its athletes in order to affect social change – and it has been wildly successful, both for the community and for the NBA’s image. But what happens in the NBA when one of its own ambassador’s falters, when he or she ceases to become an example to others, when one of its ‘employees’ fails him or herself by succumbing to addiction, specifically, gambling. So far, it has failed to step in, to help, to extend an ‘outreach’.

The AI story, one of many of its type, is a real opportunity for the NBA to embrace its own people, in the same way it has committed to the community. This tragedy, oft repeated, challenges the organization to behave like a parent to a child and step in, help, and give guidance. Instead of handing out punishment and turning its back, the NBA needs to devote resources to identifying these problems in their early stages and to provide the opportunity for players, coaches, refs, or secretaries, to seek help and to battle the addictions, to save lives and livelihoods. Lives like Iverson’s, his high school sweetheart’s, and those of his five young children.

This is not yesterday’s news; it’s today’s opportunity and tomorrow’s success. Cmon NBA, do the right thing.

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When asked by Ed Schultz if Democrats should respond to Massa’s claims that the health care reform bill will “destroy this country,” Sekoff argued that the party should let it go. Massa isn’t their problem anymore. “Yesterday, it was a problem for the Democrats. Last night it was a problem for Glenn Beck. Today it’s a bigger problem for the Navy.”

On Wednesday, new reports surfaced about Massa’s conduct during his 20-year career with the Navy. Former male subordinates said that Massa offered inappropriate “Massa massages” and even “snorkeled” a sleeping roommate.

Sekoff argued that Massa has now become a political football. “Today, John Boehner came out and said that we can’t let this die. We have to keep investigating it. That’s the same John Boehner who didn’t do anything when he was told about Mark Foley sending inappropriate sexual messages over email to a page. So you know, when we get into that realm. You know we’re crossing the Rubicon into just pure political football.

WATCH:

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By Adam Ozimek

The proposed Consumer Financial Protection Agency was supposed to regulate payday loans – those extremely high interest rate short term loans – but it now appears that it may not. This could turn out to be a good thing for consumers, since the best way to help payday borrowers might be to deregulate the industry…. Bear with me, I know that sounds ridiculous.

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“After plateauing for three months, our Index surged in January, with eight of nine components contributing positively,” said Dana Johnson, Chief Economist at Comerica Bank. “The January reading was driven by strong steel production and natural gas sales. Given the severe weather patterns experienced in the early part of this year, gas sales likely outpaced normal seasonal trends in February as well, which should give the upcoming Index another boost. Over the course of the year, the Index should continue to trend higher, reflecting an ongoing recovery in Michigan.”

MP: Hey, if there’s an ongoing V-shaped economic recovery in Michigan, there’s hope everywhere. Michigan jobs increased by 4,100 in January, and its jobless rate fell to 14.3%, the lowest since last August.

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Brooklyn’s Ad Deville adds some color to the walls of Factory Fresh by way of a new mural.

Photo: Factory Fresh

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When Dad came home he was astonished to see Alec sitting on a horse, writing something. “What on earth are you doing there?” he asked.

“Well, the teacher told us to write an essay on our favorite animal. That’s why I’m here and that’s why Susie’s sitting in the goldfish bowl!”

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