Clear Admit School Guides - reviews? Worth it?

Question

Hi,
Can those who've bought the Clear Admit School Guides please comment on their worth?

I can't imagine (cost & time) visiting a campus twice, once to explore & for class visit and another for interviews, especially with a school like Duke. At Duke you can interview, visit class and get a campus tour in 1 trip. Would these guides be a good substitute to get the ball rolling on essays and to get a better sense of the program?

https://www.clearadmit.com/sg.html

p.s. - I searched but couldn't find this topic already in the forums.

refurb · Answer

I have not purchased nor seen the Clear Admit guides, but I was browsing another forum and someone mentioned that it's just a collection of all the stuff you'd find on the school's website. They personally thought it was not worth the money.

RF

RF

riverripper · Answer

Never bought them but saw one, basically its great for lazy people who dont want to do research for themselves. All the info is easily available and free on numerous other sources. You will learn far more about schools reading their websites and following threads on this place...check out the last few seasons threads on here and you will really learn a lot.

w103psp · Answer

Thanks refurb and riverripper. I've been going past years threads on each school that I'm interested in and have found quite a bit of information.

Jerz · Answer

I've also seen one of their school guides. While it was convenient to have all the information presented in one document, there certainly wasn't any information there that you couldn't find on the schools' website, and considerably less info than you can find in these forums. IMO, it's not worth paying for (especially since I think they charge like $30 a piece).

garbus222 · Answer

I bought 4 or 5 of them. Indeed, there is nothing more than you'll find on schools' websites. However, I think it's a very good way to start researching schools (esp. if you have limited time). These guides tell you what's unique about each school - this allows you to focus your research on unique school's characteristics in a very quick way. I found it very helpful for "why our school" part.

Overall, if you wanna buy, I'd say buy these guides for your top 2-3 choices.

Overall, if you wanna buy, I'd say buy these guides for your top 2-3 choices.

Boston2009 · Answer

I slightly disagree. They are totally worth it, as time savers and helping you hone in on your school choices.

the Manhattan GMAT classroom here in Boston has the clearadmit guides, i flipped through them while I was waiting for my GMAT books. You can always buy a use edition, if your not so concerned about the most current info.

mafcMOTK · Answer

I think these guides are very very helpful and well worth the price. Yes, you can find most of the information on the schools website and other sites for free but I feel it is very valuable to have all the info organized in one packet.

It has saved me a lot of time and has also helped to organize and highlight important areas of the schools.

As an example, before I visited a school I read the guide. The guide pointed out some interesting aspects of the school which caused me to do more research and as a result I felt very comfortable on the school visit as I felt I knew the school well already. Which further helped me asked more in depth questions to the adcom when I was at the school.

Clear Admit School Guides - reviews? Worth it?

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