B-Schooled: Get Your MBA Admit

First of all, we recognize that many applicants do consider MBA rankings as a key input into their school selection process. We consider MBA rankings too. But—and this is important—we belive these should be only one factor in your decision making process. The first part of this conversation focuses on six questions everyone should ask themselves regarding school selection--including considering tr...

Laura, a Michigan Ross MBA alum and former admissions committee member during her second year, joins Erika -- a Ross BBA graduate -- to share advice for and insight into the Ross application and interview process. And they might gush a little over how awesome Ann Arbor, Michigan, is as well.

First off, many applicants do consider MBA rankings as a key input into their school selection process. With good reason. We consider MBA rankings too. But—and this is important—we belive these should be ONE factor in your decision making process. Not the ONLY aspect of your decision making process. Leading entities ranking MBA programs typically evaluate a range of factors relevant to the MBA exp...

After working so hard on your MBA materials for months on end, it can be shocking and devastating if you're not accepted anywhere. What should you do now? This episode discusses 5 paths forward for MBA hopefuls who were dinged.

This episode offers a deep dive into an aspect of the MBA application process many forget about: connecting with students, faculty and alums at your target schools. There are SO MANY REASONS this is an important thing to do. Not only does this help give you a direct way to understand which school might be the best fit for you, but there are also indirect benefits –- from behind-the-scenes connecti...

Alex, a GSB alum who's now on the SBC admissions consulting team, shares advice for Stanford's extensive MBA application, as well as insight into the program's culture and surrounding area in Silicon Valley.

For this episode of B-Schooled we sit down the Recy Dunn. Recy currently serves as the CEO of Ascend Public Charter Schools and oversees a network of 16 schools serving 6,000 students in grades K-12 across Brooklyn, NY. Prior to his role with Ascend, Recy served as the Chief Strategy Officer of the NYC Department of Education as well as a variety of other education leadership roles at both the loc...

To celebrate our 150th episode, our founder Stacy Blackman joins us to talk about business school and the entrepreneurial journey. This episode is perfect for entrepreneurs, those who hope to work with entrepreneurs, or anyone interested in learning more about the entrepreneurial journey. For this episode, Stacy sits down with co-host Chandler Arnold to talk about their respective entrepreneurial...

Hannah, a former member of the Columbia Business School adcom -- who's now on the SBC admissions consulting team -- shares advice for the CBS application, as well as details about the program's amazing outside-of-class activities and its new location in Manahattan.

In this replay, Erika talks with Anthony Penna, a fellow SBC admissions consultant who spent 10 years with the Wharton School in Career Management and as Associate Director of Admissions for the full-time MBA program. As Anthony served on the implementation and design team for Wharton's Team Based Discussion (TBD) interview format, this episode focuses on his insight advice for MBA candidates who...

Many interviewers report that they make up a big percentage of their mind about applicants during the first few minutes of an interview. This podcast shares a number of very specific suggestions and tips to make yourself stand out during these first interactions. Our host shares his suggestions for something he calls a "personal MBA soundbite" – including how you can create this soundbite, how you...

How can you differentiate yourself from your MBA competition, particularly if you're in one of the most competitive buckets when it comes to demographics or industry and function? That's the focus of this episode, which details specific ways to ensure you stand out from the most crowded applicant pools.

MBA candidates who've been waitlisted can feel like they're in some sort of admissions purgatory. In this episode, our host Erika and her colleague and former MBA admissions director Lisa discuss what options waitlisted candidates have to learn more about why they were waitlisted and what, if anything, they can do to increase their chances of admission.

If you have six months (or more) before your application deadline, this two-part podcast is for you. In Part 1 of this podcast, we shared five sets of suggestions helping you to: Think about your application as a journey of self-discovery that can teach you important lessons about yourself, Begin work on your short- and long-term goals now, Rework your resume with a focus on quantifying impact, Re...

This podcasts is designed for applicants who have 6 months (or more) before their applications are due. In addition to offering suggestions about how to present your scores, essays, resume, and recommendations in the best possible light, this episode offers specific suggestions on how to use the months ahead to improve the SUBSTANCE of these elements before the application deadline. Do you want to...

This replay focuses on when it does or doesn't make sense to apply in a school's final application round.

This podcast gives applicants 10 things to think about in the days before submitting their applications. This is not intended as something to listen to an hour before you submit… but it does offer incredibly useful information to think about a day or two before the application deadline. As we always say: you want an application that is authentic, bold, and that offers a clear and consistent narrat...

A unique aspect of our admissions-consulting process at Stacy Blackman Consulting is our Flight Test, which replicates an actual admissions committee review of your entire application process. We have a team of former admission officers from the top MBA programs who serve as our Flight Testers, and this week we wrap up our two-episode conversation with one of them: Caryn, a former Kellogg admissio...

At Stacy Blackman Consulting, we have a team of former admission committee members from the top MBA programs who serve as our "Flight Testers." Our Flight Test mimics an actual application review, just like the adcom will do it in real life. Except that you'll be getting personalized feedback on what you can improve BEFORE you hit submit. In the first of this two-part episode series, we talk with...

Are you having doubts about applying to business school? This could be a good thing. Are you having REALLY BIG DOUBTS? This could be even better. In this two-part episode host Chandler Arnold gets personal about combatting self-doubt and—more importantly—transforming this doubt into FUEL to drive your forward towards your goals. Last week we talked about 5 specific ways to combat self-doubt during...

Every thoughtful MBA applicant doubts themselves at some point during the MBA application journey. More critically,it is often the applicants who have the most to offer -- the most unique experiences, the most diverse perspectives, the most out-of-the-ordinary life stories -- who doubt themselves the most. Are you having doubts about applying? This could be a good thing. Are you having REALLY BIG...

If you didn't get into your dream program, how long should you wait until you reapply? Should you use any of the same materials again? What about recommenders? This episode is dedicated to giving frank advice about how to approach the reapplication process.

Our host Erika is joined once again by former Kellogg admissions director Beth Tidmarsh for a discussion specifically about behavioral MBA interviews (i.e., "Tell me about a time when..." questions). They cover the types of behavioral questions candidates can expect, advice on how to answer those questions, pitfalls to avoid, and more. They also role-play a few questions and responses for listener...

In the last episode your host Chandler Arnold shared five things he wished he'd known about recommendations when applying to business school, including: How to help your recommender think about the skills grid rankings, as well as how to prep your recommender for several frequently asked questions, including: FAQ 1: Describe the applicant's key strengths and how she or he compares to others you ha...

In this series of two episodes your host shares ten things he wished he'd known about recommendations when applying to business school, including: The *skills grid* recommenders frequently need to fill out evaluating your personal and professional skills Frequently asked questions, such as: Describe the applicant's key strengths and how she or he compares to others you have supervised. Describe th...