B-Schooled: Get Your MBA Admit

It's a question that haunts all MBA applicants: How do I stand out? What's special about me? What makes me unique? This episode offers several ideas for how to understand what you have to offer an MBA program that no one else can.

This episode covers how to make the most of the data form—or the actual online application itself—and why you shouldn't underestimate its importance. We'll cover: Optional fields Common questions applicants have about confusing fields and dropdowns The awards section(s) How you can use the data form fields to strengthen your candidacy (This is a replay of episode 21.)

B-Schooled Episode #118: Tackling Your Main MBA Essay (Part 2 of 2) Today we are dive into about one of the topics we get the most questions about: how best to tackle your main MBA essay. While different MBA programs approach this essay in different ways, what these programs REALLY want to understand is who you are as a person and what you are passionate about. Just as importantly, these schools w...

Today we are dive into about one of the topics we get the most questions about: how best to tackle your main MBA essay. While different MBA programs approach this essay in different ways, what these programs REALLY want to understand is who you are as a person and what you are passionate about. Just as importantly, these schools want to understand WHY you are passionate about these things… and how...

At SBC we work with an increasing number of applicants interested in advancing diversity, equity and inclusion – either because they are personally passionate about these topics, see DEI as a possible post-MBA career path, or both. If you are interested in Diversity, Equity, and/or Inclusion this is the ABSOLUTELY the podcast for you. This episode includes all of the following (and more): Tips for...

MPG, a former Assistant Director of Admissions and adcom member at Darden -- who's now on the SBC admissions consulting team -- shares insight into UVA's Darden School of Business and its surrounding Charlottesville community.

Your resume is perhaps the single most important part of your application materials. This episode (a replay of episode 16 from August 12, 2020) covers how to maximize that one precious page.

Looking back on 15+ years of helping applicants with their own MBA applications, host Chandler Arnold shares a Top Ten List of things he wishes he had known when starting his own MBA application. Part One of this podcast covers tips related to vulnerability in essays, resisting the urge to present yourself as a "typical" MBA applicant, special tips for reaching out to current students and alums, i...

Looking back on 15+ years of helping applicants with their own MBA applications, host Chandler Arnold shares a Top Ten List of things he wishes he had known when starting his own MBA application. Part One of this podcast covers tips related to short and long term goal planning, career aspirations, story mapping, test scores, and essay writing.

Erika talks with her SBC colleague Kevin, a member of the disability community, about what differently abled MBA applicants need to keep in mind, do/not do, and otherwise prepare for in their application materials, their interviews, their MBA experience itself, and their re-entry into the working world.

This episode will motivate you to get going on your Round 1 MBA materials, and will cover what makes the most sense for you to be working on right now before applications are released.

The hottest topic in MBA circles just might be a term you've never heard before: Futurism. Futurism is a broad term referring to the advancement of disruptive technologies across industries. These exponential technologies are rapidly emerging in the fields of genetics, robotics, artificial intelligence, synthetic organisms, nanotechnology, 3D printing, virtual reality, big data, cybernetics and ma...

In this episode (a replay of episode 6 from June 2020), our host Erika and fellow SBC admissions consultant (and former Kellogg adcom) Caryn have a discussion that covers: Several tactics applicants can use to strengthen their quantitative profiles What applicants should do if they have not taken the GMAT yet amidst test-center closures (COVID-specific) How to use the Additional Info field/essay t...

If there is one question nearly every school asks somewhere in the application process, it is some version of "What are your short and long-term term career goals?" Not only is this question essential to nail, but tackling this it in the right way can provide a "north star" for your entire application--linking together who you are, what you've done, where you want to go, and how an MBA will help y...

Anthony Ritz, Stacy Blackman Consulting's Director of Test Prep, who's been a GMAT and GRE tutor for more than two decades, joins the podcast to share his insights on how MBA applicants can best prepare themselves to do well on their admissions tests. He covers: When to take the test How long to plan on studying for the test How many times to take the test What to do if you're not getting the scor...

We love the podcast. Hopefully you love the podcast. But even if you love the podcast as much as we do, you might not have time to listen to all 100+ episodes. However one successful applicant, Ty Sheets, did take the time to listen to EVERY SINGLE EPISODE. For this edition, Ty sits down with Chandler Arnold to share three key takeaways from the podcast, some specific episodes he found to be most...

What should you do if you're light on extracurriculars, volunteer work and community service? And is it even worth it to try and beef up this aspect of your MBA candidacy during COVID-19 lockdowns ... and when there are only a few months before Round 1 deadlines? This episode gives MBA applicants some tactical ideas for how to ensure they're not just relying on their academic and professional achi...

Chandler Arnold joins B-Schooled as a new host, and he welcomes SBC colleague Christina Fu to have an extraordinary conversation about a hot topic in the world of MBA applications: authenticity. Chandler and Christina share several excerpts from past admissions consulting clients' essays as examples of how to use candor, vulnerability and boldness effectively.

After you've celebrated the huge achievement of getting into an MBA program, then you have to figure out how you're going to pay for it. This episode focuses on the details of paying for your MBA with your own money, with "free" money, or with loaned money. It also includes what the FAFSA is used for and what your program's financial aid office can assist with.

This is a replay of our MOST popular episode. SBC admissions consultant Erika Olson interviews her past client Nick, who is about to graduate from HBS. Nick was admitted to both Harvard Business School and Stanford Graduate School of Business, and shares what he thinks made his MBA journey such a successful one. (This interview took place on April 7, 2020.)

It's our 100th episode! For this milestone, we've invited journalist Francesca Di Meglio—who's reported on MBA programs for 20 years—to share her insights on what's changed most over time … and what those trends mean for MBA students and applicants today.

My Consulting Offer CEO and former Bain consultant Davis Nguyen returns to the podcast to share insight on consulting interviews and recent trends he's seen in the industry when it comes to MBA hiring.

My Consulting Offer CEO and Bain alum Davis Nguyen gives an overview of both the consulting industry and consulting careers for MBA graduates.

Erika and her SBC colleague, Dawn Clare, discuss misconceptions about what it takes to get into Harvard Business School, as well as HBS-related questions we're often asked by the applicants we work with. Dawn also shares some inspirational life and career advice based on her own experiences.

Curious about how an online MBA works? In this episode, SBC's online MBA expert Bill covers the structure of these programs, how they are both similar to and different from full- or part-time programs, what the "typical" online MBA student profile is, and a few downsides to earning your degree online.