The Touch MBA Admissions Podcast

As a UX Designer and mother in Kansas City with no MBA network, Graciela Brewer wasn't sure if she "had a sliver of a chance" at her targets: HBS, MIT Sloan, NYU Stern and Cornell Tech. Four months later, she got into all four programs. In this episode, Grace shares how she shortlisted schools, submitted her strongest resume, essays, and recommendations, and stayed sane during a stressful applicat...

Dr. Gleb Tsipursky has dedicated his professional life to helping others overcome cognitive biases and make better decisions. In this episode, Darren and Dr. Gleb discuss ways MBA applicants can make better decisions when it comes to business school and their careers. Questions Why Dr. Gleb has dedicated two decades of his life to overcoming cognitive biases with decision making (3:00) Autopilot v...

Do you have to quit your job to get your MBA? Darren invites Chris Healy from Alliance Manchester Business school to share how the part-time / professional MBA has evolved with new technology and student and employer demands. If you're unsure about getting an online, blended, part-time or Executive MBA, you'll get key insights from this episode. Questions How the part-time / professional MBA has e...

Inspired by the Harvard Business Review article Experience Doesn’t Predict a New Hire’s Success, Darren shares how you can demonstrate you're a great fit for your target MBA programs - or your next employer - even if you're short on experience. If you feel like you lack relevant work experience for the MBA, this episode is for you. Show Notes Experience Doesn’t Predict a New Hire’s Success (H...

Sachin Tipnis, Senior Executive Director of HKU's MBA, EMBA & 6 specialized Masters programs discusses the Hong Kong protests, curriculum changes, admissions, and picking the right Masters program for your career goals. The Hong Kong Protests - How Has this Affected Students? (2:45) Curriculum, Admissions and Career Services Updates with the HKU MBA (17:30) Full-time MBA vs. Specialized Masters vs...

Gregory Wool, Cornell Johnson MBA '21, scored below average on the quantitative section of the GMAT. How did he overcome this score to not only get into Cornell Johnson, but win a prestigious tuition free scholarship? Gregory also shares his experience surviving a packed first semester, leading the student consulting club, and recruiting into strategy consulting. Questions Gregory's application an...

Around half of Insead MBA graduates end up working in consulting each year. Darren invites Massine Bouzerar, Insead MBA '19J, to share how he landed a job with Bain & Company AND made the most of his ten months at Insead's Fontainebleau campus. Questions Massine’s overview of management consulting recruiting at Insead (4:35) Differentiating yourself from thousands of other MBA students applying to...

Gary Lo, Managing Director of Glo Consulting and former Head of Admissions for the HKUST MBA, shares three questions to ask before you make a career move - MBA included. Aside from working for 10 different companies in 7 industries, Gary has counseled hundreds of MBAs and professionals as a career coach, so don't miss this episode if you're thinking about making a career move. Questions Gary's thr...

Darren recently attended a panel "Preparing Your Application: Advice from MBA Admissions Directors” at the MBA Tour in Ho Chi Minh. In this episode, he unpacks the application advice given by five admissions directors. Why should you get an MBA? (3:16) What type of experience are top business schools looking for? (7:20) How can you assess school fit? (10:12) What are your top essay tips?&nbsp...

Cristian Molina Cornejo, Tuck MBA '21, shares how MBA applicants can take advantage of two programs that champion diversity and inclusion: Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) and the Consortium. Cristian also gives his best application tips after getting into four out of five top 20 US MBA programs. Questions Cristian's background (3:20) What you need to know about MLT (14:25) What you need t...

Hailing from Nigeria and having never visited the US, how did Ikechukwu Edeagu shortlist and apply to MBA programs? And what was his process for navigating internships and the job search as an international student? Listen to get a real-time, inside look into one international student's MBA experience at UNC Kenan Flagler. Questions Ike's background (3:53) How Ike shortlisted business schools &nbs...

Do you feel like your MBA story is a bit bland? Or uninspiring compared to the applicant profiles you see online? What if you haven't overcome insurmountable odds or accomplished something amazing? Darren explores the possibilities of kishōtenketsu - a four act story structure used by Japanese and Chinese writers for centuries. What makes this story structure interesting is that it relie...

Dr. Christoph Schneider, Associate Director of MBA Programme and Assistant Professor in the Department of Information Systems, City University Hong Kong, discusses what makes the City U Hong Kong MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportunities and more. Program Highlights (4:06) | Admissions (18:30) | Scholarships (33:58) | Careers (36:38) About Our Guest Christoph Schneider...

Darren invites Susan Bertulli, Director, MBA Career Management at Ivey Business School at Western University to discuss MBA employment reports. First, why and how are MBA employment reports produced? Then, what should you look for? Which employment figures and statistics matter? How can you use them to shortlist b-schools and plan your career? The Ivey MBA has been ranked #1 in Canada for five yea...

Betsy Kacizak, Director of MBA Admissions and Recruitment, and Brad Chandler, Director, Nicholas Center for Corporate Finance and Investment Banking at the Wisconsin School of Business of University Wisconsin-Madison, discuss what makes the Wisconsin MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportunities and more. Program Highlights (10:45) | Admissions (29:56) | Scholarships...

Guest Host Sabaina Kamara, Michigan Ross MBA '19, invites her section-mate Sheela Lal to share her experience applying for internships, founding DrunkShrub and securing a full-time job post-graduation. Listen to get a real-time, inside look into the MBA experience at a top b-school like Ross. Questions Sheela's background and reasons for getting an MBA (0:47) Sheela's approach to landing...

Sean Ferguson, Associate Dean and Director of MBA Program for the Asia School of Business (ASB), discusses what makes the ASB MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportunities and more. Program Highlights (2:28) | Admissions (24:47) | Scholarships (40:20) | Careers (47:15) About Our Guest Sean Ferguson is the Associate Dean and Director of MBA Program for the Asia School of Bu...

Darren shares "three P’s" you can use to clarify the value of your accomplishments in your resume and MBA application. Doing so will paint a clear picture of your performance for MBA admissions officers and employers. How did your performance compare to the previous year’s performance? How did your performance compare to the plan ? How did your performance compare to that of your  peers ? If...

Seán Meehan, Dean of the MBA Program at IMD, discusses what makes the IMD MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportunities and more. Program Highlights (5:33) | Admissions (22:41) | Scholarships (41:30) | Careers (45:10) About Our Guest Dr. Seán Meehan is the Martin Hilti Professor of Marketing & Change Management and the Dean of the MBA program. He joined IMD in 1997 af...

In 2017, US applicants made up 4% of candidates to European MBA programs and 2% of candidates to Asian MBA programs (versus nearly 70% to US MBA programs). What do you need to know about getting a top-ranked MBA abroad? Eddy Zakes shares why he chose to uproot his young family to pursue his MBA at IESE Business School in Barcelona, Spain, as well as the pros and cons of his experience. Darren also...

Chris Healy, Head of MBA Marketing & Recruitment of Alliance Manchester Business School discusses what makes the Manchester MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportunities and more. Program Highlights (3:40) | Admissions (29:48) | Scholarships (41:40) | Careers (45:45) Manchester MBA Highlights (last updated Sep 2018) Manchester has a Full-time MBA, Global Part-time MBA, and...

Imran Kanga, Assistant Director of Recruitment and Admissions, Schulich School of Business, discusses what makes the Schulich MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportunities and more. Program Highlights (5:13) | Admissions (22:00) | Scholarships (34:30) | Careers (37:25) About Our Guest Imran Kanga is the Assistant Director of Recruitment and Admissions, Schulich School of B...

Are you pursuing an MBA to make a "3 dimensional" (3D) jump into a new geography, function  and  industry? Laura Pan, currently a full-time MBA at SDA Bocconi in Milan, Italy, shares how she went from wastewater treatment engineer to luxury brand manager, her dream job. Laura shares what it's like to study in Italy, as well as the mindset necessary to capitalize on opportunities as an MB...

Brandon Kirby, Director of MBA Marketing and Admissions at Rotterdam School of Management (RSM), Erasmus University, discusses what makes the RSM MBA unique, the school'’s admissions process, career opportunities and more. Program Highlights (8:07) | Admissions (28:32) | Scholarships (57:48) | Careers (1:04:40) About Our Guest Brandon Kirby is the Director of Marketing & Admissions of the Rot...

What do MBA applicants need to know about the recruiting process into the energy industry? Darren invites Vince Faherty, London Business School MBA ’10, to share his experience moving up from a Marketing Manager to Director at EnerNOC and then moving to Nest & Google, where he is currently Head of Northeast & Midwest Energy Partnerships. Vince shares what it's like to attend business school d...