The Touch MBA Admissions Podcast

Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t It's not that admissions officers (or readers, movie-goers, consumers) are mean or cruel. They are just busy. How can you reward your application readers for their gift of time and attention? By telling an interesting story. How do you do this with your MBA applications? Inspired by Steven Pressfield's book, Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t, Darren offers 3 pillars to...

Your LinkedIn profile could be the first thing business schools see. Darren draws on his admissions experience and shares 7 tips to make a good first impression, reinforce your MBA story, and highlight additional qualities not in your application. MBA programs are looking at your social media, especially your LinkedIn profile. Take 15 minutes to follow these guidelines, optimize your LinkedIn...

Many MBA applicants are interested in entrepreneurship, but have trouble reconciling the cost of an MBA with their goal of starting a business. Darren invites 2 recent Wharton MBA graduates, Alex Kubo and Renata Arauz De Stefano, to discuss if an MBA helps you become a better entrepreneur. Alex currently works at Burrow.com, a Y Combinator backed startup in New York City, and Renata started M...

Caroline Diarte Edwards and Darren cover best practices for securing great MBA letters of recommendation. Don’t miss this detailed and open-ended discussion between 2 former Admissions Directors so you can sidestep common mistakes and understand what top b-schools consider an excellent letter of recommendation. Questions Why recommendations are important (3:16) Who to select as your recommender (6...

Sabaina Kamara, a Touch MBA listener and Admissions Edge Member , details what she did each step of the way to craft her best story - one that got her admitted to 4 top 20 US b-schools, including Michigan Ross, where she will head to this Fall. Sabaina also shares the benefits of applying through the Consortium, and her best application tips on career goals, school selection, GMAT,...

“I’m In – Now How Do I Pay For B-School?”  Most applicants are 100% focused on getting IN a top MBA. Then after the euphoria of getting in, the hard reality of financing the MBA hits them in the face. Darren talks to Phil DeGisi, Chief Marketing Officer of CommonBond, about what US applicants can do to get the best MBA loans for US MBA programs. Darren and Phil also talk about the D...

Matt Reesor from Queen's University Smith School of Business joins the show to discuss what makes the Queen's MBA unique, the school's admissions process and career opportunities for Queen's MBA students. Program Highlights (3:00) | Admissions (25:10) | Scholarships (51:40) | Careers (56:30) About Our Guest Matthew Reesor is the Director of the Queen’s MBA at Smith School of Bu...

How do top business schools use the GMAT to evaluate you? What exactly are they looking for? What do you need to score and on which sections? When should you retake the GMAT? Do schools prefer the GMAT or GRE? Darren asks Admissions Directors from 3 top schools - Michigan Ross (USA), IESE (Spain) and HKUST (Hong Kong) - tough questions about the GMAT. Listen on to get your GMAT questions...

Amid all the attention paid to rankings, average salaries, and ROI, one crucial part of the MBA experience often gets overlooked - faculty. After all, you are spending more than 700 hours in class at most top MBA programs. In this episode, Darren invites Professor Gregor Halff to give you a behind the scenes look at the life of a business school professor. What does their typical day look lik...

Lawrence Chan and Professor David Ahlstrom of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) MBA program join the show to discuss what makes the CUHK MBA unique, the school's admissions process and the career opportunities in the region. Program Highlights (2:48) Admissions (19:30) Careers (32:40) CUHK MBA Highlights  A pioneer in business education, CUHK offered Asia's first MBA in 1966 Stu...

Neethling McGrath, an  Admissions Edge Member , shares the ups and downs of applying, reapplying and getting into his first choice: Columbia GSB. Neethling shares what he did differently the second time around and what he believes were the factors for his application success To those of you who got dinged and are re-applying to top programs, this episode is for you. Neethling applies the firs...

  You decide you need an MBA. You check your schools' application deadlines - only 1 month left before Round 1 apps are due!  What to do? Clare Simonis found her herself in this situation last Fall. With deadlines 1 month away, she applied to HBS, Stanford GSB, MIT Sloan and Berkeley Haas. She got into HBS and Haas and will be starting at HBS this Fall. In this episode, Cl...

With 200,000 MBAs graduating each year, are business schools preparing "career ready" employees? In a sweeping survey of 10,000 recruiters, 3,000 business school students (both MBAs and undergraduates), and 500 business school career center leaders, Jeff Kavanaugh found that all three constituencies had different perceptions of what’s important and where they stand. Darren and Jeff...

To celebrate the 100th episode of the Touch MBA Podcast, I’m trying something a little different. Instead of hearing from just 1 guest today, you’ll hear from 9. I asked guests from our most downloaded episodes: “What 1 Action Can Candidates Take to Dramatically Improve Their Application?” Today, you’ll hear answers from some incredibly knowledgeable folks, a group with over 75 years of MBA admiss...

Vince Ricci from VincePrep shares his best MBA interview preparation tips, from mindset to strategy to tactics. Vince has some of the most downloaded Youtube videos on MBA interviews and has helped hundreds of applicants get past this final hurdle so don't miss this one! About Our Guest Vince Ricci is Director of Admissions Counseling for Agos Japan and Owner of VincePrep.com, where he h...

Rahul Kewalramani, Insead MBA 16D, shares his thoughts on leading the Insead Private Equity & Venture Capital club, finding jobs in Private Equity and Venture Capital, the January vs. September intake, differences between Singapore and Fountainebleu's campus and cultures, exchanging at Wharton, bidding for exchanges/classes at Insead, entrepreneurship, hot i...

Son Nguyen is Associate Director of Admissions at Stephen M. Ross School of Business, University of Michigan, where he has been since 2014. Previously he was a Corporate Recruiter for Target and Assistant Director of Admissions for the University of Notre Dame. Son got his Bachelors from Notre Dame and his Masters of Science in Strategic Communications from Columbia. University of Michigan Ross MB...

Amber Wigmore Alvarez, Executive Director of Career Services for IE, shares her best career tips for international MBA students considering top business schools in Spain. Amber and Darren discuss work conditions for non-EU nationals, Spain's new visa policy, achieving career goals in a 1-year program, and placement trends for IE MBA graduates. About Our Guest Amber Wigmore Alvarez i...

Pin Chin Kwok, UC Berkeley Haas MBA '09, shares her journey pursuing a social impact career as an MBA applicant, student and alumni. Pin majored in Finance & Operations Research at NYU and worked 7 years at Citi in the finance industry before starting her MBA. Pin and Darren discuss what social impact applicants (broadly defined as those who want to work in corporate social responsibility, social...

Emma Fisher, NYU Stern MBA '15, joins the show to discuss what international MBA students must know about working in the US during and after their US MBA. Emma and Darren walk through the common visa path for most international students - from F1 student visa to OPT/CPT to H1B. Emma also shares ways international students can maximize their chances of working in the US post-MBA.&nbs...

Darren offers 3 questions to consider when presenting your extracurricular activities and shares examples from successful applicants. The volunteering / activities / interests / achievements / additional part of your resume is anything but "additional." Make it count! Episode summary, links and more at: http://touchmba.com/extracurriculars

Darren speaks with Ivan Kerbel of Practice MBA about what applicants need to know about MBA career strategy. A Wharton MBA himself, Ivan headed Yale SOM’s Career Development Office and was also a Associate Director at Wharton’s MBA Career Office. There are few people worldwide who have Ivan’s know-how about MBA career strategy – listen on for the inside scoop! Questions, links and more at: http://...

Darren shares 3 overlooked aspects of the MBA experience after going through CEIBS Pre-MBA Bootcamp, an intense 5-day MBA immersion in Shanghai, China. They are: Classroom. You'll be spending at least 700 hours in class - who do you want to learn from? Careers. Opportunities are often different for local & international students - do you know what's more possible for you? Community. You're investi...

Dana Dubovik is Director of MBA Admissions, Boston University, Questrom School of Business. Dana has been with Questrom since 2008.  Boston University Questrom MBA Program Highlights 2:40 Admissions 20:10 Financing 36:45 Careers 40:05 Go to http://www.touchmba.com/boston-university-questrom-mba-admissions-interview for a full breakdown of the program's key advantages and fast facts...

Ashley Lautzenheiser is Associate Director of Graduate Admissions at Olin Business School, Washington University in St. Louis, where she has been since 2010. Ashley got her bachelor's degree in marketing from Olin in 2009.   Her main role is admissions for Wash U's full-time MBA program. Washington University St. Louis Olin MBA Program Highlights 3:12 Admissions 20:04 Fina...