The Touch MBA Admissions Podcast

Nick Barniville is Associate Dean for Degree Programs, ESMT (European School of Management and Technology), where he has been since 2010. Nick is r esponsible for the management and development of full-time MBA, Executive MBA and Masters Programmes at ESMT.   Before joining ESMT, Nick was the Director of MBA Programmes at the Smurfit School at University College Dublin for 4 years and at Inse...

Kristen Shambo is Associate Director, Graduate Admissions, Carroll School of Management, Boston College. Kristen has been with Boston College for over 10 years in a variety of admissions capacities and got her MBA from Carroll in 2009. Boston College Carroll MBA Program Highlights 4:05 Admissions 16:35 Financing 32:58 Careers 38:57 Go to http://www.touchmba.com/boston-college-carroll-mba...

How do you plan to finance your MBA? This can be a very challenging process, especially for students from developing countries who have less access to competitive MBA loans. Ricardo Fernandez, Head of Business Development for Prodigy Finance and Insead MBA '06, discusses financing options for students pursuing their MBA outside their home country, as well as how Prodigy is trying to...

Yuan Lee Chung, HKUST MBA '15, discusses why she got her MBA in Asia and the benefits and challenges of attending a top Asian business school. Yuan Lee also studied at Columbia for one-term and shares her thoughts on how Asian and US programs compare. About Our Guest Yuan Lee Chung is from Malaysia and got her Bachelors in Electrical Engineering from the National University of Singapore (NUS) befo...

Dr. Ralf Boscheck is the MBA Program Director and The Lundin Family Professor of Economics and Business Policy at IMD, where he teaches courses in economics and industry analysis. Dr. Boscheck has been a faculty member at IMD for over 25 years. IMD MBA Program Highlights 2:55 Admissions 25:32 Financing 41:06 Careers 45:25 Go to http://www.touchmba.com/imd-mba-admissions-interview for a full breakd...

With MBA programs shortening their applications and asking for less essays, how can applicants still tell their story? How should applicants approach these MBA essays and what should they write? Darren speaks with Yale SOM MBA Admissions Director Bruce DelMonico and MBA Admissions Consultant Paul Bodine to get two different perspectives on this common applic...

Ben Parker came to Touch MBA nine months ago for  free school selection help . As an Australian government policy maker with little business experience, Ben struggled to understand the MBA world and find the right business schools. In this episode, Ben shares his journey from researching MBA programs to getting accepted to London Business School and HKUST - all this despite having a less...

At Touch MBA we believe that school selection is half the battle to having a great (and worthwhile!) MBA experience. In this episode, Darren covers an MBA decision-making  process  to help you avoid common decision-making biases  and  choose the right MBA programs. W iden your options - to combat narrow framing R eality test your assumptions - to combat confirmation-b...

Stephen Sweeney is Director of Full-Time MBA Admissions at McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin. Stephen got his MBA from McCombs in 2011. Go to http://www.touchmba.com/texas-mccombs-mba-admissions-interview for a full breakdown of the program's key advantages and fast facts about admissions, financing, and careers at University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Busine...

Erin Town is Director of MBA Admissions, Foster School of Business, University of Washington. Erin has been doing MBA admissions for Foster for over 11 years. Go to http://www.touchmba.com/foster-mba-admissions-interview for a full breakdown of the program's key advantages and fast facts about admissions, financing, and careers at Washington University's Foster School...

Bloomberg Businessweek ranked the Ivey MBA the #1 international MBA program in 2014, largely due to employer and student satisfaction. Darren interviews J.D. Clarke, MBA Executive Director of Masters Programs Recruitment and Admissions, about the school's unique offering and admissions process.  About Our Guest John-Derek (J.D.) Clarke is the MBA Executive Director of Masters Programs Recruit...

Darren talks to Andrew, a recent MIT Sloan MBA graduate, about his internship and job search experience at Sloan. Andrew worked for Target as a Senior Analyst doing business intelligence and analytics before business school. He landed an internship with Uniqlo (one of the world's top 5 retailers) in New York City and will be heading to Cupertino to work for Apple this month. This episode will...

Do you know how to solve a problem that has no precedent? Kelly Wilson, Executive Director of Masters Admissions at Carnegie Mellon's  Tepper School of Business, shares with Darren how Tepper equips its students to do this through a mastery of analytics, year-round leadership development program, and one-on-one attention with professors. Kelly and Darren also talk in depth about Tepper's admi...

This week Darren sat down with Bruce DelMonico, Assistant Dean and Director of Admissions at Yale School of Management, to discuss Yale’s mission of “educating leaders for business and society.” How does this translate into the curriculum? How does the school plan to evolve? And what does this mean from an admissions and career perspective? Don’t miss this very informa...

Dozens of MBA applicants come to Touch MBA every month for  free school selection help  and a common concern is how to overcome a low GPA. How can you show top-ranked programs that you will perform well in an intense Master's level program? That you belong with other MBA candidates who got A and B+ averages as undergraduates? Applicants with low GPAs ne...

At Touch MBA we help  point applicants in the right direction when it comes to best-fit schools . But which schools should you target in the first, second or third rounds? Should you apply to all your top choices in round 1? In this episode, Darren talks to Dean Nordheilm, who came to Touch MBA last Fall and just got into Kellogg. Dean applied to 4 top schools - Harvard Business School, Stanf...

This week I sat down with Jessica Chung, Associate Director of Full-time MBA Admissions at UCLA's Anderson School of Management. We had an in-depth and open discussion about UCLA's MBA offering and culture, what admissions is looking for, and how the program supports students in their career searches. After listening to our conversation, you'll get an insider's feel for the qualities And...

Over the past decade, Tyler Cormney and MBA Prep School have achieved a 90% success rate with clients at the world's top schools. What are the key steps to preparing an application that puts you in the top 10%? Hint: it's not your essay(s). Don't miss this value-packed episode and feel free to ask Tyler your questions in the comments! You can find a list of questions asked at http://touchmba....

Darren speaks with Julee Conrad, Assistant Director of MBA Admissions and Recruiting at Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University, about Fisher's unique advantages and how to best position yourself in the admissions process.  Go to http://www.touchmba.com/ohio-state-fisher-mba-admissions-interview/ for a full breakdown of the program's key advantages and fast facts about admissions, f...

Many of our podcast listeners come to Touch MBA to get free school selection help. One of them, Li Daming, recently got into Northwestern Kellogg, Insead, Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua and Cornell Johnson with scholarship funding. How did he do it? Daming has literally invested hundreds of hours (and plane miles!) in the application process – be sure to benefit from his experience as he shares h...

There’s no perfect school for everyone, so the saying goes. Education, like love, is all about fit. Top business schools are looking for candidates that would fit with their program, culture, and values. And you should be looking for programs that match your goals too. How can you demonstrate fit in your application without sounding disingenuous or even worse, like everyone else? Darren shar...

What is the difference between Masters in Management, MBA and specialized Masters degrees? Which one makes most sense for you? A number of you coming to  Touch MBA for school selection help  are considering multiple Masters programs so I thought it would be good to dedicate one short episode to covering key differences from an admissions, curriculum, career and reputation perspectiv...

Want to attend a top 30 program in the US that lives and breathes "business is personal?" Darren talks to Ruthie Pyles, Director of Graduate Programs Admissions and Recruiting, W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, about how Carey works intimately with its students to achieve their educational and career goals. Go to http://www.touchmba.com/wp-carey-mba-admissions-interview/ f...

How about getting your MBA from one of Hong Kong's most prestigious universities AND also having the option to study one semester at either Columbia Business School, London Business School or Fudan University School of Management? Sachin Tipnis, Executive Director of MBA Programmes at HKU, joins the show to discuss the HKU MBA's unique format and career benefits. Darren and Sachin also talk about...

If you're thinking about getting an elite and rigorous MBA in Canada, you have to to consider the Rotman MBA (University of Toronto) based in Toronto. Get the inside scoop as Darren chats with Leigh Gauthier, Acting Director of Recruitment & Admissions & Director of Careers for the Full-time MBA. Rotman is a pioneer in the business education space and it's great to hear how they are challenging th...