The Touch MBA Admissions Podcast (Darren C. Joe)

Darren discusses the 4 “questions behind the questions” that admissions officers really want to know. If you can prepare compelling responses to these key questions, you stand a good shot of making the final cut.

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.

• Widen your options - to combat narrow framing
• Reality test your assumptions - to combat confirmation-bias
• Attain distance - to combat short term emotions
• Prepare for the worst - to combat overconfidence

Need help picking the right schools? Go to http://touchmba.com/free-school-selection-guidance/ to get your MBA program match scores and expert advice.

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. EMBA - Which Should You Choose (45:15)

HKU MBA Highlights (last updated Jan 2020)

• 12-months, Fall intake, 55-60 students/year
• Typical Class: 5-6 years work exp / ~15 nationalities / 640 GMAT
• Has 3 tracks: the London track, the New York track, and the Hong Kong/China track. After finishing 9 months of core courses at HKU, students can study at Columbia University in New York, London Business School in London, or Fudan University in Shanghai for one semester
• HKU has 2 rounds of interviews. The first is similar to a job interview; those that pass the first round may be required to give a presentation in the second round
• Graduates get a 1-year visa to stay in Hong Kong and find a job post-graduation
• Placement, Class of 2018: 83% w/job offers w/in 3 months, $82,551 USD avg post MBA salary (Economist MBA Ranking 2019)
• Top Destinations, Class of 2017 & 2018: 47% Hong Kong / 21% Other Regions of Asia / 13% Mainland China / 9% Americas / 7% India / 3% Europe
• Top Industries, Class of 2018: 36% Financial Services, Insurance / 12% Consumer Goods, Retail / 6% IT, Telecommunications
• Top Functions, Class of 2017 & 2018: 29% Finance, Audit, Accounting / 27% Consulting, Strategy / 21% Marketing, Branding, Business Development / 10% General Management
• Ranked #1 Asian Business School by Economist for 9 straight years

About Our Guest

Sachin Tipnis is the Senior Executive Director of MBA, EMBA Global Asia (joint Executive MBA Degree with Columbia and London Business School), and six specialized Master Programmes at the University of Hong Kong. Sachin was part of HKU's first graduating MBA class and has worked for over a decade developing the HKU MBA. Sachin worked in branding and marketing communications for 7 years before working in higher education.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/hku-mba-whats-up-in-2020

Paula Amorim, MBA Admissions Director at IESE Business School, discusses what makes the IESE MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportunities and more.

Topics:

• Introduction (0:00)
• IESE MBA Program Highlights - What Makes IESE Unique? (5:10)
• IESE MBA Admissions & Scholarships - How to Improve Your Chances (33:50)
• Career Opportunities at IESE - What to Know & How to Prepare (59:55)

About Our Guest

Paula Amorim is the MBA Admissions Director at IESE Business School. Before joining IESE, Paula worked as a Project Manager for Grupo Marista, a non-profit in Brazil. Paula got her Bachelors in Industrial Engineering from Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais and MBA from IESE in 2016.

Show Notes

• IESE MBA
• Get feedback on your profile from IESE MBA's Admissions Team before you apply

Episode write-up and snapshot/stats of IESE MBA: https://touchmba.com/iese-mba-program-admissions-interview-paula-amorim

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

How can you make a memorable impression on MBA Admissions Officers at MBA recruiting events? Drawing on his experience recruiting at MBA Tours and information sessions, Darren shares 3 tips for how you can stand out.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/interacting-with-mba-admissions-officers

Episode Sponsor

Shari and Darren discuss the Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business MBA focus on global management, integrative learning, and mission to make a meaningful impact in business and society. Get the insider word on admissions, financing and career placements at one of the top MBA programs in the US.

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 Business MBA program.

Professor Elaine Ferneley, MBA Director at Manchester Business School, joined the show to share more about the Manchester MBA, located in Manchester, UK, and give us an inside look into the admissions process.

Interesting things I learned about the Manchester MBA:

- They don't call it "practice based" learning for nothing. Manchester MBAs are required to do 3 live consultancy projects -  requiring over 600 client facing hours - over the 18 month program. The first consulting project starts on Day 2!  Students are often working for companies 3.5 days during the week. This way all students get substantial experience working for big name companies before they graduate - and many end up with jobs at these organizations.

- Manchester also has its own admissions test, which includes a psychometric evaluation of applicant's personality. Could this be a future trend in MBA admissions?

- Elaine made it very clear that the adcom places a strong focus on interpersonal skills in the application - so be sure to prepare for the interview.  Manchester puts its students in front of companies on Day 2, so your soft skills have to be strong from the start.

- The school has the top ranked accounting/finance group in the UK.

- Manchester is the largest provider of transnational MBA education in the world, delivering its MBA program in the UK, Dubai, Shanghai, Singapore, Hong Kong, Miami and Sao Paolo.

- The Manchester MBA in a Tweet: practice-based learning, a good life and good fun!

Darren's take: if you want to get multiple and intensive real-world consulting experience during your Full-time MBA, you should consider the Manchester MBA.

Listen on for the insider's scoop...

Darren invites Dirk Hopfl from IE Business School to share how Covid-19 has affected its MBA program and IE's plan moving forward. IE, based in Spain, is one of Europe's leading business schools with one of world's most international MBA programs, regularly admitting 90% of its students from 75 countries outside Spain. Its response offers one possibility for how MBAs will evolve to meet student needs during a pandemic.

About Dirk

Dirk Hopfl is Regional Director South East Asia for IE Business School. Dirk got his MBA in 1999 from IE and has over 20 years of leadership experience in international management education.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: https://touchmba.com/how-is-covid-19-impacting-b-schools-dirk-hopfl-shares-ie-business-schools-response/

Having a hard time differentiating business schools? After listening to this episode, you'll have the toolkit to surgically dissect an MBA's offering. You'll also know a lot more about the student experience at LBS.

James Clark just graduated from LBS and wrote a student blog post, "What I had wished I had known when choosing business schools." In it he lists 22 questions you should ask about your target schools. I found James' perspective insightful and wanted to explore his questions in more detail for the benefit of our audience.

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 Rotterdam School of Management's MBA Program at Erasmus University. Brandon got his MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler through the OneMBA. He ran a restaurant for 10 years, then worked in branding and marketing before joining the RSM MBA program.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/rsm-mba-admissions-interview

Professor Adrian Buss, Associate Professor of Finance and Academic Director of MBA Programs at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, discusses what makes the Frankfurt School’s MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more.

Topics

• Introduction (0:00)
• Program Highlights – What Makes the Frankfurt School MBA Unique? (4:20)
• Frankfurt School MBA Admissions & Scholarships – How to Improve Your Chances? (20:45)
• Career Opportunities after Frankfurt School – What to Know & How to Prepare (36:15)

About Our Guest

Dr. Adrian Buss is Associate Professor of Finance and Academic Director of MBA Programs at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. Prior to joining the Frankfurt School, Adrian taught as an Associate Professor of Finance at Insead for over 10 years.

Adrian graduated from the University of Mannheim with a Masters of Science in Mathematics and Business Informatics before getting his PhD in Finance at Goethe University Frankfurt.

Show Notes

• Frankfurt School of Finance & Management MBA Program

Touch MBA's Summary of the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management Full-time MBA: 

https://touchmba.com/frankfurt-school-finance-management-mba-program-admissions-interview-adrian-buss/

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

How would you like to grab coffee with one of the world's most experienced MBA admissions consultants and pick his brain on what makes a successful application?

This week I asked Paul Bodine, author of Great Applications for Business School, and owner of Paul Bodine Admissions Consulting, about his best advice to clients and admissions trends. Paul has helped hundreds of candidates since 1997 get into the likes of Harvard, Stanford and Wharton. This is a conversation you don't want to miss!

In this episode you'll learn:

• The 3 pillars of a successful application (which stand the test of time)
• Why you must make sure your goals are organic to what you've done
• The importance of authenticity in your application - and how to achieve this
• Recent application and admissions trends
• Paul's strategic and tactical advice to clients on what to do with less essays
• Tips to ace group interviews and multimedia essays

Thomas Caleel, former Head of MBA Admissions for Wharton, takes us behind the scenes of how an Admissions Director builds a class and what he or she looks for from applicants. What are the key qualities and characteristics that admissions committees look for? How did Thomas' team review 8,000 applicants per year? And how can you craft a thoughtful, authentic and compelling application that stands out?

About Thomas

Thomas Caleel is host of the Admittedly Podcast and Chairman and Founder of Global Education Opportunities, LLC, an international education consulting and admissions advisory firm. Thomas served as the Head of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid for The Wharton Business School from 2005 - 2008, where he observed how exceptional candidates were able to successfully differentiate themselves.

Thomas graduted from the University of Pennsylvania twice, first with a Bachelors in International Relations and then with an MBA from Wharton in 2003.

Topics

• Introducing Thomas Caleel (0:00)
• What "holistic MBA admissions" means to Thomas (7:00)
• Behind the scenes of how Wharton reviews 8,000 applicants to build a class (16:25)
• How applicants can stand out (20:55)
• How Thomas helps his clients find their authentic voice (25:20)
• Thoughtful MBA goals (30:30)
• How Thomas' team evaluated GMAT/GRE scores (34:45)
• Advice for international students (40:10)
• Thomas' thoughts on MBA ROI (46:20)
• How Thomas views the MBA, 20 years after graduating (54:00)
• Should entrepreneurs get an MBA? (57:00)

Show Notes

• Thomas Caleel

Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/inside-the-wharton-mba-application-process-thomas-caleel/

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

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 applicant challenge.

At the end of the episode, Darren shares his reflections after helping an Admissions Edge member with his 1 Harvard essay.

Show Notes

• #75 Yale SOM MBA Admissions Interview with Bruce DelMonico – “Educating Leaders for Business & Society”
• #47 Great Applications for Business School with Paul Bodine

This episode of Touch MBA is brought to you be Prodigy Finance – the leader in education loans for international postgraduate students. Visit prodigyfinance.com to learn more.

Darren shares three foundational application strategies from Avi Gordon's MBA Admissions Strategy: From Profile Building to Essay Writing (2005) that have stood the test of time. It's always advantageous to master the fundamentals of any art form - including constructing a winning MBA application. Listen on to review the basics!

Topics

• Introduction (0:00)
• Marketing to Adcoms (3:50)
• Attributes that Count (10:40)
• Points, Stories, Analysis (19:40)

EPISODE SPONSOR: QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY'S SMITH FULL-TIME MBA

The path to your next big career move goes through Canada. The 12-month Full-time MBA program at Queen’s University’s Smith School of Business features a proven team-based, experiential curriculum — built around the exact set of skills that top employers seek. The results speak for themselves. 98% of the Class of 2021 accepted an offer for their dream role within 3 months of graduation. Listeners of the Touch MBA Podcast can receive a complimentary virtual consultation by visiting Yoursmithmba.com/touchmba.

Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/mba-admissions-strategy-avi-gordon

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

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, Clare shares her journey and tips for those of you scrambling to apply last minute. Not the ideal situation - but certainly a common one. Enjoy the episode!

• Clare's application strategy with only 1 month left before the deadline (6:25)
• Prepping for interviews at HBS, MIT Sloan, Stanford, Berkeley Haas and deciding on HBS (22:02)
• Miscellaneous application tips and thoughts on MBAs vs. starting a business (28:30)

About Our Guest

Clare Simonis graduated from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management, majoring in Supply Chain and Operations Management and minoring in Asian Languages and Literature. She worked for Deloitte Consulting as a Management and Strategy Consultant for 3 years and current serves as Chief of Staff to the Integrated Care Group President at Fresenius Medical Care North America.

Episode summary, links and more at: http://touchmba.com/last-minute-application-tips-clare-simonis-hbs

When should you use an MBA admissions consultant? How can you get the most value? What should you look for when hiring one?

As a former MBA Admissions Director and Admissions Consultant, Darren shares his thoughts.

Questions 

• Why are MBA Admissions Consultants so expensive? Are they worth the fees? (6:25)
• Should you hire an MBA Admissions Consultant? Which service should you get? How can you get the most value? (13:10)
• What you should look for from an Admissions Consultant? (19:43)
• Questions to ask an MBA admissions consultant (21:12)
• A framework to help you make the decision (22:15)

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/should-you-hire-an-mba-admissions-consultant

Episode Sponsor

The IESE MBA in Barcelona is consistently ranked Top 15 worldwide by the Financial Times. Do you want to challenge yourself and take your career to the next level? IESE’s full time MBA program will transform your capacity to think strategically, explore new perspectives and be a leader in today’s global world. The IESE MBA: Give us 19 months and we give you a lifetime of impact.

Get informal feedback on your profile at mba.iese.edu or visit us on campus at our Open Days.

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 Business. Prior to joining ASB, Sean was Associate Dean of Masters Programmes at HKUST Business School and Assistant Dean of Degree Programmes at Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business. He worked at PROS, Cap Gemini, Ernst & Young, and Procter & Gamble before entering business education. Sean got his MBA from Rice University.

What is relatively unique about the ASB MBA? What are its key advantages?

• ASB was established in 2015, a collaboration between Bank Negara Malaysia (Malaysia's central bank) and MIT Sloan School of Management
• Action Learning at ASB is a core (non-optional) course in each of the five different academic terms of the 20-month ASB MBA program. By the time students graduate, they will experience 5 different business challenges with possibly 5 different host companies, in potentially 5 different countries
• 1 week long industry treks to US and China
• 1 month immersion program at the MIT Sloan School of Management
• ASB MBA graduates receive a certificate of completion from MIT, and MIT affiliate status
• Students live on campus, currently the hotel for Malaysia's central bank

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/asb-mba-program-admissions-interview-sean-ferguson-action-learning-curriculum

What should you do if you have 10+ years of working experience but are looking for an MBA-type experience to build your skills and network?

Richard Campbell, Founder and CEO of 10Adventures, joins the show to discuss his experience with three mid-career MBA alternatives: Harvard Business School's Program for Leadership Development (HBS PLD), London Business School's Sloan Masters in Leadership and Strategy (LBS Sloan Masters), and 500 Global's Accelerator program.

Listen on to learn more about the learning experience, alumni networks and benefits of attending each of these programs!

Topics

• Introduction (0:00)
• Richard's career arc before business school (4:40)
• Harvard Business School Program for Leadership Development (8:40)
• The London Business School Sloan Masters in Leadership and Strategy (22:45)
• 10 Adventures and the 500 Global Accelerator Program (48:00)
• Richard' advice for entrepreneurs considering mid-career MBA alternatives (59:00)

About Our Guest

Richard Campbell is Founder and CEO of 10Adventures, which helps people book personalized, active vacations worldwide. Before 10Adventures, Richard worked as COO of Vista Projects, an industrial engineering firm that helps clients navigate the digital transformation of their operations.

Richard got his Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Calgary; after ten years growing Vista Projects, he took Harvard Business School's Program for Leadership Development and then completed London Business School's Sloan Masters in Leadership and Strategy. In 2023, he joined 500 Global's Accelerator program in Calgary, where he currently resides. Richard also hosts the 10Adventures Podcast and serves on the Board of Directors for The Alpine Club of Canada.

Show Notes

• Richard Campbell on LinkedIn
• 10Adventures
• Harvard Business School Program for Leadership Development
• The LBS Sloan Masters in Leadership and Strategy
• 500 Global
• Richard's Review of HBS LDP program
• Richard's Review of the LBS Sloan Masters program
• Richard's Review of 500 Global's Alberta Accelerator
• John Kotter's 8-Step Change Model from Leading Change
• Verne Harnish's Scaling Up Platform
• How Will You Measure Your Life? by Clayton Christenson
• Dan Cable
• Obviously Awesome: How to Nail Product Positioning so Customers Get It, Buy It, Love It by April Dunford
• Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen by Donald Miller
• The Mom Test by Rob Fitzpatrick
• Entrepreneur's Organization (EO)
• Young Presidents' Organization (YPO)

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Learn proven strategies to get into top-ranked MBA programs and optimize every part of your application through Touch MBA's Admissions Edge Course. See resumes, essays and case-studies of admitted MBAs. Save thousands of dollars on consulting fees: https://go.touchmba.com/edge 

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 industries at Insead and more.

About Our Guest

Rahul Kewalramani is getting his MBA at Insead, where he is President of the Insead Private Equity & Venture Capital Club. Rahul graduated from McGill University where he studied Economics and Finance. Prior to Insead, he worked for JP Morgan in Mergers & Acquisitions, Macquarie Group covering Telecoms, Media, Entertainment and Technology, and Redmart, an online grocery startup in Singapore, doing corporate development. He will graduate from Insead in December 2016.

Episode summary, links and more at: http://touchmba.com/insead-insights-real-time-president-private-equity-venture-capital-club

James Kent, Marketing Manager for the MBA Admissions & Marketing Team at China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), discusses what makes the CEIBS MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more.

Program Highlights (3:00) | Admissions (23:40) | Scholarships & Covid-19 (39:40) | Careers (49:30)

About Our Guest

James Kent is the Marketing Manager for the MBA Admissions & Marketing Team at CEIBS. James got his Bachelors in Chinese and Management from Sheffield University and has worked in recruitment and marketing for 10 years.

What is unique about the CEIBS MBA? What are its key advantages?

• China's top-ranked MBA lasts 18 months and focuses on "China Depth, Global Breadth"
• CEIBS was co-founded in 1994 by the Chinese Government and the European Union, and has campuses in Shanghai, Beijing, Shenzhen, Accra and Zurich
• CEIBS is looking for proactive candidates with a pioneering spirit
• Mentoring program matches each MBA student with a CEIBS EMBA alumni
• CEIBS 70 faculty members are 1/3 from China, 1/3 from the US and 1/3 from Europe, many of whom consult for MNCs and Chinese Companies in China
• CEIBS has three coordinated degrees options as well: CEIBS-Fletcher (Law & Diplomacy), CEIBS-Cornell (Hospitality), CEIBS-Johns Hopkins (Public Health)
• The CEIBS MBA was ranked the 5th worldwide by Financial Times (2020)

Episode summary, show notes and more at: https://touchmba.com/ceibs-mba-program-admissions-interview-james-kent

Sachin Tipnis from the University of Hong Kong discusses what makes the HKU MBA unique, the school's admissions process and career opportunities for HKU MBAs.

Program Highlights (5:15) | Admissions (26:00) | Scholarships (38:36) | Careers (44:27)

HKU MBA Highlights (last updated Jan 2018)

• 14-months, Fall intake, ~60 students/year
• Typical Class: 5 years work exp / 15 nationalities / 660 GMAT
• Has 3 tracks: the London track, the New York track, and the Hong Kong/China track. After finishing 9 months of core courses at HKU, students can study at Columbia University in New York, London Business School in London, or Sudan University in Shanghai for one semester
• Graduates get a 1-year visa to stay in Hong Kong and find a job post-graduation
• Placement, Class of 2015 & 2016: 85% w/job offers w/in 3 months, $77,265 USD avg starting salary
• Top Destinations, Class of 2015 & 2016: 48% Hong Kong / 24% Mainland China / 7% India / 7% Europe / 7% other Asia
• Top Industries, Class of 2015 & 2016: 32% Banking, Finance, Accounting, Insurance  / 29% Consulting, Advisory Services / 19% Consumer Products & Services / 9% IT, Telecoms
• Ranked #1 Asian Business School by Economist for 6 straight years

About Our Guest

Sachin Tipnis is the Executive Director of MBA Programmes at the University of Hong Kong. Sachin was part of HKU's first graduating MBA class and has worked for over a decade developing the HKU MBA. Sachin worked in branding and marketing communications for 7 years before working in higher education.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/hku-mba-program-admissions-update

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 HKU's admissions process in-depth so you know exactly how to best prepare your application.

Go to http://www.touchmba.com/hku-mba-admissions-interview/ for a full breakdown of the program's key advantages and fast facts about admissions, financing, and careers at Hong Kong University's MBA program.

Sometimes, it's hard to differentiate MBA programs. That is not the case with GLOBIS University, Japan's number 1 MBA, which prizes entrepreneurial skills, societal impact, and helping its students find their kokorozashi (personal mission).  

Professor Tomoya Nakamura, President of GLOBIS USA, discusses what makes the GLOBIS MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportunities and more.

Started by Harvard Business School MBA graduate and entrepreneur Yoshito Hori in 1992 as a single marketing course in Tokyo, GLOBIS has grown to become Japan's largest MBA program, consulting with 60-70% of public Japanese companies with learning hubs in 5 countries. Listen on to learn what makes getting an MBA at GLOBIS - and in Tokyo - unique.

Topics

• Introduction to GLOBIS and Tomoya Nakamura (0:00)
• Program Highlights - What Makes the GLOBIS MBA Unique? (6:30)
• GLOBIS MBA Admissions & Scholarships - How to Improve Your Chances? (33:30)
• Career Opportunities after GLOBIS - What to Know & How to Prepare (55:00)

About Our Guest

Tomoya Nakamura is President of GLOBIS USA. Tomoya started his professional career at Marubeni Corporation, reorganized an investment company at Advantage Partners (a buyout VC firm), and was the Senior Managing Director of Sun-Life Corporation. He served as Dean of the English MBA Programs at GLOBIS University while also starting the GLOBIS global training business and continues to serve as the main facilitator for various corporate clients. He primarily lectures on leadership, kokorozashi, and globalization.

Tomoya graduated from the Hitotsubashi University with a Bachelors in Social Studies before getting his MBA from Harvard Business School.

Show Notes

• GLOBIS Full-time MBA
• Free Online President's Seminar: Leveraging Japan’s No.1 MBA to the World’s No.1 MBA with AI & Technovate, Mr. Yoshito Hori, March 12, 2024 (6:30pm-7:30pm PST)
• Schedule a personal consultation with GLOBIS MBA admissions advisors

Touch MBA's Summary of the GLOBIS Full-time MBA: 

https://touchmba.com/globis-mba-program-admissions-interview-tomoya-nakamura/

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Ms. Lisa Piguet, Associate Director of Admissions and Marketing at IMD, joins the show this week and generously shares her advice on IMD's accelerated 11-month program, the admissions process and more...

Interesting things I learned about IMD:

IMD is focused on leadership and general management; over 80% of graduates go into industry

Only 90 students are admitted each year from ~40 countries, and the average work experience is 7 years

There's a 2:1 student to faculty ratio

To help develop self-awareness, each student gets 20 sessions with a licensed psychologist

New MBA program director Ralph Boscheck is pushing to get MBAs more exposure to IMD's 9,000 Executive Education participants

Instead of an interview, IMD applicants participate in an assessment day which includes a 1-1 interview with admissions, 5-minute impromptu presentation on a mini-case, lunch with IMD student, and case study class with Professor

IMD is based in Lausanne, which is centrally located in Europe, and has over 350 MNCs (!)

The IMD MBA in a Tweet: "The skills to know, the confidence to act, the humility to lead."

Darren's take: If you're looking for more experienced and international classmates, to transition to a general management role in industry, and to maximize your ROI, consider IMD.

What do you need to know about MBA recruiting for top Consumer Package Goods (CPG) companies? Darren invites Ana Archbold, Michigan Ross MBA '07, to share her experience working for companies like Kraft Foods, Unilever, and Johnson & Johnson, where she is currently a Senior Marketing Director for Neutrogena. Darren and Ana pay special attention to the recruiting process and what applicants can do to maximize their chances of landing internships and jobs. Ana also shares her thoughts on working internationally after getting a top US MBA.

This is Part 6 of our MBA Career Series. Looking for more career-related podcasts? Click here.

Questions

• Ana's background (2:54 )
• The importance of internships (5:48)
• Ana's tips to applicants on how they can get a leg up (9:16)
• What are top CPG companies looking for in hires? (16:24)
• The recruiting process (21:15)
• How important is prior industry experience? (25:20)
• Interviews (27:08)
• How interns are evaluated for full-time offers (30:15)
• Ana's advice to international students applying for US jobs & internships (37:09)
• How Ana landed a senior marketing role abroad in the UK (43:20)
• Ana's final advice to applicants (46:55)

About Our Guest

Ana Archbold got her MBA from Michigan Ross in 2007 and is currently a Senior Global Marketing Manager for Neutrogena, a Johnson & Johnson brand, in New York City. Previously, she worked as a Global Brand Manager, doing Strategy & Innovation for Unilever in London. Ana has over 15 years of experience in the marketing and brand management.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/mba-careers-consumer-package-goods

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 Anderson is looking for and how the school is evolving. Jessica is very transparent about the admissions process so don't miss this one!

About Our Guest

Jessica Chung is the Associate Director of Full-time MBA Admissions at UCLA's Anderson School of Management. Jessica got her B.S. in Business Administration at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, and got her Masters in Education from UCLA. She also worked for USC Marshall School as a Graduate Admissions Advisor before joining the Anderson School at UCLA in 2007.

Program Highlights (3:12), Admissions (18:58), Financing (41:05), Careers (44:53)

Go to http://www.touchmba.com/ucla-anderson-mba-admissions-interview for a full breakdown of the program's key advantages and fast facts about admissions, financing, and careers at the UCLA Anderson School of Management MBA program.

Ms. Chua Nan Sze, Director of Graduate Studies, NUS Business School, talks to Darren about the latest curriculum changes to the NUS MBA, NUS' focus on international exposure, career placements and what NUS is looking for during the admissions process.

Did you know that China is on track to overtake America as the world's biggest economy by 2016? Dr. Longkhai Zhao, Executive Director of the MBA Program at Guanghua School of Management at Peking University, joins the show to discuss why he thinks Guanghua is the best place to learn about China business at this pivotal point in the country's history. We also discuss Guanghua's admissions process, career opportunities for international students in China, and the changing status of the MBA degree in China.

Go to http://www.touchmba.com/peking-university-guanghua-mba-admissions-interview for a full breakdown of the program's key advantages and fast facts about admissions, financing, and careers at Peking University's Guanghua School of Management MBA program.

This week I spoke with Christine Sneva, who is Executive Director of Admissions and Financial Aid of MBA Programs at Cornell Johnson. Christine is one of the most enthusiastic guests I've had on the show. And she really opens up on what makes Johnson special and how her team looks at applications. You can really go behind the scenes of Cornell's admissions process in this episode.

Although Johnson's class is relatively small (270 students in 2 year program, 60 in 1 year program), Christine makes it very clear that Cornell's bschool network is the 2nd largest in the Ivy League behind Harvard and that students really benefit from the size and engagement of the "Big Red" network. Johnson's flexible curriculum and 1st year focus on immersions has really helped students with internship (and job) placements.

The Cornell Johnson MBA in 140 characters or less: "#CornellMBA innovative programs & is one of the largest bschools #ILR #Dyson #MMH & most engaged alumni networks, we are Cornellians!"

I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did!

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 relies on contrast - not conflict - to generate interest.

Kishōtenketsu in 4 acts:

1. Ki (start)
2. Shō (development)
3. Ten (twist)
4. Ketsu (conclusion)

Listen on for ways you can use this Eastern story structure to keep admissions officers' attention AND demonstrate your self-awareness.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/kishotenketsu

Are you struggling with post-MBA career goals in your application? Top business schools are looking for well-researched and realistic career goals. But exactly how can you do this? Especially when you're strapped for time?

Steve Dalton, Senior Associate Director of the Career Management Center at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business and author of the 2 Hour Job Search, joined the show this week to share his systematic formula to efficiently and effectively target potential employers and secure the first interview.

Steve has delivered 2 Hour Job Search workshops to over 20 business schools, and his process is now part of the Fuqua MBA curriculum. I am a huge fan of the book and think it's a must read for not only MBAs, but MBA applicants as well. You'll also get a sneak peek of the strategic and tactical career guidance you'll get at a bschool like Fuqua.

In this episode you'll learn:

How to rig the job search in your favor and avoid artificial desperation
How to generate a list of 40 target employers in 40 minutes
The 3 pieces of data that are both easy to find and predictive of job search success
Steve's LAMP method for prioritizing which employers to target
Why systematically building internal referrals at your target employers is the key to securing interviews in the online era
How to focus on "boosters" (people willing to help) vs. "obligates" or "curmudgeons"
How to prepare for informational interviews - whether for job searches or MBA programs
How to answer common interview questions like "Tell me about yourself" and "Why this MBA program?"
The TIARA framework to systematically build likeability with strangers
What Steve advises Fuqua MBAs to succeed in their job searches
And much, much more...

Don't miss this episode if you're planning your post-MBA career goals or looking to change jobs.

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 Recruitment and Admissions, Ivey Business School at Western University. J.D. got his MBA from Ivey in 2010. He has worked for over 20 years in higher education, including for Queens School of Business and Ivey Business School.

Program Highlights (4:54), Admissions (15:40), Financing (29:51), Careers (32:48)

Go to http://www.touchmba.com/ivey-mba-admissions-interview for a full breakdown of the program's key advantages and fast facts about admissions, financing, and careers at Western University's Ivey Business School MBA program.

Are you looking for a hands-on, customizable and intimate MBA in the heart of one of the world's great research universities? Darren sits down with Mark Lockwood, MBA Director of Recruiting, Admissions, and Alumni Affairs, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to discuss the program's key advantages and admissions process. At only $66,000 USD for a 2-year program, the Illinois MBA offers sneaky good value for a top-ranked MBA.

Go to http://www.touchmba.com/illinois-mba-admissions-tips for a full breakdown of the program's key advantages and fast facts about admissions, financing, and careers at the Illinois MBA program.

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 and GMAT journey (4:40)
• What Gregory did to overcome his low quant score (8:50)
• Gregory's experience with Cornell's L.E.A.D. admissions event (12:45)
• Gregory's career goals and how they affected his MBA search (18:50)
• Winning a Roy H. Park Leadership Fellowship (22:40)
• The importance of speaking to current students (24:30)
• Surviving first semester FOMO and coursework (26:50)
• Becoming an officer at Johnson Consulting club (32:12)
• Recruiting into consulting: clubs, case competitions, career working groups, and live consulting projects (36:15)
• Social life at Cornell Johnson (48:00)
• Being an older MBA candidate (54:00)
• Cornell's Present Value Podcast (58:16)

About Gregory

Gregory Wool worked as a Director of Operations at two boutique resorts before attending the Cornell Johnson MBA, where he is a first year MBA candidate and Roy H. Park Leadership Fellow. Gregory is also President of the Johnson Consulting Club, and Producer of the Present Value Podcast. Gregory got a Bachelors in Fine Arts in Dramatic Performance from the University of Cincinnati College - Conservatory of Music.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/quantless-in-cornell-gregory-wool

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.com/how-to-apply-for-a-top-mba-tyler-cormney-mba-prep-school

About Our Guest

Tyler Cormney is the CEO and Co-Founder of MBA Prep School. Tyler graduated from Harvard Business School with Distinction and has a Masters Degree in Professional Writing from USC. Tyler has been helping MBA applicants for 10 years and his company has a 90% success rate for top-ranked business schools.

Questions

• Why preparing to apply is the most important step in the application process (3:47)
• How to determine your "points of difference" (6:50)
• Which points of difference should you highlight? (10:20)
• Career goals and how to tell your "career story" (12:45)
• A different and better way to answer "why do you need an MBA?" (17:40)
• Developing a compelling "career purpose" (19:28)
• How to show long-term and short-term MBA goals (24:10)
• Why self-reflection is the secret weapon in MBA applications (26:40)
• Admissions trends applicants should be aware of at top 7 schools (28:18)
• With schools shortening applications, how can applicants still tell their story? (33:28)
• Cultivating mentor relationships early for your recommendations (36:34)
• Common mistakes applicants make (37:44)
• The necessity of putting together a support team (40:20)

Touch MBA's goal has always been to offer you evergreen content that will help you shortlist and get into best-fit MBA programs. We invite listeners to share lessons from their MBA application journeys not just on the podcast, but in written form, too. These short reflections are full of timeless application wisdom!

Darren shares three lessons from three listeners that have stood the test of time: how to overcome working for a relatively unknown company, how to research and find best-fit b-schools, and how to deal with dings.

Want to share your hard-earned application lessons? Contact us at https://touchmba.com/contact

Topics

• Introduction (0:00)
• Working for an Unknown Company - Daming, Northwestern Kellogg MBA (4:30)
• Determining Best-Fit Schools - William, Texas McCombs MBA (10:30)
• Dealing with Dings - Bren, Emory Goizueta MBA (17:30)

Show Notes

• My Application Journey - Touch MBA Listeners Share Hard-Earned Lessons
• Share Your Journey and Lessons Learned
• Admitted to Kellogg, Insead, Ross, Fuqua, Johnson – Here’s How I Did It
• I Got Into 8 Top MBA Programs; These Are My Top 3 Tips
• 2 Years, 8 Dings and 2 Scholarships Later  –  My Reflections on the MBA Application Process
• Touch MBA's Admissions Edge Online Course

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

How are top business schools using the GMAT Focus exam, which will replace the GMAT in January 2024? What do you need to score and on which sections? Do schools prefer the GMAT, GMAT Focus, or GRE?

Darren asks Admissions Directors from two top schools – Toronto Rotman (#1 in Canada by the Financial Times) and IESE (#1 in Spain by the Financial Times) – tough questions about the GMAT Focus test and GRE. Listen on to get your GMAT Focus questions answered and to understand how top b-schools use standardized test scores when making admissions decisions.

Topics

• Introduction (0:00)
• Toronto Rotman MBA - Agnes Mak (4:20)
• IESE MBA - Tomofumi Nishida (30:20)

About Our Guests

Agnes Mak is the Assistant Director, Recruitment & Admissions managing the East Asia region for the Full-Time MBA program at the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management. She has over 20 years of professional experience in higher education and business advisory. Prior to joining the University of Toronto, she was a Partner at KPMG Canada and held numerous leadership roles to attract and promote international talent.

Tomofumi Nishida is Deputy Director (Asia, MBA Admissions) for IESE Business School, where he has been since 2016. Prior to IESE, Tomo worked for NTT DOCOMO as a strategic investment analyst and account manager in corporate sales. Tomo got his B.A. in Occidental History from the University of Tokyo and MBA from IESE.

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Darren has a lively discussion with Megan about what makes Fuqua unique, and what Fuqua's adcom looks for in applicants. Listen on to get the insider word on admissions, financing and career placements at one of the top MBA programs in the USA.

What's the best MBA program for supply chain management? Or entrepreneurship? Or marketing?

Many applicants who come to Touch MBA for help picking schools have this exact question. One of the biggest frustrations candidates have is figuring out the key advantages of schools. As one listener wrote, "It's difficult to know which one is the best in a certain area."

In this episode, Darren gives a 3-step framework for quickly and effectively researching a school's academic strengths - "The MBA Physical."

1. Heart - the people
2. Skeleton - the course structure
3. Muscle - the jobs 

Listen on for what key things to look for in each of these areas.

You can also download the template to carry out your school research!

See you next week!

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 of Business MBA program.

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, resumes, essays and MBA interviews.

Also Sabaina has generously shared her Michigan Ross MBA essays below - check them out.

Questions

• How Sabaina decided on her MBA career goals and researched b-schools (4:08)
• Applying through the Consortium (11:56)
• Sabaina's best tips on the GMAT, and MBA resumes, essays and interviews (22:30)

About Our Guest

Sabaina Kamara got her B.A. in Economics from the University of Maryland and worked as a Human Resources Analyst for a top management and employment law firm in Washington, DC, where she advised federal contractors on diversity related issues such as affirmative action and equal employment opportunity compliance. Sabaina will be starting the Michigan Ross MBA in Fall 2017.

Episode summary, links and Sabaina's Ross essays at: http://touchmba.com/sabaina

Episode Sponsor

Tawan (Tina) Suvapatrachai shares her MBA journey from Bangkok to Virginia Darden and then back to Thailand to do strategy for Samsung. Like many international applicants, Tina didn't have the chance to visit her four target US business schools. How did she research schools and find her best fit? Why did she choose Darden and what did she take from her Darden MBA experience?

Questions

• Tina's background (3:40)
• Tina's school research and application tips (5:00)
• How the MBA did not give Tina more career clarity, but rather a powerful career platform (11:30)
• Common problems Tina sees from international MBA applicants (17:00)
• Tina's Darden experience (24:40)
• Blending in as an international student (34:20)
• How to make the most of the MBA experience (36:30)
• The importance of the on-campus experience (39:00)
• Tina's internship and job search (42:05)
• Tina's big takeaways from her Darden experience (48:55)

About Tina

Tawan (Tina) Suvapatrachai works as a Channel Strategy Lead at Samsung in Bangkok, Thailand. Before getting her MBA Tina worked as an Account Manager at Proctor & Gamble. Tina got into Cambridge Judge, UCLA Anderson and NYU Stern, but chose to attend Virginia Darden, where she graduated in 2018. Tina got her B.S in Chemical Engineering from Penn State University

Episode summary, show notes and more at:

https://touchmba.com/inside-the-virginia-darden-mba-tawan-tina-suvapatrachai

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, Stanford GSB, MIT Sloan and Northwestern Kellogg - and learned many lessons along the way. We discuss his "round strategy" as well as how he positioned himself and researched schools. Don't miss these great tips from someone who just got admitted!

Questions

1. Dean's background (2:32)
2. Dean's positioning tips (4:10)
3. Researching and presenting your post-MBA goals (6:08)
4. Which schools to apply to? (9:30)
5. Dean's round strategy and reflections (15:32)
6. Do your applications get better to each subsequent school? (17:20)
7. Getting recommendations for multiple rounds and schools (18:30)
8. Not setting expectations too high (20:50)
9. The importance of building up your application network (23:45)

Alex Tuininga, HBS MBA '18, discusses his transition from a navy intelligence officer to Harvard MBA to BCG management consultant. Alex also shares his thoughts on MBA recruiting and social life as a married, older student.

Questions

• Alex's background (3:48)
• Alex's advice to military applicants (12:40)
• Where Alex applied and why he chose HBS (21:00)
• The HBS experience (24:28)
• Social life as an older, married student (35:02)
• The recruiting process (42:20)
• Summer internships and full-time offers at BCG (48:20)
• Alex's business lessons from business school (1:04:20)

About Our Guest

Alex Tuininga worked as an Intelligence Officer in the US Navy for 10 years before attending Harvard Business School. Alex majored in History at UC Berkeley and got a M.A. in International Relations and National Security Studies - Middle East from the Naval Postgraduate School. He'll be consulting for the Boston Consulting Group in Chicago this Fall.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: 

http://touchmba.com/military-to-mba-to-management-consulting-alex-tuininga-harvard-mba

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/ for a full breakdown of the program's key advantages and fast facts about admissions, financing, and careers at Arizona State W.P. Carey's MBA program.

Darren talks with Mr. Kannan, Director of Admissions & Financial Aid, about what makes the Indian School of Business unique - get the insider word on admissions, financing and career placements at one of the top MBA programs in India and Asia.

Andrew Bueno joins the show and shares more INSEAD's unique format, admissions process and scholarship and career opportunities at arguably the world's most international business school.

The Hitotsubashi ICS MBA is one of the top English language MBA programs in Japan. What makes this program unique? And what is the value of a MBA degree in Japan?  Darren interviews Prof. Yoshi Fujikawa, faculty director of the Hitotsubashi ICS MBA program, to learn more.

Dr. Shulver and I talk about what makes Warwick's 1-year MBA unique, and what he looks for from candidates during the admissions process. 

Warwick's 1-year Full-time MBA was ranked #3 worldwide for ROI by the Financial Times with graduates experiencing an average salary rise of 84% within 3 years of graduation. The school's curriculum places a heavy emphasis on the practice of management and behavioral sciences. The program is relatively small with about 60 students in each year's cohort.

Michael is a straight shooter and offers a great perspective on how admissions selects candidates and awards scholarships. As a faculty member, he also shares a lot of insight into Warwick's academic offerings.

The Warwick MBA in 3 words: relevant, innovative, caring.

Listen on for the insider's scoop...

MBA Recruitment Manager Alex Jones discusses what makes the Bayes Business School MBA (formerly Cass), City, University of London unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more.

Program Highlights (4:10) | Admissions (19:30) | Financing & Scholarships (33:40) | Careers (37:30)

About Our Guest

Alex Jones is the MBA Recruitment Manager for Bayes Business School (formerly Cass), City, University of London, where he has worked for over 8 years. Alex got his Bachelors in Communication from the University of Leicester and his Masters in Media Production from Birmingham City University.

What is unique about the Bayes Business School MBA?

• 1 year MBA starts in September with ~90 students per intake
• City's campus is in the heart of London’s financial district, which helps with career-related events, meetings and recruiting
• Core curriculum is taught in 4 blocks through the first 6 months of program: 1) strategy & organization 2) the financial environment 3) creating management advantage and 4) knowledge and policy, followed by a week-long international consultancy, electives and business mastery project
• Looking for minimum of 3 years professional experience and experience working multicultural teams with international outlook
• Hosts week-long London Symposium elective that gives a behind-the-scenes look into the economic drivers of London
• Has an MBA Expeditionary Society, which includes MBA and EMBA students, and explores leadership through stretch experiences, delivered by renowned mountaineer Sir Chris Bonington
• MBA alumni can take one free elective each year
• Under revised UK visa system, international students can get 2-year post-study work visa to look for employment in UK
• Ranked #2 globally for corporate strategy by Financial Times (2020)
• Ranked #1 in the UK for Entrepreneurship by Poets & Quants and Inc Magazine's 2021 50 Best MBAs for Entrepreneurship

Episode summary, show notes and more at: https://touchmba.com/the-business-school-city-university-of-london-mba-program-admissions-interview-alex-jones

Over the past year hundreds of applicants have come to Touch MBA to get profile assessments and find their best fit schools. One of the most common problems I see is weak career goals.

Career goals are important – and necessary – for you to figure out your best fit schools AND to improve your chances of acceptance.

In this episode, I cover 5 ways adcoms evaluate your career goals so you can make yours bulletproof.

1. Are your career goals defined?
2. Do your career goals reflect a sense of purpose, passion, meaning, and significance?
3. Can adcoms connect the dots between your prior skills/experiences and post-MBA goals?
4. Do you have convincing motivations for pursuing an MBA?
5. Can you make a rock solid case for pursuing an MBA from the school(s) you are applying to?

Eddie Asbie from Cornell University's Johnson School of Management discusses what makes the Cornell MBA unique, the school's admissions process and career opportunities for Cornell MBAs.

Program Highlights (7:14) | Admissions (29:50) | Scholarships (52:07) | Careers (58:38)

Cornell MBA Highlights (last updated Dec 2017)

• 1-Year Cornell Tech MBA (New York City), May intake, ~50 students/year
• 1-Year MBA (Ithaca, New York), May intake, ~75 students/year
• 2-Year MBA (Ithaca, New York), September intake, ~275 students/year
• Typical 2-Year Class: 5 years work exp / 35% international / 700 GMAT
• Offers 7 immersions in corporate finance, investment research and asset management, strategic marketing, strategic operations, digital technology, sustainable global enterprise, and investment banking
• Placement for 2-Year, Class of 2016: 94% w/job offers w/in 3 months, $121,000 USD avg starting salary, $31,000 USD avg signing bonus
• Top Destinations for 2-Year, Class of 2016: 53% NorthEast US / 18% West US / 8% Midwest US / 5% Southwest US / 4% Asia
• Top Functions for 2-Year, Class of 2016: 33% Finance / 29% Consulting / 22% Management / 11% Marketing
• ROI: one-third of class win merit-based scholarships, up to 25 students/year can win Roy H. Park 2-Year Full Tuition Fellowship
• Ranked #16 by US News and World Report in 2018

About Our Guest

Eddie Asbie is the Associate Director of Admissions and Financial Aid, Cornell University, Johnson Graduate School of Management. Eddie has worked over 5 years for the Cornell MBA and specializes in helping military, underrepresented and dual degree program candidates. Previously Eddie served as an Admissions Advisor for University at Buffalo.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/cornell-johnson-mba-admissions-interview

Episode Sponsor

What is relatively unique about the HKUST MBA?

• #1 ranked Asian MBA program in the world by Financial Times past 5 years
• Finish the program in 12 or 16 months
• Most international MBA program in Hong Kong, usually 25-30 nationalities represented in 120 person class; 95% of class is from outside Hong Kong
• HKUST has great exchange relationships - participants are guaranteed exchange spots with nearly 60 MBA programs around the world
• Financial Times rated HKUST's faculty #1 for research in Asia
• Strong reputation for Finance - 40-50% of graduates work in Finance

A Good Fit for You if:

• You are interested in careers in Hong Kong and China - even though 80% of the class is non-Chinese, 50% of graduates stay in Hong Kong to work and 23% work in China
• You want to live, study and work in one of Asia's financial capitals; Hong Kong hosts over 6,000 MNCs and 70 of the top 100 banks
• You're looking to build a career and network in a fast growing region with a lot of potential upside, and get the prestige of a top-ranked program

About Our Guest 

Sean Ferguson is Associate Dean of Masters Programmes at HKUST Business School. Prior to joining HKUST in 2013, Sean was Assistant Dean of Degree Programmes at Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business. Before to moving to the higher education industry, Mr Ferguson had a distinguished in corporate career working at PROS, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young (CGE&Y), and Procter & Gamble (P&G). He currently serves on the board of GMAC and got his MBA from Rice University.

What is the difference between Full-time, Part-time, Online and EMBA degrees? Which one makes most sense for you?

A number of you coming to Touch MBA for school selection help are considering multiple MBA program formats so I thought it would be good to dedicate one short episode to covering key differences from an admissions, curriculum, career and reputation perspective.

Dirk is involved in all 4 MBA programs for IE Business School so I played the role of “applicant” and asked him common questions I get.

About Our Guest

Dirk Hopfl is Director, IE Center Singapore for IE Business School. Dirk got his MBA from IE in 1999 and done admissions and development for IE's graduate and undergraduate programs for over 15 years.

Episode Sponsor

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 his best tips. There’s lots of gold nuggets in this one. Enjoy…

I’m always excited to hear listeners succeed in their MBA journeys. If you would like to share your story, please get in touch at darren at touchmba.com – we’d love to feature you on the show.

Daming’s educational and professional background and career goals (3:25)

Common misconceptions about MBA admissions (8:32)

What if you don’t work for a well-known company? (12:02)

Do you need a high GMAT to get in? (14:52)

Daming’s process to select schools (16:56)

How to research schools (20:19)

How to tell your best story and Daming’s “fit in, stand out” positioning strategy (25:50)

Recommendation tips (31:16)

Daming’s top 3 interview tips (32:13)

What questions to ask at the end of your interview (38:46)

Final thoughts and advice (41:25)

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 breakdown of the program's key advantages and fast facts about admissions, financing, and careers at the IMD MBA program.

This episode of Touch MBA is brought to you be Prodigy Finance – the leader in education loans for international postgraduate students. Visit prodigyfinance.com to learn more.

Darren interviews James on what Cambridge MBA unique - get the insider word on admissions, financing and career placements at one of the top MBA programs in UK / Europe.

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 is Executive Director of Career Services at IE Business School, Law School and University, where she manages a team of 30 people in the areas of Career Advising, Career Education and Recruiter Relations. She oversees career services for 5,000 current students, 50,000 global alumni and over 4,000 recruiting partners. Amber got her International MBA from IE in 2000 and hosts a monthly podcast focused on career journeys.

Episode summary, links and more at: http://touchmba.com/spain-mba-careers

Job hoppers, this episode is for you! Darren shares three strategies you can use to mitigate your track record of job hopping. How can you present this as an asset to your target MBA programs?

Episode summary, show notes and more at: https://touchmba.com/mba-positioning-strategies-for-job-hoppers

Get the inside word on MBA admissions at INSEAD from Caroline Diarte Edwards who was Director of MBA Admissions at INSEAD for 7 years. Learn about INSEAD's 4 criteria (academic capacity, leadership potential, ability to contribute and international motivation) and what you can do if you are weak in any of these areas.

“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 Dartmouth Tuck MBA, the MBA's usefulness in the marketing industry, and what US applicants should look for in an MBA network.

Questions

• What should applicants think about (strategically) to secure the best MBA loan (6:16)
• What is the common financing path for most US MBAs? What federal and private loan options are available? (8:40)
• Federal loans vs. private loans (12:28)
• Estimating your MBA costs and last financing tips (19:40)
• What applicants can do now (tactically) to secure a great loan (21:30)
• How Phil has benefited from the Dartmouth Tuck MBA (30:08)
• How to gauge the strength of MBA alumni networks (32:36)
• Phil's thoughts on the MBA's value in the marketing industry (34:50)

About Our Guest

As Chief Marketing Officer at CommonBond, Phil DeGisi oversees the marketing, business development, and creative teams. Prior to joining the CommonBond team, Phil held ecommerce and digital marketing roles spanning startups and large organizations, including Quidsi (a subsidiary of Amazon), littleBits electronics, and Walmart.com. Across these roles, he led direct response marketing, customer retention, and site merchandising/optimization efforts. Phil received his MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and his BA from Vassar College with a degree in economics.

Episode summary, links and more at: http://touchmba.com/us-mba-loans

Episode Sponsor

Most of the top-ranked business schools in Asia are in Singapore, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. But what if you can't afford to leave your job or city to pursue your MBA? IE Business School and Singapore Management University (SMU) have teamed up to help such professionals in South East Asia and launched a 10-month blended MBA, which combines residential segments in Singapore and Madrid with weekly online classes and forum discussions.

Most people (including myself) consider "online MBAs" a way for business schools to scale and make more money. But after speaking to Dr. Gregor Halff, Associate Dean of General Management Programs at SMU, and Dr. Lieven Demeester, IE-SMU MBA Academic Director, I learned that students can expect as much - if not more - time spent with professors than in a traditional face-to-face MBA format. Gregor calls this small-group learning supported by technology; the expected class size is 30 students.

Graduates are awarded a joint-degree from IE and SMU and get access to both schools' alumni networks and career services. At 74,900 SGD, the tuition is 20% more than SMU's MBA program, but also 30% less than IE's MBA program. Students take 18 core courses, 3 courses focused on management in Asia, and must complete a real-world 10-month consulting project with teammates.

Listen on for the insider's scoop on this new program...

Darren's take: this blended program is ideal for professionals in SE Asia who a) don't want to leave their job and b) want get a high-touch, top-tier joint MBA degree in just 10 months.

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 admissions experience.

You'll get 9 powerful, bite-sized tips (each less than 5 minutes) on mindset, positioning, school selection, resumes, essays and interviews.

I encourage you to listen EVERY minute so you can absorb ALL the advice each guest has to offer.

Applying to top MBA programs is never easy. I hope these words of wisdom inspire you prepare your best application and stay true to who you are and what you value.

Tune in and enjoy!

• Nick Barniville, Associate Dean for Degree Programs, ESMT Berlin (6:20)
• Caroline Diarte Edwards, Former Admissions Director of Insead and Director of Fortuna Admissions (7:54)
• Lawrence Li, Northwestern Kellogg Full-time MBA (13:03)
• Leigh Gauthier, Assistant Director of Recruitment and Admissions, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto (15:26)
• Tyler Cormney, CEO & CoFounder, MBA Prep School (19:07)
• Shari Hubert, Associate Dean of MBA Admissions, McDonough School of Business, Georgetown University (23:56)
• Ashley Lautzenheiser, Associate Director of Graduate Admissions at Olin Business School, Washington University of St. Louis (26:20)
• Chua Nan Sze, Director of Graduate Studies, NUS Business School, National University of Business School (29:30)
• Ivan Kerbel, Former Director Career Development Office of Yale School of Management and Founder, Practice MBA (32:58)

Episode summary, links and more at: http://touchmba.com/100

Amy Duckworth, Director of Admissions at Imperial College Business School, shares what makes the Imperial MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more.

Program Highlights (2:00) | Admissions (13:00) | Financing & Scholarships (26:10) | Careers (29:10)

What is unique about the Imperial MBA? What are its key advantages?

• Imperial College is one of the world’s leading STEM institutions, ranked 12th globally by the Times Higher Education
• 1-year MBA completed at two campuses (South Kensington and White City) in London
• Imperial is launching a new MBA curriculum for Fall 2022 class, which includes a year-long LEAD (Leadership, Ethics, Awareness, Diversity, Society) module
• Full-time students are encouraged to collaborate with the wider Imperial College student body and MBAs from Imperial's 3 other MBA programs
• Admissions is looking for intellectual ability, strong professional track record and leadership potential as well as a bent towards innovation and collaboration
• Students can specialize in Analytics, Entrepreneurship or Finance
• The Imperial College Union runs over 340 clubs, societies and projects, the largest range of student-led activities of any university in the UK

Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/imperial-mba-program-admissions-interview-amy-duckworth

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

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 MBA student. Laura also opines on the myth and reality of attending a business school outside the top 10.

Questions

• Laura's background (4:34)
• Career goals and shortlisting schools (6:32)
• Studying luxury business management at SDA Bocconi (12:44)
• Living in Italy (18:37)
• Studying at SDA Bocconi and studying business as an engineer (23:44)
• How Laura landed her internship, despite it being a "3D" change (27:26)
• Proving your value during your internship to get a full-time offer (38:00)
• What foreign applicants need to know about career services and job searching at European b-schools? (45:11)
• The SDA Bocconi alumni network (51:20)
• What about SDA Bocconi gets overlooked (54:50)
• The myth and reality of attending a b-school outside the top 10 (57:10)

About Our Guest

Laura Pan worked as a quality control engineer for the Australian government, and then in the oil & gas and rail & automotive industries before going to SDA Bocconi for her MBA. Laura grew up in Australia and got a Double Degree in Chemical Engineering and Food Technology and Nutrition from RMIT University.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/mba-mindset-career-change-laura-pan-luxury-fashion-management-sda-bocconi-mba

Shari Hubert, Associate Dean of Admissions at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, discusses what makes the Duke Fuqua MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more.

Topics

• Introduction (0:00)
• Program Highlights – What Makes the Duke Fuqua Daytime MBA Unique? (6:55)
• Duke Fuqua MBA Admissions & Scholarships – How to Improve Your Chances? (29:10)
• Career Opportunities after Duke Fuqua – What to Know & How to Prepare (59:30)

About Our Guest

Shari Hubert is Associate Dean of Admissions at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. She has been with Duke for 6 years. Previously, Shari served as Associate Dean of Admissions at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business as well as Director of Recruitment for the Peace Corps. Shari has also worked at Citi, GE, NBC Universal, The Boston Consulting Group and Merck in a variety of recruiting, consulting and marketing roles.

Shari graduated from Harvard Business School with an MBA and majored in French at Dartmouth University as an undergraduate. She serves on a number of HBS Alumni Boards, Pyxera’s Global Board of Directors and is a Forte Partner Advisory Council Member.

Show Notes

• Duke Fuqua MBA
• The Fuqua Show on Spotify
• The Duke MBA Admissions Interview: What to Expect and How to Prepare

Touch MBA Episode write-up and snapshot/stats of the Duke Fuqua Daytime MBA: 

https://touchmba.com/duke-fuqua-mba-program-admissions-interview-shari-hubert

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

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-admissions-interview for a full breakdown of the program's key advantages and fast facts about admissions, financing, and careers at the Boston College Carroll MBA program.

This episode of Touch MBA is brought to you be Prodigy Finance – the leader in education loans for international postgraduate students. Visit prodigyfinance.com to learn more.

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 after working for Arthur Anderson and Deloitte, where he was Director of Marketing. Seán got his PhD in Marketing from London Business School.

What is relatively unique about the IMD MBA? What are its key advantages?

• Industry-focused general management MBA from a school that is consistently top-ranked in Europe and worldwide for ROI; over 70% of graduates go into industry
• 1-year MBA that starts in January
• Only 90 students are admitted each year from ~40 countries,
• More experienced class: the average work experience is 7 years
• There’s a 2:1 student to faculty ratio
• Strong focus on personal leadership development through a combination of classroom interactions, experiential learning and psychoanalytical coaching
• Also emphasizes entrepreneurship, globalization and digitalization
• Instead of an interview, IMD applicants participate in an assessment day which includes a 1-1 interview with admissions, individual presentation and group activities, lunch with IMD participants or alumni, and depending on the time of the year, a possibility to attend a class. The assessment days take place on campus in Lausanne or abroad.
• IMD is looking for candidates with strong analytical and communication skills and team-oriented leaders who want to shape the future
• IMD has 9,000 executive education participants each year, and MBAs have increasing opportunities to connect with these senior executives
• IMD is based in Lausanne, Switzerland and has over 350 MNCs
• A global meeting place situated in the center of Europe in one of the world’s fastest growing science and technology hubs
• The IMD MBA in a Tweet: “We develop leaders who have a desire to make a positive impact in the world”

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/imd-mba-program-admissions-interview-sean-meehan-be-on-companies-leadership-radars

How did Lawrence Cole, author of the popular MBA applicant blog MBAOver30, get into Wharton, Chicago Booth and MIT Sloan as a 36 year old?

Just so you know his stats: Lawrence graduated from Florida Agricultural & Mechanical University in 2000, worked for over 10 years at UPS and Internet Brands, and “barely broke 700″ on his GMAT. He also started 2 online businesses.

Lawrence is now a first year student at Wharton focused on entrepreneurship.

In this episode, you’ll hear Lawrence and I discuss application tips for older candidates including:

• Why top-ranked MBAs tend to trend younger
• The 2 application “booby traps” you must avoid
• The importance of movement and believability in your application
• How and why to gather as much experiential school data as possible
• Why you shouldn’t force fit in your application
• How to tie together work experience that might seem unrelated
• Common traits adcoms look for from both older AND younger candidates: initiative, impact and purpose

This episode is a goldmine of admissions tips for older candidates. Lawrence has lived and breathed MBA applications for the past year. Be sure to learn from his experience!

Don’t miss this episode – one of our best yet.

Are there really more MBA job opportunities in Hong Kong and China? How has the market changed and what are employers looking for? This week I sat down with Marjorie Chang, Director of CUHK's Career Management Centre, to separate fact from fiction. Listen on to get an "on the ground" picture of the job market in Hong Kong and China. You'll also get insight into how MBA admissions evaluates your post-MBA career goals

Imran Kanga, Director of Recruitment & Admissions for Rotman School of Management's Full-time MBA at the University of Toronto, discusses what makes the Rotman MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more.

Program Highlights (2:30) | Admissions (19:00) | Financing & Scholarships (35:30) | Careers (39:50)

About Our Guest

Imran Kanga is Director of Recruitment & Admissions for the Rotman School of Management's Full-time MBA Program at the University of Toronto. Previously, Imran worked in a similar capacity for the Schulich School of Business, where he got his MBA in 2010.

What is unique about the Toronto Rotman MBA? What are its key advantages?

• The University of Toronto was ranked 18th globally by Times Higher Education, and #1 in Canada (2022)
• Rotman, located in the heart of downtown Toronto, was ranked #1 Canadian MBA program by Financial Times (2021)
• 250-300 students/intake with 40 nationalities
• Rotman’s office of student engagement curates over 1,000 experiential learning opportunities for students with its Creative Destruction Lab, Self-Development Lab, Business Design Institute, etc
• Rotman requires a one semester, 4-month internship for all students
• Admissions is looking for intellectual horsepower, experience and impact, communication and presence, and spike factor i.e. doing interesting things with your personal and professional lives that demonstrate passion, grit, resilience, innovation, drive and ambition
• Students can specialize in 15 majors
• Toronto was ranked one of the world's most livable cities by the Economist, with a lower cost of living and higher quality of life than many major cities in the US; over half of Toronto's population was born outside of Canada
• Rotman's 2-year MBA allows international Full-Time MBA graduates to be eligible for a 3-year Canadian work permit

Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/toronto-rotman-mba-program-admissions-interview-imran-kanga

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Darren continues his conversation with Prof. Yoshi about how candidates can stand out in the admissions process and what scholarship, career, and international opportunities there are at the Hitotsubashi ICS MBA.

Darren discusses 4 ways you can get and keep attention in your application. The primal “croc brain” that receives a pitch is intrigued by pleasant novelty, intrigue, movement, and suspense. Listen on for some very specific ways you can incorporate these elements into your MBA essays and resume.

Jeff and I discuss the flexibility and opportunities of getting your MBA at MIT Sloan. Listen on for admissions tips, career opportunities and more at one of the most entrepreneurial MBA programs in the US and the world.

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.

1. Why should you get an MBA? (3:16)
2. What type of experience are top business schools looking for? (7:20)
3. How can you assess school fit? (10:12)
4. What are your top essay tips? (13:00)
5. What are your top interview tips? (16:37)

Admissions Directors on MBA Tour Panel (August 2019)

• John-Derek (J.D.) Clarke, Ivey Business School
• Kylie Stewart, Arizona State University W.P. Carey School of Business
• Gulnura Rakhyshova, Asia School of Business
• Jessica Morgan, Schulich School of Business
• John Lee, UCLA Anderson School of Management

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/five-takeaways-mba-tour-panel-ho-chi-minh-preparing-your-application-advice-from-admissions-directors

Most applicants get an MBA to step out of their comfort zones. But, what about pursuing your MBA and subsequent five-year marketing career in Hong Kong as an American?

Tony DeGennaro, who majored in Political Science and Philosophy at Rutgers, shares his winding journey to the CUHK MBA, one of the top-ranked business schools in Asia, to running a boutique marketing agency targeting Chinese consumers, to now working as a Digital Strategist for First Page Digital, an online marketing agency with offices in 9 countries. What has Tony learned from studying and working in Hong Kong?

Questions

• Tony’s background, pre-MBA goals, and reasons for applying to CUHK (3:45)
• Tony’s biggest challenge during the MBA (13:40)
• The two things Tony took away from his MBA experience (17:10)
• Can entrepreneurship be taught? (21:20)
• How Tony ended up running his own boutique marketing agency (22:10)
• Tony’s current role at First Page Digital (27:50)
• Tony’s thoughts on the future of digital marketing and the marketing industry in Hong Kong (29:50)
• Tony’s tips for landing a post-MBA job in a foreign country (33:30)
• Leading the Marketing Club at CUHK (37:00)
• What Tony would have done differently (43:20)
• How Hong Kong has changed over the past 5 years (45:20)
• Tony’s last tips to applicants (50:00)

About Tony DeGennaro

Tony DeGennaro is an Enterprise Digital Strategist at First Page Digital. Previously, he was Director of Marketing and Business Development for Dragon Social, a boutique marketing agency in Hong Kong. Tony graduated from Rutgers with a Bachelors in Political Science and Philosophy, and worked in sales and as an English teacher before attending the CUHK MBA.

Show Notes

• Connect with Tony on LinkedIn
• Meet Tony at CUHK MBA’s Information Session & Alumni Sharing Webinar on August 25, 2021
• Get your profile assessed by CUHK MBA Admissions Team
• CUHK MBA

Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/taking-the-road-less-traveled-tony-degennaro-cuhk-mba/

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Over the past 6 months, I’ve had over 20 MBA Admissions Directors on the Touch MBA Podcast.

I’ve asked all of them, “What would you advise candidates to improve their chances of admissions?”

This is what they told me.

Here are 10 actionable tips you can use right away to boost your admissions and scholarship chances at your target business schools.

Avoid them at your own peril!

Featuring:

Megan Overbay, Duke University Fuqua School of Business 

Nadia Ahrazem, London Business School

Jeff Carbone, MIT Sloan School of Management

A M Kannan, Indian School of Business

Caroline Diarte Edwards, Fortuna Admissions

Lawrence Chan, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Shari Hubert, Georgetown McDonough School of Business

Katherine Alford, Virginia Darden School of Business

Roy Chason, CEIBS

Libby Livingston, Emory Goizueta School of Business

Carlson MBA Director of Admissions Linh Gilles joined the show this week and we had a great chat about Carlson's focus on experiential learning, the benefits of attending a smaller MBA program in Minneapolis, and how to give yourself the best chance for admissions.

We discuss Carlson's Enterprise program, where students work directly with corporate clients (many of them Fortune 500s) in a consulting capacity over 15-months in 4 areas: branding and marketing, management consulting, new business ventures, and funds investments. By the time students graduate, they'll have a lot more work experience to showcase to employers.

Carlson has a strong reputation in information systems, health care & the medical industry, and entrepreneurship, along with the core business functions. The school benefits from its proximity to Minneapolis' thriving business community, which is home to 19 of the Fortune 500 companies.

Definitely pay special attention to the admissions section of our talk. Linh's shares a wealth of admissions tips that could help you get in to not just Carlson, but other smaller, hi touch programs that emphasize fit.

Enjoy!

7 senior MBA Admissions Directors from Berkeley Haas, Cornell Johnson, Virginia Darden, Duke Fuqua, NYU Stern, Michigan Ross, and Yale School of Management came to Vietnam this Fall for an MBA admissions panel.

Darren shares the questions asked and lessons learned from the event.

Questions

1. GMAT or GRE - does it matter? (5:08)
2. How do schools evaluate undergrad transcripts? (5:39)
3. Should only business students apply for MBAs? (6:32)
4. What does the ideal resume look like? (7:33)
5. What do adcoms want to see in essays? (9:19)
6. Optional essay - should it be used? (11:13)
7. Letter of recommendations - what are b-schools looking for? (13:24)
8. Tips for interviews? (15:25)
9. How can applicants show interest in programs? (17:32)
10. What if your recommender is not a native English speaker? (18:06)
11. Common myths in the MBA application process? (18:25)
12. Does visiting a school campus increase chances? (21:03)
13. How do schools view multiple GMAT scores? (22:08)
14. How are IR and AWA evaluated and used? (23:27)
15. What if adcoms see conflicting evidence/data points for quant scores? (23:57)
16. Is international experience important? (26:07)
17. Interviews - is there any difference between adcom and student interviews? (27:47)
18. Do adcoms consider how long you’ve worked for your recommender? (29:05)
19. What is most stressful part of getting an MBA? (29:20)
20. Rewarding part? (30:00)
21. Bonus - Darren’s key takeaways from the event (31:42)

Admissions Directors at Multi-School Admissions Event in Ho Chi Minh (Sep 2017)

Eddie Asby (Cornell Johnson, Associate Director of Admissions & Financial Aid)
Candace Gonzales (Berkeley Haas, Associate Director of Admissions)
Rita Morrow (Virginia Darden, Associate Director of Admissions)
Jessica Brown (Duke Fuqua, Assistant Director of Admissions)
Taya Sapp (Michigan Ross, Associate Director of Admissions)
Maria Derlipanska (Yale Som, Associate Director of Admissions)
Fatema Dalal (NYU Stern, Director of MBA Admissions)

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/21-mba-application-questions-answered

Episode Sponsor

Shelly Heinrich, Associate Dean, MBA Admissions and Director of Marketing at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, discusses what makes the Georgetown MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportunities and more.

Topics

• Introduction (0:00)
• Program Highlights - What Makes the Georgetown MBA Unique? (3:30)
• Georgetown MBA Admissions & Scholarships - How to Improve Your Chances? (23:00)
• Career Opportunities at Georgetown - What to Know & How to Prepare (45:00)

About Shelly

Shelly Heinrich is Associate Dean of MBA Admissions and Director of Marketing for Georgetown's University McDonough School of Business. Previously, she worked as a Client Services Director for Wunderman Thompson and Young & Rubicam. Shelly got her EMBA from Georgetown and her Masters in Education from the University of Texas at Austin.

Show Notes

• Georgetown MBA

Episode write-up and snapshot/stats of Georgetown MBA: https://touchmba.com/georgetown-mba-program-admissions-interview-shelly-heinrich

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Justin Taines, RSM MBA ’21, shares his journey from developing kids and family entertainment shows in Los Angeles to the RSM MBA, based in the Netherlands. Why did Justin pursue an MBA (instead of an EMBA) despite having over 10 years of work experience? What was his experience at the RSM MBA as an older student and during Covid?

Questions

• Justin's background (2:15)
• Justin's shortlist of schools (4:30)
• Why Justin took the GRE instead of the GMAT (12:36)
• Justin's positioning and application tips (16:40)
• Justin's RSM MBA experience (27:10)
• Justin's thoughts on his (forced) hybrid MBA experience (35:33)
• Justin's recruiting experience and lessons (45:45)
• What Justin wished he knew before starting his MBA; how to best prepare for your MBA (1:05:45)

About Justin

After getting his Bachelors of Fine Arts in Experimental Animation from the California Institute of Arts, Justin Taines worked in creative development, developing kids and family entertainment shows. He then worked in business development, building animation studios and helping the city of Jerusalem build up its animation industry. He also started and sold a retail cannabis cultivation venture before heading to the Rotterdam School of Management for his MBA. Justin is currently freelance consulting while exploring new roles post-MBA.

Episode write-up: https://touchmba.com/rsm-mba-justin-taines

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Steve Dalton, a senior career consultant and program director at Duke University's Fuqua School, shares time-saving techniques for choosing a career and acing common interview questions from his new book, The Job Closer. Having worked in MBA career services for over 16 years, Steve also shares what MBA employers are looking for, how Covid-19 has changed recruiting, and one of his favorite exercises for helping MBAs make difficult career decisions.

Questions

• Introducing Steve (0:00)
• Why Steve wrote The Job Closer and hates tips (5:00)
• Choosing a career in 63 minutes (15:00)
• Answering the "tell me about yourself (TMAY)" interview question with "FIT" (21:15)
• Can Steve's recipes be too formulaic? (33:30)
• What MBA employers are looking for (36:35)
• Building rapport online with recruiters (41:00)
• The "Sleep On It" exercise for making difficult decisions (44:20)
• Inner vs. outer ring careers (51:30)

About Steve

Steve Dalton is the author of The 2-Hour Job Search and The Job Closer, founder of the corporate training firm Contact2Colleague, and a senior career consultant and program director at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, where he got his MBA in 2004. Steve lives in Durham, North Carolina.

Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/the-job-closer-steve-dalton/

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Katie Lloyd from Georgia Tech's Scheller College of Business joins the show to discuss what makes the Georgia Tech MBA unique, the school's admissions process and career opportunities for Georgia Tech MBA students.

Program Highlights (4:19) | Admissions (21:03) | Scholarships (37:00) | Careers (41:18)

Georgia Tech Scheller MBA Highlights 

• Fall intake, 22 months, 80 students/year
• Class: 80 students / 4.5 years work exp / 25% international / 680 GMAT
• Students can explore 8 immersive tracks at the intersection of business and technology: technology commercialization, leading new ventures, innovating for sustainability, business analytics, computational finance, leading digital transformation, managing technology products, supply chain innovation
• ROI: two-thirds of class win funding through graduate assistantships and fellowships
• Placement for Class of 2016: 95% w/jobs w/in 3 months, $108,000 USD avg starting salary, $16,000 USD avg signing bonus
• Top Industries for Class of 2016: 40% Consulting / 19% Technology / 14% Financial Services / 6% Transportation & Logistics / 6% Consumer Products / 4% Health Care
• Ranked #29 by US News & World Report in 2018 MBA Rankings

About Our Guest

Katie Lloyd is Executive Director of MBA Admissions at Georgia Tech's Scheller College of Business. Previously, Katie served in senior admissions roles for Emory's Goizueta Business School, including Director of Admissions for its 1-year MBA. She has over 20 years over experience in MBA admissions. Katie attended Vanderbilt for her Bachelors, Indiana University Bloomington for her Masters and University of Georgia for her Doctor of Education.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/georgia-tech-scheller-mba-admissions-interview

Episode Sponsor

Vivien Koh from Essec Business School joins the show to discuss what makes the Essec Global MBA unique, the school's admissions process and career opportunities for Essec Global MBA students.

Program Highlights (3:28) | Admissions (21:28) | Scholarships (28:22) | Careers (31:02)

Essec MBA Highlights 

• September intake, 12 months, 100 students/year
• Students can study on French and/or Singapore campuses, depending on major
• Offers 6 majors in Luxury Brand Management, Hospitality Management, Finance, Strategy & Management, Enterprise Innovation, and Digital Business
• Top Destinations for Class of 2016: 50% France / 25% Asia / 10% Middle East & North America / 10% Europe (excluding France) / 5% North America
• Top Industries for Class of 2016: 30% Services / 25% Consulting / 20% Industry / 15% Startups / 5% Public Sector & NGOs / 5% Finance & Banking
• Ranked #27 by QS Global MBA Rankings 2018 (#13 in Europe)

About Our Guest

Vivien Koh is Executive Director, Business Development and Marketing for ESSEC Business School, Asia-Pacific. Previously, Vivien was Head of New Business Sales, Asia Pacific-Japan for Google and ASEAN Regional Sales Director for Oracle. Her sales and marketing career in technology sector spans over 20 years. Vivien received her MBA from Macquarie Graduate School of Management.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/essec-global-mba-admissions-interview/

Episode Sponsor

Chris Tran, London Business School (LBS) MBA '22, shares lessons learned from applying to and attending LBS, as well as how he landed his first post-MBA consulting gig in London.

Questions

• Introducing Chris (0:00)
• Chris' Pre-MBA Career & MBA Application Journey (3:45)
• Consulting as a Post-MBA Career Goal (9:55)
• Chris' Top 3 Tips for Applicants (12:30)
• How Chris Honed his Application Story (16:40)
• Preparing for the LBS MBA Interview (22:05)
• Highlights from Chris' LBS MBA Experience (28:45)
• Making the Most of Your MBA Time (47:45)
• Structuring Your Network & Getting Help from Alumni (48:15)
• Consulting Internships & Recruiting at LBS (49:40:)

About Chris

Chris graduated from London Business School's Full-time MBA program in 2022 and works as a Business Strategy Consultant for Accenture (UK). Chris received his Bachelors in Actuarial Science from Keele University. He then worked in investment management in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, for 8 years before getting his MBA.

Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/inside-the-london-business-school-mba-chris-tran

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

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 three questions to ask before you make a career move (3:10)
• Is following your passion practical? (13:50)
• Why Gary believes 10-15 years a good long-term planning period (23:04)
• The power song exercise (26:55)
• Applying Gary's framework to the MBA: what should more MBA applicants consider before applying? (30:08)
• How MBA recruiting has changed (39:25)
• Gary's questions to help MBA students breakthrough career planning paralysis (42:20)
• Building your personal brand (46:20)

About Gary

Gary Lo is a seasoned trainer with extensive corporate experience. He spent most of his career working at Fortune 500 companies including LVMH, Apple, Unilever, GlaxoSmithKline and Nestle, with a scope covering the Greater China & APAC region. He was the former Head of Marketing & Admissions for the HKUST MBA Programs, and now serves as a Guest Lecturer for the HKU SPACE Institute for China Business and Nielsen University. He is also an appointed career coach for top Universities in the region, where he has trained hundreds of MBA and Masters students, professionals and corporate executives from all around the world. Gary holds an MBA degree from the HKUST Business School.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/three-questions-to-ask-before-you-make-a-career-move-gary-lo

Wedad Sunny, Deputy Director and Head of Marketing and Admissions of MBA Programmes at National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School, discusses what makes the NUS MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more.

NUS is consistently ranked as one of the world’s top universities by QS (#11 in 2023), Times Higher Education (#19) and US News & World Report (#26). Its MBA programme, run by NUS Business School, was ranked #1 in Asia by Poets & Quants and #25 worldwide by the Financial Times in 2023.

Topics

• Introduction (0:00)
• Program Highlights – What Makes the NUS MBA Unique? (3:30)
• NUS MBA Admissions & Scholarships – How to Improve Your Chances? (19:30)
• Career Opportunities at NUS – What to Know & How to Prepare (38:40)

Show Notes

• NUS MBA
• Get your profile assessed by the NUS MBA admissions team before you apply

Episode write-up and snapshot/stats of NUS MBA: https://touchmba.com/nus-mba-program-admissions-interview-wedad-sunny

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Milan Mecklenberg, Insead MBA '18D, shares his journey from studying theoretical physics at Cambridge to McKinsey Berlin to Insead and then back to McKinsey, this time in Vietnam. What has he learned from the journey?

Questions

• Milan's background (2:20)
• Applying to Insead and getting sponsored by McKinsey (4:20)
• Preparing for the GMAT (8:55)
• Interviewing with McKinsey as an MBA student (11:20)
• Milan's McKinsey experience (18:28)
• Milan's Insead experience (22:42)
• Making the most of 1-year and building your network at Insead (33:40)
• Building self-awareness at Insead & McKinsey (39:45)
• Picking classes & professors at Insead (44:55)

About Milan

After getting his Masters and Bachelors in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics from Cambridge University, Milan Mecklenburg worked for McKinsey in Berlin, who then sponsored his Insead MBA in 2018. He then joined McKinsey Vietnam's office for two years. Milan is currently working as a freelance consultant and pursuing entrepreneurial projects

Episode write-up: https://touchmba.com/mckinsey-insead-experience-milan-mecklenburg/

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Phillipe and Darren discuss what makes the HEC MBA unique and get the insider word on admissions, financing and career placements at one of the top MBA programs in France / Europe.

Massine Bouzerar, a 25-year old Canadian, was backpacking through Myanmar in July when he realized he wanted to start his MBA asap. First round deadlines were looming in September. Within 3 months he wrote the GMAT and submitted a successful application to Insead. What should you do when your back is against the wall? Massine shares his experience and what he did to get accepted to one of the world’s top MBA programs: Insead.

About Our Guest

Massine Bouzerar worked as a product manager for two leading Canadian telecommunication companies before starting his current role as a Manager for E-Commerce Strategy at Ecobee. Massine graduated from Brock University where he majored in Finance. He’ll start at Insead in Fall 2018.

Episode summary, show notes and more at: http://touchmba.com/how-i-got-into-insead

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 has produced over 120 videos on how applicants can ace their MBA essays and interviews. Vince has been a Graduate Admissions Consultant for over 15 years and currently serves as President of The Association of International Graduate Admissions Consultants (AIGAC). He got Bachelors from Stanford and Masters in Instructional Design from New York University. Vince currently lives in Tokyo with his family.

Episode summary, links and more at: http://touchmba.com/mba-interview-prep-tips

Prof. Reiji Ohtaki, Program Director of the Nanyang-Waseda Double MBA, joined the show to talk about Waseda's International MBA Program located in Tokyo, Japan. Prof. Ohtaki runs the career management center and held many senior leadership positions for Hay and Mercer Consulting in Asia Pacific, so he's a great person to talk to about MBAs and careers in Japan.

Listen on for the insider's scoop...

How can younger candidates compensate for their lack of experience? What are admissions committees looking for in younger candidates? Darren covers 5 tips to show you belong and will be a valued member of your MBA class. 

Season your application with these 5 ingredients and you'll improve your chances:

1. Strong academic track record
2. Contribution inside class and in student life
3. Atypical, exceptional impact
4. Professionalism
5. Maturity

Can an MBA really develop "global leaders you can trust?"  This week I sat down with Anjaney Borwankar, Director of Corporate Develpment, SE Asia, to discuss how IESE MBA strives to fulfill this mission through its global makeup and case-study pedagogy.

Anjan is an IESE MBA alumni, and plays an active role on the admissions committee and career services teams. We had an illuminating discussion about what makes IESE unique, the admissions process, and why candidates should see the IESE MBA as a launching pad for a global career - not just one in Spain. You'll get some great tips here on what the school is looking for. Hint: it's not the GMAT.

Both the Economist and Financial Times recently ranked IESE as #1 and #3 in Europe, respectively, despite Spain's economic troubles. The school has overseas modules in New York, Shanghai, Sao Paulo and Nairobi, and is the 2nd largest producer of case studies in the world. If you prefer the case-study method, and want to get a global business education, IESE should be a leading contender.

The IESE MBA in 3 words: global, leadership, positive-impact.

Listen on for the insider's scoop...

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 the traditional MBA curriculum to produce sought after graduates.

Go to http://www.touchmba.com/rotman-mba-admissions-interview/ for a full breakdown of the program's key advantages and fast facts about admissions, financing, and careers at University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management MBA program.

Sabine Noe, Director of Recruitment & Admissions for WHU's MBA Programs, shares what makes the WHU MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more.

Program Highlights (1:50) | Admissions (14:45) | Financing & Scholarships (27:00) | Careers (32:00)

About Our Guest

Sabine Noe leads the Recruitment & Admissions Teams for MBA Programs at WHU's Otto Beisheim School of Management, where she has worked for over 5 years. Sabine graduated from FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg with a Masters in Political Science & Sociology.

What is unique about the WHU MBA? What are its key advantages?

• Ranked #1 in Germany and #14 in Europe by the Financial Times (2021)
• Ranked #6 for Entrepreneurship worldwide by Financial Times (2018); WHU alumni have founded 13 unicorns (companies valued over $1 billion USD before IPO)
• Located in Dusseldorf (population 600,000), a creative and start-up hub in Germany. More than 400 advertising agencies call Dusseldorf home, as well as hundreds more startups
• The program’s leadership module offers intensive training – both in and out of the classroom – aimed at helping students develop critical soft skills necessary to be effective managers
• MBA candidates are required to participate in short-term study periods in the U.S., India and China. Partner universities include Kellogg, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, and CEIBS/Fudan
• The program offers two potential start dates – March or September – and an intensive, four-week German language course that candidates can participate in before starting the MBA

Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/whu-mba-program-admissions-interview-sabine-noe 

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

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 give you a great feel for how recruiting works at top US business schools and what to look out for as you shortlist programs based on your career goals. The two also talk about social life at MIT Sloan and what to look forward to. Enjoy!

QUESTIONS

1. Why Andrew applied to MIT Sloan (2:00)
2. How Andrew found his internship with Uniqlo (3:06)
3. Securing internships in a different industry or function (8:08)
4. How Andrew found his job with Apple & tech recruiting at MIT Sloan (13:12)
5. The job search process at MIT Sloan (17:15)
6. The role of alumni in the recruiting process (19:00)
7. Andrew's school selection advice for MBA applicants (20:25)
8. MBA social life: Year 1 vs. Year 2 (22:10)
9. Andrew's thoughts on classmates and culture at MIT Sloan (28:30)

Darren and Dirk talk what makes the IE MBA unique - get the insider word on admissions, financing and career placements at one of the top MBA programs in Spain / Europe.