Darren talks with N’doli Jean-Hugues “Cherif,” a French and Ivorian candidate who gained admission to both INSEAD and London Business School’s MBA programs. Cherif, an older full-time MBA candidate with diverse experience across five roles – including audit, management consulting, investment banking and infrastructure project finance in the public and private sector – shares his five key success factors for MBA admissions.
Darren confronts his own “AI anxiety” with Sabine King, Director of the Career Accelerator at the prestigious Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) at University of New South Wales (UNSW). Together, they explore the impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the demand for MBA graduates, the evolving strategies of career services, and how leading business schools are equipping their students to thrive in an AI-world.
Darren shares 3 design thinking exercises from Bill Burnett and Dave Evan’s Designing Your Life that will help you build a joyful life – and find MBA programs you are excited about.
Inspired by Kevin Kelly’s Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I Knew Earlier, Darren shares 10 bits of life wisdom that could materially improve your chances of getting into business school and building a successful career.
Darren shares more hard-earned application lessons from four listeners (now graduated MBAs): drawing a roadmap for the admissions team, prioritizing conversations when picking schools, “prematurely applying” and being strategic yet flexible
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?
We’re nearing 200 episodes of Touch MBA. Feeling nostalgic, Darren reflects on 10 lessons for applicants from 10 years of Touch MBA!
Tony Ngo, HBS ’08, shares how he used the MBA to explore a career in Vietnam, first in finance, and then as an edtech entrepreneur with Everest Education.
We’ve identified six standout b-schools that complement their strong curricula with robust co-curricular opportunities in order to expose students to the social impact, social entrepreneurship, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) industries.
Bridget Pujals shares lessons learned from her MBA application journey, culminating in admits to Harvard, Wharton ($70K scholarship), UCLA Anderson ($100K scholarship), and Berkeley Haas ($175K scholarship).
What are corporate recruiters looking for from business graduate students? And how do median MBA salaries compare to those of specialized business masters programs? Darren shares 3 interesting findings from GMAC’s Corporate Recruiters Survey. This way, you can think more like an admissions officer, and put forward your strongest application.
After 11 years advising over 4,000 MBA applicants, we recommend the following providers for GMAT prep, admissions consulting, student loans, and more.
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?
Here is my unsolicited advice to friends in their 20s searching for purpose, work, home and satisfaction. More than anything, this episode is a reminder to myself to love and live the questions – cause they never go away.
Dr. Gleb Tsipursky has dedicated his professional life to helping others overcome cognitive biases and make better decisions. In this episode, Darren and Dr. Gleb discuss ways MBA applicants can make better, unbiased decisions when it comes to business school and their careers.
