Category: School Research & Selection Tips

#236 Get Ahead Before You Apply with MBA Pre-Assessments

Many top-ranked MBA programs in Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia actively encourage applicants to connect with admissions teams before submitting an application. But most applicants don’t know this – or are too nervous to reach out. Should you contact admissions before you’re ready? What if you haven’t taken the GMAT yet, or your resume isn’t…
How to Choose the Right MBA Programs for You

We’ve helped over 4,000 MBA applicants from 50 countries shortlist MBA programs. Follow these 4 steps to find business schools that fit you best.
#228 3 Exercises to Design Your Life & Find Best Fit MBA Programs

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.
#221 Excellent Advice for Living (and MBA Applications!)

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.
#218 Lessons from Listeners (Vol. 2): Drawing a Roadmap for Admissions, Prioritizing Conversations, Prematurely Applying, Being Strategic Yet Flexible

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
#217 Lessons from Listeners (Vol. 1): Working for Unknown Companies, Determining Best-Fit Schools, Dealing with Dings

Darren shares three lessons from three admitted applicants that have stood the test of time: how to present yourself if you work for a relatively unknown company, how to determine best-fit b-schools, and how to deal with dings.
#208 Undercover MBA Subrankings

Darren shares his top 5 “undercover” subrankings that can help you shortlist best-fit MBA programs.
#199 10 Application Lessons from 10 Years of Touch MBA

We’re nearing 200 episodes of Touch MBA. Feeling nostalgic, Darren reflects on 10 lessons for applicants from 10 years of Touch MBA!
6 MBA Programs to Launch Your Career in Social Impact (2022)

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.
#196 How I Got Into UC Berkeley Haas MBA (and HBS, Wharton, UCLA too!) & Breaking into Product Management with Bridget Pujals

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).
#195 Business School Selection Simplified: How to Shortlist MBA Programs You’re Excited About AND Competitive At

What if you could figure out MBA programs you’re excited about AND competitive at, that would be a great investment in your future? And do this with the least time and effort?
#194 Building a Professional MBA Network with Nicolle Lee, Wharton MBA ’22

Nicolle Lee, Wharton MBA ’22, shares how building relationships helped her reach her MBA goals – including breaking into the real estate industry.
#193 Hiring Trends & Salaries for Business School Graduates from GMAC’s Corporate Recruiters Survey

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.
#192 MBA Coffee Chats: Thoughtful Advice on How to Get the Most Out of Your MBA with Adam Putterman, Kellogg MMM ’19

How can you make the most of your MBA experience? Adam Putterman, co-author of MBA Coffee Chats, shares why coffee chats are essential and key lessons learned from hundreds of successful MBAs.
Our Favorite MBA Application Tools

After 11 years advising over 4,000 MBA applicants, we recommend the following providers for GMAT prep, admissions consulting, student loans, and more.