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Category Archives: Darren’s MBA Application Tips

Darren, a former MBA Admissions Director, shares concrete ways you can strengthen your MBA application and materially improve your chances of getting IN to your target schools.

#138 MBA Resume Do’s and Don’ts (Plus Templates!)

Your resume is often what MBA admissions officers first see, and frames how they view the rest of your profile. Follow this checklist of CV ‘do’s and don’ts’ to make make a strong first impression and set the stage for a successful application.

#131 The Quick & Easy Way to Effective MBA Interviewing

Could this be the only book you need to prepare for your MBA interviews?

Inspired by Dale Carnegie’s classic book, The Quick & Easy Way to Effective Speaking, Darren shares a simple 3-part framework to help you choose your best ‘material’ for your MBA interviews. 

#121 21 MBA Application Questions Answered

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.

#113 Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t

Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t by Steven Pressfield

Inspired by Steven Pressfield’s book, Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t, Darren offers 3 pillars to present a memorable MBA story: concept, theme, and structure (hook, build, payoff).

#112 LinkedIn Tips for MBA Applicants

Top 7 LinkedIn Tips for MBA Applicants

Your LinkedIn profile could be the first thing business schools see.

Darren draws on his admissions experience and shares 7 tips to make a good first impression, reinforce your MBA story, and highlight additional qualities not in your application.

MBA programs are looking at your social media, especially your LinkedIn profile. Take 15 minutes to follow these guidelines and represent yourself well to b-schools, MBA students & alumni, and future employers.

#106 The GMAT Episode

How do top business schools use the GMAT to evaluate you? What exactly are they looking for? What do you need to score and on which sections? When should you retake the GMAT? Do schools prefer the GMAT or GRE?

Darren asks Admissions Directors from 3 top schools – HKUST (Hong Kong), IESE (Spain) and Michigan Ross (USA) – tough questions about the GMAT. Listen on to get answers to the GMAT questions you’ve always wanted to ask.

#93 Which Extracurriculars?

Rakugo, Traditional Japanese Storytelling

Darren offers 3 questions to consider when presenting your extracurricular activities and shares examples from successful applicants. The volunteering / activities / interests / achievements / additional part of your resume is anything but “additional.” Make it count!

#83 MBA Essays that Work – Candid Thoughts on Essays, Authenticity and Being Yourself

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 and Author Paul Bodine to get 2 different perspectives on this common applicant challenge.

#81 How to Make Better Choices When Selecting MBA Programs

How to Choose the Right MBA Programs for You

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.

#74 How to Overcome a Low GPA

Darren shares 7 concrete ways you can overcome a low GPA and show top-ranked MBA programs that you will perform well in an intense Master’s level program.

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