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 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 applicants should look for in an MBA network.
Matt Reesor from Queen’s University Smith School of Business joins the show to discuss what makes the Queen’s MBA unique, the school’s admissions process and career opportunities for Queen’s MBA students.
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.
Amid all the attention paid to rankings, average salaries, and ROI, one crucial part of the MBA experience often gets overlooked – faculty. After all, you are spending more than 700 hours in class at most top MBA programs. In this episode, Darren invites Professor Gregor Halff to give you a behind the scenes look at the life of a business school professor. What does their typical day look like? What are their responsibilities? What are they looking for from MBA students? And what should MBA applicants look for and expect from MBA faculty? Listen on to better understand what b-school professors do and how this could influence your experience.
Lawrence Chan and Professor David Ahlstrom of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) MBA program join the show to discuss what makes the CUHK MBA unique, the school’s admissions process and the career opportunities in the region.
Neethling McGrath, an Admissions Edge Member, shares the ups and downs of applying, reapplying and getting into his first choice: Columbia GSB.
Neethling shares what he did differently the second time around and what he believes were the factors for his application success.
To those of you who got dinged and are re-applying to top programs, this episode is for you.
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.
Clare shares her journey and tips for those of you scrambling to apply last minute. Not the ideal situation – but certainly a common one.
With 200,000 MBAs graduating each year, are business schools preparing “career ready” employees?
In a sweeping survey of 10,000 recruiters, 3,000 business students (both MBAs and undergraduates), and 500 B-school career center leaders, Jeff Kavanaugh found that all three constituencies had different perceptions of what’s important and where they stand.
Darren and Jeff discuss the 4 main skills recruiters are looking for, where business school graduates are perceived as falling short, and what you can do to boost your employability. Jeff also shares what competencies consulting firms are looking for from MBAs, and what non-consultants can do to break into the industry.
To celebrate the 100th episode of the Touch MBA Podcast, we invited our 9 most popular guests to answer 1 question: “What 1 Action Can Candidates Take to Dramatically Improve Their Application?”
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!
Rahul Kewalramani, Insead MBA 16D, shares his thoughts on leading the Insead Private Equity and 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.
Son Nguyen, Associate Director of Admissions, discusses what makes the Michigan Ross MBA and culture unique and offers his best tips on how to stand out in your application.
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 trends in IE MBA student placement.
Pin Chin Kwok, UC Berkeley Haas MBA ’09, shares her journey pursuing a social impact career as an MBA applicant, student and alumni. Pin majored in Finance & Operations Research at NYU and worked 7 years at Citi in the finance industry before starting her MBA. Pin and Darren discuss what social impact applicants (broadly defined as those who want to work in corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship, non-profit, government/public policy, and corporate social responsibility) should look for when shortlisting MBA programs, securing internships/jobs in the sector, and planning their careers.
Emma Fisher, NYU Stern MBA ’15, shares what international MBA students must know about working in the US during and after their US MBA. Emma and Darren walk through the common visa path for most international students – from F1 student visa to OPT/CPT to H1B. Emma also shares ways international students can maximize their chances of working in the US post-MBA.
