Mr. Praveen Muruganandan, Director of Admissions and Recruitment at Schulich School of Business, joined the show to share more about the Schulich MBA, located in Toronto, Canada. We had a revealing chat about Schulich's unique points and what the school is looking for during the admissions process.

Interesting things I learned about the Schulich MBA:

The Schulich MBA is flexible and customizable. Students can start in January or September, and finish in 16 or 20 months. Students can choose from over 150 electives and 19 specializations. Most grads end up working in Finance, Marketing and Strategy.

The Strategy Field Study is the capstone of Schulich MBA experience; groups of 7-8 students help an organization with its strategy over 6-7 months.

Schulich also has an International MBA (IMBA) program, which requires students to work abroad and to speak 2 languages. There are 30-40 students per cohort.

Toronto is the 4th biggest city in North America and 45% of its residents are international.

Graduates from Schulich get a 3-year postgraduate work permit. It typically takes around 2 years to get permanent residence in Canada. Attending a top Canadian b-school would be a great transition to working and living in North America.[/ulist]

The Schulich MBA in 3 words: global, innovative, diverse. 

Darren's take: if you're looking for a comprehensive and top-tier global program in Toronto, the financial center of Canada, you should consider the Schulich MBA.

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...

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