Stephen Sweeney is Director of Full-Time MBA Admissions at McCombs School of Business, The University of Texas at Austin. Stephen got his MBA from McCombs in 2011. Go to http://www.touchmba.com/texas-mccombs-mba-admissions-interview for a full breakdown of the program's key advantages and fast facts about admissions, financing, and careers at University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business MBA program.

Erin Town is Director of MBA Admissions, Foster School of Business, University of Washington. Erin has been doing MBA admissions for Foster for over 11 years. Go to http://www.touchmba.com/foster-mba-admissions-interview for a full breakdown of the program's key advantages and fast facts about admissions, financing, and careers at Washington University's Foster School of Business MBA program.

Bloomberg Businessweek ranked the Ivey MBA the #1 international MBA program in 2014, largely due to employer and student satisfaction. Darren interviews J.D. Clarke, MBA Executive Director of Masters Programs Recruitment and Admissions, about the school's unique offering and admissions process. 

About Our Guest

John-Derek (J.D.) Clarke is the MBA Executive Director of Masters Programs Recruitment and Admissions, Ivey Business School at Western University. J.D. got his MBA from Ivey in 2010. He has worked for over 20 years in higher education, including for Queens School of Business and Ivey Business School.

Program Highlights (4:54), Admissions (15:40), Financing (29:51), Careers (32:48)

Go to http://www.touchmba.com/ivey-mba-admissions-interview for a full breakdown of the program's key advantages and fast facts about admissions, financing, and careers at Western University's Ivey Business School MBA program.

Darren talks to Andrew, a recent MIT Sloan MBA graduate, about his internship and job search experience at Sloan. Andrew worked for Target as a Senior Analyst doing business intelligence and analytics before business school. He landed an internship with Uniqlo (one of the world's top 5 retailers) in New York City and will be heading to Cupertino to work for Apple this month. This episode will give you a great feel for how recruiting works at top US business schools and what to look out for as you shortlist programs based on your career goals. The two also talk about social life at MIT Sloan and what to look forward to. Enjoy!

QUESTIONS

1. Why Andrew applied to MIT Sloan (2:00)
2. How Andrew found his internship with Uniqlo (3:06)
3. Securing internships in a different industry or function (8:08)
4. How Andrew found his job with Apple & tech recruiting at MIT Sloan (13:12)
5. The job search process at MIT Sloan (17:15)
6. The role of alumni in the recruiting process (19:00)
7. Andrew's school selection advice for MBA applicants (20:25)
8. MBA social life: Year 1 vs. Year 2 (22:10)
9. Andrew's thoughts on classmates and culture at MIT Sloan (28:30)

Do you know how to solve a problem that has no precedent?

Kelly Wilson, Executive Director of Masters Admissions at Carnegie Mellon's  Tepper School of Business, shares with Darren how Tepper equips its students to do this through a mastery of analytics, year-round leadership development program, and one-on-one attention with professors. Kelly and Darren also talk in depth about Tepper's admissions process, how to prepare for Tepper's behavioral interviews, and the school's extensive career services.

About Our Guest

Kelly Wilson is Executive Director of Masters Admissions at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business. Before joining Tepper in 2012, Kelly worked as an Assistant Dean and Director of Admissions for Georgetown McDonough School of Business and Pittsburgh Katz Graduate School of Business. Kelly got her MBA from George Mason University and Masters of Management of Information Systems from Katz.

Program Highlights (2:51), Admissions (16:46), Financing (30:37), Careers (33:01)

Go to http://www.touchmba.com/carnegie-mellon-tepper-mba-admissions-interview for a full breakdown of the program's key advantages and fast facts about admissions, financing, and careers at Carnegie Mellon University's Tepper School of Business MBA program.

This week Darren sat down with Bruce DelMonico, Assistant Dean and Director of Admissions at Yale School of Management, to discuss Yale’s mission of “educating leaders for business and society.” How does this translate into the curriculum? How does the school plan to evolve? And what does this mean from an admissions and career perspective? Don’t miss this very informative chat about what makes Yale unique and how you can give yourself the best shot of getting in.

About Our Guest

Bruce DelMonico is the Assistant Dean and Director of Admissions at Yale School of Management, where he has been for over 10 years. Prior to Yale, Bruce worked as an Attorney for 10 years. Bruce has a JD from University of Virginia School of Law and Masters in English from the University of Texas Austin.

Program Highlights (2:20), Admissions (19:16), Financing (33:27), Careers (39:46)

Go to http://www.touchmba.com/yale-som-mba-admissions-interview-bruce-delmonico for a full breakdown of the program's key advantages and fast facts about admissions, financing, and careers at the Yale School of Management MBA program.

Dozens of MBA applicants come to Touch MBA every month for free school selection help and a common concern is how to overcome a low GPA. How can you show top-ranked programs that you will perform well in an intense Master's level program? That you belong with other MBA candidates who got A and B+ averages as undergraduates?

Applicants with low GPAs need to send 2 signals: 1) that they're academically capable and 2) that they have a strong work ethic. Listen on for 7 concrete ways you can communicate these qualities in your application to tackle a low GPA.

1. Scoring well on GMAT
2. Performing well in other academic environments (Masters Degrees) or tests (CFA, CPA, etc)
3. Highlighting work experience that demonstrates your hard business skills
4. Securing recommendations that rank you highly for intellectual ability
5. Taking pre-MBA classes (MBA Math, online courses, community college courses)
6. "The Shaq Rule" - being so strong employability and ambassadorial-wise that you'll still be a net contributor
7. Using your optional essay to explain (not excuse) the context surrounding your GPA

At Touch MBA we help point applicants in the right direction when it comes to best-fit schools. But which schools should you target in the first, second or third rounds? Should you apply to all your top choices in round 1?

In this episode, Darren talks to Dean Nordheilm, who came to Touch MBA last Fall and just got into Kellogg. Dean applied to 4 top schools - Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, MIT Sloan and Northwestern Kellogg - and learned many lessons along the way. We discuss his "round strategy" as well as how he positioned himself and researched schools. Don't miss these great tips from someone who just got admitted!

Questions

1. Dean's background (2:32)
2. Dean's positioning tips (4:10)
3. Researching and presenting your post-MBA goals (6:08)
4. Which schools to apply to? (9:30)
5. Dean's round strategy and reflections (15:32)
6. Do your applications get better to each subsequent school? (17:20)
7. Getting recommendations for multiple rounds and schools (18:30)
8. Not setting expectations too high (20:50)
9. The importance of building up your application network (23:45)

This week I sat down with Jessica Chung, Associate Director of Full-time MBA Admissions at UCLA's Anderson School of Management.

We had an in-depth and open discussion about UCLA's MBA offering and culture, what admissions is looking for, and how the program supports students in their career searches. After listening to our conversation, you'll get an insider's feel for the qualities Anderson is looking for and how the school is evolving. Jessica is very transparent about the admissions process so don't miss this one!

About Our Guest

Jessica Chung is the Associate Director of Full-time MBA Admissions at UCLA's Anderson School of Management. Jessica got her B.S. in Business Administration at UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business, and got her Masters in Education from UCLA. She also worked for USC Marshall School as a Graduate Admissions Advisor before joining the Anderson School at UCLA in 2007.

Program Highlights (3:12), Admissions (18:58), Financing (41:05), Careers (44:53)

Go to http://www.touchmba.com/ucla-anderson-mba-admissions-interview for a full breakdown of the program's key advantages and fast facts about admissions, financing, and careers at the UCLA Anderson School of Management MBA program.

Over the past decade, Tyler Cormney and MBA Prep School have achieved a 90% success rate with clients at the world's top schools. What are the key steps to preparing an application that puts you in the top 10%? Hint: it's not your essay(s).

Don't miss this value-packed episode and feel free to ask Tyler your questions in the comments!

You can find a list of questions asked at http://touchmba.com/how-to-apply-for-a-top-mba-tyler-cormney-mba-prep-school

About Our Guest

Tyler Cormney is the CEO and Co-Founder of MBA Prep School. Tyler graduated from Harvard Business School with Distinction and has a Masters Degree in Professional Writing from USC. Tyler has been helping MBA applicants for 10 years and his company has a 90% success rate for top-ranked business schools.

Questions

• Why preparing to apply is the most important step in the application process (3:47)
• How to determine your "points of difference" (6:50)
• Which points of difference should you highlight? (10:20)
• Career goals and how to tell your "career story" (12:45)
• A different and better way to answer "why do you need an MBA?" (17:40)
• Developing a compelling "career purpose" (19:28)
• How to show long-term and short-term MBA goals (24:10)
• Why self-reflection is the secret weapon in MBA applications (26:40)
• Admissions trends applicants should be aware of at top 7 schools (28:18)
• With schools shortening applications, how can applicants still tell their story? (33:28)
• Cultivating mentor relationships early for your recommendations (36:34)
• Common mistakes applicants make (37:44)
• The necessity of putting together a support team (40:20)

Darren speaks with Julee Conrad, Assistant Director of MBA Admissions and Recruiting at Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University, about Fisher's unique advantages and how to best position yourself in the admissions process. 

Go to http://www.touchmba.com/ohio-state-fisher-mba-admissions-interview/ for a full breakdown of the program's key advantages and fast facts about admissions, financing, and careers at the Ohio State University Fisher College of Business MBA program.

Many of our podcast listeners come to Touch MBA to get free school selection help. One of them, Li Daming, recently got into Northwestern Kellogg, Insead, Michigan Ross, Duke Fuqua and Cornell Johnson with scholarship funding. How did he do it?

Daming has literally invested hundreds of hours (and plane miles!) in the application process – be sure to benefit from his experience as he shares his best tips. There’s lots of gold nuggets in this one. Enjoy…

I’m always excited to hear listeners succeed in their MBA journeys. If you would like to share your story, please get in touch at darren at touchmba.com – we’d love to feature you on the show.

Daming’s educational and professional background and career goals (3:25)

Common misconceptions about MBA admissions (8:32)

What if you don’t work for a well-known company? (12:02)

Do you need a high GMAT to get in? (14:52)

Daming’s process to select schools (16:56)

How to research schools (20:19)

How to tell your best story and Daming’s “fit in, stand out” positioning strategy (25:50)

Recommendation tips (31:16)

Daming’s top 3 interview tips (32:13)

What questions to ask at the end of your interview (38:46)

Final thoughts and advice (41:25)

There’s no perfect school for everyone, so the saying goes. Education, like love, is all about fit.

Top business schools are looking for candidates that would fit with their program, culture, and values. And you should be looking for programs that match your goals too. How can you demonstrate fit in your application without sounding disingenuous or even worse, like everyone else?

Darren shares 4 common mistakes applicants make when trying to prove fit. This comes from reading thousands of applications. Listen on to learn 4 simple strategies you can use to convincingly demonstrate you belong at your target schools.

• Remember, there is no perfect school for you
• Speak the same language as the tribe
• Don’t repeat the school’s marketing pitch; fit should reveal you
• Avoid using school buzzwords; embody them instead

Go to www.touchmba.com/podcast to get more insider admissions tips and free school selection help.