How are top business schools using the GMAT Focus exam, which will replace the GMAT in January 2024? What do you need to score and on which sections? Do schools prefer the GMAT, GMAT Focus, or GRE?

Darren asks Admissions Directors from two top schools – Toronto Rotman (#1 in Canada by the Financial Times) and IESE (#1 in Spain by the Financial Times) – tough questions about the GMAT Focus test and GRE. Listen on to get your GMAT Focus questions answered and to understand how top b-schools use standardized test scores when making admissions decisions.

Topics

• Introduction (0:00)
• Toronto Rotman MBA - Agnes Mak (4:20)
• IESE MBA - Tomofumi Nishida (30:20)

About Our Guests

Agnes Mak is the Assistant Director, Recruitment & Admissions managing the East Asia region for the Full-Time MBA program at the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management. She has over 20 years of professional experience in higher education and business advisory. Prior to joining the University of Toronto, she was a Partner at KPMG Canada and held numerous leadership roles to attract and promote international talent.

Tomofumi Nishida is Deputy Director (Asia, MBA Admissions) for IESE Business School, where he has been since 2016. Prior to IESE, Tomo worked for NTT DOCOMO as a strategic investment analyst and account manager in corporate sales. Tomo got his B.A. in Occidental History from the University of Tokyo and MBA from IESE.

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Professor Adrian Buss, Associate Professor of Finance and Academic Director of MBA Programs at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, discusses what makes the Frankfurt School’s MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more.

Topics

• Introduction (0:00)
• Program Highlights – What Makes the Frankfurt School MBA Unique? (4:20)
• Frankfurt School MBA Admissions & Scholarships – How to Improve Your Chances? (20:45)
• Career Opportunities after Frankfurt School – What to Know & How to Prepare (36:15)

About Our Guest

Dr. Adrian Buss is Associate Professor of Finance and Academic Director of MBA Programs at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management. Prior to joining the Frankfurt School, Adrian taught as an Associate Professor of Finance at Insead for over 10 years.

Adrian graduated from the University of Mannheim with a Masters of Science in Mathematics and Business Informatics before getting his PhD in Finance at Goethe University Frankfurt.

Show Notes

• Frankfurt School of Finance & Management MBA Program

Touch MBA's Summary of the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management Full-time MBA: 

https://touchmba.com/frankfurt-school-finance-management-mba-program-admissions-interview-adrian-buss/

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Professor Wan Wongsunwai, Associate Dean of MBA Programmes and Director of MBA Programmes at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School, discusses what makes the CUHK MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportunities and more.

Topics

• Introduction (0:00)
• Program Highlights - What Makes the CUHK MBA Unique? (4:30)
• CUHK MBA Admissions & Scholarships - How to Improve Your Chances? (27:30)
• Career Opportunities after CUHK Business School - What to Know & How to Prepare (47:20)

About Our Guest

Professor Wan Wongsunwai is Associate Dean of MBA Programmes and Director of MBA Programmes at CUHK Business School, where he has worked for over 7 years. His research interests include financial reporting quality, corporate governance, entrepreneurship and private equity. Before coming to CUHK, he taught and researched at Insead and Northwestern Kellogg

Professor Wan earned his undergraduate degree in mathematics at Imperial College and later received his Doctor of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School. Prior to obtaining his doctoral degree, he worked at KPMG in London, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Hong Kong and then as an equity analyst with ABN AMRO Bank in Hong Kong, covering software and information technology.

Show Notes

• CUHK Full-time MBA

Touch MBA Episode write-up and overview of the CUHK Full-time MBA: 

https://touchmba.com/chinese-university-of-hong-kong-cuhk-mba-program-admissions-interview-wan-wongsunwai

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Shari Hubert, Associate Dean of Admissions at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, discusses what makes the Duke Fuqua MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more.

Topics

• Introduction (0:00)
• Program Highlights – What Makes the Duke Fuqua Daytime MBA Unique? (6:55)
• Duke Fuqua MBA Admissions & Scholarships – How to Improve Your Chances? (29:10)
• Career Opportunities after Duke Fuqua – What to Know & How to Prepare (59:30)

About Our Guest

Shari Hubert is Associate Dean of Admissions at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business. She has been with Duke for 6 years. Previously, Shari served as Associate Dean of Admissions at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business as well as Director of Recruitment for the Peace Corps. Shari has also worked at Citi, GE, NBC Universal, The Boston Consulting Group and Merck in a variety of recruiting, consulting and marketing roles.

Shari graduated from Harvard Business School with an MBA and majored in French at Dartmouth University as an undergraduate. She serves on a number of HBS Alumni Boards, Pyxera’s Global Board of Directors and is a Forte Partner Advisory Council Member.

Show Notes

• Duke Fuqua MBA
• The Fuqua Show on Spotify
• The Duke MBA Admissions Interview: What to Expect and How to Prepare

Touch MBA Episode write-up and snapshot/stats of the Duke Fuqua Daytime MBA: 

https://touchmba.com/duke-fuqua-mba-program-admissions-interview-shari-hubert

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

"We pride ourselves in being at the center of business and technology... We've asked employers, 'How would you describe our students?' and most often the words we get back are 'humble, hardworking and good problem solvers.' I think that's fantastic and that's how I would describe our students as well."

Dr. Jonathan Clarke, Interim Dean at Georgia Tech's Scheller College of Business, discusses what makes the Scheller MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportunities and more.

Topics

• Introduction (0:00)
• Program Highlights - What Makes the Georgia Tech Scheller MBA Unique? (4:00)
• Scheller MBA Admissions & Scholarships - How to Improve Your Chances? (17:20)
• Career Opportunities after Georgia Tech Scheller - What to Know & How to Prepare (32:20)

About Jonathan

Jonathan Clarke is Interim Dean and Associate Professor of Finance at Georgia Tech's Scheller College of Business. From 2012-2018, Dr. Clarke served as Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs, where he helped raise the school's profile. Dr. Clarke was named to the Poets and Quants 2018 list of Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professors, and also voted the 2009 and 2013 MBA Core Professor of the Year. He has taught custom programs for NCR, Clorox, Georgia Pacific, Lockheed Martin, and the National Football League. Dr. Clarke is on the board of the Eastern Finance Association, on the editorial board of The Financial Review, and edits the Handbook of Modern Finance.

Dr. Clarke received his PhD from the Katz Graduate School of Business and the University of Pittsburgh and his undergraduate degrees in Mathematics and Economics from Indiana University in Bloomington.

Show Notes

• Georgia Tech Scheller Full-time MBA Program
• Tech Square Atlanta
• Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) - Georgia's technology business incubator

Episode write-up and snapshot/stats of the Georgia Tech Scheller MBA: https://touchmba.com/georgia-tech-scheller-mba-program-admissions-interview-jonathan-clarke/

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Sue Oldham, Associate Dean at Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management, discusses what makes the Vanderbilt MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportunities and more.

Topics

• Introduction (0:00)
• Program Highlights - What Makes the Vanderbilt MBA Unique? (4:40)
• Vanderbilt MBA Admissions & Scholarships - How to Improve Your Chances? (19:30)
• Career Opportunities at Vanderbilt - What to Know & How to Prepare (39:45)

About Sue

Sue Oldham is Associate Dean at Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management, where she is responsible for recruiting and admissions, enrollment management, academic and student affairs, and the career management center. Previously, she worked at Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Business as Executive Director of Recruiting & Admissions and Alumni Engagement. Before jumping into higher education, she worked over 10 years as a consultant. Sue got her B.A. in English from Rice and her MBA from Vanderbilt.

Show Notes

• Vanderbilt MBA
• Vanderbilt's MBA Admissions 101 Webinar - Find the Next One Here

Episode write-up and snapshot/stats of Vanderbilt MBA: https://touchmba.com/vanderbilt-mba-program-admissions-interview-sue-oldham

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Shelly Heinrich, Associate Dean, MBA Admissions and Director of Marketing at Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business, discusses what makes the Georgetown MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportunities and more.

Topics

• Introduction (0:00)
• Program Highlights - What Makes the Georgetown MBA Unique? (3:30)
• Georgetown MBA Admissions & Scholarships - How to Improve Your Chances? (23:00)
• Career Opportunities at Georgetown - What to Know & How to Prepare (45:00)

About Shelly

Shelly Heinrich is Associate Dean of MBA Admissions and Director of Marketing for Georgetown's University McDonough School of Business. Previously, she worked as a Client Services Director for Wunderman Thompson and Young & Rubicam. Shelly got her EMBA from Georgetown and her Masters in Education from the University of Texas at Austin.

Show Notes

• Georgetown MBA

Episode write-up and snapshot/stats of Georgetown MBA: https://touchmba.com/georgetown-mba-program-admissions-interview-shelly-heinrich

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Thomas Caleel, former Head of MBA Admissions for Wharton, takes us behind the scenes of how an Admissions Director builds a class and what he or she looks for from applicants. What are the key qualities and characteristics that admissions committees look for? How did Thomas' team review 8,000 applicants per year? And how can you craft a thoughtful, authentic and compelling application that stands out?

About Thomas

Thomas Caleel is host of the Admittedly Podcast and Chairman and Founder of Global Education Opportunities, LLC, an international education consulting and admissions advisory firm. Thomas served as the Head of MBA Admissions and Financial Aid for The Wharton Business School from 2005 - 2008, where he observed how exceptional candidates were able to successfully differentiate themselves.

Thomas graduted from the University of Pennsylvania twice, first with a Bachelors in International Relations and then with an MBA from Wharton in 2003.

Topics

• Introducing Thomas Caleel (0:00)
• What "holistic MBA admissions" means to Thomas (7:00)
• Behind the scenes of how Wharton reviews 8,000 applicants to build a class (16:25)
• How applicants can stand out (20:55)
• How Thomas helps his clients find their authentic voice (25:20)
• Thoughtful MBA goals (30:30)
• How Thomas' team evaluated GMAT/GRE scores (34:45)
• Advice for international students (40:10)
• Thomas' thoughts on MBA ROI (46:20)
• How Thomas views the MBA, 20 years after graduating (54:00)
• Should entrepreneurs get an MBA? (57:00)

Show Notes

• Thomas Caleel

Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/inside-the-wharton-mba-application-process-thomas-caleel/

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

You’ve heard about US News & World Report and Financial Times Global MBA Rankings, but did you know Financial Times also ranks business schools’ alumni network and career effectiveness? Or that QS ranks business schools worldwide according to specialization?

After updating Touch MBA’s school matching algorithm, Darren shares his top 5 “undercover” subrankings that can help you shortlist best-fit MBA programs.

Darren also shares 3 ways to shortlist business schools that could lead to a better MBA experience and investment.

Topics

• Understanding Rankings & Subrankings (0:00)
• Darren’s 5 Favorite Subrankings for MBA Applicants (7:30)
• A Process to Quickly Evaluate Schools (23:45)

Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/undercover-mba-subrankings

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Wedad Sunny, Deputy Director and Head of Marketing and Admissions of MBA Programmes at National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School, discusses what makes the NUS MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more.

NUS is consistently ranked as one of the world’s top universities by QS (#11 in 2023), Times Higher Education (#19) and US News & World Report (#26). Its MBA programme, run by NUS Business School, was ranked #1 in Asia by Poets & Quants and #25 worldwide by the Financial Times in 2023.

Topics

• Introduction (0:00)
• Program Highlights – What Makes the NUS MBA Unique? (3:30)
• NUS MBA Admissions & Scholarships – How to Improve Your Chances? (19:30)
• Career Opportunities at NUS – What to Know & How to Prepare (38:40)

Show Notes

• NUS MBA
• Get your profile assessed by the NUS MBA admissions team before you apply

Episode write-up and snapshot/stats of NUS MBA: https://touchmba.com/nus-mba-program-admissions-interview-wedad-sunny

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Nikhil Agarwal, Co-Founder of Juno, shares optimal strategies to minimize your MBA student loans in 2023. Nikhil shares everything you you need to know about the following variables to secure the best financing package for your situation:

• Loan terms
• Repayment schedules
• Variable vs. fixed interest rates
• Federal vs. private loans

Juno has helped thousands of students access over $700M in loans at preferential rates and terms. Take advantage of Nikhil's deep experience in this space to secure the most favorable rates and terms for your MBA student loans.

About Nikhil

Nikhil Agarwal is Co-Founder of Juno. Nikhil got his Bachelors of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and his MBA from Harvard Business School. Nikhil validated the Juno business model his first year at HBS when he helped 700 MBA students from 10 business schools save over $14,000 USD on their loans through collective bargaining.

Topics

• Introducing Nikhil Agarwal & Juno (0:00)
• Optimal strategies to minimize your MBA student loans (12:30)
• Nikhil's thoughts on maximizing long-term net worth (30:00)
• How international MBA students can minimize their MBA loans (33:00)
• How students can join Juno & negotiate with lenders for better rates (37:00)
• Nikhil's thoughts on optimizing your MBA experience (45:00)

Show Notes

• Juno (support Touch MBA and Juno by signing up here)
• Touch MBA's Guide to Financing Your MBA and the Best MBA Student Loans

Episode write-up and links: https://touchmba.com/strategies-optimal-mba-student-loans-nikhil-agarwal-juno/

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Rebecca Loades, Director of MBA Programs at European School of Management and Technology (ESMT Berlin), discusses what makes the ESMT Berlin MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportunities and more.

ESMT was founded in 2002 by 25 leading companies - including Bayer, Daimler, and McKinsey - who wanted to develop management talent in Germany. The school is the fastest in history to be triple accredited by AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA and was ranked the #1 German business school by the Financial Times in 2022.

Topics

• Introduction (0:00)
• Program Highlights - What Makes the ESMT Berlin MBA Unique? (2:30)
• ESMT Berlin MBA Admissions & Scholarships - How to Improve Your Chances? (22:00)
• Career Opportunities at ESMT Berlin - What to Know & How to Prepare (44:05)

About our Guest

Rebecca Loades is Director, MBA Programs at ESMT Berlin. Previously, she worked for the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) for over 10 years in numerous roles, including as Director of Masters Programs and Director of Next Generation GMAT. Rebecca studied mechanical engineering as an undergraduate at University of Bradford and got her MBA from the Rotterdam School of Management.

Show Notes

• ESMT Berlin MBA

Episode write-up and snapshot/stats of ESMT Berlin MBA: https://touchmba.com/esmt-berlin-mba-program-admissions-interview-rebecca-loades

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Paula Amorim, MBA Admissions Director at IESE Business School, discusses what makes the IESE MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportunities and more.

Topics:

• Introduction (0:00)
• IESE MBA Program Highlights - What Makes IESE Unique? (5:10)
• IESE MBA Admissions & Scholarships - How to Improve Your Chances (33:50)
• Career Opportunities at IESE - What to Know & How to Prepare (59:55)

About Our Guest

Paula Amorim is the MBA Admissions Director at IESE Business School. Before joining IESE, Paula worked as a Project Manager for Grupo Marista, a non-profit in Brazil. Paula got her Bachelors in Industrial Engineering from Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais and MBA from IESE in 2016.

Show Notes

• IESE MBA
• Get feedback on your profile from IESE MBA's Admissions Team before you apply

Episode write-up and snapshot/stats of IESE MBA: https://touchmba.com/iese-mba-program-admissions-interview-paula-amorim

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Paul Bodine, one of the world's most experienced admissions consultants and president of Admitify, shares how he helps clients with seemingly par-for-the-course profiles discover their game-changing assets. How does Paul help his clients dig deep to unearth their most remarkable stories? How does he advise his clients to present these stories? If you feel like your profile is nothing special, you are most likely mistaken - even the most common profiles have parts which are uncommon. Sixty percent of Admitify's MBA clients gain admission or interview invitations at Stanford, Wharton and Harvard, and Admitify's clients win over $2M in scholarships each year. Listen on to learn Paul's process for identifying your game-changing differentiators.

About Paul

Admitify’s president, Paul Bodine, is among the world’s most experienced admissions consultants. A graduate of University of Chicago and Johns Hopkins University, Paul is the author of 6 books on admissions including the best-selling Great Applications for Business School, Perfect Phrases for Business School Acceptance, and Perfect Phrases for Letters of Recommendation (McGraw-Hill).

Paul was recognized in Poets & Quants Admissions Coach Hall of Fame in 2021 for his 5 consecutive years on the Best Consultant list. He was one of only three consultants who made every single ranking since the inaugural list of the Top 10 in 2017. He is also ranked as a Top 10 Consultant With The Most Positive Client Reviews Over Time. Paul’s Admitify team has over 140 years of collective admissions consulting experience with more than 2,000 admitted clients.

Paul has been quoted in such publications as the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Bloomberg Businessweek, Money magazine, U.S. News & World Report, and Poets & Quants,

Topics

• Introducing Paul Bodine & Admitify (0:00)
• Finding Your Game-Changing Assets (4:30)
• Which Differentiators Should You Present? (11:35)
• Case-Studies of Digging Deeper to Find Unusual and Remarkable Stories (17:20)
• Presenting Your Remarkable Stories in Essays (23:05)

Learn More About Paul Bodine & Admitify

• Admitify - Mention TOUCH MBA to get $300 off First-school package, and then $250 off each additional school for multiple school packages OR $100 off 5-hour packages and $150 off 10-hour packages

Episode write-up and links: https://touchmba.com/admitify

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Tilla Caveng, a full-time MBA student at National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School, shares her top application tips and lessons learned from her first 6 months at NUS.

Questions

• Introducing Tilla (0:00)
• Tilla's Pre-MBA Career & MBA Application Journey (2:52)
• Tilla's Best Application Tips (12:45)
• Tilla's NUS MBA Experience - What She Has Learned So Far (34:20)
• Applying for Internships/Jobs & Networking as an International Student in Singapore (54:50)

About Tilla

Tilla Caveng is currently attending the Full-time NUS MBA program in Singapore, where she was awarded the NUS MBA Dean's Award. Prior to NUS, Tilla worked for Kaiser Partner Wealth Advisors, a family-owned wealth advisor operating in Liechtenstein and Switzerland, as a business analyst and chief of staff for the CEO. She was a trainee lawyer at Baker McKenzie Switzerland. Tilla received her Masters and Bachelor of Law from University of Zurich.

Episode write-up and links: https://touchmba.com/inside-the-national-university-of-singapore-mba-tilla-caveng-nus-mba/

NUS MBA: https://mba.nus.edu.sg/ 

Consult 1-1 with NUS MBA Admissions Team before you apply and get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Jochem Kroezen, Academic Director of Rotterdam School of Management's (RSM) Full-time MBA Program, and Maria Tsachli, Recruitment & Admissions Manager, Americas, discuss what makes the RSM MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportunities and more.

Introduction (0:00) | Program Highlights (4:00) | Admissions (25:00) | Careers (50:55)

About Our Guests

Jochem Kroezen is the Academic Director of RSM's Full-time MBA Program, and Associate Professor of Organization Theory at RSM. Before joining RSM, Jochem worked as an Associate Professor in International Business at Cambridge University's Judge Business School. Jochem got his Masters in Business Research from RSM.

Maria Tsachli is Recruitment & Admissions Manager, Americas, for RSM's International MBA Program. Previously, Maria worked for booking.com as a commercial advisor. Maria got her Bachelors of Arts in Communication and Mass Media from Ethnikon kai Kapodistriakon Panepistimion Athinon and her Masters in Social and Cultural Anthropology from VU Amsterdam.

Show Notes

• RSM MBA

Episode write-up and snapshot/stats of RSM MBA: https://touchmba.com/rotterdam-school-of-management-mba-program-admissions-interview-jochem-kroezen-maria-tsachli/

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

“A well-crafted story helps create a magical sort of clarity. It can illuminate an experience your audience could not have fathomed a few minutes before, or draw them so close that they imagine they can feel your heart beating.” - How to Tell a Story by The Moth

Compelling stories make admissions officers feel closer to you - like they know you better.

Inspired by How to Tell a Story by The Moth, Darren highlights three tools you can use immediately to improve your stories, so you can show adcoms who you really are and draw them closer to you. Darren also shares over a dozen questions that will help you identify riveting stories for your MBA application.

Topics

• A Story about Touch MBA (0:00)
• The Moth (4:40)
• Shift (6:50)
• Scenes (9:20)
• Stakes (13:20)
• Applying the 3S's to Your MBA Application (16:20)

Episode write-up and show notes: https://www.touchmba.com/3s-scintillating-storytelling-the-moth

Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com