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

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

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

“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

We're nearing 200 episodes of Touch MBA. Feeling nostalgic, Darren reflects on 10 lessons for applicants from 10 years of Touch MBA!

10 Lessons from 10 Years of Touch MBA

• Introduction (0:00)
• Know Your Must Haves (2:00)
• Work on Your MBA Pitch with Others (5:50)
• Master the MBA Coffee Chat (9:10)
• Connect Your MBA Objectives with Those of MBA Admissions (12:45)
• The GMAT Matters (16:15)
• Resumes: Show How You've Impacted Organizations (19:12)
• Essays: Unforgettable > Impressive (21:15)
• Interviews: Answer the Questions Behind the Questions (30:40)
• Selecting Business Schools: Who Do You Want to Marry? (33:15)
• Careers: Be Humble, Hungry, and Do Your Homework (36:15)

Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/ten

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

Darren shares three foundational application strategies from Avi Gordon's MBA Admissions Strategy: From Profile Building to Essay Writing (2005) that have stood the test of time. It's always advantageous to master the fundamentals of any art form - including constructing a winning MBA application. Listen on to review the basics!

Topics

• Introduction (0:00)
• Marketing to Adcoms (3:50)
• Attributes that Count (10:40)
• Points, Stories, Analysis (19:40)

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Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/mba-admissions-strategy-avi-gordon

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