The Touch MBA Admissions Podcast

Inspired by Kevin Kelly's Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I Knew Earlier, Darren shares 10 bits of wisdom that could materially improve your chances of getting into business school and building a successful career. Topics Show Notes Touch MBA's Admissions Edge CourseExcellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I Knew Earlier by Kevin KellyKevin KellyOutsight#93 Which Extracurriculars?#190 3 Timeless Application Strategies from MBA Admissions Strategy (2005) by Avi Gordon#131 The Quick & Easy Way to Effective MBA Interviewing#113 Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t#51 Stalking the Story for Your MBA Essays#4 Four Ways to Get and Keep the Adcom’s Attention#3 Six Ways to Make Your MBA Application Stick Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Sometimes, it's hard to differentiate MBA programs. That is not the case with GLOBIS University, Japan's number 1 MBA, which prizes entrepreneurial skills, societal impact, and helping its students find their kokorozashi (personal mission). Professor Tomoya Nakamura, President of GLOBIS USA, discusses what makes the GLOBIS MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportunities and more. Started by Harvard Business School MBA graduate and entrepreneur Yoshito Hori in 1992 as a single marketing course in Tokyo, GLOBIS has grown to become Japan's largest MBA program, consulting with 60-70% of public Japanese companies with learning hubs in 5 countries. Listen on to learn what makes getting an MBA at GLOBIS - and in Tokyo - unique. Topics About Our Guest Tomoya Nakamura is President of GLOBIS USA. Tomoya started his professional career at Marubeni Corporation, reorganized an investment company at Advantage Partners (a buyout VC firm), and was the Senior Managing Director of Sun-Life Corporation. He served as Dean of the English MBA Programs at GLOBIS University while also starting the GLOBIS global training business and continues to serve as the main facilitator for various corporate clients. He primarily lectures on leadership, kokorozashi, and globalization. Tomoya graduated from the Hitotsubashi University with a Bachelors in Social Studies before getting his MBA from Harvard Business School. Show Notes GLOBIS Full-time MBAFree Online President's Seminar: Leveraging Japan’s No.1 MBA to the World’s No.1 MBA with AI & Technovate, Mr. Yoshito HoriSchedule a personal consultation with GLOBIS MBA admissions advisors Touch MBA's Summary of the GLOBIS Full-time MBA: https://touchmba.com/globis-mba-program-admissions-interview-tomoya-nakamura/ Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Beau Gresham, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Mastercard and NYU Stern MBA '20, shares his journey as an applicant, student, and alumni of NYU Stern. How did Beau transition from the military to consulting through the MBA? How was the NYU Stern Full-time MBA experience? How did Beau break into mergers & acquisitions consulting at Deloitte, and then land his current job at Mastercard? And how does Beau view the MBA three years after graduating? Topics About Our Guest Beau Gresham is Director of Strategic Initiatives in Cybersecurity at Mastercard. Previously, Beau worked as a Senior Consultant & Manager in M&A Strategy for Deloitte. Prior to his MBA, Beau served in the US Army in a variety of leadership, operational and combat roles, including as a Company Commander in Afghanistan. Beau got his MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business with specializations in Finance, Strategy & Management, his Masters in Management and Leadership from Webster University and his Bachelors in Political Science & Government from the University of South Florida. He currently serves on the Stern Alumni Council. Show Notes Beau Gresham on LinkedInAvanti Prep Admissions Consulting Team (mention Touch MBA + Beau Gresham)NYU Stern MBA ProgramsHiring Our Heroes - Connecting Military to American BusinessService to School - Helping Veterans Apply to Best College or Graduate SchoolWhat's Next? A Military Veteran's Guide to Maximizing Your MBA by Matthew CowsertDeloitte's CORE Leadership ProgramAmerican Corporate Partners (ACP) MentorshipMBA Veterans Career Conference & ExpoGMAT Club Panel on Breaking into Consulting, featuring Beau Gresham#136 Military to MBA to Management Consulting with Alex Tuininga, Harvard MBA ’18Touch MBA's Admissions Edge Online Course Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Darren shares more hard-earned application lessons from four listeners (now graduated MBAs): drawing a roadmap for the admissions team, prioritizing conversations when picking schools, "prematurely applying" and being strategic yet flexible Want to share your hard-earned application lessons? Contact us at https://touchmba.com/contact Topics Show Notes My Application Journey - Touch MBA Listeners Share Hard-Earned LessonsShare Your Journey and Lessons LearnedSurprise, I’m Going to Business School! (tips for the untraditional applicant) by Kate Galloway, Texas McCombs MBA '20Rankings Don’t Matter. Go Where You’ll Find the Conversations You Want to Have by Eileen Chen, Oxford Said MBA '19Five Things I Learned When I Applied to Business School by Anonymous NYU Stern Tech MBA ’22The Key to MBA Success? Be Strategic, Yet Adaptable by Jasper Isip, McMaster DeGroote MBA Jasper Isip '23 PESTLE AnalysisTouch MBA's Admissions Edge Online Course Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Touch MBA's goal has always been to offer you evergreen content that will help you shortlist and get into best-fit MBA programs. We invite listeners to share lessons from their MBA application journeys not just on the podcast, but in written form, too. These short reflections are full of timeless application wisdom! Darren shares three lessons from three listeners that have stood the test of time: how to overcome working for a relatively unknown company, how to research and find best-fit b-schools, and how to deal with dings. Want to share your hard-earned application lessons? Contact us at https://touchmba.com/contact Topics Show Notes My Application Journey - Touch MBA Listeners Share Hard-Earned LessonsShare Your Journey and Lessons LearnedAdmitted to Kellogg, Insead, Ross, Fuqua, Johnson – Here’s How I Did ItI Got Into 8 Top MBA Programs; These Are My Top 3 Tips2 Years, 8 Dings and 2 Scholarships Later – My Reflections on the MBA Application ProcessTouch MBA's Admissions Edge Online Course Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

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 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 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 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 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 MBAThe Fuqua Show on SpotifyThe 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 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 ProgramTech Square AtlantaAdvanced 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 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 MBAVanderbilt'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 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 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 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 Show Notes NUS MBAGet 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: 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 Show Notes JunohereTouch 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 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: 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 MBAGet 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 Learn More About Paul Bodine & Admitify Admitify 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 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