The Touch MBA Admissions Podcast

Latest Episodes:

#210 Georgetown MBA Program & Admissions Interview with Shelly Heinrich Jun 28, 2023

Show notes

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

#209 How Wharton Reviews MBA Applicants & More with Thomas Caleel, Former Head of MBA Admissions for Wharton Jun 19, 2023

Show notes

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

#208 Undercover MBA Subrankings May 31, 2023

Show notes

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

#207 NUS MBA Program & Admissions Interview with Wedad Sunny May 23, 2023

Show notes

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

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

#206 Strategies for Optimal MBA Student Loans with Nikhil Agarwal from Juno Apr 24, 2023

Show notes

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

#205 ESMT Berlin MBA Program & Admissions Interview with Rebecca Loades Mar 20, 2023

Show notes

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

#204 IESE MBA Program & Admissions Interview with Paula Amorim Mar 13, 2023

Show notes

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

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

#203 What Are Your Game-Changing Differentiators? with Paul Bodine from Admitify Mar 02, 2023

Show notes

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

#202 Inside the National University of Singapore (NUS) MBA with Tilla Caveng, NUS MBA '24 Feb 16, 2023

Show notes

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

#201 Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) MBA Program & Admissions Interview with Jochem Kroezen and Maria Tsachli Feb 05, 2023

Show notes

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