B-Schooled: Get Your MBA Admit

Alex, a GSB alum who's now on the SBC admissions consulting team, shares advice for Stanford's extensive MBA application, as well as insight into the program's culture and surrounding area in Silicon Valley.

For this episode of B-Schooled we sit down the Recy Dunn. Recy currently serves as the CEO of Ascend Public Charter Schools and oversees a network of 16 schools serving 6,000 students in grades K-12 across Brooklyn, NY. Prior to his role with Ascend, Recy served as the Chief Strategy Officer of the NYC Department of Education as well as a variety of other education leadership roles at both the local and national levels. Recy earned his MBA and his MA in Education from Stanford. In this episode, Recy and host Chandler Arnold share: Suggestions for MBA students interested in the field of education Thoughts focused on how education is a central civil rights issue of our time The value of an MBA for those working within school districts, drawing from Recy's experiences in California, DC, and New York The value of an MBA for those running education-focused social enterprises, drawing from Recy's experiences leading Ascend Public Charter Schools The value of an MBA for those working with philanthropists, drawing from Recy's experiences with the Broad Foundation and receiving an $11M gift from MacKenzie Scott Thoughts on diversity, equity and inclusion in the field of education Tips for current MBA students who are passionate about education We can't thank Recy enough for joining us. Listening to this podcast is a must for anyone passionate about education, equity or leading social enterprises.

To celebrate our 150th episode, our founder Stacy Blackman joins us to talk about business school and the entrepreneurial journey. This episode is perfect for entrepreneurs, those who hope to work with entrepreneurs, or anyone interested in learning more about the entrepreneurial journey. For this episode, Stacy sits down with co-host Chandler Arnold to talk about their respective entrepreneurial experiences, in business school and beyond. For the first part of this conversation, Stacy and Chandler share a few SPECIFIC LESSONS THEY LEARNED IN BUSINESS SCHOOL. This conversation includes key takeaways including: The importance of testing and learning, Identifying market gaps and unexploited domains, The value of networking (even if you don't think you want to), and The power of trusting yourself, especially when others doubt you. For the second half of this conversation, Stacy and Chandler each share a few things THEY WISH THEY HAD DONE DIFFERENTLY in their entrepreneurial endeavors since graduation. This conversation includes such topics as: The value of connecting with people from different backgrounds and social/professional circles, Benefits of pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone, personally as well as professionally, The power of believing in yourself--and being comfortable with not having all the answers, How to make peace with the fact that you can't do everything, The benefits of taking little steps forward each day, ... and much more. We hope you enjoy this conversation as much as we enjoyed making it. Plus, be sure to listen to the very end of the episode where Stacy shares some top-secret entrepreneurial advice she learned... from Yoda.

Hannah, a former member of the Columbia Business School adcom -- who's now on the SBC admissions consulting team -- shares advice for the CBS application, as well as details about the program's amazing outside-of-class activities and its new location in Manahattan.

In this replay, Erika talks with Anthony Penna, a fellow SBC admissions consultant who spent 10 years with the Wharton School in Career Management and as Associate Director of Admissions for the full-time MBA program. As Anthony served on the implementation and design team for Wharton's Team Based Discussion (TBD) interview format, this episode focuses on his insight advice for MBA candidates who will be interviewing with Wharton.

Many interviewers report that they make up a big percentage of their mind about applicants during the first few minutes of an interview. This podcast shares a number of very specific suggestions and tips to make yourself stand out during these first interactions. Our host shares his suggestions for something he calls a "personal MBA soundbite" – including how you can create this soundbite, how you can incorporate it into the beginning of your first question, and how you can use this language to provide a framework for your entire interview. While each is different, the main goals of an personal MBA soundbite are to: summarize who you are in an interesting/memorable/dynamic/compelling way at the start of your interview, create a framework for the first part of your conversation so that the interviewer understands your life and work experiences in the appropriate context given your future goals, and develop a short *elevator pitch* that can not only be useful as you prep for your interviews… but also in terms of other elements of your admissions journey–from speaking to current students, to alums, to admissions officers, etc. This podcast is perfect for anyone wanting to start of on the right foot for that all-important MBA admission interview.

How can you differentiate yourself from your MBA competition, particularly if you're in one of the most competitive buckets when it comes to demographics or industry and function? That's the focus of this episode, which details specific ways to ensure you stand out from the most crowded applicant pools.

MBA candidates who've been waitlisted can feel like they're in some sort of admissions purgatory. In this episode, our host Erika and her colleague and former MBA admissions director Lisa discuss what options waitlisted candidates have to learn more about why they were waitlisted and what, if anything, they can do to increase their chances of admission.

If you have six months (or more) before your application deadline, this two-part podcast is for you. In Part 1 of this podcast, we shared five sets of suggestions helping you to: Think about your application as a journey of self-discovery that can teach you important lessons about yourself, Begin work on your short- and long-term goals now, Rework your resume with a focus on quantifying impact, Rework your resume with a focus on adding important context behind your numbers, and Set professional and extracurricular stretch goals to complete between now and the time you apply. In Part 2 of this podcast we continue the conversation with additional suggestions and tips focused on how to: Improve your GMAT/GRE score (or make the best of the score you already have). Work through a Storymapping Exercise for your MBA application Focus on—and improve—your MBA essays Consider being vulnerable in your application Set your recommenders up for success We've also included one bonus suggestion we think is really valuable… but you will need to listen to the episode for that! : )

This podcasts is designed for applicants who have 6 months (or more) before their applications are due. In addition to offering suggestions about how to present your scores, essays, resume, and recommendations in the best possible light, this episode offers specific suggestions on how to use the months ahead to improve the SUBSTANCE of these elements before the application deadline. Do you want to go for a promotion or a title change at work? Is now the time to take on new beefy professional/leadership challenge? Should you consider deepening your volunteer/extracurricular activities between now and when you apply? To set you up for success, we offer five sets of suggestions helping you to: Think about your application as a journey of self-discovery that can teach you important lessons about yourself, Begin work on your short- and long-term goals now, at the beginning of your application journey. Rework your resume with a focus on quantifying impact, Rework your resume with a focus on adding important context behind your numbers, and Set professional and extracurricular stretch goals to complete between now and the time you apply.