B-Schooled: Get Your MBA Admit

In order to stand out from your MBA competition, you need to take a step back and assess your candidacy from the admissions committee's point of view. This episode explains what they're looking for, how to differentiate yourself if you're in an over-represented demographic or industry bucket, and generally what types of themes successful applicants focus on in their essays.

Sometimes “Why do you need an MBA now?” is an essay question that programs ask directly, but more often than not it’s something applicants should end up covering in an essay response even if there isn’t a question about it. Questions around the timing of an applicant's MBA pursuit could also be asked in an interview.  This episode covers common reasons why applicants need an MBA now versus earlier or later in their careers, and suggests exercises to help articulate a strong response to questions about MBA timing.

In this replay of one of our most popular episodes, Meg — a former University of Chicago Booth admissions committee member and current SBC admissions consultant — joins Erika to discuss some of the biggest things they see MBA candidates wasting their precious time on during the application process. They address: Their most-hated question MBA candidates often ask *Why* it doesn't make sense to worry about certain things in the admissions process What applicants' time is better spent on What waitlisted candidates should do (and not do) to strengthen their position  The pros and cons of MBA message boards What MBA candidates should do if/when they find themselves filled with doubts

Your resume is perhaps the single most important part of your application materials. This episode covers how to maximize that one precious page.

In this new episode, our host Erika and fellow SBC admissions consultant (and former Kellogg adcom) Caryn have a discussion that covers: Multiple tactics applicants can use to raise their quantitative profiles, especially if they don't work in finance- or numbers-heavy roles  Insight into who might want to consider the GRE or EA instead of the GMAT for their admissions test How to use the Additional Info field/essay to address any quantitative weaknesses in your candidacy

For this two-part conversation, Chandler sits down with SBC Consultant Dawn Clare to discuss her "One Minute Method" for identifying underrecognized individual strengths.  As many of you know, Dawn is no stranger to the podcast and brings so much to this conversation. Dawn graduated as a PepsiCo Scholar from Harvard Business School with concentrations in finance and marketing. Dawn was also admitted to the Stanford GSB. Outside of her work in admissions consulting, Dawn has experience at a wide range of companies, including Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, Pepsi, the Carlyle Group and Warner Bros. In part one of this conversation, Dawn described her “One Minute Method” for identifying strengths. This methodology really is about focus – helping you to identify and focus on your own superpowers and how best to make these central to your MBA application. In part two of this conversation, Dawn shares how to apply this methodology to application time management especially during periods of stress or anxiety. In this segment Dawn focuses specifically on: Helping you improve your own productivity, Managing your workload during times of stress and anxiety, Figuring out what to do when you get stuck on essays and/other parts of their application, Using this methodology to "stand out from the crowd" -- especially if you are a part of an over-represented demographic, Moving from overwhelm to productivity when the application becomes too daunting; breaking down big application elements into smaller manageable pieces in order to move forward. Dawn and Chandler also discuss how many applicants are currently overwhelmed by all that is going on in the world… and how to use this methodology to move from overwhelm to excitement by identifying new strengths they hadn't thought about before.

For this two-part conversation, Chandler sits down with SBC Consultant Dawn Clare to discuss her "One Minute Method" for identifying underrecognized individual strengths.  As many of you know, Dawn is no stranger to the podcast and brings so much to this conversation. Dawn graduated as a PepsiCo Scholar from Harvard Business School with concentrations in finance and marketing. Dawn was also admitted to the Stanford GSB. Outside of her work in admissions consulting, Dawn has experience at a wide range of companies, including Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, Pepsi, the Carlyle Group and Warner Bros. In part one of this conversation, Dawn shares her framework the "One Minute Method" for identifying individual strengths and how she uses it with her clients. This exercise focuses on taking one minute to focus on what they do that is AMAZING. This exercise sounds simple, but when done correctly a series of times is incredibly powerful.   This exercise is designed to be simple to support you with limited time. You can do it as many times as you would like and it is incredibly powerful. In this segment Dawn focuses specifically on: helping applicants who might be stuck on essay topics, potential interview questions, or other elements of the MBA application, focusing on your instinct and intuition for a brief time rather than over-analyzing or comparing yourself to others, centering who you are at core, clarifying your own internal intrinsic value, and harnessing that to make your application as strong as possible, offering specific and actionable tips on how to think about yourself in new ways or “break out of the box” that others might have put you in. Numerous applicants have found this exercise to be especially useful, when “stuck” or during times of application stress and anxiety. If you enjoy this conversation, we hope you will join us next week for part two of this series.

In this episode replay, Chandler dives into 6 tips for MBA essays that even the most confident writers might miss.

This episode will motivate you to get going on your Round 1 MBA materials, and will cover what makes the most sense for you to be working on right now before applications are released.

Memorial Day weekend in the United States represents the unofficial kickoff of the 2025-26 business-school application year! What's the number one thing you should be doing right now if you plan to apply?