B-Schooled: Get Your MBA Admit

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.

This replay focuses on when it does or doesn't make sense to apply in a school's final application round.

This podcast gives applicants 10 things to think about in the days before submitting their applications. This is not intended as something to listen to an hour before you submit… but it does offer incredibly useful information to think about a day or two before the application deadline. As we always say: you want an application that is authentic, bold, and that offers a clear and consistent narrative. You want this narrative to come across cohesively via all elements of your application: your essays, your resume, your recommendations, and your interviews. To help set you up for success, today we offer ten suggestions touching on the following topics: Thinking through your overall application narrative to make sure this boldly and authentically represents who you are Reviewing your essays for common typos and other errors Asking your proofreader to help you by looking for the right things Bolstering quantitative results metrics—as well as adding useful context—to your resume Following up with your recommenders Reviewing your social media footprint When to actually hit submit (and when not to)

A unique aspect of our admissions-consulting process at Stacy Blackman Consulting is our Flight Test, which replicates an actual admissions committee review of your entire application process. We have a team of former admission officers from the top MBA programs who serve as our Flight Testers, and this week we wrap up our two-episode conversation with one of them: Caryn, a former Kellogg admissions committee member. In Part 2, Caryn reveals how MBA adcoms judge a candidate's essays, recommendation letters, extracurriculars and leadership.

At Stacy Blackman Consulting, we have a team of former admission committee members from the top MBA programs who serve as our "Flight Testers." Our Flight Test mimics an actual application review, just like the adcom will do it in real life. Except that you'll be getting personalized feedback on what you can improve BEFORE you hit submit. In the first of this two-part episode series, we talk with Caryn, a former member of the Kellogg admissions committee and member of the SBC team, who shares what MBA adcoms really think about -- and are looking for in -- applicants' transcripts, test scores, resumes and data forms.