In the first episode of this two-parter, our co-host Erika shares an overview of her 20-year Harvard Business School reunion this past June.

In order to claim a spot at your dream school, it’s critical that you find a way to let the admissions committee know what your classmates will learn from you and how you’ll be an asset to their program. However, since most schools don’t come right out and ask you to address what you’ll bring to the school’s community, you need to find a way to convey that information throughout your materials.  In this replay of a past episode, we cover ways to communicate the knowledge, experience, soft skills and interests you’ll contribute to class discussions and be able to bond over with fellow students.

In this episode we sit down with an SBC alum, Whitney, who just completed her first year at Stanford… along with two different summer internships. Whitney comes from the social impact world and shares lots of great information in this discussion, including: The best decision she made during her first year, One thing she would do differently about her first year, Suggestions for those wanting to make the most out of their internship experience (and for those considering two different internship experiences), Tips for those interested in the social impact space, and Advice about taking risks. This podcast is a must for anyone interested in making the most out of their first year, anyone passionate about social impact, or anyone interested in learning more about the Stanford GSB student experience.

In this episode we sit down with an SBC alum, Ty, who just completed his first year at Darden and a summer internship with Bain & Company. Ty comes from a somewhat untraditional background—with a focus on music and social change—and shares lots of great information about his experiences at Darden and his transition to the world of consulting, including:  The best decision he made during his first year,  Balancing his marriage and being a father while in school, One thing he would do differently about his first year, Suggestions for those wanting to make the most out of their internship experience, Tips for those wanting to break into consulting, and Advice about taking risks while at B school. This podcast is a must for anyone interested in making the most out of their first year, anyone applying with an untraditional background, or anyone transitioning into the world of consulting.

Round 1 deadlines are upon us, and nerves tend to get the best of many candidate. This timely replay covers common last-minute traps that MBA applicants fall into and how to avoid them, as as what you should do and not do before submitting.

In this podcast we spend a lot of time diving into different element of your MBA application: your essays, your recommendations, your scores, your grades, and so many other things. But it is also critically important—especially as you near the end of your application process—to take a step back to review all these different elements of your application to make sure that they fit together as a cohesive whole.   Think about these different application elements as chapters in a book. While you want each chapter to be compelling in its own stand-alone way – your MAIN GOAL is for these different pieces to function together as an OVERALL NARRATIVE about you, you who are, what your goals are, and what you will bring to the school and to the world after graduation.  To this end, this podcast offers specific tips to help make your overall application narrative as compelling as possible including: Working through a “story mapping” excercise before your start your application,  Forcing yourself to think through—and pressure test—your short and long term goals EARLY in your application process, Creating your own “MBA soundbite”, Stepping back and reading each element of your application and thinking carefully about how they fit together, including: Your resume Your essays Your recommendations Your data forms Your MBA interview prep Finally, thinking about how all of these elements interact with each other to create a clear, consistent and cohesive narrative—while also making sure that you are as bold, vulnerable and authentic as possible. This podcast is a must for anyone wanting to make sure these independent pieces come together in a way that makes your overall application as powerful as possible.

In this replay episode, we cover why it’s so important to clearly convey the reasons you are pursuing business school. What will an MBA help you achieve that you couldn’t otherwise accomplish? Even though many programs don’t specifically ask this question, that doesn’t mean applicants shouldn’t be prepared with a strong answer. Other topics covered include: Common reasons for pursuing an MBA Four candidate types that need to ensure they have clear reasons for wanting the degree Reasons for wanting an MBA that you should probably not mention in your materials

In this episode host Chandler Arnold sits down with Melissa Román Burch, Chief Operating Officer at the NYC Economic Development Corporation and HBS alum. In her current role, Melissa mobilizes public and private investment through tax incentive programs, tax exempt bond financings and across a portfolio of 64 million square feet and 230 assets comprised of life sciences, film & entertainment, advanced manufacturing, off shore wind, and green economy businesses across NYC. Prior to her current role, Melissa spent two decades in the private sector, including time as a leading business executive/property developer as well as a stint on Wall Street. While Melissa is an undisputed leader in the field, this podcast is NOT just for people interested in commercial and industrial real estate. Rather, this episode a must-listen for anyone interested in: Advice for those interested in changing fields after earning their MBA, Suggestions for women working in spaces traditionally dominated by men, Tips for MBAs working in fields in which MBAs are less common, Comments on the value of “horizontal mentorship” and A strong reminder about the power of being bold.

This engaging conversation with UCLA Anderson's Assistant Dean Alex Lawrence covers the program's new essay, what the adcom is looking for in prospective MBA students, how Anderson runs its applicant interviews, unique aspects of the program, what students do around campus, and much, much more.

In this replay of a popular past episode of the B-Schooled podcast, we cover: Two big mistakes we see applicants make regarding school selection An exercise to help you think about and narrow down your school list Which business schools have reputations or are otherwise known for being strong in particular areas