Inspired by Kevin Kelly's Excellent Advice for Living: Wisdom I Wish I Knew Earlier, Darren shares 10 bits of wisdom that could materially improve your chances of getting into business school and building a successful career. Topics Introducti

#220 GLOBIS MBA Program & Admissions Interview with Tomoya Nakamura - "Find Your Kokorozashi"

Mar 11th, 2024 1h 14m

Sometimes, it's hard to differentiate MBA programs. That is not the case with GLOBIS University, Japan's number 1 MBA, which prizes entrepreneurial skills, societal impact, and helping its students find their kokorozashi (personal mission). P

#219 From Military to MBA, Consultant & More with Beau Gresham, NYU Stern MBA '20 - "Find Your Champions"

Feb 20th, 2024 1h 26m

Beau Gresham, Director of Strategic Initiatives at Mastercard and NYU Stern MBA '20, shares his journey as an applicant, student, and alumni of NYU Stern. How did Beau transition from the military to consulting through the MBA? How was the NYU

#218 Lessons from Listeners (Vol. 2): Drawing a Roadmap for Admissions, Prioritizing Conversations, Prematurely Applying, Being Strategic Yet Flexible

Jan 29th, 2024 27m 44s

Darren shares more hard-earned application lessons from four listeners (now graduated MBAs): drawing a roadmap for the admissions team, prioritizing conversations when picking schools, "prematurely applying" and being strategic yet flexible Wan

#217 Lessons from Listeners (Vol. 1): Working for Unknown Companies, Determining Best-Fit Schools, Dealing with Dings

Jan 20th, 2024 24m 58s

Touch MBA's goal has always been to offer you evergreen content that will help you shortlist and get into best-fit MBA programs. We invite listeners to share lessons from their MBA application journeys not just on the podcast, but in written fo

#216 The GMAT Focus Episode (GRE, too)

Dec 21st, 2023 42m 11s

How are top business schools using the GMAT Focus exam, which will replace the GMAT in January 2024? What do you need to score and on which sections? Do schools prefer the GMAT, GMAT Focus, or GRE? Darren asks Admissions Directors from two top

#215 Frankfurt School of Finance & Management MBA Program & Admissions Interview with Dr. Adrian Buss

Oct 17th, 2023 46m 27s

Professor Adrian Buss, Associate Professor of Finance and Academic Director of MBA Programs at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, discusses what makes the Frankfurt School’s MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportu

#214 Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) MBA Program & Admissions Interview with Prof. Wan Wongsunwai

Oct 12th, 2023 1h

Professor Wan Wongsunwai, Associate Dean of MBA Programmes and Director of MBA Programmes at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School, discusses what makes the CUHK MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportuni

#213 Duke University Fuqua MBA Program & Admissions Interview with Shari Hubert

Oct 4th, 2023 1h 12m

Shari Hubert, Associate Dean of Admissions at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, discusses what makes the Duke Fuqua MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more. Topics Introduction (0:00) Program Highli

#212 Georgia Tech Scheller MBA Program & Admissions Interview with Jonathan Clarke

Aug 28th, 2023 42m 13s

"We pride ourselves in being at the center of business and technology... We've asked employers, 'How would you describe our students?' and most often the words we get back are 'humble, hardworking and good problem solvers.' I think that's fanta

#211 Vanderbilt MBA Program & Admissions Interview with Sue Oldham

Jul 10th, 2023 51m 52s

Sue Oldham, Associate Dean at Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management, discusses what makes the Vanderbilt MBA unique, the school's admissions process, career opportunities and more. Topics Introduction (0:00) Program Highli

#210 Georgetown MBA Program & Admissions Interview with Shelly Heinrich

Jun 28th, 2023 51m 41s

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.

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

Jun 19th, 2023 1h 3m

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 commi

#208 Undercover MBA Subrankings

May 31st, 2023 30m 39s

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 s

#207 NUS MBA Program & Admissions Interview with Wedad Sunny

May 23rd, 2023 47m 8s

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 mo

#206 Strategies for Optimal MBA Student Loans with Nikhil Agarwal from Juno

Apr 24th, 2023 47m 31s

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

#205 ESMT Berlin MBA Program & Admissions Interview with Rebecca Loades

Mar 20th, 2023 58m 31s

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

#204 IESE MBA Program & Admissions Interview with Paula Amorim

Mar 13th, 2023 1h 16m

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

#203 What Are Your Game-Changing Differentiators? with Paul Bodine from Admitify

Mar 2nd, 2023 34m 42s

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 de

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

Feb 16th, 2023 1h 7m

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 & MB

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

Feb 5th, 2023 1h 1m

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 opp

#200 The 3S’s of Scintillating Storytelling

Jan 23rd, 2023 21m 11s

“A well-crafted story helps create a magical sort of clarity. It can illuminate an experience your audience could not have fathomed a few minutes before, or draw them so close that they imagine they can feel your heart beating.” - How to Tel

#199 10 Application Lessons from 10 Years of Touch MBA

Dec 14th, 2022 41m 47s

We're nearing 200 episodes of Touch MBA. Feeling nostalgic, Darren reflects on 10 lessons for applicants from 10 years of Touch MBA! 10 Lessons from 10 Years of Touch MBA Introduction (0:00) Know Your Must Haves (2:00) Work on Your MBA Pitch w

#198 Inside the London Business School MBA & Honing Your Story with Chris Tran, LBS '22

Nov 21st, 2022 1h 1m

Chris Tran, London Business School (LBS) MBA '22, shares lessons learned from applying to and attending LBS, as well as how he landed his first post-MBA consulting gig in London. Questions Introducing Chris (0:00) Chris' Pre-MBA Career & MBA A

#197 Pivoting Geographies & Breaking into EdTech with Tony Ngo, Harvard Business School 08

Sep 30th, 2022 54m 43s

Tony Ngo, Harvard Business School '08, shares how he used the MBA to pivot to Vietnam, first in finance, and then as an edtech entrepreneur with Everest Education. Questions Introducing Tony (0:00) Tony's Pre-MBA Career & MBA Application Journ