Final Thoughts After 20 Years of MBA Advising: Part 1

This episode is bittersweet for our longtime podcast co-host, Chandler.

Chandler is preparing to step away from his co-hosting responsibilities in order to care for his aging parents and launch a new venture for philanthropists. He would like to share how much he has enjoyed co-hosting and wants to say a HUGE thank you to Stacy, Erika, Yvonne, Esther, Alex and the entire SBC team for their amazing friendship and support along the way.

As Chandler thought about how to frame his last podcast, he ultimately decided to take my own advice. As our loyal listeners know, Chandler has closed each of his podcasts over the past four years with the words "be authentic, be bold, and to have a solid plan".

To that end, he will conclude his four years as co-host (and 20 years of advising MBA applicants) with a three-part series in which he gets very authentic and very bold in order to help you create a solid application plan.

In this first of three episodes, Chandler takes a no-holds barred look at the first phase of the application process, and shares his biggest pieces of advice in each of the following categories:

• Planning your application (including the very best place to begin, which most people miss)
• Defining career goals,
• Addressing lower-than-desired quant scores,
• Quantifying your resume,
• Using the data forms strategically, and
• … a special surprise at the end of the episode he hasn't shared before.

This episode 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)

AI AND THE MBA APPLICATION

Today we are talking about ai and the MBA application with SBC expert, Yvette.

After graduating from HBS, Yvette led the HBS Alumni Circle and served as VP of HBS alumni club. Unique among MBA admissions consultants, Yvette also has extensive experience in the AI space and is the architect of MBA AI, an AI specifically focus on MBA admissions.

In this segment Chandler and Yvette sit down to discuss:

· What top MBA programs are saying about AI with regard to their application processes,

· Things you should DEFINITELY AVOID with regard to ChatGPT and AI regarding your application,

· Several AI usages that generally seem to be compliant and effective with regard to improving your application,

· A useful overview AI detectors (and how they can help you),

· and a final tip that everyone should keep in mind when applying.