The MBA Candidate

Today's episode revolves entirely around how to think about business school during a pandemic. Ben Leiner (Darden Class of 2019) works at LinkedIn now, so he graciously shares his advice about how to network your way to an amazing job during this recession.  And Nicholas Talbott (Darden Class of 2021) talks about what classes, recruiting, and social events actually look like right now. Thanks to our sponsor, Admissionado. If you need help getting into a top MBA program, I highly recommend you reach out to them at https://admissionado.com/free-consultation/.

Brittany Hunter re-joins us to debrief how things went over the past 24 months at Vanderbilt Owen and in Microsoft's HR Trax Program. She acknowledges that her journey may have looked like pure bliss from the outside, but in reality, it was "quite the rollercoaster ride". This episode is once again sponsored by the premier admissions consulting firm, Menlo Coaching. To explore some of Menlo's free resources about the Top US & European Business Schools, I highly encourage listeners to check out their website.  

When Jonathan Chiquito originally came on the podcast 2 years ago, he was nervous about bringing his girlfriend Nancy from LA to Boston. Similarly, he wasn't sure if he would be able to break into his dream field of healthcare after having experienced a stroke himself. Now, as we catch up with Jonathan, we find out that he and Nancy got married and last month they had a baby girl! Plus, Jonathan got the opportunity intern at J&J in their stroke division! So, tune in to find out if he's had time to take care of himself during all of these momentous life changes. This episode was sponsored by Menlo Coaching! Menlo is a premier admissions consulting firm. And you can read their entire MBA Application Guide for free on their website.  

Two years ago, Garry McBerryhill sat down with us to share what he hoped business school at Tuck would be like. In this follow-up episode, we check in with him to hear about what it was really like. Also, the podcast has a new sponsor -- Menlo Coaching! Menlo is one the world's best admissions consulting firms. And to predict your odds of getting into a top program, check out their free MBA Admissions Calculator.

Mike is one of the best learning teammates that an MBA student could ask for. He's funny, bright, and can help you see the big picture. It's no wonder he secured a full-time offer to join the Boston Consulting Group after graduating from Darden.

In our first ever interview with a non-US MBA candidate, Geoff Swarts explains what it's like to go from rural America... to simultaneously starting his own company & studying for his MBA in Spain. 

Rachel cares deeply about making others feel included. That's why she started a storytelling business about celebrating diversity, that's why she decided to intern in Deloitte's Human Capital practice this summer, and that's why she spoke up during her first week at UCLA Anderson when she felt like something was wrong.

A year ago, the host of the show, Adam from UVA Darden, went on someone else's podcast to talk about why he applied to business school. After the episode, Adam shares what he's doing with his summer internship (it starts today!), as well as what his favorites classes have been and how he plans on volunteering more often during his second year.

Before coming to Texas McCombs, Katherine served in the United States Army. Someone in her direct family has served in the US military since the Revolutionary War, so Katherine explains what it's like to lead large groups of people, and how veterans use ROTC, Service to School, and the GI Bill to attend top graduate schools. Plus, Katherine discusses her experience with losing a soldier to suicide, and her role in combating sexual misconduct in the armed forces.  

Louise loves to build things! That's why she created a blog last year. And that's why she relished her job as an aerospace engineer. That's why she was asked to help design the new Harry Potter ride at Universal Studios. And that's why she recently turned down an internship offer from top tier strategy consulting firm.

Pharoah Green has a surprisingly small ego. Although Pharoah was a childhood actor, a highly skilled poker player, and the manager of the Arizona Wildcats Basketball Team, he didn't think that he would even get an interview at Harvard Business School -- let alone "The Call".

As a former Obama Appointee and a Senior Policy Advisor to the Mayor of New York, no one would be surprised if Michael Cox eventually became a US Senator. So... what brought him to The Georgetown McDonough School of Business?

Ben Onukwube (Wharton Class of 2020) is an engineer who loves people and products.  Ben is the co-founder of a 501(c)3 that teaches children of color about the wonders of STEM, and he's the author of book about how to ace your behavioral interviews.  In this episode, Ben explains why he runs towards his fears, what it feels like to fire someone, and how he plans on picking his next boss.

Brittany was the top rated basketball player in the country when she graduated from high school. She was the first woman to participate in the McDonald's Slam Dunk Contest (alongside LeBron James), and in college she played in the Final Four of the March Madness Tournament.  But Brittany took a few tumbles in her basketball career. At one point, she couldn't even walk.  Now she's got her sights set on becoming a Chief Operating Officer because she wants to “run shit and be a boss”. Tune in as Brittany (Owen Class of 2020) discusses mediocre white men, bisexuality, and corporal punishment.

Today's episode is special. My good friend Joey (Michigan Ross) and I talk how a non-profit called "The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management" helped us get into business school.  If you're applying to any top tier MBA programs and you're committed to diversity & inclusion, we highly recommend you look into The Consortium.  

Being the only woman in most of your computer science classes is tough. The guys at Swarthmore excluded Marjani from many of their cool passion projects. So, Marjani pivoted. She put down the keyboard and traveled the world. Before she could finish her applications to law school, Marjani made the leap to Google's People Operations team. And today she's a first year student at MIT Sloan, where she's hoping to make another transition... Listen in as we dive deep into her goals of entrepreneurship, strategy, and social impact.

Ashley is in love with New York City, and she's determined to make the leap into a career on Wall Street in investment banking. But does a being an LGBTQ woman of color from a non-target school put her at an advantage or a disadvantage? She certainly has a unique perspective to bring to the industry.

Addie has her first Michigan Ross business school class next week on Monday morning! And it's been a long time coming for Addie. She applied to Ross last year, and got denied. And back in college, Addie switched her major from nursing to journalism at the very last minute. Also, Addie graduated during the height of The Great Recession, so instead of getting a great job in marketing or PR back in 2010, she accepted a 1-year internship at Greyhound Lines, and had to network her ass off in order to get to where she is today. #GoBlueOR #GoHome

Jonathan had a massive stroke. It left him paralyzed for 6 months. That's why Jonathan's heading to business school at HBS. He's is hoping to make the transition from financial analyst to healthcare strategist... and eventually to executive director for a non-profit that helps children with disabilities.

Garry McBerryhill has gone thru a lot in life. As a 36-year-old Native American who's lost both of his parents & didn't graduate from college until he was 28... Garry was an unlikely candidate at The Tuck School of Business. But listen in as Garry explains how he scraped his way from call center rep at a bank to the CEO of his tribe's investment fund. It's no wonder he got a 100% scholarship to Dartmouth's full-time MBA Program.

Chris grew up in a fly over state, and his high school guidance counselor told him that filling out an application to an Ivy League school like Dartmouth was a waste of time. When he got to Hanover though, Chris learned about Silicon Valley, and then successfully landed sales and marketing internships at Google and YouTube. Now Chris is heading to The Stanford GSB in order to test the waters of entrepreneurship and figure out how he could develop a product at the intersection between tech and media. 

Hatu is hilarious, but he hasn't always been comfortable in his own skin. Growing up albino, Hatu used to deal with a ton of insecurities. Today though, it seems like Hatu has overcome almost all of them by simply practicing gratitude & showing up as the most authentic version of himself. In 1 month, Hatu will be heading the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business on a full Consortium Fellowship! And he's got his sights set on the tech space.

JC was born to be an entrepreneur. In college, he started a successful business that solved his own storage problems in Boston between semesters, and then he launched an online shopping platform for the iPad after graduation. But 2 years in... He failed. And JC had to dust off his resume. Becoming an 'employee' was difficult for him, so now JC's heading to business school at Tuck to refine his people leadership skills and start his 3rd tech company.

After a brief update on why & how the MBA Candidate Podcast came into existence, the host of show, Adam Miller, explains his own business school application story. Adam ended up getting a full tuition scholarship at Darden without breaking 700 on the GMAT. For anyone who's about to start the MBA application process, Adam shares his 3 best pieces of advice.

While driving with his parents across the country to start at Harvard Law School, Ron was racially profiled by the police. Today, he's an accomplished attorney for the city of Atlanta and his job is to defend cops when they've gone too far. Now he's heading to business school at Duke Fuqua, to break into the world of CPG marketing, but if that doesn't work out, his back up plan is to go into politics.

Nick grew up in Chicago & went to college in Chicago. After his dad had a major health scare, Nick decided to only apply to business schools in Chicago. Because of Nick's unique background in oil & gas though, he wasn't sure what his chances would be at a place like Booth or Kellogg. Fortunately, a group called Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) gave him the nudge and gave him the support that he needed to put together an unstoppable application.    

In the first episode of the MBA Candidate Podcast, we sit down with Jaz. She's heading to Wharton, and although she wasn't always sure that business school was in her future, she is now destined to become a media mogul.

How hard is it to get accepted into a top 25 business school? Where do these wonderkids come from? Well, in The MBA Candidate Podcast, your host Adam Miller will interview his friends currently attending top business schools -- including HBS, Booth, GSB, Wharton, Kellogg, Haas, Fuqua, Tuck, SOM, Sloan, Ross, Johnson, Columbia, and Darden. Obviously they'll talk about the GMAT… but they'll also break down how their experiences in undergrad and their first jobs set them up for success. Plus, they will talk about their dream jobs in management consulting, marketing, investment banking, entrepreneurship, tech, and beyond.