For this two-part conversation, Chandler sits down with SBC Consultant Dawn Clare to discuss her "One Minute Method" for identifying underrecognized individual strengths. As many of you know, Dawn is no stranger to the podcast and brings so much to this conversation. Dawn graduated as a PepsiCo Scholar from Harvard Business School with concentrations in finance and marketing. Dawn was also admitted to the Stanford GSB. Outside of her work in admissions consulting, Dawn has experience at a wide r...
Jul 09, 2025•28 min•Ep. 253
For this two-part conversation, Chandler sits down with SBC Consultant Dawn Clare to discuss her "One Minute Method" for identifying underrecognized individual strengths. As many of you know, Dawn is no stranger to the podcast and brings so much to this conversation. Dawn graduated as a PepsiCo Scholar from Harvard Business School with concentrations in finance and marketing. Dawn was also admitted to the Stanford GSB. Outside of her work in admissions consulting, Dawn has experience at a wide r...
Jul 02, 2025•33 min•Ep. 252
In this episode replay, Chandler dives into 6 tips for MBA essays that even the most confident writers might miss.
Jun 25, 2025•17 min•Ep. 251
This episode will motivate you to get going on your Round 1 MBA materials, and will cover what makes the most sense for you to be working on right now before applications are released.
May 28, 2025•14 min•Ep. 249
Memorial Day weekend in the United States represents the unofficial kickoff of the 2025-26 business-school application year! What's the number one thing you should be doing right now if you plan to apply?
May 21, 2025•15 min•Ep. 248
This replay episode covers 5 MBA applicant pitfalls – as in, traits, attitudes or approaches that some MBA applicants take that can ultimately derail their chances of success.
May 14, 2025•19 min•Ep. 247
Have you bounced around in your career a bit? If so, you’ll need to be strategic in how you communicate your career story — and future career goals — to MBA admissions committees. This replay episode discusses what to do if your career moves don’t look exactly logical “on paper.” We’ll also cover how to write about being laid off or being fired, as well as what to do in your applications if you’ve worked somewhere for less than a year.
May 07, 2025•19 min•Ep. 246
After working so hard on your MBA materials for months on end, it can be shocking and devastating if you're not accepted anywhere. What should you do now? This episode discusses 5 paths forward for MBA hopefuls who were dinged.
Apr 30, 2025•19 min•Ep. 245
Many interviewers report that they make up a big percentage of their mind about applicants during the first few minutes of an interview. This episode replay shares a number of very specific suggestions and tips to make yourself stand out during these first interactions, now that we're in the thick of Round 2 interview season. Our host Chandler shares his suggestions for something he calls a “personal MBA soundbite” – including how you can create this soundbite, how you can incorporate it into th...
Apr 16, 2025•21 min•Ep. 244
After you've celebrated the huge achievement of getting into an MBA program, you have to figure out how you're going to pay for it! This episode replay focuses on the details of paying for your MBA with your own money, with "free" money, or with loaned money. It also includes what the FAFSA is used for and what your program's financial aid office can assist with.
Apr 09, 2025•26 min•Ep. 243
It can be devastating to receive a ding after months of hard work on your MBA applications. This episode replay focuses on what a ding from any given program may or may not mean, and also gives advice on how you might choose to move forward.
Mar 25, 2025•18 min•Ep. 242
In this replay episode of B-Schooled we sit down the Recy Dunn. Recy currently serves as the CEO of Ascend Public Charter Schools and oversees a network of 16 schools serving 6,000 students in grades K-12 across Brooklyn, NY. Prior to his role with Ascend, Recy served as the Chief Strategy Officer of the NYC Department of Education as well as a variety of other education leadership roles at both the local and national levels. Recy earned his MBA and his MA in Education from Stanford. In this epi...
Mar 19, 2025•31 min•Ep. 241
In part 2 of this duo of popular past episodes, Cathy, an INSEAD graduate, answers frequently asked questions about MBA programs outside of the US. Topics include the differences between European and US-based MBA experiences, the visa process, the interview process, recruiting information, and more.
Mar 12, 2025•17 min•Ep. 240
In this replay episode, our host Erika talks with Cathy, an SBC consultant and INSEAD grad, about some of the major European MBA programs and how they compare to US-based programs in terms of the admissions process, acceptance rates, campus experience, post-graduation employment opportunities and more.
Mar 05, 2025•16 min•Ep. 239
During Round 2 interview season, this episode replay covers 3 reasons why candidates who seem similar on paper could end up with drastically different MBA admissions results.
Feb 12, 2025•15 min•Ep. 238
While there are deferred-admissions programs for MBA hopefuls who are still in college, is it possible for someone with just 1 or 2 years of work experience to get into an MBA program "the normal way"? It's not impossible, but it's pretty rare. This episode replay explains why, and gives advice for MBA applicants who are less than 3 years out of college.
Feb 05, 2025•17 min•Ep. 237
Considering this week's surprises in AI advancement, we're replaying Chandler's talk with Futurist Dr. Nathan Walworth. Futurism is a broad term referring to the advancement of disruptive technologies across industries. These exponential technologies are rapidly emerging in the fields of genetics, robotics, artificial intelligence, synthetic organisms, nanotechnology, 3D printing, virtual reality, big data, cybernetics and many other areas. Cross-disciplinary by nature, Futurism is growing in po...
Jan 29, 2025•26 min•Ep. 236
In this replay of co-host Chandler Arnold's very first B-Schooled episode, he welcomes SBC colleague Christina to have an extraordinary conversation about a hot topic in the world of MBA applications: authenticity. Chandler and Christina share several excerpts from past admissions consulting clients' essays as examples of how to use candor, vulnerability and boldness effectively.
Jan 15, 2025•22 min•Ep. 235
Are you interested becoming a McKinsey/Bain/BCG (MBB) consultant after business school? Or are you a pre-MBA consultant interested in applying to a top business school? If the answer to either of these questions is yes, this is the podcast is for you. Today we welcome Will Bachman back to the pod. Will is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Umbrex, a firm providing rapid access to independent management consultants with experience at top-tier consulting firms. Today, Will and his team manage ...
Jan 08, 2025•22 min•Ep. 234
Are you interested becoming a McKinsey/Bain/BCG (MBB) consultant after business school? Or are you a pre-MBA consultant interested in applying to a top business school? If the answer to either of these questions is yes, this is the podcast is for you. Today we sit down with Will Bachman. Will is the Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Umbrex, a firm providing rapid access to independent management consultants with experience at top-tier consulting firms. Today, Will and his team manage more than ...
Jan 01, 2025•23 min•Ep. 233
Happy holidays and Merry Christmas to those celebrating today. In this replay episode we share another extensive profile of an applicant Stacy Blackman Consulting worked with. We explain how the former admissions committee members on our staff assessed his candidacy and what ended up happening.
Dec 25, 2024•18 min•Ep. 232
In this replay episode, we share an extensive profile of an applicant Stacy Blackman Consulting worked with. We explain how the former admissions committee members on our staff assessed her candidacy, what advice they gave to strengthen her materials, and what ended up happening.
Dec 18, 2024•25 min•Ep. 231
Today we are joined by Brian Plemmons, Director and Global Process Owner for BD, a global medical technology company advancing the world of health. After graduating from high school, Brian joined the United States Navy. During his military service Brian also earned his Associate's Degree, then went on to earn his Bachelor's degree and a law degree. Brian practiced law for seven years before transitioning to corporate America with a global medical device company. After working in the corporate wo...
Dec 11, 2024•28 min•Ep. 230
In this replay episode, our host Erika welcomes Bill Chionis, one of Stacy Blackman Consulting's experts on part-time (PT) MBA programs. They have a discussion about: Whether or not we've seen an increase in interest in PT programs since COVID hit in 2020 The benefits of PT program vs. a traditional 2-year MBA Similarities and differences between part-time and full-time MBA programs How employers look at PT programs How (and if) PT MBAs can pursue a career switch Part-time MBA application criter...
Nov 27, 2024•15 min•Ep. 229
Friends, Lovers, and Entrepreneurship: Starting a business with a Friend or Spouse Have you ever dreamed of starting a business with a friend? Or maybe launching an enterprise with your significant other? If so, this episode is for you... Today we sit down with Purvi Mody, Co-CEO of Insight Education. Insight Education is an educational consulting company Purvi and her husband acquired, run, and have expanded dramatically--both in the US and overseas. This wide-ranging discussion touches on a nu...
Nov 20, 2024•25 min•Ep. 228
In this two-part series we are going to talk about fear. In the first episode our host Chandler unpacked three of the most frequent MBA application fears clients and other applicants have shared with him over the years. This included fears around: Not applying to enough “stretch” or “safe” schools, Letting parents (or others) overly influence your school selections decisions, and the challenges of paying for business school In this episode we will continue the conversation by unpacking fears rel...
Nov 06, 2024•21 min•Ep. 227
In this two-part series we are going to talk about fear. Fear--and admitting you are afraid--has gotten a bit of a bad rep in our world, especially in the world of MBA applications. However facing your fears fears can offer you a very real opportunity to learn about yourself and dramatically improve your MBA applications. In this episode our host Chandler unpack three of the most frequent MBA application fears that clients and other applicants have shared with him over the years. We will unpack ...
Oct 30, 2024•25 min•Ep. 226
If there’s one question nearly every school asks somewhere in the application process, it’s a version of “What are your short- and long-term career goals?” Not only is this question essential to nail, but tackling it in the right way can provide a “north star” for your entire application—linking together who you are, what you’ve done, where you want to go, and how an MBA will help you get there. In this replay, host Chandler Arnold sits down with MBA admissions expert Christina Fu to dive into w...
Oct 23, 2024•25 min•Ep. 225
This week our host sits down with Emma from the SBC team. Emma comes from the MBA Admissions Office at Columbia Business School (CBS), where she was Associate Director. She’s also worked with BCG, Teach For American and so many other amazing groups. Emma and Chandler sit down to talk about a critical—but often overlooked—element of the application process: how to have meaningful interactions with the Admissions Committee during your application and journey. Emma shares a number of incredible pie...
Oct 09, 2024•27 min•Ep. 224
You’ve all heard the expression all work and no play makes Jack (or Julia) a dull sport. The same is true with MBA applications. Simply having an amazing set of professional accomplishments is not enough to get you into a top MBA program. Setting aside scores and academic achievements for another podcast, this podcast will dive into five different aspects of your life you might explore applications, including a few you probably have not previously considered. Question: Why are we talking about t...
Oct 02, 2024•25 min•Ep. 223
