MBA Podcaster

If you're thinking of applying to business school this year, now is the time to get started. You still have enough time to study and prep for the GMAT exam, draft several versions of your essay questions, visit a few top choice schools and ask for letters of recommendation from your allies. But where do you begin and what else should you be preparing for now so that you're not scrambling to polish your application at the last minute? Find out all you need to know from our expert guests.

After receiving a number of MBA related questions from our listeners, we went out to find the answers. This time, we answer questions on MBA salaries, career options, courses to take to prepare for business school, and much more. Join us as we hear from GMAC (The Graduate Management Admission Council), an admission's director, career development directors, and an admission consultant.

The Graduate Management Admission Test, or GMAT, is the single most dreaded part of the business school application process. Everyone has heard the stories and myths surrounding the exam. Listen in as we interview the experts in the field, including the test administrators, and dispel many popular notions about the exam, including the notion that the first 10 questions on the test are most critical and determine your overall score. The deans also weigh in on their view of how important the GMAT score is relative to all other factors when evaluating your application. Finally, we hear from various test prep service companies on how they can help translate mastery of the material into success on exam day.

Every MBA program has strengths in certain areas. Some schools have a renowned finance faculty, other schools are known for entrepreneurship or general management. By exploring a school's MBA concentrations, you'll get a sense of a program's strengths. In Part III of our series on MBA Tracks, we explore MBA specialties in Accounting, Human Resource Management, Operations and Supply Chain Management. Our guests include professors and directors of top ranked programs in these fields. Visit our website for Part I and Part II, which cover other popular MBA Tracks and Concentrations.

Most soon-to-be MBA's haven't seen the inside of a classroom for at least a couple of years. Basic skills like algebra and statistics have gone to the wayside as emails and PowerPoints have taken over. Students arrive on campus and are immediately confronted with core courses including accounting, statistics, economics and finance and many struggle through this first year, falling behind in the demanding curriculum. Don't start your MBA off on the wrong foot, hear what the deans have to say about the core quantitative all incoming MBAs are required to know and learn how you can prepare now so youll hit the ground running when you get to campus.

Focusing your MBA education on a particular concentration can have several benefits. It can fill in gaps in work history, give you expertise in a field, and help you break into a specific industry. In Part I of our series on MBA Tracks, we learned that there's a difference between just taking an elective course to actually specializing your MBA degree. In Part II, we explore four more popular tracks in non-profit management, marketing, real estate and healthcare. We'll talk to the heads of well-established MBA programs in these fields.

If you're applying for a MBA program or if you're midstream, you're likely doing a lot of reading. However, there are some books that you must to read to enhance your candidacy and career prospects. In this show we will hear from students, consultants and authors to guide you to the perfect books that will help round out your skills and open your mind to new paths.

Waitlist purgatory: its a place no MBA applicant wants to end up. What should you do now? Some say you need to continually update the school with your recent developments, more letters of recommendation and a visit to the admission committee, meanwhile the school tells you not to send anything unless theres been a significant change in your application. Well explore where you should go from here and what you can do to help get you off the waitlist and onto the accepted list.

Landing the best summer internship possible is of huge importance for first-year MBA students. It's often referred to as the "12-week interview" since an internship can lead to your next full-time job. Every MBA student is encouraged to get a summer internship and competition is tough. This time, we will explore what to look for in an internship, what it can do for you, and how to find and choose the best one. We speak to two career management directors from top MBA programs, a student who's made a summer experience into his next career move, and a recruiter at a top consulting company.

More business schools are crafting specialized curriculums that are giving students a targeted approach to their education and careers. You can get an MBA in finance, global management, technology, real estate, or health-care, just to name a few. This time we'll explore four top MBA programs with concentrations in entrepreneurship, finance, technology and general management. We'll find out how a specialized curriculum can play a big role in shaping your future goals. Part II will be coming out in 2 months and will cover healthcare, marketing, non-profits and operations strategy.

If you're on your way to enrolling in an MBA program, or already there now, chances are you would like words of advice on from those who've been there, done it and went on to succeed. Listen in as we get advice from our varied guests on everything from getting in, thriving while on campus and success beyond graduation.

The GMAT score is one of the essential pieces of an application for most full-time MBA programs. But many Executive MBA programs are quietly removing it from the admissions criteria. This time, we'll explore why more than half of BusinessWeek's top 25 Executive MBA programs don't have a GMAT requirement. We'll also find out if you can apply for a waiver even at the schools where the GMAT is required for admission. Listen in as we talk to the heads of three top executive MBA programs.

MBA Podcaster has teamed up with the Graduate Management Admission Council to bring you an extensive series of MBAs in the working world. GMAC has brought together recruiters from the top consulting firms around the world to get the perspective on opportunities in the field for MBA graduates. This week, we bring you Part One & Two: employment opportunities in the consulting field, including the skills and knowledge that recruiters look for, and a discussion about the interview process. You'll learn about opportunities that exist for MBAs in this field and how to position yourself to take advantage of the highly prestigious consulting industry.

Back to school after years on the job means lectures, homework and exams while also juggling campus activities and a job search. For those students who are starting their MBA shortly after getting their undergraduate degree they may not have enough real-world experience to hit the ground running in their first year. We'll give you tips how to navigate through your first year successfully; from refreshing your quantitative skills to getting an internship and setting the course for a successful graduation.

If you're younger than the average business school student but want to get an MBA now, you could start applying. Top programs are reaching out to applicants with little work experience. We'll explore some things you can do to compensate for a short resume, what the admissions committee will be looking for in young candidates, and what being young is actually like on campus.