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 this? And why do business schools even ask you to write essays in the first place?

Answer: These schools are interested in much MORE than your test scores, academic transcript, and professional accomplishments. More than almost anything else these schools are interested in learning what lessons you have learned about yourself and your leadership style, and—critically—how you will harness those learnings in order to drive impact in the world.

Listening to this podcast is a must for anyone who wants to:

• Present a full and complete picture of them to the admissions office,
• Stand out from the crowd by sharing unique and attention-grabbing stories and examples, and/or
• Identify memorable and authentic ways to share what makes YOU tick, how YOU think, how YOU have grown and changed over the years, and (very importantly) what lessons you have learned about yourself along the way.

This B-Schooled episode can be found here, or take a listen on any of the major podcast platforms below.

In this replay of a past episode, Erika talks with Anthony Penna, a fellow SBC admissions consultant who spent 10 years with the Wharton School in Career Management and as Associate Director of Admissions for the full-time MBA program. As Anthony served on the implementation and design team for Wharton's Team Based Discussion (TBD) interview format, this episode focuses on his insight advice for MBA candidates who will be interviewing with Wharton.

As many of our listeners already know, Kellogg recently updated its MBA application. For this episode, our host Chandler sits down with former Kellogg Admissions Officer—and longtime SBC Consultant—Caryn to talk about all the changes… and how to tackle them.

Caryn not only holds an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management, she also worked as an Admissions Officer for Kellogg before joining SBC. In this role Caryn read and evaluated thousands of applications. For this podcast Caryn touches on a range of topics, including:

• SBC’s recent conversations with the Kellogg Admissions Team about a range of topics of interest to current and future students,
• The fact that Kellogg is much more than a marketing school (in fact you might be surprised what most students are focusing on), and
• A deep dive conversation about Kellogg’s wide range of MBA program options, including their—two year program, one year program, MBAi program, joint degree offerings, and other program options.

Caryn also shares specific advice on the updated Kellogg application, including specific suggestions regarding:

• Two new essay questions, what you should focus on (and what you shouldn’t),
• Possible ways to approach each of these questions,
• Ways you might structure your essays,
• Potential pitfalls applicants should be aware of, and
• How to tackle all of these things within a very tight word count.

Caryn then closes out the podcast with a few pieces of personal advice from her position as a former Kellogg MBA admissions officer that we promise you don’t want to miss.