What do you get when you combine a global pandemic lockdown, replete with challenges keeping education systems accessible and afloat and professionals in the business school application and test prep space with novel technological tools designed to connect people? While this reads like an LSAT question or a business school case study, this was actually the exact formula of early 2021 that brought a few coaches in the MBA and GMAT/GRE space together remotely to ponder ways to engage with other professionals and business school applicants in conversations of all things business and education. And thus…MBA Waves was born.

Longtime AIGAC member Bara Sapir of City Test Prep and MindFlow Speed Reading, and AIGAC newcomer, Eric Lucrezia, of Candidate.Coach former Director of Recruitment for the Global MBA program at ESSEC Business School in Paris & Singapore, joined forces and now host the weekly online vidcast program, MBA Waves. We stream live from Paris and the San Francisco Bay Area, respectively, on LinkedIn Live, Facebook, and YouTube. The episodes are recorded, available for later viewing, hosted on our YouTube channel and accessible via the Past Episodes tab on the MBA Waves website.

Every Tuesday, MBA Waves feature unplugged conversations with business school professionals and alumni, and industry vanguards including coaches, consultants and educators in the business school admissions and test preparation space.
We enjoy colleagues and allied professionals in the field sharing their nuggets of insight with our viewers and every episode is a fun and rich learning experience for everyone.

Currently, we produce two episode types. The first focuses on topics and themes addressing the ‘how-tos’ of applying to MBA programs and what to expect as a student. These include pro-tips on essay and résumé writing, test selection and preparation, best practices in interpersonal relations such as soft skills, interviewing, and networking, and much more. These panel discussions provide expertise from different perspectives and viewers learn about the services and brands in the ecosystem. We look forward to welcoming more AIGAC members on our lively theme-based episodes. So far we’ve been joined by, Barbara Coward, Candy Lee LaBalle, Travis Morgan, Petia Whitmore, Marlena Corcoran, and  Lindsay Sage.

The other episodes feature business schools, which highlight top-ranked MBA programs, one at a time. Some of the schools who have joined us include HEC, Cambridge-Judge, Rotman, HKUST, ESCP, Boston University, William & Mary and a joint episode of Imperial College and GMAC together. These business programs highlight some of their latest achievements, star alumni, scholarships, program updates, and career trajectories of their alum. Current students and alumni often join the school panels to provide more context and perspective of their experience at the program and the arc from applicant to alum.

“We were thrilled to be hosted on a featured school episode of MBA Waves, which allowed us to share the experiences of two stand-out alumni and answer live questions about HEC Paris, in a more informal, chat-like setting, while reaching across time zones.”

– Colleen Stanfa, Associate Director of Marketing for the HEC Executive MBA program

We’re thrilled that our live audience and on-demand viewers have been growing exponentially. This is due to the quality of panel guests, value of the resources shared, topics discussed and sheer accessibility to valuable resources and of course, the contagious nature of our enjoyment.

We’re a free resource with up-to-the-minute insights for MBA hopefuls and provide the opportunity for them to ask questions live and network with high-profile guests. Schools and colleagues alike can highlight their brand and leverage another platform to demonstrate their expertise to better reach applicants and serve their needs. We invite you to follow, engage and contribute. Would you like to join us on air, soon? Fill out our guest interest form here and we’ll get back to you to discuss topics and logistics.

See you on an upcoming Tuesday!

Eric Lucrezia & Bara Sapir