Admissions Straight Talk

Admissions Straight Talk

By Linda AbrahamEducationHow To
Download on the App Store

Admissions Straight Talk episodes

  • How to Get into Physician Assistant Programs

    Send us your admissions questions!

    Dr. Valerie Wherley, Accepted consultant and past Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Career Development at William Beaumont School of Medicine, and former Director of Pre-Health Advisement and Director of the Pre-Health Postbac Certificate Program at Sacred Heart University, speaks in depth about the path to becoming a physician assistant. [Show Summary]Healthcare is a field that is growing, but what areas are really booming? According to US News citing Bureau of Labor Statics’ projections, between 2021 and 2031 “an estimated 38,400 jobs should open up” for physician assistants.  Sound good? Let’s learn more about becoming a physician assistant.Interview with Dr. Valerie Wherley, Accepted consultant. Dr. Wherley earned her BS and MS at the University of Maine in kinesiology and her PhD in higher education administration from the University of Connecticut. [Show Notes]Welcome to the 515th episode of AdmissionsStraight Talk. Thanks for tuning in. This interview is all about getting accepted to PA school and giving you tips on how you can do it. In addition to listening to today's interview, I invite you to download Accepted's free guide, 10 Tips For Acceptance to a Physician Assistant Program. Grab your free guide for advice on selecting the best PA programs for you, writing your personal statement, interviewing effectively and simply presenting the best application you possibly can.Over the last 20 years, she has served as the Assistant Dean of Student Affairs and Career Development at William Beaumont School of Medicine, director of pre-health post-bacc certificate program at Sacred Heart University, and the director of the pre-health advisement also at Sacred Heart University. In those roles and before joining Accepted earlier this year, she advised thousands of students in the following pre-health tracks: pre-med, pre-PA, pre-vet, pre-dental, pre-pharmacy, pre-PT, pre-OT, pre-accelerated nursing and pre-optometry, as well as applicants to master's programs in exercise science, biomedical sciences, occupational therapy, speech language pathology, athletic training, public health, and applied nutrition. That's her breadth. Right now, we're going to go in depth and we're going to focus on physician assistant admissions. Dr. Wherley, welcome to Admissions Straight Talk. [2:32]Thank you for having me.What do physician assistants do? [2:36]Sure. Great question. So a physician assistant or PA, which I may use during this podcast is a licensed medical professional, first and foremost, who holds an advanced degree beyond their undergrad, which is typically a master's degree, and they're licensed to provide direct patient care. So if you've ever received care from a PA, it's important to know they are fully qualified and fully trained, and their scope of practice really encompasses quite a bit. And so their scope of practice starts with the ability to take medical histories, to conduct physical exams, to diagnose and treat illnesses.They can also develop treatment plans and order and interpret tests. They can prescribe medication, which sometimes people may or may not know. They can counsel on preventative care, they can perform certain procedures that's very specific. They can assist in surgeries. They are not the primary care provider in surgeries, but they can assist. They can make rounds in hospitals and nursing homes, and they can also do clinical research. So while that is a long list of their scope of practice, I'm sure it's not exhaustive, but PAs are certainly a team player and a welcome provider on a healthcare team.What are some of the restrictions on what they can do? [4:20]Well, in most states, PAs do not operate or practice, and by I say operate, I mean independently practice. PAs are restricted to be practicing under the supervision of a physician, an MD typically, and again, that's in most states. And one of my specific things that I noted is they can assist in ..

    Follow Us
    YouTube
    Facebook
    LinkedIn

    Contact Us
    www.accepted.com
    [email protected]
    +1 (310) 815-9553

    44 min
  • How to Get Into Georgetown McDonough’s MBA Program

    Send us your admissions questions!

    Shortcuts to Key Insights from this EpisodeAn overview of both Georgetown's MBA programs and the MS in Environmental and Sustainability Management or the ESM.What distinguishes Georgetown's program in Environment and Sustainability Management from other similar programs.Where graduates of Georgetown's MBA program and the MS-ESM program find jobs.The types of academic backgrounds Georgetown is looking for in applicants to the MBA and MS-ESM programs.What an interviewee can expect if they’re lucky enough to get an invitation.A key piece of advice from Shelly Heinrich to all applicants.A common - but avoidable mistake - seen on resumes.Shelly Heinrich, Associate Dean for MBA and MS-ESM admissions, and Director of Marketing at Georgetown's McDonough School of Business, discusses everything applicants need to know about getting into Georgetown McDonough’s MBA program. [Show Summary]Are you interested in sustainability? Also considering an MBA? Well Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business offers and outstanding MBA program AND an MS in Environmental and Sustainability Management. And today’s interview is with the associate dean of admissions for both programs. Pull up a chair. Interview with Shelly Heinrich, Associate Dean for MBA and MS-ESM admissions, and Director of Marketing at Georgetown's McDonough School of Business. [Show Notes]Are you interested in sustainability? Are you also considering an MBA? Well, Georgetown University's McDonough School of Business offers an outstanding MBA program and an MS in Environmental and Sustainable Management. And today's interview is with the Associate Dean of Admissions for both programs. Pull up a chair.Welcome to the 512th episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for joining me. Before we dive into today's interview, I want to give you a gift, Accepted's free download, Fitting In & Standing Out. This guide will help you navigate the paradox at the heart of admissions. Realize that you need to show in your application simultaneously that you fit in at your target schools, and that you stand out in the applicant pool. It gives me great pleasure to have back on Admissions Straight Talk Shelly Heinrich, Associate Dean for MBA and MS-ESM admissions, and Director of Marketing at Georgetown's McDonough School of Business. Shelly has been leading Georgetown's admissions efforts since 2014 and became Associate Dean in 2017. She earned her BBA from Texas Christian University, her Master's in Educational Administration from UT Austin, and her Executive MBA from Georgetown. Shelly, welcome back to Admissions Straight Talk. [1:52]It's wonderful to be back. Thanks, Linda, for having me.Can you provide an overview of both Georgetown's MBA programs and the MS in Environment and Sustainability Management or the ESM? [2:01]Yeah. Absolutely. I'll start it with the MBA. The good news is our three MBAs are the same in that we have a full-time, a flex in-person for working professionals, and a flex online for working professionals.They are all 54 credits. You get the same degree, and you have access to the same experience at Georgetown McDonough, so it makes it very easy to talk about. Full-time is 20 months, like a normal full-time two-year program would be, and then the two flex programs are anywhere between two-and-a-half years to five years. But you're taking the same classes. You have the same core for the first half of the program, and then you get to choose from electives in the second half of the program.At Georgetown, we don't require you to choose a concentration. We really feel that you should customize based on what is of interest to you and/or really, what your skill gaps are. There are so many hats that we wear in our jobs today that may be strategy or marketing, or finance or budgeting. We want you to fill those skill gaps in the electives of your choosing. Very briefly,

    Follow Us
    YouTube
    Facebook
    LinkedIn

    Contact Us
    www.accepted.com
    [email protected]
    +1 (310) 815-9553

    43 min
  • Casper, A Situational Judgment Test: All You Need to Know

    Send us your admissions questions!

    Shortcuts to Key Insights from this EpisodeHow to prepare and practice for the Casper.A detailed explanation on how the subjective test is scored.The most recent development in making Casper more equitable across all demographics.What happens if raters identify a red flag.Will Casper spread to other fields such as social work and law?Common misconceptions about Casper.Relevant Links and Related ShowsDo you have to take the CASPer for at least some of the programs you are applying to? Are you concerned about? This interview with the co-founder of Acuity Insights, the folks who provide the Casper, is for you! [Show Summary]Dr. Dore discusses everything applicants need to know about taking the Casper and what it truly tests.Interview with Dr. Kelly Dore, Co-Founder & VP of Science and Innovation at Acuity Insights and Adjunct Professor at McMaster University at McMaster University. [Show Notes]Do you need to take the Casper for at least some of the programs you are applying to, are you concerned about it? Well, this interview with the co-founder of Acuity Insights, the folks that bring us the Casper, is for you.Welcome to the 513th episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for joining me today. Are you ready to apply to your Dream Medical Schools? Are you competitive at your target programs? Accepted Med School Admissions Quiz can give you a quick reality check. Just go to accepted.com/med-quiz, complete the quiz, and you'll not only get an assessment, but tips on how to improve your chances of acceptance. Plus, it's all free. Again, take the quiz at accepted.com/med-quiz to obtain your free assessment.Our guest today is Dr. Kelly Dore, co-founder and vice President of Science and Innovation at Acuity Insights, and also adjunct professor at McMaster University. Dr. Dore, welcome to Admission Straight Talk.Can you give an overview of the Casper exam and its structure? What can applicants expect? [1:31]Sure. So the exam most people who are familiar with from Acuity is Casper. Casper is an online situational judgment test. A situational judgment test, it's different than a behavioral interview question you might have. If people are familiar with doing interviews where you say, tell me about a time you managed multiple responsibilities at once. Instead, an SJT presents a scenario in the case of Casper. The majority of those are video scenarios too; you're watching a 60 to 90-second video. You have a role in it that we tell you at the beginning, and you watch that video and then you get a series of questions after it. So you watch the scenario, see what's going on, and there's then three follow up questions talking about what you would do and why you would take that course of action.The total exam takes around 90 minutes, and during that time, there's opportunity for breaks. There's the chance to just reflect, so you'll watch the video. There's a chance to have a reflection period before you go into typing your response or recording your response, depending on the moment In Casper. Now Casper broadly is intended to measure social intelligence and professionalism in applicants. It was developed so that we could get a more holistic picture of applicants supporting that holistic selection process and the Casper exam. We'll go into more detail about it, but it is something that we hope supports the application process.When can applicants take it? I know it's online. Can they take it at six in the morning, wherever they are? Can they take it at 10 o'clock at night? [3:01]Absolutely. So because it is online, and I always say we were online before online was cool. So back in 2010, we started with an online examination because we started in Canada and we wanted to ensure that we weren't disadvantaging our rural and remote applicants. They weren't having to travel to test centers to take this examination because the intent of it is it's used early on in the admi..

    Follow Us
    YouTube
    Facebook
    LinkedIn

    Contact Us
    www.accepted.com
    [email protected]
    +1 (310) 815-9553

    55 min
  • Get Accepted to the Medical College of Wisconsin

    Send us your admissions questions!

    Exciting changes to the curriculum at the Medical College of Wisconsin. [Show Summary]Dr. Jane Machi, Assistant Dean, Admissions and Recruitment at the Medical College of Wisconsin, explores the MCW Fusion Curriculum – and completing med school in three years.Interview with Dr. Jane Machi, Associate Dean for Admissions at the Medical College of Wisconsin. [Show Notes]Welcome to the 511th episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for joining me today. Are you ready to apply to your dream medical schools? Are you competitive at your target programs? Accepted's Med School Admissions Quiz can give you a quick reality check. Just go to Accepted.com/medquiz. Complete the quiz and you'll not only get an assessment of your chances, but tips on how to improve your chances of acceptance. And it's all free. Again, use a calculator at Accepted.com/medquiz to obtain your free assessment and those tips that I just mentioned.Our guest today is Dr. Jane Machi, Associate Dean of Admissions and Recruitment at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Dr. Machi earned her MD at the Medical College of Wisconsin and is a proud alum, as you'll hear shortly.  In her clinical practice she specializes in pediatric emergency medicine, in addition to serving at MCW as an associate professor and associate dean of admissions. Dr. Machi, welcome to Admissions Straight Talk. [1:43]Thank you.Can you give an overview of MCW's MD program focusing on its more distinctive elements? [1:53]Sure. The Medical College of Wisconsin has a campus in Milwaukee, and we have two regional campuses, one in Central Wisconsin in a city called Wausau, and then we have a campus in Green Bay. We're a private institution. Our Milwaukee campus has 50% of our students from Wisconsin and 50% are out of state. And then our regional campuses are really geared towards replenishing the physician shortage that everyone is facing. We're not unique in that regard, and the regional campuses were opened with the hopes that the students that we train there when they complete the residencies will return to Wisconsin.Predominantly, those campuses are geared towards Wisconsin residents, so close to 80% on each campus come from Wisconsin. I think one of the most unique things about our curriculum in particular, which our students rave about all the time, is our scholarly pathways. On the Milwaukee campus, they have opportunities to dive deep into a topic that they're really passionate about. Some examples are we have an urban and community health pathway. We have a global health pathway. We have a patient safety and quality improvement pathway. We have research pathways. The students can choose.They go through a series of orientations to each of the pathways, and they choose and they do a scholarly project typically in their first two years. And then on the regional campuses, they also participate in a scholarly pathway, but there is one, and that is the physician in the community pathway. I should say that our Milwaukee campus is a four-year campus, so our students spend four years with us. The regional campuses are three-year campuses, so you get out of medical school one year earlier. The target specialties for those campuses are really primary care and psychiatry oriented, and those are the types of students that we try and recruit.We know very well that students may change their mind once they get into medical school. They may find another field that they're more intrigued by and want to spend more time in. There is an option for them to do a fourth year if it's necessary, depending on the specialty that they've chosen. That's a little bit about MCW.Does the curriculum differ other than length at the three different locations? It sounds like Milwaukee has more breadth of offerings and the two regional ones are, as you say, focused on primary care, which I assume are family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics. [4:24]And pediatrics.

    Follow Us
    YouTube
    Facebook
    LinkedIn

    Contact Us
    www.accepted.com
    [email protected]
    +1 (310) 815-9553

    41 min
  • CMU Tepper’s MS in Business Analytics: All You Need to Know

    Send us your admissions questions!

    Drawing on her knowledge as the Director of Masters Admissions at Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business, Kari Calvario shares everything students should know about CMU Temper’s MS in Business Analytics program. [Show Summary]Welcome to the 510th episode of Admission Straight Talk. Thanks for joining me.Before we dive into today's episode, I want to mention a resource at Accepted that can help you prepare your statement of purpose to masters programs in business analytics and data science. Download Five Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Grad School Statement of Purpose to learn how to avoid the five most common mistakes we see in graduate school statements of purpose, as well as how to write a statement of purpose that makes your story memorable and highlights your qualifications for your target programs.Our guest today is Kari Calvario. She is the Director of Masters Admissions at Carnegie Mellon Tepper School of Business. She earned her bachelor's in English literature and a masters in education. She joined Tepper in 2014 and has been there ever since. [Show Notes]Thank you for having me. I'm excited to speak with you.We're going to focus on the masters in business analytics programs at CMU Tepper. What are they? Can you provide an overview of both the full-time in-person option and the part-time online option? [2:02]Yeah, happy to. Thanks for that first question. The Tepper School, as any school, is always looking to diversify. We're looking to grow. Our MBA program has been our flagship program, but I think one of the really great things about Tepper is we're always looking to innovate. We're always looking for what's relevant. With lots of conversations with employers, with alums, we found that there was this need for professionals who have not only advanced analytical skills, but then the ability to combine that with a business sense and be able to communicate those business needs, to be able to convince about business needs. The Master of Science in Business Analytics program was initially born as our part-time online version, which still exists to this day, but it was born out of that need of wanting to provide students with analytical skills and be able to combine it with the leadership and business skills that they would need. As that program continued to grow over the last several years, it evolved and kind of branched also into our full-time MS Business Analytics program. Now we carry both of them. They are both really successful programs. It started with this need several years ago after the feedback that we got from employers, industry professionals, alums, and has now grown into two really successful programs.Is AI becoming a more important part in the curriculum? I find it fascinating that it's a program that really seems to combine left brain, right brain, that you're highly statistical and quantitative, but it also is very much about communications. With all the publicity about ChatGPT, AI, et cetera, is it becoming a more important part of the program? [3:39]I don't know that it's a more important part, but certainly it's an integral part of it. We wouldn't be CMU if it wasn't something that was a part of our program. I think the lens that our curriculum is taught from even something like a communication class is all taught from this analytical lens, which of course, lends itself to AI, to machine learning. When we talk about this intelligent future, this background that I have, we talk about data informed, but human decisions. Data can't make decisions, but it's such an important part of it.It's data informed, but there's the human part of it. AI, you just mentioned, it's this really unique combination of AI and the improvements that we can make, but we still need the human piece of it. And that's what I think our program is really good at.What distinguishes CMU Tepper's Master in Business Analytics program from other BA programs, and what do the two programs,

    Follow Us
    YouTube
    Facebook
    LinkedIn

    Contact Us
    www.accepted.com
    [email protected]
    +1 (310) 815-9553

    40 min
  • How to Get Into Cornell’s Master’s in Engineering Management Program









    Interview with Dr. Patrick Reed, Director of Cornell’s Master’s in Engineering Management Program [Show summary]



    Dr. Patrick Reed is Director of Cornell’s Master’s in Engineering Management Program, and in today’s episode he shares information about the on-campus and distance programs, and the kind of applicant who is right for this  program versus a traditional Master of Engineering program or MBA.



    Learn about a versatile degree option that combines engineering with management- and offers a distance learning option! [Show notes]



    Our guest today, Dr. Patrick Reed, got his bachelor's in engineering at the University of Missouri and his MS and PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Illinois. Dr. Reed joined Cornell University as a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering in 2013. He has joined me on AST, however, in his capacity as Director of Cornell’s Master’s in Engineering Management (MEM) Program. 



    What is the Engineering Management Program at Cornell? Can you provide an overview of the on-campus program? [2:03]



    It is a Master’s of Engineering degree that is typically one academic year but can be 1.5 years. It is a blend of engineering and management. We provide students with training in the combination of management-oriented courses, some of which come from the business school, and then specialization in various engineering disciplines. We typically get students from all around the world. Students learn about project management, product management, leadership, state of the art data analytics, decision analysis, and get lots of training in entrepreneurial opportunities and transitioning technologies to market.


    hbspt.cta.load(58291, '332ce827-d7de-4f9f-9f9e-ecbe72f20b41', {});


    Cornell recently announced a distance learning version of the Master’s in Engineering Management program. How is that structured? [3:35]



    It follows much the same motivation. We want to train individuals to have depth and breadth in terms of engineering background and skill as well as the breadth to transition those skills to an organizational or institutional context. It utilizes the eCornell format which is a professionally produced format - we have a professional studio. The curriculum is a bit more limited than the on-campus, with a mix of product management, leadership, and analytics. The core differences are that there is less diversity from a curriculum perspective since the program is not on campus, it is a part-time program that is two years versus one year, and most students in the distance program are working, further along in their careers, and doing this as part of professional development. 



    What are the most significant differences between the MEM and an MBA? [6:58]



    MEM is first of all an engineering degree, and what we are intending it for are individuals who have a deep understanding of the fundamentals of engineering an...
    30 min
  • LSAT and Law School News

    Send us your admissions questions!

    Test optionality seems to be coming to law school admissions. Top schools have withdrawn mostly from the US News rankings. What does it all mean? We ask a law school admissions expert for his input. [Show Summary]Welcome to the 509th episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for joining me. Before we meet our guests, I'd like to highlight the featured resource for today's show. It is the Accepted Law School Admissions Quiz.Interview with Steve Schwartz from LSAT Unplugged podcast and YouTube channel [Show Notes]Are you ready to apply to your dream law school? Are you competitive at your target programs? Acceptance Law School Admissions Quiz can give you a quick reality check. Just go to accepted.com/law-quiz, complete the quiz, and you'll not only get an assessment, but actionable tips on how to improve your qualifications, plus it's all free. Again, use the calculator at accept.com/law-quiz to obtain your complimentary assessment.Our guest today is Steve Schwartz of the LSAT Blog and the LSAT Unplugged podcast and YouTube channel, which we are going to link to from the show notes at accepted.com/209.Steve graduated from Columbia University in 2008. In high school and college, he tutored students in a variety of subjects and also helped prep test takers for standardized tests, including the LSAT. However, he really began to focus on the LSAT when he was applying for law school. He founded the LSAT blog in 2008 and never looked back. Today, 15 years later, he has helped thousands master the LSAT, get into law school, and sometimes secure scholarships worth tens of thousands of dollars.So Steve, thanks for coming back to Admissions Straight Talk. You've been on the show several times before, and I’m glad you could come back. [1:58]Thanks so much for having me on, Linda. It's great to be back as well.Okay, great. Now let's start first with the changes on the LSAT specifically. The ABA in November moved closer, and it keeps moving closer, to making entrance exams optional for law school accreditation, which means that law schools will be able to choose whether to require the LSAT, GMAT, GRE or any other exam from applicants basically before making an admissions decision. Can you go into that change a little bit more, and what can we expect? [2:07]Yeah, sure, of course, Linda. So there has been a big test optional movement in higher education, of course, for quite a while now, and the legal profession tends to move a bit more slowly than others, a bit more bureaucratic, perhaps, and so it took this long for it to finally reach the LSAT and law schools and the American Bar Association.There have been a few attempts, or at least a few proposals in the past to remove the so-called LSAT requirement, but I'm pretty sure this is the first time it's ever made it this far, and at this point, we're giving it the full rubber stamp to remove that requirement. At this point, it's largely a formality, so we can expect they will remove that requirement in February 2023.It will go into effect when? [3:10]That's a great question. A lot of folks are confused about this. There was a last minute amendment added to the proposed revisions stating that their changes, if they go through, will not go into effect until the fall of 2025. So this is all a rather drawn out process now.Okay, and when it goes into effect, assuming it happens, which is likely, although you said it's going to go into effect until2025, but when it goes into effect, how will law school admissions be affected, and do you think they're perhaps even being affected now or in 2024 and 2025? I mean, until then. [3:29]Yeah, for sure. So law schools will be free to remove the LSAT requirement and not require any standardized test at all. However, I suspect that most will not remove it and will keep the same policies in place as they have for many years. Of course, in the long term, who's to say?

    Follow Us
    YouTube
    Facebook
    LinkedIn

    Contact Us
    www.accepted.com
    [email protected]
    +1 (310) 815-9553

    28 min
  • How a Non-Traditional Applicant Gets Into UCLA Law

    Send us your admissions questions!

    Everyone has challenges when applying to top law schools. But combine non-traditional work experience, a low stat or two, and a growing family, and this applicant faced significantly more than the usual hurdles. He overcame them all and got into his top choice program. Let’s find out how he did it, and how he’s doing now. [Show summary]Hello and welcome. Thanks for joining me for this the 507th episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for tuning in. Are you ready to apply to your dream law school? Are you competitive at your target programs? Accepted's law school admissions quiz can give you a quick reality check and not only that reality check, but an assessment and tips on how to improve your qualifications. Plus, it's all free. You can use the calculator at accepted.com/law-quiz, to obtain your complimentary assessment. Again, that's accepted.com/law-quiz Grew up here in LA. Went to school in New York, Yeshiva University. I met my wife and we got married in LA, but we lived in New York for a couple of years and then the weather was just too much. And you can't compete with the weather out here, so we moved back where our families are.to obtain your complimentary assessment.I'd like to welcome to Admissions Straight Talk, Yitzy Frankel, who is a 1L at UCLA law. Yitzy earned his bachelor's in psychology from Yeshiva University in 2013 and a master's in marketing from Sy Syms School of Business in 2018. Before joining Sy Syms, he worked as the marketing and social media manager for fencing in the schools, and that's fencing as in the sword stuff, not the stuff around your backyard. And while fencing in the schools, he managed fencing programs in 10 states. After earning his masters, he worked at a Jewish boy' high school in Los Angeles as Director of Admissions and Marketing, and he did that from 2017 to 2022, when he left to join UCLA Law.  Yitzy, welcome to Admissions Straight Talk.Can you tell us a little bit about your background, where did you grow up, that kind of thing? [2:11]Grew up here in LA. Went to school in New York, Yeshiva University. I met my wife and we got married in LA, but we lived in New York for a couple of years and then the weather was just too much. And you can't compete with the weather out here, so we moved back where our families are.Before we get into the admissions and law school stuff, what do you like to do for fun? Just a little background. [2:33]I guess I have three main hobbies. Fencing, obviously.Okay. [2:41]I still fence competitively. Having a little bit of time with COVID and studying for the LSAT, but I still consider myself a fencer. I love biking and I'm a Van Gogh enthusiast.Wow. [2:54]My goal is to see every Van Gogh painting in the world.There was a big Van Gogh exhibit here last year, wasn't there, or two years ago? [2:57]There was one in Santa Barbara recently. And actually, for my break, I'm flying to Detroit for a couple of days with my oldest daughter. We're going to go see a Van Gogh exhibit there.Now let's get to law school stuff. How did you get interested in becoming a lawyer? It's quite a change from psychology and marketing or being an admissions director at a high school. [3:12]It's something that I was interested in when I was 16 in high school and then kind of came back. I'm 34 now. So definitely kind of a second career. But basically, I had a teacher, Mr. Wasserman in high school that gave me a John Grisham book, and I fell in love with it. And at the time, I think there were 16 or 17, and I read all of them in two months.Oh, wow. [3:42]Yeah, I know. Since then, I've learned the legal field is not like the novels. But that's definitely what piqued my interest. And I definitely always wanted to be a lawyer since then. The reason it took me so long is because I got to college and for various reasons, my GPA suffered. No good reasons, nothing that that's excusable, just my lack of focus.

    Follow Us
    YouTube
    Facebook
    LinkedIn

    Contact Us
    www.accepted.com
    [email protected]
    +1 (310) 815-9553

    21 min
  • What Does 2022 Mean for Applicants in 2023

    Send us your admissions questions!

    Reflecting on trends that impacted graduate admissions in 2022, Linda Abraham shares her predictions for 2023 and offers an action plan for those planning to apply in the new year. [Show Summary]Thanks for joining me for today's solo show. I'm going to review a few trends from 2022 and also attempt to inspire you for the upcoming year. You can email me at [email protected] when my predictions prove wrong in the course of the year.Predictions: More law schools will withdraw from U.S. News rankings [1:16]I predict that more law schools will withdraw from U.S. News rankings. Will the rankings influence end with the withdrawal of these schools? I actually don't think so. U.S. News will use publicly available data and still rank programs. Its rankings will continue to influence admissions, recruiting, and applicant decisions. But are they going to hold as much sway as they have in the past? I don't know. That's hard to say. I don't think the U.S. News is going to just stop ranking schools. I don't think applicants are going to stop looking at rankings, and I don't really think schools are going to stop being influenced by rankings. Perhaps a little less so in the past, but I think you're going to see changes on the margins in that segment. What about other segments of the higher education market?I don't think medical schools are going to stop ranking or participating in the U.S. News ranking. I also think that the rankings are a little bit less influential in the med school arena than they are in law schools or business schools. It'll be really interesting to see if business schools withdraw from the rankings. Certainly, the admissions directors there have no greater love of rankings than the law school admissions directors and deans.I think if you see the M7 schools withdraw, you might see a trend very similar to what you've seen in the law school market, where it's the elite programs that have largely withdrawn, and the lower-down ones are not withdrawing yet. There are some that have but not that many.We'll link to posts that Accepted has on the withdrawal of specific schools from the U.S. News rankings.Prediction: More experimentation with test options and waivers [3:05]What about test optionality? That has been a trend that's been growing and increasing over the last several years. It really took off with COVID. I don't think you're going to see much change in the law school space this year. I think you will see it if, as anticipated, the ABA approves making tests optional for its accredited programs. I think you're going to see more experimentation in the grad and MBA market with test optionality. And you may also see, throughout the graduate and undergraduate arenas, acceptance for a larger variety of tests.Many law schools are accepting the GRE in addition to the LSAT. In the business school world, you're seeing widespread acceptance of the GRE or the GMAT to the extent that the test is required. You're seeing more waivers. You're also seeing greater acceptance of the Executive Assessment, which was originally designed for Executive MBA programs. And at some schools, you're seeing them basically saying, whatever has an alphabet soup in it is fine.I think you're going to see more and more experimentation. You'll see more waiver options and there's been a lot of experimentation with that in the B school market. I'm not sure you're going to see wholesale test optionality at the elite programs. I think med schools will stick with the MCAT. It has some correlation to performance on the USMLE, which is obviously the test that doctors have to take at the end of medical school. And medical schools very legitimately want to know that the people they admit are going to perform in medical schools.Grad schools are all over the map outside the professional designations that I've just discussed. Some are going to require a GRE or another test; some won't. Again,

    Follow Us
    YouTube
    Facebook
    LinkedIn

    Contact Us
    www.accepted.com
    [email protected]
    +1 (310) 815-9553

    18 min
  • How to Get Accepted to Berkeley Law [Episode 504]









    Kristin Theis-Alvarez, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at the UC Berkeley School of Law, shares her insider perspective on the recent decision to withdraw from US News Rankings and describes how students can demonstrate the Berkeley ethos to secure a spot in this prestigious program. [Show Summary]



    Thanks for joining me for the 504th episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Are you applying to law school this cycle? Are you planning ahead to apply to law school next year or later? Are you competitive at your target programs? Accepted’s Law School Admissions Quiz can give you a quick reality check. Just go to accepted.com/law-quiz, complete the quiz, and you'll not only get your assessment but also tips on how to improve your chances of acceptance. Plus it's all free. 



    I'm delighted to have on Admissions Straight Talk, Kristin Theis-Alvarez, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at the University of California Berkeley School of Law. Dean Theis-Alvarez earned her BA in Rhetoric and Native American Studies from UC Berkeley and her JD from Stanford Law, graduating from Stanford in 2000. She has been with Berkeley Law in different roles since 2007 and became Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid in 2018.



    In addition to her duties at Berkeley, she's a member of the Board of Trustees and Chair of the Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee for the Law School Admissions Council. 



    Can you start by giving an overview of the more distinctive elements of the Berkeley Law JD program? [2:08]



    It's a little bit challenging to encapsulate them, but I will try to hit some of them and I imagine through the rest of the questions, others may emerge. 



    I like to start with the first year because frankly, it's a point of distinction between us and a lot of our peer schools. We are firm believers that there are a lot of law schools that give a really great education and it becomes more about fit and where you want to spend three years as well as what in particular you want to get out of it.



    One of the places where we are different is in what we will allow people to do in the first year. You may have this idea that all of the curriculum in the first year is set and you just sort of suffer through it and then you get to do fun stuff in your second and third years. That's the case probably in many places, but certainly not the case at Berkeley.



    We made a really distinct choice, many years ago that if we're going to recruit, and we do like to recruit students who have a strong track record of engagement, then we should allow them to be engaged and to do what they care about most. That shouldn’t take away from, but augment their experience. We will allow people to join any of the journals except California Law Reviews as first-year students.



    We'll allow students to get involved in our pro bono program, which has a number of distinct aspects, but the most well-recognized is the student-initiated legal projects, which are hands-on legal work, supervised by attorneys and community partners. First-year law students are actually doing things that make a difference like representing someone who is in the process of seeking asylum. There are over 40 of them this year. 



    We also let people try out for the competition team. If you're someone who's really passionate about moot court or mock trial and you plan to be a litigator and you want to keep doing that...
    57 min

About Admissions Straight Talk

From the publisher's feed

Advice from experts on the MBA, medical school, law school, and graduate school admissions process.

More shows like Admissions Straight Talk

Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission Interviews by Mark Stucker

Your College Bound Kid | Admission Tips, Admission Trends & Admission Interviews

369 Listeners

The College Admissions Process Podcast by John Durante

The College Admissions Process Podcast

122 Listeners

Prof G Markets by Vox Media Podcast Network

Prof G Markets

1,449 Listeners