Admissions Straight Talk

The best way to approach your MBA application [Show summary]

You have your GPA and test score but how should you approach the actual application? In this episode Linda Abraham, Admissions Straight Talk host, shares Accepted’s DARE framework to help you confidently apply to your dream schools. 

The essential ingredients that adcoms look for in an application [Show notes]

Welcome to the 444th episode of Admissions Straight Talk, Accepted's podcast. Thanks for tuning in. 

I decided to do a solo show today, just me and you. Because this is a particularly packed episode, we also have a worksheet for you. You can use it to take notes or use it later independent of the podcast to perhaps jot things down that you remember from the podcast and add to it. You can download your worksheet at accepted.com/444download. 

Before we explore today's topic, I want to invite all Admissions Straight Talk listeners to take advantage of a fantastic special that Accepted is offering this week: up to $1,000 off our services purchased by November 19th, which is Friday. The coupon code is SAVENOW. Whatever graduate program you're considering, the time to buy and save is really right now. Go to accepted.com/services to find the right service for you. Get details about the special, and then use the coupon code saved now on this investment in your future.

This, our last special of 2021, also relates directly to the topic of today's show, Creating Compelling Round 2 MBA Applications. Now, dear listener, if you're not an MBA applicant, you may still find relevant nuggets in this show, which really is focusing on strategy and maximizing your application. All the examples will be related to MBA applications. I recently delivered a webinar on this topic, and frankly, it was very well received - so well received that I decided to provide much of the content from the webinar here. If you attended the webinar, you're certainly welcome to stay for a review and also for a few tidbits that weren't in the original. 

Now, let's start with some basic assumptions: you're dreaming of a career that excites you, you're aspiring to MBA programs that will launch you towards that career, but you face obstacles. You have a problem. 

How do you build an application that portrays you at your best and is a perfect match for the schools you're aiming for? How do you move your application reader from your stats to your story? [2:51]

I'll tell you, you use a framework that allows you to use your application strategically making the most of every inch of application real estate available to you. That part of the strategy that I'm going to outline is something that is true of every single applicant to any graduate school. Whatever program you are applying to, you want to make the most of every inch of application real estate available to you. So, part of implementing this strategy is going to start right now.

You can download the worksheet, if you haven't already,

Are you thinking about taking a standardized test for undergraduate or graduate admissions? Read on for must-know test-prep information! [Show summary]

We’re calling in test prep leaders and co-hosts of the Tests and the Rest podcast, Mike Bergin and Amy Seeley to discuss tips and strategies for choosing the right test prep for you as well as the best approach to test taking all the way from SATs and ACTs to GMATs and LSATs.

Test-prep pros Mike Bergin and Amy Seeley share their expertise and advise [Show notes]

Welcome to the 443rd episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for joining me. 

Today's show is all about test prep, and I'd like to start with a one question quiz for you. What is the paradox at the heart of graduate school admissions? You have five seconds, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. I'll tell you. You have to show that you belong at your target programs and that you stand out in this applicant pool. Doing so is a paradox, and it's a challenge. Accepted’s free download, Fitting In & Standing Out: The Paradox At The Heart of Admissions will show you how to do both simultaneously. Master this paradox and you are well on your way to acceptance. Download your guide at accepted.com/fiso as in fitting in, standing out. 

I want to thank Alex Levenger for leaving a review on our July 20th episode. I'm going to quote excerpts from it. He wrote, "I gained some excellent bits from the July 20th episode. Number one, there really are two disparate attitudes that can make the GMAT tough: thinking you're better than the exam and freezing into paralysis." And his second point was, "The GMAT is a metaphor for a study or general work tasks. My main quibble is with the initial assessment test. I think it's faulty to gain any useful granular info into a student by using this test." Lots of people agree with you, Alex. 

Our guests today are test prep experts and fellow podcasters, Mike Bergin and Amy Seeley. A word about each of them. 

With over 27 years of intensive experience in every aspect of standardized test preparation, Mike Bergin knows what works in test prep and what doesn't. A nationally recognized leader in test prep, Mike founded Chariot Learning in 2009 to deliver on the promise of what truly transformative individualized education can and should be. Mike is also the founding president of the board of directors of the National Test Prep Association, a non-profit dedicated to promoting the highest ethical standards and best practices in the test prep industry, while advocating for the appropriate administration and use of standardized tests for admissions and assessment purposes. Lastly, Mike is also the co-host of Tests and the Rest, the college admissions industry podcast and creator of the Facebook industry group for test prep professionals, Test Prep Tribe. He and his podcast co-host Amy Seeley even run the nation's leading test prep conferences and online summits. 

Turning to Amy. Amy Seeley began her career in test preparation over 28 years ago, working for Princeton Review after gaining valuable knowledge and experience as a part-time tutor, she turned that passion into a career with Townsend Learning Centers. She quickly assumed the role of director of test preparation services, creating, managing, and administering all aspects of Townsend's test preparation programs. After leaving Townsend in 2006, Amy began Seeley Test Preparation services, meeting the test preparation needs of several hundred student...

Get to know Rush Medical College [Show summary]

Built on the tenets of community service and community engagement, Rush Medical College strives to graduate empathetic physicians. In this episode, Dr. Cynthia Boyd, Associate Dean for Admissions offers a closer look into the program. 

What makes Rush Medical College unique? A flipped-classroom model of learning and an unwavering dedication to community service [Show notes]

Thanks for joining me for the 441st episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Will you be ready, next spring, 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, but also tips on how to improve your chances of acceptance. Plus, it's all free.

Now, let's move to today's interview. I'm delighted to have on Admissions Straight Talk, Dr. Cynthia Boyd of Rush Medical College. Dr. Boyd earned her MD at George Washington, where she also did her residency in internal medicine, and later an MBA from Chicago Booth. She joined Rush Medical Center in 1998, and has served in a variety of roles, including Assistant Dean for Minority Affairs, Director of Medical Staff Operations, and Chief Compliance Officer. She moved over to Rush Medical College, full-time, in 2019, and is now the Senior Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, as well as Associate Dean for Admissions and Recruitment. Dr. Boyd, thank you so much for joining me on Admissions Straight Talk.

Can you give us an overview of the Rush Medical College program, focusing on its more distinctive elements? [2:07]

Sure, I'll be speaking primarily about the medical school. At Rush University Medical Center, we have four colleges dedicated to the health sciences: the College of Nursing, Health Sciences, Graduate College, and the Medical College. It has been in existence since about 1837. It was the first medical school established, actually, in Chicago. It is very focused on clinical care, outstanding clinical care, integrating that with education, research, and community partnerships.

We are located on the west side of Chicago, about five miles from the downtown area, the Chicago Loop, as it is called. Our community is a very diverse community, ranging from very wealthy, to the very poor. More recently, our curriculum was changed to become what is described as a flipped classroom, where the students do the learning. The teacher is not in front of them doing didactics, students do the learning, and then they come to class in a group of their peers to share what they've learned, to ask questions. It puts the focus on them as their learners, versus the faculty putting out all of the information. That's changed within the last five years. Probably, one of the newest innovations has been our curriculum.

What does the faculty do in a flipped classroom context? [3:45]

There are specific courses, so to speak, that the students will learn and focus on for anywhere from four to six weeks like gases, nutrition, etc. But they are given readings and articles and videos, and a variety of ways to learn on that topic.

What makes Wharton's MBA program unique, and how to demonstrate to the adcom that YOU belong there [Show summary]

Blair Mannix, Wharton’s Director of Admissions, shares the ways the admissions committee aims to reduce stress in the application process and offer a positive experience. She dispels myths about the Wharton admissions process and offers advice for students seeking acceptance to the MBA program.

From the structure of a TBD to why standardized testing is here to stay: Your guide to the Wharton admissions process [Show notes]

Welcome to the 440th episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for tuning in. Are you ready to apply for your dream business schools? Are you competitive at your target programs? Accepted's MBA Admissions Calculator can give you a quick reality check. Just go to accepted.com/mbaquiz. Complete the quiz, and you'll not only get an assessment but tips on how to improve your qualifications and your chances of acceptance. Plus, it's all free. 

It gives me great pleasure to have back on Admissions Straight Talk Blair Mannix, Director of Admissions at Wharton. Blair first came to Penn as a graduate student where she earned her Masters in Higher Education Management in 2010. She joined Penn's undergraduate admissions staff in 2008. She's been at Wharton's since 2012 and became Director of Admissions in 2017. She was last on Admissions Straight Talk just under two years ago. And what a two years it's been. Let's catch up on life and admissions at Wharton. 

Blair, welcome back to Admissions Straight Talk.

Can you just start by providing a basic overview of the Wharton MBA program for listeners who may not be that familiar with it, focusing on its more distinctive elements? [1:56]

Absolutely. It's difficult to put Wharton into five to seven sentences, but I will try. So, Wharton was the first business school in the United States, established in 1881. Wharton's first MBA class was in 1921 so this year it was actually the 100th class that Dean Erika James welcomed in August, which was really, really exciting. It is a perfect bookend in terms of 100 years of classes for me that this year's class is more than 50% women, which I'm sure we'll talk about. But it just feels like this beautiful bow. One hundred years, 50% women. That's great.

What I think makes the Wharton education distinct is that it's very hands-on. It's very practical. It's very tactile. You're never going to look at a problem from 30-feet away. You're going to get right into the guts of it and try to figure it out. And that's what we teach because that's what we believe that businesses need.

We're known for innovation across many disciplines. We are certainly known for finance, and we're really proud of that reputation. 100 years of the best finance education you can get, but we are many other things, and I think that's important for people to understand.

There are two distinguishing centers that I really want to mention: The Stevens Center for Innovation i...

Get to know UVA Darden's thoughtful application process [Show summary]

Dawna Clarke, Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions at Darden School of Business explores the program’s unique case method and recounts how the school proactively adapted during COVID-19. 

What makes UVA Darden unique? A choice-rich MBA experience and a close-knit student community [Show notes]

Welcome to the 439th episode of Admissions Straight Talk, thanks for tuning in. Are you ready to apply to your dream business schools? Are you competitive at your target program? Accepted’s MBA Admissions Calculator can give you a quick reality check, just go to accepted.com/mbaquiz, complete the quiz and you not only get an assessment, but also tips on how to improve your chances of acceptance. Plus it's all free.

It gives me great pleasure to have on Admissions Straight Talk Dawna Clarke, Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions at UVA Darden. Dawna is one of the most experienced and respected MBA admission directors I've had the privilege of knowing. She started her career in MBA admissions at UNC Kenan-Flagler, then moved to Darden (which is where we first met) and served for 15 years as director of admissions, and then served in the same role at Tuck and even spent a short period as an MBA admissions consultant. She returned to Darden in 2017. In all her positions and roles in MBA admissions, Dawna is known for running an applicant-friendly admissions process while attracting great candidates to the schools that she has been associated with. Dawna, welcome to Admissions Straight Talk and congratulations again on your new title.

Can we start with a basic overview of the Darden MBA program for listeners who are not that familiar with it, focusing on its more distinctive elements? [2:18]

Sure, absolutely. I'm happy to give an overview of Darden. Darden is a two-year, full-time, general management program. Assuming we're primarily talking about the full-time format, we do offer other formats as well, but I will focus on the full-time format. I will say one of the most distinctive elements of Darden is that it is primarily a case method school. Over the years, our faculty has revisited the curriculum and asked whether a case method is the most relevant teaching method. To date, since the school was founded in the 1950s, they continue to commit to the case method. 

The philosophy is that the best way to learn how to make business decisions is to start making them. At Darden, we're trying to cultivate a variety of skills, leadership skills, team skills -- it's a general management program. So people are going to get accounting skills, financial skills, global skills, but one of the most relevant skills that we're trying to cultivate are strong business decision-making skills. The philosophy is that the best way to start to cultivate those skills is to practice. Students do over 500 cases while they're at Darden. So there's a lot of practice. It's very practical and relevant. One of the benefits of the case method that a lot of people don't know about is that it exposes you to a lot of industries. So for students who are coming to Darden, a lot of people know that they want to transition into a business career,

What can you do before starting business school to set yourself up for a valuable MBA experience? [Show summary]

Bob Manfreda discusses his experience in the Stanford GSB program and shares wisdom from his co-authored blog, MBA Coffee Chats, and book, Coffee Chats: Thoughtful advice on how to get the most out of your MBA.

How coffee chats can help you clarify your career goals, prioritize activities and more [Show notes]

Welcome to the 437th episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for tuning in. Before I introduce our guest, I have a question for you: are you ready to apply to your dream MBA programs? Are you competitive at your target programs? Accepted's MBA Admissions Quiz can give you a quick reality check. Just go to accepted.com/mba-quiz, complete the quiz and you'll not only get an assessment but tips on how to improve your qualifications. Plus it's all free!

I'd like to welcome to Admission Straight Talk Bob Manfreda, Stanford MBA and co-author of Coffee Chats: Thoughtful advice on how to get the most out of your MBA. Bob earned his Bachelor’s in Applied Physics and Chinese at Notre Dame, worked at Deloitte as a consultant, earned his MBA at Stanford as an Arjay Miller Scholar and is now a manager at Deloitte. He is also the Chief Booth Officer for PhotoFox Photo Booth. 

My first burning question is, do you like coffee? [1:53]

I do. I made myself an iced coffee for the occasion.

You were at Deloitte before you went to Stanford GSB and you're now again at Deloitte. Did you intend to return to Deloitte after your MBA as you've done? [2:04]

“Intend” might be too strong of a word. I knew it was a strong option, and it was one that I was excited to have. I was sponsored to go to school. I cared to come back, but I also wanted to explore some other careers just because I'd been at Deloitte for four years already. And there was a lot out there. I think I had a little bit of a wanderlust career-wise. So I did some poking around in venture capital, in mid-stage startup and then entrepreneurialism which was a list of three things that I came up with that I thought would allow me to maybe be financially equivalent but still explore something new.

I started working my way through that list. For whatever reason, I never really got a lot of momentum on starting my own thing. I realized after a couple of coffee chats actually that venture capital probably wouldn't be something for me. And I interned at a mid-stage, tech startup and had a great time, but it didn't really work out for my career perspective. There wasn't necessarily a path there. When I got to my second year, Deloitte made the official offer to return, and it felt like the best thing at the time for me.

Has it worked out for you? [3:20]

It has. Deloitte is a good company. They've got great benefits. I'm currently actually on paternity leave. We had our first son, Jackson, who is six months old. My wife works for a company called Snowflake, and they updated their policy to six months so she had a bunch of time off. Anyways, long story short, now I get months 6-10 off with Jackson which I'm really excited about.

Welcome to the 436th episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for joining me. I'm actually taking a week off for family time this week. As a result, I decided to air an encore of one of our most popular shows of 2021 so far, and that show is, What Life at Icahn Is Like as a Med Student, Parent, and More. I chose it not only because of its popularity, but because it's a fascinating exploration of how a non-traditional student navigates parenthood and medical school.

If you like this episode and want to test out whether you are competitive at your target medical schools, take Accepted's free medical school admissions quiz. It's a brief assessment that will give you insight into your competitiveness, as well as suggestions for improving your qualifications and competitiveness. Take the quiz today!

Thanks as always for listening to Admissions Straight Talk. I'll talk to you again next week. In the meantime, here is What Life at Icahn Is Like as a Med Student, Parent, and More.

For the complete show notes, check out the original blog post.

Related Links:

* Get Accepted to Medical School in 2022, an on-demand webinar * Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Secondary Application Essay Tips [2020 – 2021]* Life as a UCI Med School Student, Wife, and Mom, a student interview* What Do the Medical School Admissions Teams Say About Admissions?* Accepted's Medical Admissions Consulting

Related Shows:

* A Physician’s Nontraditional Path from Law Enforcement to Medical School* Accepted to Med School in Mid October: How Did He Do It?* How This Premed Student Got Accepted to Medical School Early* Facing Adversity as a Med School Applicant* An International Student’s Experience at Harvard Medical School* How This Dell Med Student Is Fighting...

Learn how to increase your chances of acceptance to medical school or another health professions school. [Show summary]

Caleb Marsh, Admissions Director of Temple University's CST many postbac programs explores the robust opportunities available to students preparing for medical educations and careers. 

How can Temple University's postbac programs help you reach your career goals, and what does the Temple postbac admissions team look for in applicants? [Show notes]

Are you considering a postbac program because your undergraduate grades are not exactly what you'd like them to be? Or perhaps because you lack required courses for the education you need to pursue a career in medicine, dentistry, physical therapy, podiatry, pharmacy, or a physician assistant science? Pull up a chair, our guest today is head of admissions for Temple University's many postbac programs.

Welcome to the 435th episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for joining me. This podcast is brought to you by Accepted's free guide, The A-Z of Applying to Postbac Programs, which teaches you how to apply effectively to postbac programs. That includes choosing the programs, writing strong personal statements, securing effective letters of recommendation, and more. Grab your copy here.

Our guest today is Caleb Marsh, Admissions Director at Temple University's CST postbac programs. Caleb started his higher ed journey at Baylor University where he earned his Bachelor's of Computer Information Systems and Human Performance, as well as a Master's in Educational Administration. He began working in pre-health advising at Baylor in 2002 and continued at UT Austin and SMU before becoming Admissions Director of Pre-Health Post-Baccalaureate Programs at Temple in 2018. 

How did you get so involved in pre-health advising with your background in computer science and human performance? [2:14]

I wanted to actually be a coach when I was in college, and you had to pick a teaching discipline. So, I thought, "Well, I can teach computers. I enjoy computers." But my first job in college was as a student worker in a health professions advising office in which I was introduced to what life as a premed was like, which was very different from the life that I was leading as an undergraduate student. Through it and watching the journey, I just fell in love with working with health professions students and helping them go on and achieve their dreams and goals of going on to things like dental school, medical school and in a sense, being a coach along the way. So, I didn't deviate too far from the coaching aspect of things, just different sports, so to speak.

Can you give an overview of the post-baccalaureate options at Temple University? [3:19]

Sure. So first of all, I'll start with the two primary pathways students can take. One pathway is for students that are career changers. So, students that might have been teachers or lawyers or rabbis - all kinds of professions who decided they wanted to go back to school, pick up their prerequisite courses and go to professional school.

Would you like to be a member of Team Fuqua? [Show summary]

Shari Hubert, Associate Dean of Admissions at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, describes its collaborative MBA program and gives insight into what Duke seeks in applicants. 

Duke Fuqua: Where decency meets diversity. [Show notes]

You're interested in Duke’s collaborative MBA program and intrigued by its general management curriculum and the strength of its entering class as revealed by its newest class profile. But, you're also unsure how you can make your case for acceptance. Then pull up a chair. In today's podcast, Fuqua's Dean of Admissions is pulling back the curtain on what Duke seeks in applicants.

Welcome to the 434th episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for tuning in. Before I introduce our guest, I have a question for you: are you ready to apply to your dream MBA programs? Are you competitive? Accepted's MBA admissions calculator can give you a quick reality check. Just go to accepted.com/mbaquiz, complete the quiz, and you'll not only get an assessment, but tips on how to improve your qualifications. Plus, it's all free. 

It gives me great pleasure to welcome back to Admissions Straight Talk Shari Hubert, Associate Dean of Admissions at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business. Shari earned her bachelor's at Dartmouth and her MBA at Harvard. She worked with several lead companies and in 2009 became Director of Recruitment for the Peace Corps. In 2012, she returned to the MBA world when she became the Associate Dean of MBA Admissions for Georgetown McDonough, which I think is around the time that we met. Then she joined Duke Fuqua as Associate Dean of Admissions in October 2017. Shari, welcome to Admissions Straight Talk.

Can you give an overview of the MBA program at Duke focusing on its rather distinctive structure? [2:21]

Sure. Absolutely. I think our curriculum is a huge asset in helping students really tailor their MBA to their specific needs and interests as they're going through the two year program. The curriculum is designed to allow students to have breadth in terms of the business fundamentals and the leadership components through the core as well as deeper specializations should they be interested with our concentrations. We have 16 concentrations, as well as certificates and our second degree which is the MSTeM, the Master's of Management Studies and Technology Management certificate.

Each of those concentrations and certificates really allows students to customize their experience based on their career interests, or their own personal interests. Our students start their first month in the program, all in a course called the Summer Institute, and we really revamped that last year. It's a hands-on program, three courses that really emphasize how to think through business challenges critically and ethically, how to take ownership of your work, even if you're working for somebody else, and how to find ways to bring common purpose to a team as you're working together.

Is your accent in English holding you back professionally? [Show summary]

Esther Bruhl is a speech pathologist and founder of Speak More Clearly, an accent reduction training program for non-native English speakers. In this episode she explains how accents are formed and how new ones can be learned. 

Increase your marketability or productivity, by reducing your accent when speaking English [Show notes]

Welcome to the 433rd episode of Admissions Straight Talk.

Before we dive into today's interview, I want to mention a free resource at Accepted that can benefit you if you're applying to graduate school. The challenge at the heart of admissions is showing that you both fit in at your target schools and stand out in the applicant pool. Accepted's free download, Fitting In & Standing Out: The Paradox At The Heart Of Admissions will show you how to do both. Master this paradox, and you're well on your way to acceptance. You can download your free guide at accepted.com/fiso, which stands for fitting in, standing out. 

It gives me great pleasure to have on Admissions Straight Talk for the first time Esther Bruhl, a speech pathologist who specializes in accent reduction for non-native English speakers. Esther is also the founder of Speak More Clearly, both the site and the YouTube channel, and I think she's the first guest we have had from down under, also known as Australia. 

How did you get into the accent reduction field? [1:58]

I'm a speech and language pathologist. I work with children who have speech and language problems, but I also work with adults who feel they can't be clear. Another speech pathologist and I started doing groups for people face to face in our clinic a long time ago, because in Australia, like in America, there are many people who have second languages. They've come from other places. In fact, in Australia, we have over 400 other languages that other people speak.

So we started this for people who were professionals, working either on the phone or other sorts of professions - lawyers, whatever. And they were feeling not confident and not good about the fact that they couldn't be understood. People had to keep asking them to repeat themselves, et cetera, which is very frustrating actually. And so we started those at a very small level and then more and more people were coming along. She pulled out, she went on to do something else, and I just continued on. The more people we had, then we realized we had to make some courses. We originally just had audio courses, but now we have video and audio, the whole shebang, online. And that's how I started, and I got more and more interested in it as I went along. 

I assume at this point you're mostly working with adults, no longer with children, right? [3:57]

Oh no, I still do have a children case load.

What causes accents? [4:09]

Oh, I think this is a great question. When we're very, very young, and we start to learn language, we actually hear all the sounds that there are to make. When we babble, we babble all the sounds. All different sounds,