Admissions Straight Talk

What's it like growing a startup during business school? [Show summary]

Stephen Cognetta had already co-founded his tech startup, Exponent, by the time he entered the Stanford GSB class of 2020. Today, he shares how his MBA experience shaped his approach to growing Exponent and what the business is doing to help job applicants land their next tech position.

Combining a Stanford MBA with a tech startup career [Show notes]

Are you thinking you'd like your next job to be in software engineering, product management, data analysis, or a host of other high-tech fields? Interested in learning about the Stanford MBA experience? This Admissions Straight Talk episode is going to discuss both how Exponent can help you land that next high-tech job, as well as how Stanford helped our guest run his startup, Exponent.

Stephen Cognetta earned his bachelor's at Princeton in computer science before taking a position at Google in product management, where he did work on Google search features and then Android. In 2017, he founded Exponent and joined the Stanford MBA class of 2020 a little while later. Let's hear about his business, his MBA experience, and where he's headed. 

Can you tell us a little bit about your background, where you grew up, and what you like to do for fun (when you can leave your house)? [2:07]

I grew up in the Bay Area; my life always keeps pulling me back here, to the San Francisco Bay Area. I worked at Google, as you mentioned, for a couple of years. Then when I was founding Exponent, I took a big cross-country road trip where I went to 44 different states over a year and a half. I was doing a little bit of the digital nomad life, sort of starting a company, traveling, trying to explore and get out of the Bay Area. But of course, it took me back. My life took me back there, and I came back to Stanford for a great opportunity. So I'm back in the Bay Area. 

Some things I like to do for fun: Obviously, I love road trips, exploring and seeing things. I'm a huge fan of puzzles and riddles and things like that. I go crazy for twisting plots of TV shows and movies and stuff like that, which is probably what got me to be a computer science major in the first place.

What was the most interesting place you visited when you took that 44-state road trip? [3:11]

I really loved the natural beauty of West Virginia. It was just super beautiful. I was staying in a town called Lewisburg, and it was near a bunch of natural beauty. I also felt like there was a lot of an appreciation for the land there that felt really special. It was on my list because it was one of those places that I didn't know much about or had much of an expectation about, but I was just blown away by the forest and the natural beauty and all the local types of flowers and plants that were there in the region. I think we in California have this idea that we're the most beautiful place in the US. California is certainly beautiful, but there's just so much beauty in other parts of the US also that I was not exposed to or knew about.

How can you write a stand-out personal statement? [Show summery]

Dr. Mary Mahoney, Associate Professor of English at Elmira College and Accepted consultant, draws from her expertise in the medical humanities to deliver advice for writing a compelling personal statement. Listen to the show!

A professor of English and Accepted admissions consultant shares top writing tips [Show notes]

Our guest today, Dr. Mary Mahoney, is Associate Professor of English at Elmira College and a recent winner of the Barnhill essay contest at that college. She focuses much of her work on medical narrative and medical humanities. This work, in Dr. Mahoney's words, helps students understand and articulate why they want the medical career or healthcare career they are pursuing. In addition, Dr. Mahoney serves on the Elmira College Committee that reviews personal statements and provides feedback on interviews for Elmira students. 

Who can better help you tell your story through your personal statement?

Can you tell us a little bit about your background? [2:07]

The story that I tell that brings home a little bit of who I am and how I was raised is that I'm the youngest of five children in a pretty typical Irish family. When I came home from high school one day and told my mom that I wanted to be a poet, she said, "That's terrific, but not until after you go to nursing school." So that's what I did. I had a bunch of friends who were going into nursing school, and I had no other clear direction. I came from a family of math people. Auditors, accountants, all math people. And while I liked math, I really had no interest in doing anything like that. So nursing sounded good to me. I was an empathetic kind of teenager. So I went ahead and did that.

I was a nurse by the time I was 19, and started working as a nurse when I was 19, but just continued going to school full-time over and over and over and over and over again, all the way through to the PhD. I didn't know that there would be a way to bridge the two, but I started writing about being a nurse when I was in my Master's program at Sarah Lawrence College and received a whole lot of encouragement to continue writing that way, because there was so little representation of a nurse's point of view in essays and stories and articles and things like that. People thought that it felt fresh, in the sense that it wasn't a writer writing about being a writer. It was a writer writing about being a nurse.

I found a conference at Duke University, a conference on poetry and medicine, and it was all about the medical humanities. That was how I found out about the medical humanities, in addition to seeking out journals where my writing would be suitable.

What are the medical humanities? [4:14]

The medical humanities is an interdisciplinary focus on studying what living is, what life is, what it means to be a human, what it means to be a person, what it means to live in a body that gets sick. What it means to be mortal. What that means in relation to the people that we have relationships with, our cultures, our communities, and also,

An engineer with Indian Railways seeks innovation as a Rotman MBA student. [Show summary]

Meenakshi Chauhan spent five years as an engineer with Indian Railways (and the only woman in her department) before leaving in search of a more challenging, innovative work environment. Now, she’s preparing to re-enter student life at the University of Toronto’s Rotman MBA program.

Preparing for life as an MBA student at Toronto Rotman [Show notes]

Meenakshi Chauhan has worked since graduating college as an Indian Railways engineer. She started a beauty blog in 2018 and is now looking forward to starting her MBA studies at the University of Toronto's Rotman School.

Can you tell us a little bit about your background, where you grew up, and what you like to do for fun? [1:23]

I was born in a small village where I lived with my parents and their extended family. I lived there for about two years, but for most of my childhood, I've lived with my grandmother. My father was the only person earning and my mother had to take care of the whole family, so they didn't have much time for me. So I was mostly brought up by my grandmother. I lived for around eight to 10 years with her, and then I moved back with my parents. As far as what I like to do for fun, there are a lot of things that I like to do. I like to paint. I like to cook, and this lockdown has given me the chance to cook a lot. And I love to work out. On my blog, I'm also writing a lot about health and nutrition, so I love to work out and take care of myself.

You earned your BTech in 2013. On your blog you write, “I was selected as an assistant engineer in Indian Railways, considered one of the most prestigious jobs in the engineering field. I was at the top of the world until I joined. I realized that the job was not as exciting as I had expected it to be.” Why didn't it live up to your expectations? [2:32]

So when I joined Indian Railways, I had a certain impression in my mind: The job is going to be very challenging, I'm going to work and learn about a lot of new technologies, and I'll be involved in innovating stuff. Indian Railways is completely owned by the Indian government, so bureaucracy tends to slow down things a bit, and I felt that when I started working with Indian Railways that things were a bit slow. It took months to get the approval for anything. So it got a little monotonous for me, and I didn't really find it as challenging as I was expecting it to be. So it got a little bit boring for me there, and I wanted to do something more exciting that would help me develop my skills as well as enjoy the whole working process.

Was it difficult for you as a woman in a male-dominated field and industry? [4:04]

It was a bit difficult for me, and mostly because in the department I joined, there were not many women. I was the only woman in that department, so I got judged a lot. My intelligence was questioned. My seniors, as well as my juniors, would often say that I was not fit for the job. I wasn’t capable of handling long hours or putting in that much effort towards my work. So that was a bit disheartening for me. Eventually, I did handle it, but initially it was a bit disheartening for me.

Show summary: LSAT expert Steve Schwartz shares how to prepare for the new online LSAT exam.

Steve Schwartz, who’s spent 12 years helping thousands master the LSAT, breaks down what test-takers need to know about preparing for and taking the new online LSAT-Flex.

Show notes: What test-takers need to know about the LSAT-Flex!

The March and April LSATs were canceled. What are applicants to do? Take the GRE? No way. LSAT-Flex to the rescue!

Our guest today is Steve Schwartz, of the LSAT Blog and the LSAT Unplugged podcast and YouTube channel. Steve graduated from Columbia University in 2008. In high school and college, he tutored various 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, 12 years later, he has helped thousands master the LSAT and get into law school and sometimes secure scholarships worth tens of thousands of dollars.

How is the LSAT-Flex different, in format and delivery, from the old LSAT? [2:01]

The biggest difference is that it's online and students are doing it from home. The main reason for that, of course, is we're speaking during COVID-19, stay-at-home orders, quarantines, shelter-in-place, and so it wasn't possible to do it in person, so they've moved pretty quickly to allow students to do it from home.

And what about the content of the LSAT-Flex? [2:24]

The content is the same, except the amount of content is different. So you still have your logic games, logical reasoning, and reading comprehension, but now on LSAT-Flex, you have only one section of each, whereas in the old in-person LSAT, whether paper and pencil or digital, you had five sections—four scored plus one experimental, and the four included two logical reasoning sections rather than one as we have now in the LSAT-Flex.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjLigdv7MbE

Are they changing the scoring as a result, or keeping the same scale? [2:52]

It will still be the same scale. So students will still receive a score on the band of 120 to 180, but there are fewer scored questions—only 75 scored questions rather than 100 scored questions, so each question is worth more.

Are they going to count the logical reasoning section twice somehow because there are now half the number of those questions? [3:13]

That was my big question as well, and fortunately LSAT did tell us that, in fact, they will not double-weight logical reasoning. So each section will be worth approximately the same, which leads you to ask, why was logical reasoning ever half the exam if they're willing to do an exam that does not include that? I think it's simply the requirements of the platform, the requirements of administering a remote exam, and shortening the length of it from five sections to now only three sections, which can be done in about two hours.

Should applicants adjust their preparations if they're taking the LSAT-Flex? [3:49]

They certainly should. You're doing it two hours,

Applying to business school during a pandemic [Show summary]

Soojin Kwon (Managing Director, Full-Time MBA Admissions and Program at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business) and Diana Economy, Director of Full-Time MBA Admissions at Ross, answers pressing applicant questions about applying to Ross. They address how the application process has shifted in light of COVID-19 and what accepted students can expect from their MBA experience this fall.

What prospective MBAs should know about applying to Michigan Ross [Show notes]

Are you among the many MBA wannabes who are thinking about applying for an MBA? Are you wondering whether to apply  this cycle or next? We've invited Soojin Kwon and Diana Economy to answer the most common applicant questions related to COVID-19 and its impact on MBA admissions, specifically at Michigan Ross. During the podcast, Soojin Kwon provides an excellent framework for evaluating whether you should apply now or not.

Most of us have been confined to our homes for over a month. I first of all want to express my profound hope that all listeners and their loved ones are well. The restrictions and challenges of the coronavirus have wreaked havoc on so many areas of our lives, and this show is devoted to the challenges it has posed in the MBA admissions world, specifically at Michigan Ross’ top-notch, full-time MBA program.

It gives me great pleasure to have on today’s show Soojin Kwon, Managing Director of the Full-Time MBA Admissions and Program at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, and Diana Economy, Director of Full-Time MBA Admissions at University of Michigan Ross School of Business. Both are returning guests to Admissions Straight Talk and I'm thrilled to have them back. Soojin and Diana, in addition to being highly experienced in MBA admissions, and specifically Ross admissions, are both also highly articulate in this extraordinary time in so many ways. I’ve invited them on so that we can learn how the Michigan Ross program is dealing with the challenges of COVID-19. I’ve also used questions drawn from Accepted’s recent COVID MBA webinar, so my questions in this podcast, even more than usual, are really your questions, applicant questions, in an attempt to help you determine if you should apply for your MBA, and specifically if and when you should apply to the Ross MBA. But even if you're not applying to Ross, you’re going to find a lot of valuable insight in this episode. 

Other than the health risks and inconveniences that we’re all dealing with, as admissions directors what are your concerns about the impact of COVID-19 on the MBA classes now at Ross and those considering the 2020 and 2021 application cycle? [2:31]

Diana: This has taken up every meeting, every day right now, and we are regularly talking about both our students and our incoming students and doing everything we can to think about their needs and try to prioritize our planning accordingly. We meet regularly with the Dean’s office, whether myself or Soojin, to make sure that we’re in sync with their plans as they navigate and manage for the fall. Our Dean’s office has been great about doing regular t...

A career-changer's path to med school [Show summary]

Valerie Fuchs holds a PhD in environmental engineering and spent eight years as a water resources engineer. This summer, however, she’ll start medical school. Hear how Valerie navigated med school admissions as an older, nontraditional applicant and got into her first-choice school.

From engineering PhD to med student [Show notes]

Are you an older, nontraditional potential med school applicant burned out on your profession? Are you thinking about medicine, but worried about starting over? Or are you just getting started?

Valerie Fuchs earned her BS in civil engineering and her PhD in environmental engineering, and she did a postdoc fellowship at Yale. For the last eight years, she has worked as a water resources engineer. This summer, she is starting medical school.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background? [1:46]

I grew up in Spokane, Washington. I am the oldest of five kids from a big Catholic family. I went to a Catholic grade school over there, and then moved on to Gonzaga University, not far from home. I always kind of had that interest in math and science, I guess, and had cousins who were engineers, and I thought, well, I'll try this out and see how it goes. I really got interested in civil engineering, soil and water science, and those kinds of things.

I thought as I went through school that what I really wanted to do was be able to help people in terms of water and sanitation, developing communities in particular. The direction I ended up going in grad school was sanitation for developing communities, so wastewater treatment in Bolivia and other countries in South America. I did research and a whole doctoral dissertation on it. Then I kind of continued that, but I started looking at storm water when I was at Yale for a year before transitioning into consulting engineering. I've been a consultant for about 10 years now. I have moved all over the country. I did a lot of research and work in different countries in Central and South America. Then finally, about six years ago, I decided I wanted to be closer to family and move back to Seattle. I've been here ever since.

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What made you start thinking that engineering isn't for you, and that medicine is? [3:47]

A few years ago, I started feeling like even though engineering is a great intellectual challenge for me, I wanted to be engaging more with people. My day-to-day work as an engineer is mostly sitting at a computer, crunching numbers on different types of projects. I wanted to be really doing something more one-on-one with people, potentially helping them improve their life in some way.

So, I started looking at a variety of different options. I considered teaching high school science. I looked at becoming a massage therapist. That was until August of 2016, when my mom became ill and then passed away of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. I spent about three weeks with her in the hospital and in hospice, and all stress aside, I found myself really intrigued by observing her care team, her neurologist and the interns that were helping. They were just so engaged with us, with her,

What does it mean to train "the best managers for the world?" [Show summary]

Judith Puigbo, Associate Director of MBA Admissions, explores how to get into ESADE, a top MBA program based in Barcelona committed to doing good.

Learn about ESADE's unique MBA program [Show notes]

Judith Puigbo is the Associate Director of MBA Admissions at ESADE, responsible for MBA admissions in Switzerland and the Middle East. Let’s learn more directly from our guest.

Can you give us an overview of ESADE's highly ranked full-time MBA program, focusing on what’s distinctive about it? [2:06]

We were the first business school founded in Spain, in 1958. Spain was a very closed society, and we were always looking at what was going on in the U.S. So a group of entrepreneurs (well, now we called them entrepreneurs; in that period, we were calling them family businesses) thought, “Listen, we need to establish a management school, a business school here in Spain.” We had very good engineering schools and economics schools but not management.

So that’s why a group of managers from family businesses decided to create a business school together with the Jesuits because they thought, “Well, we know about management. We have no idea about education.” So that’s why they wanted to partner with the Jesuits. (Georgetown in Washington, for example, was founded by Jesuits.) The Jesuits had a very large tradition of creating schools and universities all over the world, because they believe that it’s better to empower emerging countries through education rather than just doing charity. So that’s why they had the very large tradition of creating schools and universities.

I know this is a very “grandma” story about where we come from, but it explains the DNA of the school. We were founded by entrepreneurs, so we have this entrepreneurial spirit, but also we were founded by the Jesuits, so we have this collaborative environment as well.

And regarding the full-time MBA, I want you to remember the word “flexibility.” I think that’s one of the main assets, the flexibility of the program, because you can do it in 12, 15, or 18 months, and there are many moments in the year where you can tailor the experience through electives, language courses, student clubs, the career examination programs, different tracks, and study tours. So you can ask many people about their experiences, and they would all say something different because there are never two MBAs that are exactly the same. And of course our location is also an asset.

How do you address potential concerns about Barcelona not being a major business hub (like London, New York, or Hong Kong) if you want to pursue business studies? [4:54]

I don't agree totally with that because Barcelona is very well-known in the startup environment. For example, we have the Mobile World Congress every year here. (Not this year; it had to be postponed due to the situation.) But there are many startups here because it’s a location where it’s easy to attract talent. So it is an important hub for startups. Many technological companies also have a subsidiary here. It’s true that compared to Madrid, they would have more headquarters, big corporations. That’s true. But Barcelona has always had this entrepreneurial spirit.

Dr. Joe Bardinelli shares his journey from cop to doc [Show summary]

Not everyone follows a traditional path to a career in medicine. Today’s guest, emergency physician Dr. Joe Bardinelli, was a police officer for six years before deciding to enter medical school. In this episode, he shares how and why he went from being a cop to being a doc.

A physician's nontraditional path to med school [Show notes]

Dr. Joe Bardinelli earned his bachelor’s in Criminal Justice at age 22 and for six years worked as a police officer. At 28, he started osteopathic medical school at Lincoln Memorial University and then pursued his residency in emergency medicine at Conemaugh Health System. Today, he’s an ER doctor in Florida.

Can you tell us about your background outside of medicine? [1:48]

I grew up in the South. I was born in Georgia. My dad moved around to several jobs while we were growing up. He changed careers a couple of times. That took us to the Carolinas and subsequently Tennessee, so I was there from high school on and went to East Tennessee State University for my bachelor’s degree there, and that’s where I ended up going into law enforcement in Kingsport. I stayed there more or less up until I started medical school, which was over in Harrogate. That’s about an hour north of Knoxville, probably an hour and a half from where I went to high school.

<< What is Med School Really Like? [Find out from real students!] >>

Now we’re married. We started with one child, going into medical school, and then we had our fourth about two months into residency. We’ve got eight, six, five, and three now. We like to be outside; that’s why we moved down to Florida. We wanted to be near the water. We have no ties to the area down here. We just wanted to try something different, and we figured that if we were going to do it and make a big change that we might as well do it while the kids are young.

Do you think your father’s ability to change careers influenced you? [3:08]

It had a role in it, because he was a police officer as well. My grandfather was, and I think, ultimately, that’s probably why I ended up going into it because I felt like I needed to try it. He ended up getting out of law enforcement and went back to a school for neuro-diagnostics to do EEGs and other neurologic testing on the brain. While he was in that, it was right around middle school or high school, so that gave me the opportunity to go into the local hospital and volunteer.

<< READ: How Can I Continue Volunteering in the Age of COVID-19? >>

He worked closely with one of the local neurosurgeons there. At that time, it was much easier than it is now. I was able to go in and shadow surgeries and got to be around medicine more, so that’s kind of what sparked my interest. I knew in high school that I had an interest in it, but I still pursued law enforcement going into college just because I felt like I needed to. But I certainly don’t regret the decision.

This week, I'm taking a podcasting staycation and airing an encore of our most popular MBA podcast so far in 2020: Is an MBA Worth It, or Is the Sky Falling Down on the MBA Degree?

I recorded this episode in December, and it aired in January. Despite the radical transformation of our lives since then, most of the advice in this episode is still highly relevant. And perhaps the title, which was somewhat facetious when we chose it, has become almost prophetic.

The MBA may be more worth it than ever, especially if you can take advantage of the extended or added deadlines this cycle. The guidance on determining if the MBA is worth is still valid.

As to whether the sky is falling down on the MBA degree, it has to some extent fallen down on business schools, who fear massive “summer melt.” But next year when the recession hits, things could change.

And now, Is the MBA Worth it, or Is the Sky Falling Down on the MBA Degree?

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

Related Links:

* Is an MBA Still Worth It?* Paying for Your MBA* How Are Business Schools, Applicants, and Admitted Students Responding to COVID-19?* Accepted’s MBA Admissions Consulting Services

Related Shows:

* A Conversation About Today’s MBA Marketplace* Entrepreneurship at HBS: How Stride will Help You Fund Your Future* How to Leverage an HBS Education: The Story of LeverEdge

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Zach Donato, who will be starting medical school later this year, reflects on his application experience and his expectations for med school [Show summary]

Zach Donato, who is preparing to start medical school, shares his perspective on getting accepted as a reapplicant, staying on top of the application process, and mentally preparing for med school.

An accepted incoming medical student shares why, in admissions, "the straight path is not always the best one." [Show notes]

Zachary Donato is happily anticipating the start of medical school. He graduated from Emory University in 2018 with a major in neuroscience and behavioral biology. He is currently pursuing a masters in biomedical science from the University of Miami, and this summer, he will start medical school.

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background? [1:56]

I was born in a small town in Virginia called Roanoke. I lived there until I was about five, then we ended up moving to Denver, Colorado. So I was raised very outdoorsy. I was hiking all the time, biking, running, you name it—outdoor activity, I probably tried it. So I grew up in Colorado. Then I went to Emory undergrad, like you said, and pursued my degree in neuroscience there.

How did you decide to pursue a career in medicine? [2:30]

The main thing was during my high school career, my AP biology class. So kind of up until that point I was all over the place. I was taking business classes and just trying to envision myself doing different things. I would say my teacher, my AP biology teacher, really inspired me and ignited a passion for me to pursue a scientific career. Nothing got me as excited as when I was doing the labs in biology or learning new concepts. It felt like nothing I’ve ever felt before. So I knew I wanted a career in the sciences and that kind of led me down the path of, “Okay, maybe medicine is something I should consider.”

How about clinical medicine? Where did you get the appetite for that? [3:16]

That next summer, I ended up volunteering in the post-anesthesia recovery unit at a hospital in Denver. I think as I started kind of getting familiar with patient care and listening to patients’ stories, that really excited me in a way that I was intrigued with. I realized that I could do a lot of little things to make a patient’s experience much better. I kind of wanted to keep doing that, so I  kept exploring the medical field.

Your 2019/2020 application wasn’t your first medical school application—you applied for 2018/2019 first. What do you think contributed to your rejection the first time around? [4:02]

I think one of the things that applicants really struggle with is getting the whole picture together, right? So you have your letters of rec, you have your personal statement, you have your activities, but how can you put that into one really nice picture of yourself? So I think first of all, my