Admissions Straight Talk

Interview with Dr. Lee Burnett and Laura Turner of Student Doctor Network [Show Summary]

Applying to medical school is a stressful process, and applicants understandably are looking for all the help and support they can get along the way. Student Doctor Network (SDN) is leading the way in providing that support. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, SDN provides an incredible set of resources to applicants, from the more traditional forums to a specialty selector, application cost calculator, and customizable study schedule. Dr. Lee Burnett, founder of SDN, and Laura Turner, Executive Director, join us to share everything you need to know about SDN.

Find out why and how the largest online premed community was formed- and how it can help you. [Show Notes]

I’m thrilled to introduce our guests today – Dr. Lee Burnett and Laura Turner. Dr. Burnett, whose main job is serving as the Commander of the 32nd Hospital Center at the U.S. Army’s Fort Polk in Louisiana, is also the Founder and Director of Student Doctor Network (SDN). He graduated from UC Davis and then attended the Western University of Health Sciences for med school, joining the Army Reserves after graduation.  He completed his Family Medicine residency at UC Irvine, started practicing, and was called to duty. He has served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Korea during his military career.

Laura earned her bachelors at UC Davis and her masters at UCLA, both in mechanical engineering. She worked in marketing and project management until joining SDN in 2009. She became Executive Director of SDN in 2012 and has served in that capacity ever since.

Lee, can you tell us a little about yourself? Your background and where you grew up and how you got interested in medicine? [2:11]

I was born and raised in Northern California near Sacramento. My father worked for the state, with the Song Brown Commission, and this was at a time when people feared that everyone would become a specialist, though primary care was still necessary to control healthcare costs. As I was growing up, through his involvement with the state and meeting lots of primary care doctors, naturally I became interested in primary care and healthcare in general, so I intended to become a family medicine physician.

https://blog.accepted.com/why-do-you-want-to-be-a-doctor-short-video/

Lee, how did you come to pursue your career, primarily in the military? [3:46]

I was in residency when a recruiter came and said the military would reimburse some of your student loans if you spend six years in the reserves. My dad and grandfather both served in the military, so it was a family tradition and I was interested in doing it to take care of soldiers. This was in 1997, a time when the Berlin Wall had fallen and there didn’t seem much risk of future war in any significant capacity. I graduated from UC-Irvine in 2000, and then 2001 came along, so my thinking that the commitment would be one weekend a month, two weeks a year went out the window. I was deployed a couple times to Iraq, and while deployed I worked with a great team and became very interested in treating soldiers on the...

Accepted founder Linda Abraham discusses when pursuing an MBA justifies its cost [Show Summary]

Linda Abraham, Accepted’s founder and president explores the latest headlines about the value of an MBA. This is a must-listen for anyone trying to decide whether or not to get an MBA degree.

Why we've been asking the wrong question about the value of the MBA [Show Notes]

Headlines scream “Is an MBA Worth It?” and frequently conclude, as did an editorial in the WSJ in the fall, that an MBA usually isn’t worth it in an era of low unemployment, high tuition, and declining enrollment for U.S. business schools’ flagship, two-year, full-time MBA programs. Other articles conclude differently and trumpet that the MBA is almost always worth it because of the value of the MBA education and network. In my opinion, they’re both asking the wrong question.

The right question is:

“When is an MBA worth it?”

This is not a categorical question, or one that an op-ed can answer across the board for everyone or even “most.” It’s something that individuals must assess and analyze individually. If you’re a prospective MBA applicant trying to decide if you should apply or attend if accepted, ignore the headlines (for the most part). Approach the question, with this maxim in mind.

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The MBA is worth the investment in time and money when anticipated benefits – both financial and non-financial – exceed anticipated costs.

That sounds straightforward, but let’s unwrap it. To analyze the situation, record in a spreadsheet your anticipated costs:

Out-of-pocket tuition, fees, travel expenses

Opportunity cost – lost salary for the time spent in school less the amount you anticipate making during your summer internship.

Don’t include living costs that you would have regardless of whether you work or attend school. You do need to budget for them, but they are not part of the cost of the MBA.

My next point is really important: When considering costs, realize that the stated tuition and costs may be more than you will actually pay. Many schools, especially elite, private MBA programs, offer significant amounts of scholarship money. In 2018, the Wall Street Journal reported that while stated tuition has increased steadily, schools have also increased both the total dollars offered and the percentage of students receiving scholarships and financial aid. In fact, the article states that “61% of this year’s students are receiving scholarships based on merit, financial need, or a combination of the two.” The same article reveals that the average fellowship award cut the cost of Harvard tuition in half, and that total monies available for scholarships at the school have more than doubled since 2009. Dartmouth Tuck reported similar stats.

Our clients who joined the MBA class of 2021 received 40% more in scholarships than those who joined the class of 2020. So far in this application cycle, we have several clients who have received full rides in round one,

I am swamped at this time of year with clients facing early January deadlines so I decided to end 2019 with one of our most popular shows of the year, my interview with Accepted’s own Cydney Foote, who started advising Accepted’s med school clients to acceptance way back in 2001.

For you medical school applicants aiming for a summer 2020 application, and hopefully a June 2020 application, pull up a chair. Cyd walks you through the process including:

How should you choose where to apply?

How many schools should you apply to?

What’s the difference between the personal statement, the MMEs and the activity descriptions?

How to approach secondary applications?

What about non-traditional applicants?

What are your top Interview tips

Should you take a gap year?

And she even has advice for 3rd year med students planning to apply this summer to residency programs.

I again want to thank you for listening to the podcast and wish you much success in this brand new, exciting year and decade.

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

Related Links:

• Get in Touch With Cyd Foote!

• How to Nail Your Medical School Interviews, a webinar

• Get Accepted to Med School with Low Stats, a webinar

• Activity Descriptions for Med School: 4 Questions That Will Make Yours Awesome

• Accepted's Medical Admissions Consulting

Related Shows:

• Doctor, Mother, SMILE Score Creator

• Writing for Medical School: Personal Statements, Activities, and Secondaries

• Kaiser Medical School: State-of-the-Art, Patient-Focused, and Free

• Apply at Your Best: Advice from a Med School Admissions Expert

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In honor of the busy holiday and admissions season, we are presenting an encore of the most popular MBA interview of 2019, my interview with Toronto Rotman’s Director of Admissions and Recruitment, Imran Kanga.

Obviously if you are interested in earning your MBA at Toronto Rotman, this interview is a must-listen. However, Imran’s discussion of what Rotman calls the “spike factor” has value to any MBA applicant trying to show how they can add a distinctive something to their MBAs class.

I also want to take this opportunity to thank you for listening to Admissions Straight Talk and wish you a Wonderful Holiday Season and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year, a new year filled with the realization of your educational and professional dreams, and of course acceptances.

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

Related Links:

* Toronto Rotman MBA program

* Toronto Rotman Application Essay Tips

* “Canada Says, ‘Give Me Your MBAs, Your Entrepreneurs”

* Accepted's MBA Admissions Consulting Services

Related Shows:

* NYU Stern: An Insider’s Perspective on Getting Accepted

* Innovative Education in NYC: All About Cornell Tech

* What’s New at INSEAD?

* How to Get a Georgetown MBA?

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Interview with Dr. Michelle Schmude, Associate Dean of Admissions at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine [Show Summary]

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine is focused on admitting students who are passionate about community service, as well as allowing as many students as possible to graduate from medical school debt free. Dr. Michelle Schmude, Associate Dean of Admissions, shares information about what makes the school unique, and what makes a successful applicant and graduate of the program.

Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine: A unique program emphasizing community service and clinical exposure  [Show Notes]

Today’s guest, Dr. Michelle Schmude, has spent her career in higher ed administration and med school admissions. After earning her BA in history and business, she went on to earn an MBA and then a doctorate in education from Wilkes University. Since 1996 she has worked in admissions first as Dean of Full-time Admissions at Point Park University, then at Kings College, and since 2015 as director and then as Associate Dean of Admissions, Enrollment Management & Financial Aid at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. She is also an Associate Professor of Medicine at Geisinger. Now that you know a little about Dr. Schmude, let’s find out about Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine.

Can you give an overview of the Geisinger Commonwealth Medical School program focusing on its more distinctive elements? [1:55]

The school was founded in 2008 and enrolled the first class in in 2009. We have a few key hallmark programs that make us unique. First is the 100-hour community service requirement, which goes along with our mission of being a community-based medical school. We admit students who align with the mission of the school and are passionate about community service. Second is the family-centered experience, which pairs med students with individuals in the community experiencing chronic illness, so the students can follow along with the patients throughout their journey, which helps the students grow in empathy, kindness, compassion, and caring. Third is the two research programs that students engage in during years one and three. The first is a community health research project – partnering with local organizations to help identify community needs and design interventions. The second is a quality improvement research project to address issues within the community.

Is the community service component you mentioned non-clinical, or does it matter? [4:45]

Most are non-clinical, and students get really involved with the community. A few weeks ago our students hosted a Turkey Trot and raised almost $18K for Friends of the Poor. They raise funds for autism, do things both inside and outside of the school, host a health fair for the community, have a trick-or-treat event in the hospital – a haunted hallway so children are safe. Those are just a few. Some volunteer at clinics in the area.

What is the “distributed campus model” and does it shape the med student experience at Geisinger? [6:19]

The first two years of the program are spent here in Scranton and the third and fourth are out at regional campuses where students are participating in clinical rotations in the third year, and in the fourth year participating in rotations and away rotations where they will visit other clinical environments.

Learn about HBS 2+2 from Tess Michaels, entrepreneur and HBS 2+2 student [Show Summary]

Stride Funding is an innovative start-up that is revolutionizing student financing with income share arrangements instead of traditional student loans. Today Linda talks to Tess Michaels, founder of Stride Funding, and second-year student at Harvard Business School who joined the class of 2020 through HBS 2+2. She shares how she came up with the idea, how HBS has been instrumental in Stride’s success, and her path to HBS and 2+2.

Tess Michaels discusses what it's like being an HBS student with a Start-up [Show Notes]

Our guest today, Tess Michaels, has done a ton. I’m going to give you a few details, and then let her fill in her story herself as well as tell us about the new student financing start-up she has founded and is running. Tess graduated from Penn with a Bachelors in Applied Science and another Bachelors from the Wharton School in Global Impact Investing and Operations Management. She has a long list of activities and offices held while there, and in addition founded Soceana, a platform to “democratize giving and promote corporate volunteerism,” which was acquired in 2018. After graduation and being accepted to Harvard’s 2+2 program she worked at Goldman Sachs as an analyst for two years and then at Vista Equity Partners as a PE Associate. She joined HBS in 2018 and immediately founded Stride Funding, which we will learn more about later in this interview.

Can you tell us a little about your background? Where you grew up? What do you like to do for fun? [2:31]

I grew up in Texas and have a big love of BBQ. I love going to comedy shows, seeing live music and movies. One of my favorite films is Good Will Hunting, a Boston classic!

Why did you decide to get two bachelors degrees at Penn? [3:12]

Growing up I was really interested in science but also in business. At Penn I had the opportunity to study biology but also operations and investing at Wharton so I decided to take advantage of it.

Why HBS 2+2? [4:01]

My junior year at Penn I met with a couple upperclassmen who had applied and told me about the benefits. I knew I had gotten a lot out of the business classes at Wharton and wanted to take the opportunity to learn from a very global peer set as well as utilize the case method, which was very different from how I had been studying. 2+2 gave me the flexibility to pursue work that built upon my skill set before going to b- school with the comfort of knowing I was going to go to HBS.

How would your initial post graduate years have been different if you hadn’t been accepted to 2+2? [4:54]

I would most likely have gone into investment banking anyway. It is a great place to grow a skill set. Having 2+2 let me decide that while I loved finance, I missed the operations piece, and knew I could focus on that once I arrived, which was nice.

Do you remember anything particularly challenging about your MBA application process? [5:50]

With 2+2 you are applying early in your career, really without formal work experience, and you have to be thoughtful about who you choose to write letters of recommendation. Luckily, I had the benefit of growing my first start up while at Penn, so had people who could speak to my abilities in that regard. The second is crafting the right story.

Learn what makes an applicant stand out at Wharton [Show Summary]

What is Wharton looking for? What about its new deferred admission programs? Most importantly, what do you need to do to get in? If these questions reside in your head, listen in! Wharton’s Director of Admissions, Blair Mannix, is our guest today.

Interview with Blair Mannix, Director of Admissions for the Wharton MBA program [Show Notes]

It gives me great pleasure to have on Admissions Straight Talk for the first time, Blair Mannix, Director of Admissions for the Wharton MBA program. Blair first came to Penn as a graduate student where she earned her master’s in higher education management in 2010. She joined Penn’s undergrad admissions staff in 2008. She’s been at Wharton since 2012 and became Director of Admissions just about one year ago.

Let’s start with the basics. Can you give me a brief overview of the distinctive elements of Wharton’s full-time MBA program? [2:17]

Philadelphia is one - I feel like I work for the Philadelphia Board of Tourism sometimes. It is difficult to have a Wharton experience without a Philadelphia experience and vice versa. The second thing I would say is we are proud of the way we approach the teaching of business. We like to provide content in a variety of different ways, since we know students learn best in different ways. We are big on rolling our sleeves up here.

What’s new at Wharton? [4:57]

The first two are massive updates to our physical plant. This fall we will be opening the Wharton Academic Research Building (WARB), which will be the home of academic research for Wharton, Penn, and Philadelphia. In the spring of 2021 we will open the Center of Entrepreneurship, which will be the hub for undergrad and graduate entrepreneurial endeavors. We also have two new centers in finance – the Harris Center and Stevens Center. The dean has poised us to really stay ahead in finance for the next 10-15 years.

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Wharton has two deferred admissions programs, the Moelis Advance Access Program and the Advance Access program. Can you tell us about them? [7:15]

I feel very strongly that this is where MBA programs need to go. So many students have told me they don’t feel like they could take risks between undergrad and grad school. We want to lock in the talent early so they can go out and impact the world. Moelis started two years ago, so we have had two admitted cohorts, and they have just been Penn undergraduates. Eight weeks ago we launched Advance Access globally, so anyone from around the world can apply and work 2-4 years and then come back for an MBA. With the two cohorts thus far, we have seen a mix of people following a more traditional pre-MBA path, and others who have really taken a risk. We want people to feel free to do what they want. In terms of the size of our first Advance Access cohort, it will depend on the talent. We don’t have a hard number.

Can you go into the purpose of some of the different elements of the application? [11:15]

The resume and work history,

Wharton’s essays,

Two professional recommendations, and

The Wharton TBD and individual interview

Resume and work history: The length, depth,

Interview with Rabia Ahmed, Executive Director of Strategic Marketing and Admissions at NYU Stern School of Business [Show Summary]

NYU Stern is always on the cutting edge, and their new Change: Studio branding reflects that. Executive Director of Strategic Marketing and Admissions, Rabia Ahmed, shares details of the new program as well as what else is new at Stern.

At NYU Stern, change is in the air! [Show Notes]

It gives me great pleasure to have on Admissions Straight Talk for the first time, Rabia Ahmed, Executive Director of Strategic Marketing and Admissions at NYU Stern School of Business. Rabia attended Montclair Sate University and earned her MA in International Education from NYU. She began working at NYU Stern in 2005 and in 2006 became the Assistant Director of MBA Admissions. She has been climbing the admissions office ladder every since, and while this is Rabia’s first time on AST, NYU’s Isser Gallogly has been on several times. I don’t usually like to have school representatives on year after year. However NYU Stern always is innovating and changing things up, so I’ve needed to invite someone from NYU Stern to the show year after year. Indeed NYU Stern’s focus and brand are synonymous with change. We’re going to learn more about that from Rabia.

Can you give a brief overview of the Stern MBA program focusing on the more distinctive elements? [2:25]

I would highlight three main things – our location, our attitude, and our people. We are located in the greatest neighborhood in the greatest city in the world, we are able to bring in amazing adjunct faculty, and have partnerships with organizations for recruiting but also for experiential learning projects in our backyard. We are also on the move, unbound by tradition, and always thinking about where business is going to make sure we stay in front of it, innovate, and experiment. Finally, people you meet at NYU are really special. When you meet the people you can see how incredible they are. Our faculty is one of the largest, and runs the gamut of industry and function.

My next question is usually “what’s new?” but there is so much new at NYU Stern that I’m going to change things up. Last month Stern announced a re-branding focused on embracing and initiating change. We’re going to explore some of the elements in the program that really reflect that brand starting with Change:Studio. What is Change:Studio? How is it going to work? [5:31]

We want students to leave with preparation for the future. When thinking about how quickly things are changing – technology, how people work - we think about how we prepare students to embrace that change. Change: Studio brings together leadership, experiential learning, and entrepreneurship in co-curricular programming to provide a structure with which to drive change in an organization. The curriculum overall is called Dare It, Dream It, Drive It. Dare It is focused on leadership, Dream It on experiential learning, and Drive It on starting something new. Everyone goes through the beginning stages of Change:Studio with orientation in the leadership simulation and then they can opt into the Change:Studio program.

NYU Stern recently started allowing its applicants to submit the GMAC Executive Assessment in addition to the GRE and GMAT. Why?

Interview with Adam Goodcoff, fourth year medical student and co-founder of an online community for healthcare professionals [Show Summary]

Med student Adam Goodcoff shares info on what life is like as a med student, how he became interested in medicine, what he plans to do when he graduates, and his new digital platform, “The Med Life.”

Glimpse what life is like as a medical student [Show Notes]

Our guest today, Adam Goodcoff is a fourth-year med student and former graduate teaching fellow in anatomy applying to emergency medicine residencies this year. He graduated the University at Albany with a BS in Biology. During his sophomore year of college, he started a blog to document and share his attempts to gain acceptance into medical school. Once medical school started and time available shrank, Adam briefly switched to YouTube, which ultimately also proved to be too time consuming. Fast forward three years, and he decided to launch "The Med Life," a community where all healthcare providers and students can find entertaining and educational content.

Can you tell us about your background? Where you grew up? What do you like to do for fun? [2:03]

I grew up in upstate New York, went to the University of Albany and then to a different state entirely for medical school. For fun I do a million different things – I particularly enjoy cycling, downhill mountain biking, skiing, travel, and photography. I also used to play in a band, so I’ve covered the gamut, always trying new stuff.

How did you become interested in a career in medicine? [3:10]

In high school I wasn’t the best student, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I was a swimmer, and it was sort of understood I would swim my way into college, but then I decided not to pursue it further. I was fortunate the University of Albany took me. I knew I liked medicine, as I did a short stint as a volunteer firefighter, which I didn’t enjoy. But I loved the EMS side of it, so I got a CFR (Certified First Responder). If you are not 18 you can’t be an EMT in New York, and I was 16 or 17 at the time. I learned the basics and volunteered at a local EMS agency. I stayed there for five years before going on to med school. I eventually did become an EMT and was hired as one just before med school. In school I enjoyed EMS so I thought maybe I should look at medicine, and it snowballed from there.

Did you go straight from college to med school? Are you happy with your decision whether you took a gap year or not? [5:07]

I did. I was relatively competitive and didn’t want to take a gap year. The student I am now isn’t the one I was applying to med school let alone the one I was applying to college. I was worried I would fall off the radar and not have the motivation to do it if I took a gap year. Hindsight is 20/20, and I’ve since thought of all the ways I could have taken advantage of that year, but I think it worked well.

Were there any challenges applying to medical school? [6:01]

For sure. It is tricky writing a personal statement and figuring out your voice. There are so many incredible students out there and I didn’t feel like I measured up – people creating a homeless shelter or going to Africa. Thinking back,

Interview with Bruce DelMonico, Assistant Dean and Director of Admissions at Yale School of Management [Show Summary]

Bruce DelMonico, Assistant Dean and Director of Admissions at Yale School of Management, shares the school’s unique approach to admissions. Yale SOM tries through its application process to gain a 360-degree view of a candidate and is constantly working to refine the formula for admitting the best candidates to Yale.

Bruce DelMonico discusses the unique features of Yale SOM's curriculum and the value of the Yale MBA [Show Notes]

It gives me great pleasure to have back on Admissions Straight Talk and introduce Bruce DelMonico, Assistant Dean and Director of Admissions at Yale School of Management. He has been on the admissions team at Yale since 2004, becoming the Director in 2006 and the Assistant Dean in 2012.

Let’s start with the basics. Can you give me a brief overview of the distinctive elements of Yale SOM’s full-time program? [2:09]

There are three things I would point to. Among U.S. business schools I think we are the most integrated with our home university. Students truly can take advantage of all Yale has to offer and be involved in the whole university community. We are also the most global business school in the U.S., really focused on creating a global mindset. It is built into our curriculum, and with 45% of our students being non-U.S. citizens, that permeates the community. Last, we are the best source of elevated leaders across all regions and sectors. You will get accounting, finance, and marketing just like every business school, but we teach in a different way. It is very interdisciplinary. Your career will not be functionally siloed like the past, so we teach subjects in a way that reflects that. We utilize a lot of raw cases, so even in the classroom students are learning real world skills, since other people will not be making decisions for you in your future jobs.

What’s new at Yale SOM? [5:15]

The biggest thing is we have a new dean who started July 1st. Kerwin Charles joined us from the University of Chicago. He is a labor economist. So far he has had lots of town halls, and has been thoughtful, diligent, and caring about the school and understanding of its mission and values. He is doing a wonderful job of listening and learning at this point, and we are very excited to have him. We also have a new one- year master's program – an MMS in Asset Management that complements our other one year master's programs. It takes advantage of being in the hedge fund corridor. With our one-year programs we are building out a portfolio of courses and more advanced curriculum that business school students can take advantage of.

There seems to be increasing interest in deferred admission programs. Yale has one of the older ones. Can you tell us about the Silver Scholars program? What are you looking for in applicants to this program? [10:08]

You start at Yale the fall after you finish college. It is a three-year program including the internship. Student do their first-year, core MBA courses and then do an extended one year internship. They then come back for the second academic year, which is entirely electives. The idea is that students learn what their gaps are during that year, and then can address them with the electives to become a more complete leader.