Admissions Straight Talk

Interview with Rebecca Lippman, Accepted Admissions Consultant [Show Summary]

Accepted’s own Rebecca Lippman is a veritable fountain of knowledge when it comes to scholarships and grants, and in this podcast she shares tips on how to find scholarship opportunities and how to position yourself to win them.

Everything You Need to Know About Grad School Scholarships and Grants [Show Notes]

Our guest today is Rebecca Lippman, who recently joined Accepted’s team of admissions consultants. However, she is here today mostly in her capacity as scholarship expert, having personally secured funding for her masters and doctoral studies in Comparative Literature, as well has having worked for 3.5 years in UCLA’s Scholarship Resource Center. Let’s learn her secrets.

Can you tell us a little about your background and how you became interested in Comparative Lit? [1:53]

I knew from a young age that I wanted to study abroad and learn another language. I grew up in Oakland and heard a lot of Spanish at school. I went to UCLA because I knew there would be plenty of opportunities to study abroad and get a double major at the same time, and Comparative Literature was one of the majors where I could do that. That was how I was thinking when I was 18! I did stick with it, however, and learned Portuguese and Spanish which allowed me to have access to research in literature and film I wouldn’t have had access to otherwise.

You earned your masters in the University of Cambridge in Latin American Studies. Why there for Latin American Studies, and how did you get fully funded for a humanities masters degree? [3:46]

Cambridge has a Latin American Studies center that has experts in Latin American film. At the end of my senior year I was thinking what I wanted to do. I really liked film and thought it would be neat to keep studying film, but I wanted a regional focus. Most schools have a language/literature department and then a film department. But Cambridge had everything in one department, which is primarily why I applied there. In terms of funding I also applied to Cambridge knowing they had the Gates Cambridge Scholarship available. I was a finalist but didn’t get it, and was instead offered a large, partial scholarship. It was great because I did not have to work for that funding.

When we talk about “Fully funded” does that mean tuition, living expenses, everything? Or is it just tuition? Also, does part of that funding require work – TA’ing or working in some other capacity? [5:49]

I wouldn’t compare it to a full-time salary in any other sector, but when I got into UCLA for the PhD program in Comparative Literature I received a package which includes guaranteed TA-ships. You have 1-2 years where you don’t have to teach and can focus on your coursework, and the rest of the funding includes a TA-ship which means you TA for your department and then tuition and fees are waived plus you get a living stipend.

While pursuing your PhD, you’ve been helping UCLA’s students get awards, grants and scholarships. Before we turn to some of the specific scholarships, what are 3 top tips for getting awards and grants? [7:17]

I would say being creative is incredibly important to identifying scholarships in the first place - not just looking at obvious places where scholarships might come from. If you use me as an example,

What’s New at INSEAD? [Show Summary]

No school exemplifies the trend global business quite as much as INSEAD, which was founded in France, but has campuses in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East as well as partnerships with Wharton in the U.S., Tsinghua in China, and the Sorbonne. Virginie Fougea, Director of MBA Admissions at INSEAD will take you through the unique history of INSEAD, its mission and vision, and how you should approach the application.

Interview with Virginie Fougea, Director of MBA Recruitment and Admissions at INSEAD [Show Notes]

Today it’s my pleasure to have on the show Virginie Fougea Director of MBA Recruitment and Admissions at INSEAD. She began working at INSEAD shortly after I put Accepted on the web way back in 1996. She also participated in Accepted’s old text-only chats, typing madly away. In 2012 she became the Associate Director of Admissions at INSEAD, and on the day that I previously interviewed her for the podcast 3 years ago, she officially became Director of Admissions.

Can you give an overview of the INSEAD’s full-time MBA program for those listeners who aren’t that familiar with it? [2:24]

INSEAD was founded in 1957 by Georges Doriot, a French national and graduate and professor of Harvard. He came back to France after World War 2 and decided to promote peace and prosperity in Europe, with the idea being a common business school with different European countries working together. French, English and German were required languages at the time, though now it is just English. The institution does not belong to any government and is a private non-profit. The curriculum is designed to be taught in one year, and has been since the beginning. We now have 500 students per class, and two intakes per year, one in January and one in August. Students also choose between three campuses – the original in France, in Fontainebleau, which is 60km outside of Paris, Singapore, and Abu Dhabi.

You and I spoke a couple of weeks ago, and before we turn to admissions tips I’d like you to share with listeners some of the exciting recent developments at INSEAD. Let’s start with the €40 million gift from Andrea Hoffman Class of 90. Can you tell us how INSEAD will use the money? [4:38]

This is the single largest gift in INSEAD history and enabled us to launch the Global Institute for Business and Society, which we just launched this past week. It will be a transformative entity – working on theoretical frameworks, strategies, analytics tools, business models or new ways of teaching and disseminating knowledge. The goal is to align businesses with the societies they serve, and goes back to the vision to promote peace and prosperity. The hope is that future leaders from around the world involved in businesses will deliberately account for societal and environmental impact in their decisions as a result. The idea is that this will flow through all the entire INSEAD experience, from the coursework to green campuses.

Can you also tell us about IW50? The 50th Anniversary of INSEAD admitting the first woman to its program. [7:53]

We admitted the first two women to the MBA program 50 years ago, and were one of the first schools to do that. We wanted to recognize the leadership of women in the world, and through different events we wanted to influence the way men and women conceive of women as leaders. We brought people from everywhere in the world,

Interview with Dr. LeeAnna Muzquiz, Associate Dean for Admission at University of Washington School of Medicine [Show Summary]

Our guest today is Dr. LeeAnna Muzquiz, UWSOM Associate Dean of Admissions, UWSOM grad and professor, and citizen of the Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) in Montana. She dives deep into the University of Washington School of Medicine program, mission and admissions practices during this packed podcast. Additionally she provides an excellent overview of how the WWAMI regional program shapes admissions at UW. Finally, she offers can’t-miss advice to UW medical school applicants. Listen in!

Get into University of Washington Medical School [Show Notes]

Dr. Muzquiz, can you give an overview of the UW SOM’s curriculum focusing on its more distinctive aspects? [2:17]

The UW School of Medicine did an overhaul of its curriculum and implemented it with the incoming class of 2015. We are all still getting used to it but essentially we changed the way that we helped students get ready for clinical medicine with exposure right out of the gate. There are three phases (rather than the more traditional two years of basic science and two years of clinical exposure). The design is a layered approach – there is a foundation phase, patient care phase, and explore and focus phase, which really reflects the progress of the student and maturation from student to physician. Starting with orientation and immersion during the first two weeks of medical school it is all about exploring what it is to be a doctor, basic exam skills, and also exposure to service learning and health systems. Students come in with whatever their passion is, and we offer all kinds of different ways to tailor their education.

What are threads, themes, and pathways? [5:12]

The overall approach is really to be multi-layered and longitudinal to help med students and physicians develop critical thinking skills. Essentially, how does basic science, pathophysiology, and physiology really relate to patients walking into the hospital? Threads are both scientific and clinical offered throughout each block, including anatomy, physiology, and pathology. For example, in the first block of the curriculum you are studying the molecular and cellular basis of disease, which will include cell physiology, genetics, pathology, and histology and all of those things will be part of expectations to be mastered in that block. That is the thread going through. The next phase would be Invaders and Defenders, looking at the immune system, microbiology, seeing the anatomy of how that works, pharmacology, etc., so much more system oriented. The themes are recurrent throughout. How does this then look in terms of the value-based concepts -- diversity, ethics, and population health – when applying to real people? We are teaching students to think much more like physicians need to think at the end of training, but we’re starting that training in the beginning of it. Pathways are extracurricular certifications to meet the needs of students who have additional interests – the Indian Health pathway is what I did. Other pathways include Hispanic Health, Global Health, Underserved Health, and LGBTQ Health, and you receive additional training in those fields.

UW serves the WWAMI states, which include Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. How does that work? Is there a set number of students that you take from each of the ...

Interview with Barbara Craft & Diane Sharp, Wharton Executive MBA Admissions Directors [Show Summary]

In today’s podcast we talk with Barbara Craft and Diane Sharp, Directors of Admission at Wharton’s Executive MBA programs in Philadelphia and San Francisco. They share information on the intricacies of the programs, how they relate to each other and to the full time MBA program, and how to stand out in the admissions process. Listen in!

Wharton’s Executive MBA, Where East and West Meet and Mix [Show Notes]

So what are Wharton’s Executive MBA options? Who is Wharton’s EMBA program for? And how do you as an applicant show the program is right for you? Today we speak with Barbara Craft and Diane Sharp, both Directors of Admissions at Wharton’s Executive MBA programs located in Philadelphia and San Francisco.

Can you share a bit about the history of the Wharton MBA Program for Executives with our audience? [1:44]

University of Pennsylvania has been around a very long time. It was founded in 1740 by Benjamin Franklin. Wharton is the oldest collegiate business school, founded in 1881. I mention this because we were also one of the first to have a format for working professionals - we’ve had it for 45 years - and now almost 20 years in San Francisco. We are the only Ivy League offering a [non-distance learning] MBA for executives on the west coast.

We are especially proud of the fact that our EMBA program is the same as our full-time MBA program. It’s the same number of credits, and same level of academic rigor. It is not MBA-lite by any means.

Who should choose an executive program vs. a full time program? [3:58]

There are a lot of good reasons for choosing either, but we find that professionals further along in their career choose the EMBA program. They are typically at the cusp of higher level management and prefer not to jump off their career track and lose trajectory. Sometimes it is a life-style issue as well, as they have families and moving for a couple years is not feasible. You also have to have the buy-in from your company.

Full-time students tend to be more junior and often are looking to make a career switch, so having the internship makes it easier to have a change.

The average age of matriculants in the EMBA program is 35-36, with 12-13 years of experience. We like to see at least eight years of work experience, and also some management experience.

What are the distinctive elements of Wharton’s Executive MBA program (as opposed to other EMBA programs)? [6:31]

We are one program, two locations, so we span the country. Either cohort starts the program together in Philly as one big group, then everyone goes back to their respective coast for the first year of core classes. Later on in the first year the east coast cohort comes west for a week-long marketing simulation class. We also offer four different locations for global business residency, so there is another opportunity for merging of east and west. Second year students can take electives on the east or west coast. We have the largest selection of electives of any business school in the world, so in no way are our students limited, they can absolutely specialize if they like. We draw from students that are all over the country, and we attract from other countries as well – on the west coast...

Interview with Dr. Elizabeth Poorman, Internist at Cambridge Medical [Show Summary]

There’s a lot of talk (and only that) about burnout and depression among medical students, residents, and physicians, but Dr. Elisabeth Poorman is attempting to do something about it. Listen in to today’s episode and understand a bit more about the realities of working in a field where you can’t always save your patient from suffering, and how important it is as a doctor to take care of yourself first, so you can then effectively take care of others.

Taboo No More: Depression & Burnout in the Medical Field [Show Notes]

Our guest today, Dr. Elisabeth Poorman, is an internist at Cambridge Medical. She grew up in Chicago, attended medical school at Emory, and did her internal medicine training at Cambridge Health Alliance where she now works in Everett, Massachusetts. Her primary patient population is immigrants and those dealing with addiction. In her spare time, she also writes, movingly and well about the challenges facing physicians and physicians in training. Her writing has appeared in Doximity, Kevin MD, and other sites on the web.

Can you tell us about your background? Where you grew up? What do you like to do for fun? [1:57]

I was one of those weird kids who always knew she would be a physician. I loved to rush to people who were injured, take care of them, was always fascinated by the human body, and being a doctor was always something I wanted to do. I will admit I did feel less sure for a brief period in college. Much of the path to medical school has nothing to do with medicine. I was taking chemistry, organic chemistry, physics, etc., and I enjoyed the contents of the courses, but they more served the purpose of weeding people out of medicine as opposed to opening up your mind to the possibilities. I was looking at the people around me who seemed very sure of their path and didn’t feel like I fit in with them. The ironic thing is that most of them ended up going into investment banking anyways. In retrospect they were very high achieving students who saw medicine as a good financial decision at the time but then made a different choice to make more money and ended up washing out of medicine. After a little bit of working after college, with non-profits and doing international work, I realized I really did want to pursue this path so I found my way back.

Can you talk a little bit more about your project in Brazil? [4:43]

I did my undergrad thesis on leprosy in Brazil. I was so fascinated with it, and continue to be with the ways patients were treated and mistreated. The experience has repeated itself in different countries in different ways. Patients have been separated from their families, experimented on, had their children taken away. I was incredibly lucky to spend so much time living in the colonies, seeing many who have been cured of it but with long-lasting effects. I am fascinated with the ways science and medicine were manipulated for political reasons. Leprosy is not a very contagious disease, actually, and being in close contact isn’t necessarily going to give you leprosy - no one who worked in the colonies got it. By creating these colonies it was an easy way to say they were doing something about the problem but also having full dominion over patients to experiment on them. It is a really dark chapter in medical history, but what was heartening was that people I worked with didn’t tell me not to go to medical school. They said, “Remember our experience and how wrong things can go,

Interview with Dr. Shirley Chan, Accepted Admissions Consultant [Show Summary]

In this episode you’ll hear Accepted’s own Dr. Shirley Chan share her soup-to-nuts perspective for graduate school applicants. She has worked as an academic advisor, career advisor, and admissions committee member and views the process holistically. During this show Dr. Chan provides information on how best to approach critical aspects of your application, including your statement of purpose, resume, and interview. She also provides insights particularly important to Asian applicants. Read on!

How to Get Into Grad School, and Get Jobs After Grad School [Show Notes]

Our guest today, Dr. Shirley Chan, is a Trojan through and through. She earned her Masters of Education and Doctor of Education from USC. She then went on to work as an academic advisor in USC’s computer science department where she advised students on which classes to take and how to best prepare themselves for life after graduation, whether that be grad school or jobs. Then she transferred to Marshall’s MBA program working with international students, and becoming the Senior Associate Director for MBA Admissions. Most recently she has worked in Career Management at Marshall and as an independent career consultant before becoming a consultant for Accepted this year.

The standard line in admissions is that admissions and higher ed is not a field people decide to go into in kindergarten. What has been its attraction to you? How did you get into it? [2:34]

In college I was a high school outreach coordinator, particularly in low-income communities, helping students apply for financial aid and scholarships. I found it really rewarding to guide students toward achieving academic and career success. Since then my career has been focused on higher education, developing students through academic advisement, career advisement, and admissions. I wanted to understand from the very beginning to the very end of the process, which is why I worked in all of these areas. I really felt drawn to admissions because having that beginning-to-end perspective made me really understand from a candidate’s perspective what they are looking for, what they cared about, and has allowed me to provide a life coaching approach when I work with my clients.

You recently joined Accepted as a consultant after 15 years in different advisory roles both in academics, admissions, and career management. On the graduate level both in the engineering and business world, how should career goals guide both the applicant and student? [5:06]

You don’t start driving until you know where you are going to go, so you really need to know your career path, or at least have a good idea of where you want to go, before you begin. Applicants need to explore in advance, because they will be spending lots of money and time on the program. They should speak with alums or current students, and look at career paths after, and really think about, “Is this the type of career I will want in the future?” For students already in a program they need to fine tune the function they want to do, and that will look different depending on the program. If they are going into electrical engineering, there might automatically be more focus, whereas someone getting an MBA will have a more versatile skillset and could go into finance, marketing, operations, etc. Talk to people and figure out the type of organization you want to work for – the type of culture, big or small, those types of things. For a business degree in particular yo...

Interview with Dr. Farah Naz Khan, Endocrinology Fellow at Emory University School of Medicine [Show Summary]

Dr. Farah Naz Khan is not only a physician, but also an engineer and Bollywood expert. Listen in as she shares why she started with an engineering degree before going on to be a doctor (and the positives in doing so), as well as the ups and downs on the road to becoming a doctor. She’ll also share her reasons for having a love-hate relationship with Bollywood.

Endocrinologist, Writer, and Bollywood Critic Tells Her Story [Show Notes]

Our guest today, Dr. Farah Naz Khan was an Endocrinology Fellow at Emory University School of Medicine. She earned her bachelors in Environmental Engineering from MIT in 2009, went straight to medical school, and graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham in 2013. She did her residency in Internal Medicine at Emory and just completed her endocrinology residency at Emory with a particular interest in diabetes in the developing world and equal access to endocrine care for all patient populations. In addition, she is a published author with bylines at The Daily Beast, The Atlantic, Vox.com, Scientific American, Huff Post India, and more. Oh, and one more thing: she is a Bollywood expert.

Can you tell us about your background? Where you grew up? What do you like to do for fun? [1:27]

I was born and raised in Birmingham, AL, and then went to Boston for my undergrad at MIT. After four years in the cold northeast I needed to defrost, so I came back home and spent four years at University of Alabama Medical School. After that, I wanted to be in a bigger city, so I went to Atlanta, where I was until I came to Seattle, which is where I am now.

How did you go from an undergrad degree in environmental engineering to immediately starting medical school? When did you know you wanted to be a doctor? [2:30]

Being a doctor was always in the cards for me. I was premed from day 1 in college. My dad said to all of us kids that you can do whatever you want with your life but you need to get an undergrad engineering degree first so you always have that to fall back on. Being an engineer actually allows me to see things from a different mindset which is very helpful.

How was the method of learning different? [4:29]

Engineers are taught to problem-solve. You are given the tools and here is the problem set, so go do it – lots of tests in engineering were open book, so with more of a problem-solving focus. In medicine you are required to do lots of memorization, so adjusting from a very problem-solving-based method to a memorization-based method was challenging for me.

Are you happy you went straight from undergrad to medical school, and if so, why? [5:11]

I am going to waffle on that. I do wish I had taken some time off, but at the same time I am really glad I finished when I finished, because otherwise it would have ultimately taken more time to become a doctor. The reason I wish I had taken a break is because it’s really tough to get a break once you are in med school.

What did you like best about your medical school experience at U of Alabama? [6:09]

The professors and mentors were so supportive from day one. I really wanted to do work in India, but didn’t have any connections there, and UAB helped me make it happen. They also didn’t have much experience in global health in India, but they supported me - I got funding,

The Scoop on Berkeley’s Master of Financial Engineering (MFE) [Show Summary]

Dr. Linda Kreitzman, Executive Director of the Master of Financial Engineering Program at UC Berkeley – Haas is passionate about the program. On today’s podcast Linda will take us through specific aspects of the program and what makes it unique, what it takes to be successful in the program, and some of the expected outcomes for graduates. Listen in to the “Queen of Quants!”

Interview with Linda Kreitzman, Assistant Dean and Executive Director of the UC Berkeley Haas Master of Financial Engineering Program [Show Notes]

Our guest today, Dr. Linda Kreitzman, earned her Honours Degree in Political Science, masters degrees in English, French and Spanish and later on a Ph.D. in Economics. Most importantly for our call today, she became program Director of the Master’s in Financial Engineering at UC Berkeley – Haas in 2000 and Executive Director of the program in 2006. Poets and Quants recently named her the “Queen of Quants” and in the same interview she identified herself as her students’ “surrogate mother.” Let’s learn more about the Haas MFE from this ultimate insider.

Could you give an overview of the MFE program highlighting its distinctive features? [2:12]

It’s a one-year program that starts in March and ends the following March, with four academic terms. After 75% of coursework is completed, students go anywhere in the world for a paid internship. The program is ranked #1 in the country and has 50% faculty and 50% industry professionals who teach in the program. We admit students who have PhDs, masters or straight from undergrads. We have a pre-programmed set of classes that anyone can take before coming to the program, which helps us assess them. We believe success is not just what happens in the MFE but also post-MFE. We place each and every student, which is what we love to do.

If we find a student who is doing really well academically, we can recommend them for admission as early as their junior year, and then bring them on board and mentor them before they officially join. Any student at any university in the world can contact us about this.

I understand that you’ve been the Director from Day 1. Why did Haas decide to have an MFE? [5:30]

Haas’ decision to create the MFE came a little bit before I came on board in 2000, with professor emeritus David Pyle and dean Laura Tyson. There was a demand for financial engineers and students who could be very technical, with a stats programming skill set already, which MBA programs didn’t offer. There were other MFEs, CMU for example, but we were the first to launch an MFE at the business school, to make sure our students were not considered typical quants just doing number crunching, but that they had economic intuition and strong communication skills, which is what differentiates us from others. We wanted the ability to position our students in any field in finance or technology, not in the back room doing number crunching.

What makes the MFE different from an MFin? Or an MBA? [9:45]

The MFin tends to teach more the corporate finance side and is a general degree. With the MFE we are looking for people who already have strong programming, stats, math, and finance experience. We bring people who already have had corporate finance, and maybe already passed CFA level 1. Our program is much more technical, more data-science oriented. Also, the MBA program does not prepare students mont...

Gina Moses is the Director of Admissions at New York Institute of Technology’s (NYIT) College of Osteopathic Medicine, and in this episode she discusses the state of the art technology at NYIT as well as the wonders of osteopathic medicine. She also shares information on the application process, and distinctions between the two campuses in New York and Arkansas. With the DO application in full swing, it’s the perfect opportunity to take advantage of Gina’s advice regardless of the program you’re applying to. Listen in today!

This is an encore show. You can find complete show notes at the original podcast page.

Related Links:

• NYIT COM

• The Quick Guide to Acing Your AACOMAS Application

• Accepted Primary & Secondary Application Packages

Related Shows:

• Med School Uncensored: A Realistic Perspective on Medical Training

• Be a Happy Doc!

• Andrea Benedict: Life as a Physician Assistant

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How to Get a Georgetown MBA [Show Summary]

If you’re looking for a global MBA program at the intersection of business and politics that is designed for principled leaders with a strong first-year core and an elective second year where you can customize your education to your needs, listen to this interview with Georgetown McDonough’s Shelly Heinrich, Interim Associate Dean for MBA Admissions. She’ll also gives you tips for effectively approaching the Georgetown’s MBA essay options, video, interview, and more. HINT: They want people who really want Georgetown.

Interview with Shelly Heinrich, Interim Associate Dean at Georgetown University McDonough School of Business [Show Notes]

Today’s guest is Shelly Heinrich, Interim Associate Dean for the Georgetown McDonough School of Business (MSB). Shelly earned her bachelors in business at Texas Christian, her Masters in Educational Administration at UT Austin, and her EMBA at Georgetown. She worked at George Washington University for four years and then moved to Georgetown’s admissions office in May 2014. She became Asst Dean for Marketing, Recruitment & External Relations in July 2017 and interim Assoc Dean for MBA Admissions and Director of Marketing in September 2017.

Shelly, can you give us an overview of the FT MBA program at McDonough focusing on its more distinctive elements? [2:01]

We really focus on developing principled leaders. We provide a strong business core in the first year to provide a wide breadth of understanding in business. In the second year students customize the program to their interests, choosing from over 100 electives, and not having to declare a concentration. This framework allows the student to get a full picture of business but also a deeper understanding of what they really like. All students are required to participate in a global consulting experience. They work in teams for six weeks in DC solving a problem for an international client and then ends with them going overseas to present their proposal to the client.

How does Georgetown take advantage of its Washington location, it’s being at the intersection of business and government? What does that mean in terms of the program, the classroom, and career placement? [4:13]

You really feel at the center of it all – business, society, and politics. We consider DC a learning lab, and there are a couple ways we do that. Brand new this year is a class in the leadership curriculum called Managing the Enterprise, which involves working with a very prominent organization in DC (press release soon) working hands on with tackling the problems of leadership and people and solving a problem for this organization. This course is in the second year, so students can apply tools from the toolkit they already have.

We also have a certificate in non-market strategy where students learn about the intersection of business, society, and politics.

Through academic tutorials students can get academic credit by working with an organization, and the World Bank is one of them.

Because of our location in a very global city, we graduate students who are interested in working in companies that are multinational, not working in isolation, as they realize the benefits of skills that cross borders. Our program is bookended with two global experiences, one I already mentioned in the second year, but our first three weeks of the program is the Structure of Global Industries, which throws new students into a project where they have to solve a mock problem for a mo...