There’s something for everyone at Columbia Business School.

Today’s AST podcast is a first: an in-person interview! Our guest is Emily French Thomas, Director of Admissions at Columbia Business School, and we’ll be talking about the menu of programs available at CBS. Welcome, Emily!

What is the common thread that unites the many programs at CBS? [1:18]

When people think of getting an MBA, they’re often thinking about shifting careers, or building their network. And we definitely provide those strengths. But the more intangible benefit of a Columbia MBA is learning to see the world in a more holistic way – gaining a framework for all the decisions you’ll make in your future career.

Our goal is to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset. That doesn’t just mean starting your own company – it’s about identifying opportunity. We’re training business leaders who think entrepreneurially.

Our core curriculum (accounting, marketing, big data, etc) teaches students how to look at a problem from multiple perspectives. It’s really a transformative experience.

We bring theories into the real world. And students have access to so many industries and business leaders in NY, to learn how the knowledge applies in the real world. And the networking opportunities from that are also invaluable. (For example, our students have regular coffee chats with alumni.) There’s just an incredible amount of access that comes from being at the center of business.

Can you give an overview of the fulltime MBA program? [6:05]

There are two streams. One is a 20-month traditional program with August entry: there’s a semester of core, a semester of electives, a summer internship, then the second year. We take about 550 students a year for the August entry. They’re broken into clusters of 60-70 students and further divided into learning teams. So you have a home base of people you get to know really well.

We do have exemption exams, so you can test out of specific core courses if you have expertise in the area, and replace them with an elective. But generally students are happier if they have at least some core courses, in order to build relationships with their learning team.

What about the January program? [9:00]

This is an accelerated 16-month program. The difference between this and the August entry is the summer internship. January students start one semester later and take classes in the summer, and are in the same place as the traditional students when they start the second year. It’s a great way to minimize the opportunity cost.

It’s a wonderful option for students who are sponsored by companies or who are coming from family business.

If you’re changing your career in a major way (industry-function-geography) – you can probably change one area but not two through the January program. For more radical changes, in general, you need the summer internship. However, there are also school year internships, and JTerm students can do those.

You’re in a stronger position to succeed if you have a very clear sense of your goals and are proactive – that’s one of the things we’re looking for in applicants (people who have direction).

What else are you looking for in an applicant? [16:20]

We’re looking at the whole application. Any one part of the application is just a data point.

Today’s show is all about EnMed, an MD/MS in engineering program to be offered by Texas A&M University’s College of Medicine and College of Engineering in conjunction with Houston Methodist Hospital. The program aims to teach physicians how to design technology to solve complex problems in medicine.

Our guest is Dr. M. Katherine Banks, vice chancellor for engineering for The Texas A&M University System and dean of the Dwight Look College of Engineering at Texas A&M University. Dr. Banks has had a very distinguished career in academia. Today, as vice-chancellor, Dr. Banks oversees the coordination and collaboration among the engineering, academic and research programs at seven universities throughout the A&M System. As dean of the Dwight Look College of Engineering, she leads one of the largest engineering schools in the country, with more than 16,900 students and 500 faculty.

What is EnMed? [2:00]

It’s an integrated program. We often think of engineering education in a traditional sense. However, as we move towards a healthcare that’s more efficient and effective, I believe the transformation of healthcare will come through technology development.

New technology in medical care is an important part of the healthcare of the future. We decided it was time to create a program that integrated design of technology into the medical program.

Is the focus on biotech, robotics, or improving prevention/delivery of care? [3:55]

All of the above. When we talk about engineering, people often think of new devices, but processes and systems are also important. The focus is on innovation: how to improve healthcare and healthcare delivery.

Students can move from the bedside to the makerspace, and develop new technologies or software. They’ll also work with the office of technology and commercialization. Allowing the healthcare providers to come up with the new ideas will move the products to market (and impact patients) much faster.

What is the program structure? [6:05]

We require an undergraduate degree in engineering or computer science – we want students to have a foundation in design knowledge. Then they move through the med school curriculum. But med school is very different: it’s an integrated med school curriculum (integrated with engineering/mathematics concepts).

There will be 50 students a year.

What is the entrepreneurial part of this program? [7:40]

It’s very important – a unique feature of the EnMed program. Entrepreneurship and innovation is critical.

Who better to move healthcare into the future than people working in healthcare? This is where the new ideas and technologies will arise, and the entrepreneurial aspect will enable that to come to reality.

We will be incorporating business training. And students will not be working in isolation: we’ll be bringing in students from the business school, PhD students in engineering, as well as nurses (who use technology). So the process will involve far more than the 50 students in the program.

What does “translational” mean in the context of your program’s emphasis on “innovative translational research”? [10:40]

It’s the idea of moving ideas from the lab (or clinical) setting into the marketplace/application. Often, researchers work in isolation, and the process of translating these concepts takes a very long time.

If we can have a model where the engineers are the physic...

Which MBA program just revealed that over half its alumni network gives back to the school? Yale SOM. That’s more than double most schools’ giving rate.

Which MBA program experienced a 6% increase in applications in 2016 on top of a whopping 25% increase in 2015? Yale SOM.

And which MBA program is in the top 10 for average GPA, average GMAT, and overall selectivity in Accepted’s Selectivity Index? You guessed it – Yale SOM?

And as it happens, the AST podcast we did with Bruce DelMonico about Yale SOM a few years back is one of our top 5 MBA admissions podcasts.

Bruce DelMonico joins us again today. He’s 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. Welcome!

What’s new at Yale SOM? [2:10]

There’s been a lot going on in the last 2 years! When we last spoke, we were just starting our entrepreneurship program. Now we’re 2 years in: we have a dozen new courses, a startup weekend, and lots of activity and business being created.

Our Global Network for Advanced Management is celebrating its 5th anniversary this spring – there are lots of opportunities for students to engage globally.

And our centers for excellence are very active – for example, the YCCI (Yale Center for Customer Insight) brings companies to campus with real problems for students to work on.

Our leadership program is changing in an exciting way, with new and reconfigured courses. And we’re excited to have many distinguished new faculty members coming onboard. We’ve also been working on diversifying the faculty – our FT faculty is approaching 30% women.

In terms of job placement, we don’t have the final numbers for the class of 2016, but it’s on pace with the last few years. There’s a strong diversity of interest among Yale SOM grads: 130 different companies for a class of 325 (and half of the top 10 hiring companies turn over every year). More companies are coming every year: our career services are adept at sourcing opportunities.

Yale SOM’s mission is “to educate leaders for Business and Society.” Dean Snyder’s video on Yale SOM’s mission highlights 3 key elements in achieving that mission: 1) SOM’s connection to its home university, Yale, 2) Distinctively global, and 3) Best source of leaders. Practically, what does that mean? Starting with leadership. [7:55]

We really think about how our grads can lead across sectors. Our core curriculum is different from other b-schools in that we don’t divide the material into functionally discrete courses (marketing, etc). Our core orients material according to stakeholder perspectives – it’s much more interdisciplinary, and helps students to see content across functions/industries and see how sectors interact.

In terms of leadership training: we require leadership training throughout the 2 years (not a single course). This year some of those courses are being realigned. We want to scale up from individual-team-organization-perspectives in leadership.

In the first year, we used to have courses called “leadership fundamentals” and “advanced leadership.” Now they’re being consolidated into a course called “Power & Politics” (through our Organizational Behavior group).

The other big change is that in the second year, instead of lockstep curriculum, students can choose from a menu of electives to satisfy the leadership requirement.

What are some of the options for the second year?

The most popular medical school admission podcast we’ve ever hosted was an interview with Jennifer Welch, Associate Dean of Admissions & Financial Aid at SUNY Upstate Medical University – and today, she’s joining us again.

Jennifer is extraordinarily experienced in med school admissions. Since 1994 she has served first as SUNY Upstate Medical University’s Director of Admissions and in January 2013 she became the Associate Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid at SUNY Upstate Medical University. So that’s over 20 years heading up a medical school admissions office. And in addition to heading up admission for the medical school, she is also in charge of admissions for all healthcare related programs including Nursing, PT, PA, MD, MD/MPH, MPH. Welcome, Jennifer!

What’s new at SUNY Upstate? [1:55]

We have a new president – our first female president (an African American woman). She’s dedicated to our mission of promoting diversity in medical education. We’re also just launching a new curriculum this fall, including new clinical contacts in the first two years. There’s a big focus on self-directed learning.

What does that mean? [3:22]

We’re emphasizing small groups and teams. We have collaborative co-directors teaching the curriculum (both MDs and PhDs). It’s competency-based, system based. There are more hands-on experiences (less time sitting in a lecture hall). Students are becoming more involved in their learning. It’s been a 3-year process – everyone’s really excited about it.

The future of medicine is team based.

The curriculum includes earlier clinical exposure, and a focus on understanding the clinical relevance behind what they’re doing.

What are your thoughts about the new MCAT? [6:45]

It’s still a work in progress – we’re learning from it. Some students have the old score, some have the new, some have both the old and the new.

We’ve always done a holistic approach to evaluation. So the exam is still important, but we’re looking for grades, consistency of grades, the strength of the undergraduate curriculum, what the student has in terms of extracurricular involvement, volunteer work, etc.

Our average this year was 509 (80th percentile), which is about a 30 on the old test.

I’m excited about the social sciences section on the new MCAT – I think it’ll ultimately bring us a different type of doctor.

What have you learned from the new MCAT? [9:00]

We’re looking at each of the categories vs the overall score – so we’re looking at it a little differently than in the past. Also, we’re not averaging multiple scores anymore. It all comes back to holistic review.

Any advice for handling/responding to secondaries? [10:50]

Sometimes students make the mistake of thinking they’re not as important as the AMCAS. They are. And they need to pay close attention to all the pieces that are asked.

In terms of handling multiple secondaries: prioritize. Some can be answered relatively quickly, and others will take more time. But make sure each one is done well and done correctly.

Our secondary is pretty straightforward in terms of the questions asked – but you need to pay attention to detail: it has to be done right. The secondary gives us info about applicants, and also info about how they do things (professionalism, attention to detail).

Today’s guest is Matt Clemons, Director of Admissions at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He’s joining us to discuss the programs HKS offers and what it takes to get accepted. Welcome, Matt!

Can you give us an overview of the MPP program? [1:25]

The MPP is the largest master’s program at HKS. It’s a 2-year, full-time, early career program. There’s a strong focus on giving people a set of skills to address real world problems. Students complete a professional project (rather than an academic thesis).

Students have an average of 3 years of work experience before starting the program. Work experience is important – it helps students make informed decisions and also prepares them to contribute to the program (there’s a lot of group work).

How do the MPA and the MPA/ID differ? [2:50]

The programs are similar in structure: core curriculum in the first year, professional development in the summer, and a professional project in the second year. For the MPA/ID program, the professional development is in a developing country or with a development organization. The coursework for the MPA/ID is very quantitative: similar to what a first year PhD student in economics would do – with an emphasis on practical applications to challenges that are faced in the developing world. They touch on theories, but the focus is on solutions in a developing world context.

What’s the difference between the MPP and MPA? [4:18]

The acronyms shouldn’t confuse people. The programs provide similar skillsets.

Broadly, a public administration program focuses on a macro-level overview, and MPP programs are more technical. But students can structure and tailor their programs to address the problems that they see.

What is the mid-career program? [5:45]

The mid-career program is a 1-year MPA. It draws some people who’ve been public servants, and some who are making the move from the private sector to the public sector. We require 7 years of work experience, and the average is 13.

You have joint programs with HBS and HLS. Is HKS also a case-based school? [6:35]

It’s a mix. The faculty teach to their strengths. You’ll encounter cases in the classroom, but it’s not the predominant teaching method.

What distinguishes the MPP from an MBA? [7:52]

Policy degrees teach candidates tools to manage strategies and policies that impact people and populations. Similar to what one would learn in b-school, MPA students learn economics, policy analysis, and quantitative analysis.

In b-school, students learn similar analytical skills, but they’re focused on the bottom line. In policy programs, your bottom line is society’s bottom line.

HKS offers lots of joint degree opportunities (law, med, business). Why might an MBA want both degrees? [11:50]

The intersection of business and government is increasingly important. Also, people are interested in being social entrepreneurs – outside the traditional channels of non-profits – they want to create their own opportunities to make a difference in society.

We have a new social innovation fellowship to help students start their own companies.

In general, policy professionals should be able to speak with people across fields.

HKS offers joint degree programs within Harvard (HBS, HLS) and concurrent degree programs with few schools at Harvard and with several outside of Harvard (MIT Sloan, Stanford, etc).

Today we’re discussing a unique MBA option for mid-career professionals – an option to study in a full-time, immersive program with other professionals at the same level.

Joining us today are: Stephen Sacca, Director, MIT Sloan Fellows Program; Silvia McCalliser-Castillo, Director, London Business School EMBA-Global and Sloan Programmes; and Mike Hochleutner, Director, Stanford MSx Program. Welcome!

Why pursue mid-career graduate education in business? [3:00]

Stephen: It’s not easy to hit the pause button in an established career that’s gaining momentum, but it’s really to pause and reflect on what you’ve done and what you’d like to do. I think of it as a reflection year from a personal perspective.

Mike: The world has evolved a lot. People are marrying later, having children later, etc. And they’re going through more career transitions and working longer. The notion that early career training/education will train you for a full career isn’t as accurate as it once was.

Silvia: I absolutely agree. Careers are evolving – people are living longer and working longer. Our program is actually trending older (more years of experience). The opportunity to study with other mature students with a similar amount of experience is really compelling! Students gain exposure to new frames of reference, new industries, new ideas.

Can you give us an overview of your programs? [6:35]

Mike: These three programs have some common heritage. The program at MIT was started with the support of Alfred Sloan, the retired CEO of GM – a forward thinking CEO. The idea was to create a model of education for people who already had some experience, and the potential to run great companies on a global level.

Here at Stanford, our program is in its 60th year. The MSx program is one of only two grad programs in the b-school. We require a minimum of 8 years of work experience.

The MSx program is integrated with the FT MBA: for electives, MSx students have free rein within the GSB and the full university (you can take classes across the campus). We have a global and diverse cohort. We want to help students create a network they’ll draw on for the next 20, 30, 40 years.

Silvia: The LBS Sloan Fellows Programme is a master’s in leadership and strategy. Our students have, on average, 15-18 years’ experience (no less than 10 years), and their average age is 42-44. They take a core curriculum in cohort, all together: some of our areas of emphasis include globalization and strategy in a changing world. LBS has a lot of master’s programs, EMBA programs and partnership programs. Sloan students can take electives with the entire b-school, or with part time students.

Stephen: MIT’s Sloan Fellows Program is in its 87th year. Alfred P. Sloan started the program for people with exceptional potential to lead dynamic organizations. It’s a combination of academics and practice. We emphasize 3 pillars: Academics, leadership, and global perspective. We have 110 students from 35 countries. The minimum is 10 years’ experience, and the average is 14. Our cohort is 70% men and 30% women.

Mike: The minimum experience for Stanford’s MSx program is 8 years. We’re looking for people who have experience in a managerial role: people who have grappled with management challenges.

How to match successfully as a couple: catch some great tips on today’s episode!

Today’s guest, Evan Kuhl, has written guest posts for the Accepted blog. He’s currently a 2nd year resident in Emergency Medicine at The George Washington University Hospital in Washington, DC. He also got married a couple of months ago. He and his then fiancée — now wife– succeeded in matching at the same hospital a year ago. He’s joining us today to share his advice about the Match, and specifically, matching as a couple. Welcome!

What was your path to medicine, and specifically Emergency Medicine? [1:27]

I did an EMT course. I met an ER doc on one of my first shifts who became a mentor, and I got really into emergency medicine – it’s a bit rare to decide so early. EMS was a great foundation for me personally. You learn a lot about patient contact and get skills that help in a lot of areas.

After graduating from Bellarmine, you went straight to med school – any bumps along the way? [3:18]

I never thought about any path other than med school.

Bellarmine gave me great preparation as a premed. It’s a small school in Louisville. But it’s one of the only schools that provides gross anatomy classes for undergrads.

My fellow residents have diverse backgrounds and a lot of them did take time in between undergrad and med school – master’s degrees, business, travel – it makes it fun and interesting to interact with people with so many diverse experiences.

My practice MCATs weren’t great, but I pushed through and applied – I didn’t take any time off.

What was the hardest part of the application process? [6:50]

If I were applying now, it would probably be the MCAT – because of the longer test.

For me, the process of the secondary applications was challenging: there’s a lot of variety between schools with regard to what they want, and a lot of time and effort involved. And it’s hard not to hear back, particularly when the application is more personal than the primary application.

How did he meet his wife, Elsa? [8:24]

We both grew up in Louisville, but we didn’t meet until med school. We were assigned to the same study group on the first day of med school.

Then we were placed 2 cadavers over in cadaver lab. My classmates pushed me to ask her out.

She started med school planning ortho, and came out as a radiologist.

How crucial was matching in the same city? Did you consider a long distance relationship? [10:50]

The first 10 matches on our lists were all in the same cities. Then the rest diverged a bit. We definitely wanted to be in the same city.

We started early and built an Excel sheet – including the city, residency, etc. And built a list of about 80 places. Some cities didn’t have programs for both of us, but were near a program that worked for the second person (for example, Duke and North Carolina).

Then we applied to about 71 programs each.

If she got an interview, I would email the ER director at that hospital. (And vice versa.) She had better scores than I did, so the Radiology directors were happy to talk to her!

Be frank and honest with the programs you’re ranking very highly (but don’t lie).

How do you manage time/relationship pressures, in med school and now as residents? [16:30]

When you’re applying for residency as part of a couple, be able to discuss your relationship pretty candidly when you interview.

In med school, we had study time together.

In residency, we have asynchronous shifts, so it’s a little more challenging.

We’re joined today by Shari Hubert, Associate Dean of Admissions at Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business, and by Doreen Amorosa, Associate Dean and Managing Director of Career Management at McDonough. They’re here to discuss what’s changing in the job search landscape, as well as what’s new at Georgetown. Welcome!

How have career services changed due to students’ interest in startups and smaller companies – and to changes such as increased off-campus recruiting? [2:20]

Dean Amorosa: Entrepreneurship continues to gain steam. It’s a focus area here, and McDonough is ranked high for entrepreneurship. We’ve shifted the way we think of access to employers in a significant way: more employers are focusing on off-campus recruiting.

Goldman Sachs is now recruiting undergrads entirely off-campus— is this the beginning of a trend in financial services? [3:50]

This gives them broader access to the talent base at the undergraduate level. We see it continuing into the MBA arena in the future.

How has this changed what students need to do when looking for internships? [5:10]

From the time students arrive on campus, we work with them on analyzing their skills and focusing the direction of their internship search. Once they have career coordinates (industry-function-geography), we help them think through access channels from the employer perspective to get them to the internship opportunities. They have to be focused.

For example, a student wants to work in brand marketing. She needs to think through target companies. Where will you encounter companies and how? (Ie, career fairs, virtual opportunities – alumni outreach – etc.)

The traditional concept of the internship is a 3 – month interview. Is that still the case, or are students shopping around more, or trying non-traditional internships? [8:00]

A lot of students take the traditional path. But other students are taking internships with smaller companies – we see that trend continuing.

Dean Hubert: Georgetown’s entrepreneurship initiative provides some small stipends for students to take internships at smaller/more entrepreneurial companies.

Dean Amorosa: There’s also a summer incubator program. And a fellowship where students work with venture capitalists. There are some unique opportunities.

How has increased off-campus recruiting changed the way students find full-time positions? [10:45]

As it changes at the internship level, it also changes at the full-time level. Some changes have to do with shrinking travel budgets (i.e., virtual interviewing is becoming more popular).

We’re also seeing more companies using predictive hiring tools to manage the candidate pool early in the application process – i.e., they’re incorporating assessments into the screening process to narrow the pool. (Amazon now requires essays and tests at the first application stage.) It’s not just about behavioral interviews anymore.

An important part of gaining the right position is your networking approach. [14:05]

We launched a platform which enables students and alumni to conduct informational interviews virtually. Students can also do interviews with each other. If you sign up, you commit to helping someone else: this is part of Georgetown’s values.

Has the changing job search changed the application process? [16:55]

Dean Hubert: If you’re proposing to change careers/job functions, you need to be prepared,

Today we welcome Keith Vaughn, a highly experienced MBA admissions professional. He started as an Associate Director of MBA admissions in 1994 at USC Marshall, moved up to Director in 1997 and to Assistant Dean of MBA Admissions at USC Marshall in 1997. In addition, he served briefly at different points in time as Interim Vice Dean of the MBA Program and Interim Executive Director, MBA Career Services. And his experience is not at all limited to USC Marshall.  Keith also had multi-year stints on the board of GMAC and on the board of the Consortium for the Graduate Study in Management. He has met and worked closely with all the leaders at a array of full-time part-time, and executive MBA programs.

Breadth and depth in MBA admissions define today’s guest’s expertise.

Not only is Keith bringing his insights and qualifications to this episode – he also just joined Accepted’s consulting staff and will be helping Accepted’s clients one-on-one. Welcome, Keith!

His background & how he got into admissions [2:15] 

I was a military brat – I was born in West Point. For college, I was accepted to the Air Force Academy, but went to Amherst instead. When I was studying for my MBA, the dean pulled me in to work on a career project. When you work on output, you have to work on input, so that’s how I got into admissions.

There’s a lot of travel involved with admissions work – I traveled over 3 million miles in my career, all over the globe.

Initially, I thought I’d do the job for about 3 years. After 3 years, I became the Admissions Director.

What did you wish applicants understood or knew that they just didn’t get? [4:55] 

There are no tricks to this process, and there’s no formula. Admissions people are trying to get to know who you are. Even if you get a curveball question in an interview, it’s not meant to trick you – it’s meant to see how you think on your feet.

What did you review first when you reviewed an MBA application? [7:12] 

The obvious first answer is the GMAT score. But just like I look at the average rating on Rotten Tomatoes to get a sense of how good a movie is – I would look at the AWA score, which gave me a good sense right from the start whether I was in for a good read. It was a great indicator of writing skills.

Then I would do a quick review of the resume.

How should MBA applicants approach the essays? [9:38] 

Be authentic – tell your story in your voice. Think about the stories you’re telling. It can be helpful to show friends and colleagues to get input.

You don’t have to be an Olympic athlete – you’re unique. It’s about self-reflection. 

Understand what motivates you and how. Peel the layers back and really get a sense of who you are.

Can you tell us a little bit about the Consortium for the Graduate Study of Management and applying via its application process? [11:55] 

I’m actually a Consortium alum, in addition to having served on the board.

The mission of the Consortium is to increase the number of people of color in the ranks of business. Now anyone can apply if they support the mission: increasing the number of people of diverse backgrounds in management. You have to show how you’re helping, how you’re supporting the mission.

Again, there’s no trick to the application. The process is the same.

In today’s episode, Accepted’s founder and director, Linda Abraham, shares the 4 not-so-easy steps of showing fit in your application.

While they are not simple to do, these steps are necessary if you want to get accepted to a program where the acceptance rate is less than 100%. 

STEP 1: Understand the school’s mission and criteria for acceptance. [1:20] 

Almost all schools have a mission stated clearly on their site. For example, Stanford GSB’s is “Change lives. Change organizations. Change the world.” It’s everywhere on their site. Not surprisingly, to me the defining characteristic of accepted Stanford applicants is initiative, the willingness and ability to effect change in the face of need or opportunity.

Similarly, when we spoke to the admissions directors for any number of medical schools they all emphasized the importance of their schools’ missions.  (See links below for examples.)

The other key is to understand the school’s criteria. Some schools clearly state their criteria on their site. [2:50]

An example of a criteria list: Harvard Business School’s has its “Who are We Looking For?” page where it says all its students share the following characteristics: Habit of Leadership, Analytical Aptitude and Appetite, Engaged Community Citizenship.

Another example: UCLA Geffen School has a page devoted to Basis of Selection, which goes beyond course requirements, grades, and MCAT. It explicitly states that qualities like “Life Experiences (Research, volunteerism, etc.) are considered.” Furthermore “Preference is given to students who present high achievement in college and a capacity to develop mature interpersonal relationships.”  [Emphasis added]

Clearly UCLA is looking for academic achievement and this “capacity.” Teamwork is probably one important way to show an ability to develop mature interpersonal relationships.

If you listen to episode 155 with representatives of Temple’s Katz School of Medicine, you will quickly learn that Temple values teamwork.

Know what your target school is looking for: [4:33]

It’s just that simple. So if Stanford is looking for initiative, your essays, descriptions of activities and jobs should highlight those aspects of your experiences that show initiative. For HBS, it’s a habit of leadership and engaged community citizenship that the written parts of your app will most likely reveal.

And the same process holds for law school and other graduate programs.

The foundation of fit: [5:25] 

This basic understanding of what the program values and what it is seeking in applications is the foundation of fit.

STEP 2: Show you can do the work: usually grades and test score. [5:40] 

This is usually a stated requirement and criterion for most schools. However, it is so important that I have to mention it. Some applicants believe that “the stats” are the be all and end all of admissions. Others believe that anything but the stats count.

Both groups are wrong. You need stats and qualitative fit at competitive programs.

Schools want to admit students who can succeed in their programs and who will make the admissions offices proud to have as alumni.