Admissions Straight Talk

Today’s guest is Soojin Kwon, Director of Admissions at Michigan Ross. Soojin earned her Bachelor’s at Yale, her MPP at Harvard’s Kennedy School, and her MBA from Ross. She worked at Deloitte Consulting before joining Ross’s admissions team in 2004, and has been Director since 2006. She writes an outstanding blog and has an equally outstanding YouTube channel, which I highly recommend. Welcome, Soojin!

Can you give us an overview of Ross’s fulltime MBA program? [1:20]

There are three things that differentiate us from other programs.

First is our focus on learning by doing. If you’re someone who likes to get their hands dirty and learns best by experiential learning, this is a great program for you.

Second, we have a great strength across the board in business specializations. (USNews ranked us second behind Stanford for most top-ranked specializations.)

And third, being part of the University of Michigan, we have access to top-ranked graduate programs across disciplines (law, education, etc.), so there are a lot of interdisciplinary education opportunities.

What’s new at Ross? [2:50]

We have a new dean! Scott DeRue, who was a longtime management and organizations professor here. Since he came from inside Ross, he really knows our community here.

He’s creating a vision for our students – he wants students to have experience advising, investing in, starting up, and managing a business. The idea is to give students all those opportunities while they’re students.

Are all four of those elements currently part of every MBA student’s experience, or is this being developed? [5:15]

The only part that is currently required is advising experience (through our MAP program). The rest are available as elective or co-curricular opportunities. What Dean DeRue envisions is building it out – working with companies that envision our students helping manage their companies, etc.

You mentioned MAP, one of Ross’s signature programs. What differentiates this program from other b-schools’ experiential learning/consulting projects? [7:00]

MAP is a mini consulting project during the last quarter of the first year. Students work full time with three to five other students on a real world consulting challenge. It’s a seven-week project, working full time with an organization to help solve a business challenge.

Students select projects based on their interests, career plans, geographical interests, etc. It comes right before the internship, so it also helps them hit the ground running when they start their internship.

What makes it unique is that it’s full time, and at seven weeks it’s almost the length of an internship. The breadth of the projects we offer also sets the program apart. More than half of the projects are outside the US.

Can you give an example of a project? [9:40]

One cool example was a cruise line that needed help figuring out how to increase on-board revenue, as well as improve the onboarding process. They brought the student team onboard to observe every step of the process.

We have many market entry projects – how do we break into a new market with a given product.

There are projects in Israel, Ireland, etc. A lot of tech projects, an increasing number of social impact projects, and startups.

We work with alums to help us source projects. We’re looking for projects that will really interest the students.

Dean DeRue has also announced lifelong tuition free executive education for grads. Why? [11:55]

His goal is to make a Ross degree a long-term relationship – not just a two-year transaction.

It gives me great pleasure to have back on Admissions Straight Talk Isser Gallogly, Associate Dean of MBA Admissions at NYU Stern School of Business. Isser earned his MBA from Duke Fuqua in 1995. He then worked in brand management for Unilever and L’Oreal before coming to NYU Stern as Director of Admissions and now Associate Dean for MBA Admissions. Isser participated in many of Accepted’s old admissions chats, typing madly away and getting finger cramps, but bravely answering applicants’ questions in that old text-only format. He also was the guest way back for episode 97 of AST when we discussed part-time options at NYU Stern. Isser, welcome to Admissions Straight Talk!

Can you give us an overview of NYU Stern’s Full-Time MBA program? [1:25]

Like many b-schools, our full-time program is a traditional, full-time, two-year MBA. The first year focuses on foundational basics, and in the second year you move into specializations.

Two things set us apart: first is our location and how we leverage that to our students’ betterment through experiential learning and career opportunities. And second is the unique makeup of our student population. We have about 400 students.

We value IQ and EQ – both intelligence and leadership. Our approach to academics is distinctive: it’s a mixed approach (not just lecture based or case-based, but a mix of approaches). We provide a range of opportunities; our courses are taught by a range of faculty (from Nobel Prize winners to practitioners who teach part time). There’s a lot of flexibility in the program – you can pursue between up to three specializations (or no specialization). And you can take classes overseas, or at other NYU grad schools.

What are specializations? [4:45]

These are most akin to what people think of as majors. We offer about 20 of them – it’s an organically developing list.

Some standard options include management strategy, finance, corporate finance, etc. But there are also more specialized areas, such as digital marketing, luxury marketing, entertainment and media, FinTech, etc.

You can specialize in none, and get a degree in general management – or pick up to three areas. So you can really tailor the degree to your short and long-term career goals.

We keep it fresh and in line with today’s business.

How many classes does it take to specialize? [7:45]

It takes nine credits to specialize. A typical class is three credits, though some are one and a half.

Stern is very proud of its 4 core values: Academic Excellence, IQ+EQ, Collaborative Community, and the Energy of a Global Hub. The stated focus on EQ is unusual. What does EQ mean at NYU Stern? [8:35]

Self awareness, judgment, understanding what’s going on in an interpersonal scope. Leading people. Negotiating, managing. Basically what might have been termed “soft skills.”

We see that an important part of business is not necessarily about your ideas, but about how you lead and manage your team’s ideas.

There are a number of ways we get at this value through the application process.

What are some of those ways? [9:50]

It starts with the essays. We’re looking for things that get at who you are.

Recommendations provide insight into people’s personality.

And the interview process adds dimension. We interview all the candidates we admit. Interviews are by invitation only. The interview is not blind – the interviewer will have read your application ...

Before we turn to our guest, I want to invite any listeners planning to apply to medical school next summer to our next med webinar Get Accepted to Medical School in 2018, to be presented by Alicia McNease Nimonkar on December 14 at 5 PM PT/ 8 PM ET. The medical school admissions process is a marathon, not a sprint. Launch your training for the next application cycle with this webinar so that you are ready to jump out of the gate come June. The webinar is free, but you do need to reserve your seat.

Our guest today is Tulane MD/MPH third year student Ajibike Lapite. She’s originally from NYC. She lived in Louisiana, and then attended Princeton University where she studied Molecular Biology and Global Health and Health Policy. She is now an M3 doing rotations with the USMLE Step 1 exam in her rearview mirror. Welcome, Ajibike!

Can you tell us about yourself? [2:13]

I was born in NYC, and grew up there for a few years until my dad switched residency programs (he’s also a physician) – that’s how my family ended up in Monroe, LA. My family is Nigerian, and like a lot of Nigerian families, stresses science. I considered a PhD, but in college I shadowed physicians and realized medicine was for me.

What other experiences led you to medicine? [3:30]

I was involved with the premed society at Princeton. I was the Social Chair – which gave me access to alumni. I got to see how they used medicine in their careers. I also became interested in public health.

Why are you doing the MD/MPH? How do you plan to combine these interests in your career? [4:28]

I’m not 100% sure how I’ll use both. But I want to get background on health systems and infrastructure, and global health. To make an impact, it has to be systemic. I’m really happy I chose the dual degree.

Why did you choose Tulane? [5:25]

In part, I wanted to be closer to home. I have younger siblings and wanted to be nearby for important events in their lives.

Also, because I was interested in the MD/MPH, there are a limited number of programs. Tulane has a 4-year dual degree program, so I could do the dual program without extra time.

What do you like about Tulane? [6:09]

Tulane prides itself on community service. Being in New Orleans, you see how important that is, especially after Katrina.

Anything you would improve? [6:50]

It’s extremely relaxed. I know that’s a weird thing to complain about! But I’m a little type-A and it took a while to get used to – that emails seemed last minute, etc.

What has surprised you about med school? [8:30]

One thing people say all the time is the volume of information is insane – like drinking from a fire hose. I thought, “Princeton was hard.” But med school is really hard. It’s not just the material or the volume, but the pace – you have to motivate yourself to study, which is different from college. Staying motivated and reminding yourself it’s important can be challenging, but it’s important.

It takes almost all of first year to get used to it.

What do you like about rotations? [11:10]

I’ve really enjoyed them! I’ve done internal med, family med, surgery (which I didn’t like at all), and now I’m doing pediatrics.

You see the source of your motivation every day. The only thing that’s frustrating is that you have a big exam afterward, and keeping up a study schedule on top of the work schedule is tough. M3 year is more satisfying in terms of learning style than ...

Before I introduce today’s guest, I would like to invite you to a webinar I’m presenting on December 7. Whether you are planning to apply this application cycle or aiming for next year or later, this webinar, 5 Ways to Make B-schools Love You, will give you critical strategies to strengthen your profile and application. Reserve your spot today.

Today’s guest is Melissa Rapp, Director of Admissions – Full Time MBA & MSMS Programs at the Kellogg School of Management. Melissa has an extensive background in communications and admissions. She joined Kellogg in 2012 as Assistant Director of PT MBA admissions. She became the Director of Admissions for the PT MBA in 2015 and in January 2016 became the Director of Admissions for the FT MBA AND MSMS programs. Welcome!

Kellogg has two required essays, an optional information section, and now also requires a video. What do you learn from the video that you don’t learn from the written essays? [2:12]

We introduced the video about three years ago for a couple of reasons. The first was to introduce the adcom to all of our applicants from all over the world – it provides the opportunity for facetime, and is more unfiltered. We also wanted to expose our future students to new technologies. We’ve heard from our career management team that more companies are using videos in their recruitment process (Goldman Sachs is an example), so we wanted to expose our future students to the technology they can expect in that screening/interview process.

Increasingly, we’re also seeing videos used as a screening and application tool a lot in the tech industry – for example, LinkedIn, Amazon, Apple.

Do you have advice for applicants sitting down to work on their Kellogg applications? [3:55]

The most important thing is for students to be reflective about why they want an MBA, why it’s important for their career. Be genuine.

The first essay asks why they want an MBA, why now, and why Kellogg. The second surrounds leadership and teamwork – are they a good fit for the team-based environment at Kellogg? Think carefully about experiences that demonstrate those qualities.

Given that focus on post-MBA goals, is employ-ability part of the admissions assessment? [5:13]

It’s important that students can handle the rigor of Kellogg and are a fit for the culture here. Those things ladder up to people who have great outcomes when they leave.

Kellogg accepts roughly one out of five applicants. How do you winnow it down? [6:10]

We strive to interview all our applicants – we’re committed to a holistic review. We want to come out with a diverse class: gender, ethnicity, industry, function. We’re looking for high achieving, high impact, low ego leaders who are eager to be a part of our student driven culture.

What does “student driven” mean at Kellogg? [7:25]

There isn’t much that happens here that students aren’t involved in. One example is Day at Kellogg, a program for admitted students that provides an opportunity for our students to help impact the admissions process.

Students also bring speakers to campus, organize events, etc.

What is your advice for applicants planning ahead to apply next fall? [8:30]

I covered the importance of showing fit in Episode 162 “Focus on Fit,” the second most popular show of 2016 and the most popular show of the second half of 2016. But there is a second focus you need if you want to apply successfully to highly competitive programs. You need a corollary to fit. You need distinctiveness. That’s what today’s show is about.

If you only fit in or only stand out, you are unlikely to get accepted at programs that reject 80, 90 or 95% of applicants. [1:20]

Why do you need to stand out? [1:45]

Schools value diversity. Diversity creates a richer learning environment for those lucky enough to get in. If you are applying to any elite professional or academic graduate program, once you show you can do the work and that you fit in, you will be competing against others who have made the same case and who show they can stand out – that they can bring a distinctive element to a school’s class and community.

Programs with 2-3% acceptance rate are not looking just to see who has the highest numbers – they want students who will contribute. Contribution takes different forms as you’ll see later in this episode.

Many admissions professionals consider themselves enrollment managers. [2:50]

They are creating a class and they view the class as a mosaic. Every individual student is an individual stone in this mosaic. And just like each stone in a mosaic has a distinctive hue and role to play in creating the whole picture, so does each individual accepted to a program.

Stand out by showing you have something distinctive to contribute. I’ll show you the ways to do that: [3: 37]

1. Excel – do better than your peers. I realize that this is easy to say and hard to do.  But it is one effective way to stand out. Actually I wanted to say “an outstanding way,” but thought better of it.

2. Have distinctive experiences. Maybe you have professional experience, community service, involvement in the arts, sports, religious organizations, or political activism that is unusual in your field. And if you showed leadership, teamwork, initiative, innovative spirit. creativity, and impact, you probably have something distinctive to write about.

Please note that being a member of an organization or committee is less impressive than assuming responsibility and taking a leadership role where the buck from something stops with you. Highlight the latter, not the former.

You don’t have to climb Mt. Everest or swim the English Channel, although if you did those activities, they would certainly be distinctive. The key thing is that you have a distinctive experience where you took an active role.

3. Draw on your unusual personal experience or background (something you are as opposed to something you have done). Have you overcome disadvantage? Do you come from a part of the world or an ethnic background that is under-represented at your target program? How does that aspect of our life enrich you? Change you?

4. Show your distinctive perspective, whether it is personal or professional (what and how you think as opposed to what you’ve done or are). Two caveats here: 1) Don’t preach. 2) If you have a distinctive perspective, where have you put it into action? What difference does it make?

Over the last ten years we have seen a lot more options in graduate management education. I’ve highlighted some on previous shows like the recent shows we have had on the CEMS Masters in International Management or UVA’s MS in Global Commerce or MIT’s MS in Business Analytics.

Today it’s my pleasure to have back on Admissions Straight Talk Jamie Wright, Senior Recruitment and Admissions Manager at London Business School – Early Career Programs. She has been working with London Business School’s early career programs since 2009 and became the Senior Recruitment and Admissions Manager in 2012. She’s joining us today to discuss the expanding and evolving menu of early career options at London Business School. Welcome!

Can you give us an overview of the three early career options? [2:10]

Our flagship program is the Masters in Management (MiM), which is a one-year general management degree focusing on the fundamentals of business (finance, economics, marketing, entrepreneurship, leadership, etc), all with an aim to help students pursue careers in business. Most grads go into finance or consulting, but we’re seeing more of an interest in industry roles (tech, entrepreneurship, healthcare, etc).

The Global Masters in Management is a two-year degree. Students spend the first year in London, then go to Shanghai and spend the second year at Fudan University. At the end of the program, they receive two degrees: a MiM from LBS and a masters in International Business from Fudan University. Students gain insight into how business is done in both Europe and Asia.

The newest program is the Masters in Finance Analytics (MFA). It’s a specialist degree within the early career program, intended for students from heavily quantitative backgrounds (math, tech, finance, engineering).

Is knowledge of Chinese required for the Global MiM? [4:39]

It’s not required. We’re seeing people with various ranges of skills in Mandarin (some have studied abroad). We do offer language courses through the program, so it’s a great way for students to develop their skills together.

What is the difference between the MiM and an MBA? [5:50]

On average at LBS, MBA students have five to six years of work experience, which they are expected to bring into the classroom. Most early career students have internship experience, but not that same exposure to the business world.

Both programs address business fundamentals (the MBA program in the first of two years).

If I’m a potential applicant, how do I know when I’m better off going for the MiM or the MBA? [7:40]

It’s a very personal decision. Some companies and industries prefer MBAs, and it can be difficult to gauge at the early career stage if you’ll need an MBA someday in order to advance in your career.

If you have a dream job right out of college and you see the potential for promotion, it might be worth pursuing that and then going for the MBA later. But if you don’t quite know the direction you want, and you want to explore the recruiting landscape, or if you need to develop your business acumen or your

Ten years ago, the AAMC looked with alarm at the increasing and aging U.S. population and the aging physician workforce, and called for an increase in medical school enrollment of 30% by 2015.

At least partially in response to that call to action, approximately seven years ago Hofstra University and North Shore-LIJ Health System established the first ever allopathic medical school in Nassau County and the first new medical school in the NYC metro area in more than 35 years.

Since then Hofstra Northwell Medical has graduated two classes and received full accreditation. To tell us more about this young, innovative medical school, our guest today is Dr. Rona Woldenberg, Associate Dean for Admissions at Hofstra Medical. Dr. Woldenberg earned her MD at the University of Pennsylvania. She is board certified in diagnostic radiology and neuroradiology. In addition to her duties as Associate Dean for Admissions, she is also an Associate Professor at Hofstra Northwell School of Medicine. Welcome!

What is the first thing to know about Hofstra Northwell Medical? [1:55]

We’re one of the newer medical schools; we’re recruiting our seventh  class, and just graduated our second class. We were one of the schools created to address a projected physician shortage. But through our health system, we had been educating medical students in their third and fourth year of clinical studies since the 70s.

We’re educating physicians for 2020 and beyond.

What does “educating physicians for 2020“ mean in terms of your approach to physician training? [4:05]

First of all, medicine is really a team game now. When I went to med school, it was really doctor, nurse, and a few ancillary staff. Now medicine is all about a team approach to patient care, and is very patient-centered.

We’ve taken on that team approach right from the start: the first 9 weeks of med school is EMT training. Students learn to function in a team – it gives them a concept of teamwork and puts the focus on the patient right away, since they encounter patients in their homes, in the street, etc.

The curriculum is all case-based learning, so all systems-based knowledge is patient based. So for example the Krebs cycle is learned about in the patient who has diabetes – we bring the science into the patient.

To summarize: team approach; group learning; introducing that concept early on in the first 9 weeks; case-based learning focused on patients.

What does the case method mean in the med school context? [6:20]

Students get two cases each Monday. They learn the facts at home, and come together to work through and solve the cases as the week progresses (with a facilitator to guide the small group discussions). There are framing sessions as the week progresses, as well.

When you call Hofstra a “millennial medical school,” is this what you mean? [7:50]

This is exactly what we’re talking about: patient centered, working with team members to achieve best patient outcomes.

Can you describe the clinical exposure students receive in their first 100 weeks (i.e the first two years)? [8:45]

The student encounters five preceptors (family practitioner or internist; pediatrician; psychiatrist; ob-gyn; surgeon). The students work one-on-one with each of those preceptors. We have 21 (soon to be 22) hospitals in our health system, and we pull preceptors from our system.

Students get direct clinical experience at least four hours every week. (Not shadowing!!) They work hands-on, directly with physicians.

And what is the advanced clinical experience also known as the s...

Globalization is a force to be reckoned with in business, and is having a significant impact on graduate management education, with most b-schools developing their international offerings. But only INSEAD considers itself the business school for the world. Today’s guest is Virginie Fougea, Director of Admissions at INSEAD. She’s worked there since 1996, and became Associate Director of Admissions in 2012. She just became Director. Welcome!

Can you give us an overview of INSEAD’s full-time MBA program? [2:05]

INSEAD was founded in 1957, with the first class starting in 1959, in Fontainbleau. They wanted to offer an MBA program in Europe – it was very forward looking. From the beginning, the founders wanted it to be international, independent, diverse, entrepreneurial, and close to business. It started as a 1-year program.

In 2000, we opened our Asia campus in Singapore. And in 2010, we opened a campus in Abu Dhabi. We were ranked #1 in the FT this year.

INSEAD considers itself a “business school for the world” – what does that mean for students? [4:05]

There are about 80 nationalities represented in the classroom. We provide a rich learning experience from the entire world.

There are 500 students in the starting class: 300 students in Fontainbleau and 200 in Singapore.

We have over 24,000 alumni in 174 countries – most countries in the world. And in 47 countries, we have over 100 alumni.

Can you study at multiple campuses during your 1 year program? [6:05]

Yes!

We also have partnerships with Wharton in the US and Tsinghua in China.

Do you have tips for applicants considering this global program? [7:00]

Think about where they want to go – where do they want to work 5, 10, 20 years after INSEAD? We offer a lot of options to match people’s interests/profiles.

Should applicants show international experience? [8:20]

They should show open-mindedness and an interest in other cultures. There will be many cultures in the classroom.

We believe that global leaders need multicultural, international exposure.

Applicants don’t need to have traveled the world already – but they should at least have international interest.

How can you fit the full MBA curriculum into a 1-year intensive program? [9:40]

A 1½- or 2-year program usually includes an internship. Our students gain a lot of problem solving skills fast – we want to instill skills in our students.

Students collaborate with each other to get the most out of opportunities.

The pace of the program is similar to the pace of the professional world. You have to set priorities, just like in your professional/personal life.

43% of the class of 2015 was placed in consulting jobs. To what do you attribute this success in placing consultants? [12:09]

We talk to consulting firms about what they’re looking for – adaptability (skills, geography, language), people who have an idea of finance and strategy, etc – and our grads are really a perfect fit. About 29% of our applicants come from consulting pre-MBA, and we send 43% of our grads to consulting positions. We send about another 40% to the corporate sector, and about 15% to finance positions.

At some point, over half of INSEAD grads will start their own company. What does INSEAD offer aspiring entrepreneurs? [13:55]

Entrepreneurship is our biggest area of electiv...

This is our first podcast dedicated to the osteopathic student experience. Today’s guest is Ashley Roxanne Peterson. She’s currently a 2nd year DO student. As an undergrad, she attended UNC Charlotte, where she majored in Anthropology and minored in Sociology. She’s now in her second year at the Georgia campus of the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Welcome, Ashley Roxanne!

Can you give us some background on your path to medicine? [1:35]

When I started at UNC Charlotte, I originally wanted to do something else, but through taking classes and volunteering I discovered that I loved medicine and helping other people in their journeys. Through shadowing, I realized medicine was the right path. I went straight to med school with no gap year.

Which experiences helped you see that medicine was right for you? [2:40]

Shadowing physicians – seeing how they interact with patients, how they use science. I saw that medicine was the marriage between science, different cultures, lifelong learning, and being a leader.

How did you fit science classes into your curriculum, given your social science major? [3:30]

I came in with some credit from high school, which was helpful.

I also took a heavy course load – at least 18 credits every semester (most people take 15).

At what point did you decide on medicine? [4:48]

Sophomore year. At one point I considered majoring in Chemistry, so I’d already taken some pre-reqs for med school, which helped.

Is your background in the social sciences helpful to you as a future physician? [5:37]

Yes! I feel I’ve been exposed to more social aspects of medicine – cultural competency (which is increasingly emphasized in medical training!), and how social determinants affect health.

I took a course on medical anthropology as an undergrad, where I studied how learned behaviors affect your health. I think that really helps me as a future doctor – understanding how my patients live every day: how culture and medicine meet.

Understanding people’s beliefs is also important, since people’s religious and cultural beliefs affect medical care, compliance, etc.

Did you apply only to DO programs, or to both DO and MD? [8:45]

I applied to both. I applied to schools whose missions fit my goals: a primary care perspective. In other words, whether they have a lot of primary care grads, put a strong emphasis on primary care rotations, etc.

Why did you choose the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine? [9:50]

The biggest thing then was the location – I have a lot of family in GA and AL, and lived here for a while when I was growing up (my father served in the military and was stationed nearby). It’s also not too far away from North Carolina. And one of my mentors went there for med school, and spoke really highly of it. And I chose it because of the mission – the emphasis on primary care.

What were the things your mentor told you? [11:25]

She highlighted the osteopathic integration in the program; the diversity of the class (background, age, experience, etc). She also said she was happy here, and that was meaningful to me.

What was the hardest part of the application process? [12:45]

The hardest part was realizing my weaknesses.

You want to be a top applicant with stellar MCAT, GPA, extracurriculars,

The most popular post of the last six months is “Focus on Fit,” and since Linda is taking a brief vacation, we are reposting it for this week. In this show, she shares the four not-so-easy steps to make sure you show you belong at your target programs.

Whether you heard it the first time or not, this podcast is a must-listen if you want to show fit in your application and get accepted!

You can listen to it here. To review the show notes, please see Focus on Fit.

Related Links:

• Get Accepted to Harvard Business School

• Get Accepted to Columbia Business School

• Get Accepted to Stanford Graduate School of Business

• Secondary Application Strategies for Essays That Score Interviews

• Multiple Mini-Interview Webinar

• Are You Asleep When You Apply?

• Business School Selectivity Index

• Law School Selectivity Index

Related Shows:

• Sophie Davis School Of Biomedical Education

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• Attn Med Applicants: A Class Is Matriculated Every Single Year

• 3 Ways Temple Can Help You Become an MD

• How to Think Like A Dean of Admissions

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Tags: Admissions Consulting, Admissions Straight Talk, College Admissions, Grad School Admissions, Law School Admissions,