AAMC’s President and CEO Addresses Top Challenges Facing Academic Medicine

Last weekend, the President and CEO of the American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC), David Skorton, MD, addressed over 4,200 leaders in academic medicine on the “four things that keep me up at night.” These include structural and cultural inequities in academic medicine, deteriorating student wellbeing, external threats to the doctor-patient relationship, and a lack of mutual respect. On these challenges, Skorton called for collective action. “The health and mental well-being of our communities and our colleagues are at stake. Through meaningful, open, and honest dialogue, partnership, and collective action, we can and will tackle these problems in service of the greater public good,” he said. Below, we summarize his concerns. 

Diversity, equity, and inclusion and anti-racism. Within academic medicine, Skorton noted that this work includes diversifying medical schools’ student populations, faculty, and staff. It also goes further. Each academic institution should review their culture to ensure that the climate supports every student with the “opportunity to excel.” 

Student well-being and mental health. Skorton notes that medical students show higher rates of depression and risk of suicide than their age-matched peer populations, and that the comparisons have worsened in recent years. He encouraged academic leaders to prioritize the mental health and wellbeing of students by understanding their existing stressors (financial, academic, and social) and reducing them, as possible. Medical school faculty and staff should also ensure that they make mental health and wellbeing resources accessible to students. 

External threats to the doctor-patient relationship. While not speaking to abortion rights specifically, Skorton spoke to the more generalized threat that legislation and/or judicial opinions can impose on a physician’s ability to exercise clinical judgment in partnership with the patient. He encouraged leaders to “stand firm” against such external action in order to protect the doctor-patient relationship.

Humility and mutual respect. While Skorton emphatically noted that physicians are duty-bound to speak out against racism or hate speech, he called for greater mutual respect. He noted that leaders in academic medicine should show humility in their interactions and discourse, and called for physicians to model using an open-mind and empathy in encounters with those holding differing viewpoints or conflicting ideologies. 

How to Approach University of Chicago Booth’s Essays

The admissions team at University of Chicago Booth is, of course, interested in your abilities in leadership, critical thinking, and collaboration. But they also want to see you, a person with a unique path, who may even be able to embrace and celebrate your own “weirdness.”

The Booth application requires all candidates to submit responses to two short-answer questions, which will provide you the best opportunity to demonstrate your unique qualities through stories from your past, and give the admissions committee a view into the person and professional behind the experiences and accomplishments listed on your resume. They also provide an optional third question.

Short Answer Question 1: How will a Booth MBA help you achieve your immediate and long-term post-MBA career goals? (Minimum 250 words, no maximum.)

Although the question asks about your future goals and how a Booth MBA will help you achieve them, you will want to anchor this essay in the past. Because what you’ve already done, learned, and achieved is far more important than what you haven’t—what you say you want to do in the future. In order to fully satisfy the objective of this prompt, go into your backstory and detail the key moments that influenced you and the formation of your goals. Your resume will provide an overview of your professional path to date, but this is your chance to provide a deep dive into your most pivotal experiences. Once the reader has taken this trip to your past, your proposed path forward and why Booth is the perfect fit, will make much more sense. 

The Writing Process

Begin with a brainstorm. Do not underestimate the importance of this step. Document your experiences, positive and negative, that prompted an evolution in your perspective—you know, those “ah-ha!” moments without which you would be a different student, professional, and/or person today. Then, record those experiences that will show the reader your abilities in innovation (critical/creative thinking and problem solving), leadership, and teamwork, as well as those experiences that reinforced your interest in an MBA program. Capture as many details as possible, paying particular attention to what you thought, felt, said, and did in each situation. Your focus should be on adult experiences (from the start of college and later), though stories from your youth could comprise up to 20 percent of this brainstorm.

During your brainstorm, don’t limit yourself by worrying about a cohesive narrative, the quality of your writing, or the number/length of your stories. Simply focus on collecting those situations that helped to guide your path to this point and impacted your decision to apply to the Chicago Booth MBA program.

Craft an outline. Select the key stories you will use to anchor your narratives. Remember that you’ll use your essays to go deep into experiences that demonstrate the traits you want to emphasize. Think about your application as a whole and use your responses to strategically cover any qualities that may not be adequately addressed in other aspects of your application. 

Write. Keep in mind that you must be showing, not telling the reader who you are. Invite the reader into your life by highlighting sensory details, such as smells and sounds, and don’t hesitate to engage your readers emotionally. Sprinkle in humor (if you feel comfortable doing so) or hit a poignant note. In contrast to your resume which provides a general overview of your experiences, your essay responses should go deep into a story that allows the reader to come to their own conclusions about some of your character traits and abilities. Highlight how you’ve struggled, triumphed, learned, and how these experiences have developed you into the person you are now.  

Review. Revise. Repeat. Confirm your word count and read your essay aloud noting where you stumble. Make revisions as necessary. Once it reads smoothly, set it down and walk away for at least 24 hours. Then re-read it. Is it you? Is it personal and authentic? You want the reader to see the real person behind the applicant number. While we caution against “oversharing,” being appropriately vulnerable will create connection.  

Short Answer Question 2: An MBA is as much about personal growth as it is about professional development. In addition to sharing your experience and goals in terms of career, we’d like to learn more about you outside of the office. Use this opportunity to tell us something about who you are… (Minimum 250 words, no maximum.)

It’s time to showcase some personality! Booth is looking for students who will be collaborative and form lasting personal and professional relationships, so exposing a bit of vulnerability to show a quirky or sentimental side is a good idea, especially because your other essay delved deeply into your professional and/or academic interests and abilities. You may also want to showcase how you will contribute to the diversity of the class and what you will offer your classmates. Are you a passionate environmentalist who spends weekends leading group hikes? Do you organize food drives with a local non-profit? Do you spend all of your vacation time traveling to a specific region of the world? Are you an avid guitar player? Show the admissions committee who you are and what you are most passionate about. 

The following question is optional: Is there any unclear information in your application that needs further explanation? (Maximum 300 words.)

This essay is for additional context around a weak spot in your application. Did you get a C in calculus? Or withdraw from your courses your sophomore year to help a family member? Do you feel that your lackluster GMAT score isn’t indicative of your abilities?

If you are going to address a low grade in an analytical course or a low GMAT score, don’t make excuses. Spend the majority of your word count demonstrating your ability to excel in rigorous academic or professional environments using specific examples. Provide information on similar classes in which you achieved excellent grades or give details about a professional pursuit that resulted in success.

If you are speaking to a more sensitive situation, perhaps a big mistake or legal issue that impacted your GPA, spend approximately 20 percent of your essay addressing the situation. Then use the remaining 80 percent on the actions you took to improve and what happened as a result. Do not make excuses, simply address the situation, placing the emphasis on what you learned. Remember, everyone makes mistakes, taking accountability and moving forward demonstrates maturity.

Related: 

Harvard Law Students Demand Coursework and Clinics in Reproductive Rights and Justice

Last month, the Harvard Law School Alliance for Reproductive Justice, a student group, staged a sit-in on campus to shine a light on the school’s lack of movement on reproductive justice offerings. They noted that students have been demanding coursework in reproductive rights for a decade, but that the school has done little more than to provide a few elective courses with visiting professors. In a demand letter submitted by the group to the administration last week, the students requested a reproductive justice clinic, at least one dedicated faculty member, and a curriculum. In their letter, the students also called out existing offerings at other law programs, which include:

  • New York University Law School Reproductive Justice Clinic and Advanced Reproductive Justice Clinic: This clinic trains students in the legal knowledge and skill required to secure fundamental liberty, justice, and equality for people across their reproductive lives, with a particular focus on pregnancy and birth. For current clinic work, students participate in advocacy and litigation around legal or policy frameworks restricting the autonomy and undermining the equality of pregnant, parenting, and birthing women; or punishing persons by virtue of their reproductive status.

  • Yale University Reproductive Rights and Justice Project: Students gain firsthand experience in fast-paced litigation and timely and strategic advocacy in a highly contested area of the law, confronting knotty procedural problems as well as substantive constitutional law questions in an area where established doctrine is under siege. Students advocate for reproductive health care providers and their patients, learning the vital importance of client confidentiality, as well as the impact of political movement strategy and management of press and public messaging.

  • Columbia University Center for Gender and Sexuality Law: This center's mission is to formulate new approaches to complex issues facing gender and sexual justice movements. The Center is the base for many research projects and initiatives focused on issues of gender, sexuality, reproductive rights, bodily autonomy, and gender identity and expression in law, policy, and professional practice.

  • Cornell University Gender Justice Clinic: This clinic engages in local, national, and global efforts to address gender-based violence and discrimination. Issues covered include intimate partner violence, sexual assault, gender-based violence in institutional settings, discrimination at work and in the criminal legal system, discrimination based on gender identity or sexual orientation, and reproductive rights, among others. 

  • University of California – Berkeley Center on Reproductive Rights and Justice: This center is a multidisciplinary research center dedicated to issues of reproduction and designed to support law and policy solutions by bridging the academic-advocate divide.

  • UCLA Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy: This center is committed to training the reproductive law and policy leaders of tomorrow, while empowering the advocates and scholars of today. By creating a trusted hub on the West Coast for local and national convenings, the Center engages academics, community members, and practitioners to reimagine the landscape of reproductive health, law, and policy.

Biden Administration Works to Improve Nutrition and Health Education in Medical School Curriculums

Despite the prevalence of obesity and related diseases, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, cancer, and stroke in the US, there is little training on nutrition in American medical schools. 

Dr. Stephen Devries, a cardiologist and co-lead of the Nutrition Education Working Group at the Harvard School of Public Health, spoke about this gap in the medical curriculum on a recent AMA podcast. “Nutrition just hasn't been recognized as a priority in medical education, despite the fact that dietary changes are well recognized to be the leading risk factor for premature death and disability in the United States. On average, medical students spend about 19 hours over the course of four years in medical school on nutrition. But much of that is related to biochemistry and topics that are important but not directly clinically relevant for patients. So in the absence of meaningful nutrition education, what are medical students to think when they graduate, other than the fact that nutrition must not be very important in their training because they only learned about drugs and procedures?” he said. 

Due to the public health concern and the costs related to poor nutrition, government representatives are starting to speak up. From the House of Representatives to the White House, there are calls for action to improve education and outreach on nutrition and diet-related disease from medical schools to elementary schools. Earlier this year, following a congressional briefing with the Nutrition Education Working Group at the Harvard School of Public Health, Congressman McGovern (D, MA) and Congressman Burgess (R, TX) passed a bipartisan resolution in the House calling for “medical schools, residency, and fellowship programs to provide nutrition education that demonstrates the connection between diet and disease.” The resolution will encourage federal agencies to prioritize funding for medical “programs that incorporate substantive training in nutrition and diet sufficient for physicians and health professionals to meaningfully incorporate nutrition interventions and dietary referrals into medical practice.” 

In late September, the White House hosted its first Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health in over 50 years where they unveiled a formal strategy to promote better nutrition and improve food security. The administration announced $8 billion in commitments, underneath five pillars, involving stakeholders from non-profits to universities to tech start-ups. The second pillar, “Integrate Nutrition and Health,” is most heavily geared towards medical students and physicians. Some of the named actions include:

  • A commitment by the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (ACLM) to make an in-kind donation of $24.1 million to improve nutrition training for medical professionals

  • A first-ever Medical Education Summit on Nutrition in Practice organized by the AAMC and ACGME to convene 150 medical education leaders

  • A signed pledge by many leading health organizations (including the National Medical Association and National Hispanic Medical Association) to take action on strengthening health professionals’ nutrition education

  • A commitment by The University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville to make a $4.8 million in-kind donation to assist in the implementation of its Lifestyle Medicine curriculum for interested medical schools and to provide content guidance to the National Board of Medical Examiners

Online Law School Classes Boost Student Participation

According to data from the Law School Survey of Student Engagement, online law school classes promote a broader range of participation from students than in-person classes, particularly among women. 

The Success with Online Education report collected responses from 13,000 law students at 70 schools, and sought to understand the success of online learning in the law school environment. Online learning remains relevant due to the ABA’s recent expansion of online learning options for accredited law schools. Students may now take up to one-third of their credit hours for graduation online. Among the survey respondents, 50 percent had taken at least one online class. 

A quarter of students taking mostly in-person classes reported participating “very often” in class, and 31 percent of students taking mostly online classes said the same. But among women, 30 percent of those taking mostly online law school classes participated in class “very often” compared to 23 percent of those taking mostly in-person classes. 

In addition to increased participation, a comparison of responses between mostly in-person and mostly-online students showed similar proportions who agreed that they are learning to think critically and analytically, are developing legal research skills, and are honing their writing abilities. Similar numbers also reported developing positive relationships with faculty and staff. 

Related: Female Law School Students Speak Up More in Small Classes and when Professors Use Systematic Methods for Student Participation

Waitlisted? Here’s What to Expect.

News you have been waitlisted at one of the medical schools on your list is disappointing. But the game isn’t over. 

You can influence your chance of being selected from the waitlist of any school by continuing to showcase your interest in their program through update letters, visits, and meetings with professors, admissions directors, and current students. You can also craft a letter of intent to your first-choice program. This letter will be similar in content to an update letter, but it will include the key yield protection statement: “Medical School X is my first choice and, if admitted, I would attend.” If you can make such a statement, it will be impactful. Keep in mind, however, that you should only make this promise to one school. For other programs, you may send an update letter that expresses your continued interest without this level of commitment.

As the waiting game continues, keep in mind that the number of students who are admitted each year from the waitlist depends on the school. Competitive programs typically admit fewer because they have a higher yield (acceptances resulting from initial admissions offers). But other schools will admit up to half of the class from the waitlist. It is also important to note that many schools do not use “rolling waitlists.” Instead, they often delay until they have received final admissions decisions from prospective students on April 30th. After this date, you will only be able to hold a seat at one medical school. While you can withdraw from a school if you are accepted from the waitlist into a preferred school up to the point of matriculation, you cannot hold a seat at both schools. Familiarize yourself with school-specific waitlist policies via the AAMC website. 

Good luck!    

Related: The Medical School Application: Sending an Update Letter

A Dearth of Data: Business Schools Seek to Address Social Impact—But How Are They Measuring Their Progress?

The Financial Times recently shined a light on the relative lack of meaningful data on business schools’ social impact initiatives. Without such data, they report, it is difficult for the schools to analyze, benchmark, and improve upon their efforts. Still, the Times acknowledges signs of progress in current aggregated reporting efforts. These may help move the business school community towards a more focused discussion on the outcomes of sustainability and social impact initiatives. 

Two organizations, Responsible Research for Business and Management (RRBM) and the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) have taken a lead in calling upon business schools to update their curriculums to equip future leaders to take on climate change, inequality, and other societal and environmental challenges, reports the Times. The RRBM and others, including the Financial Times itself, have recently led competitions that highlight strong individual examples of ESG courses and research. The PMRE requests regular reports from members, although the responses are not easily measurable or comparable between schools. 

In September 2022, the Association to Advance the Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), a nonprofit organization that provides trustworthy accreditation, published its first outcomes-based report on business schools’ initiatives mapped to the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals for 2030. The AACSB noted that just 74 schools, predominantly in the U.S. and the U.K., submitted reports, and few went beyond describing activities. Most submitted initiatives focused on quality education, decent work and economic growth, and gender equality. The AACSB described the report to the Financial Times by saying, “Schools are quite immature in their societal impact plans. Most…are just figuring out the areas in which they want to concentrate their efforts.” They continued, “[They] need to progress beyond a list of service activities.”

In contrast to other countries, in the U.K. all universities must provide case studies and research papers to demonstrate their actions and impact to the Research Excellence Framework (REF), reports the Times. The REF then provides an external assessment of each submission and assigns a grade to the universities based on the “originality, significance, and [rigor]” of the initiatives. However, critics of the REF note that the time and resources used for reporting social impact might be better spent on pursuing social impact. 

As we blogged in January, environmental and social conscientiousness is indeed becoming a bigger part of business school curriculums. This is necessary in part because corporations themselves value these things more and more, and students must understand the modern work culture. "Profit, equity, sustainability, and inclusion must co-exist," Federico Frattini, dean at MIP Politecnico di Milano told BusinessBecause. New reports bolster the importance of schools addressing social issues on campus too, lowering their carbon footprint and caring for students' mental health. 

BusinessBecause interviewed 17 business school deans about the key trends they expected would influence business education in 2022. The deans noted that, among other trends, climate change and social issues will play an important role in the future of MBA education. Specifically, they pointed to the need for schools to update their curriculums to better reflect businesses’ expanding views on creating value and the importance of considering their own operational sustainability.

Related:  MBA Curriculums Expand to Include Content in Environmental and Social Conscientiousness

In-House Lawyers who Attended Top-Ranked Schools Report Higher Compensation

It is well-documented that attending a top law school provides the best return on investment. A recent survey confirmed in-house lawyers who attended a top 20 law program reported earnings significantly higher than those who did not. 

The study, sponsored by the Association of Corporate Counsel and consulting firm Empsight, collected over 2,000 responses from in-house legal professionals. Respondents with a law degree from a U.S. News top 20-ranked school garnered 25 percent more in base salary and 41 percent more in total cash compensation, compared to other lawyers. 

The survey also called out other factors associated with higher compensation: 

  • Legal specialty: Base salaries for lawyers in IP/patent litigation, entertainment, and licensing/royalty practices tended to land above the median salary, whereas those in insurance, government relations, and risk management typically fell below the median. 

  • Firm experience: Lawyers who gained experience at firms prior to moving in-house earned salaries 20 percent higher than those who went directly in-house after graduation (a less common career trajectory). Less than one-fifth of respondents, 17 percent, went directly to in-house work after law school. 

  • Years of work experience: Lawyers who graduated prior to 2000 have salaries that are 45 percent higher and total cash compensation that is 86 percent higher than those lawyers who graduated after 2010.

The survey also collected data on non-compensation benefits. The majority of respondents, 79 percent, reported that their employer offers remote work options. Just under two-thirds, 64 percent, take advantage of the offering by working a hybrid schedule. Twenty-four percent reported that they work fully remote. 

Study Finds Perseverance the Most Common Theme of the AMCAS W&A Entries of Highly Successful Medical Students

Earlier this year, researchers Joseph M. Maciuba, Yating Teng, Matthew Pflipsen, Mary A. Andrews, and Steven J. Durning published findings from early research into the qualitative differences in the AMCAS applications of medical students identified as high performing (via entry into a medical school honor society) and low performing (referred for administrative action). The study’s scope included 61 students who graduated from the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, MD from 2017 to 2019. 

The researchers found significant differences in the AMCAS Work and Activities submissions: 

  • Among the high performing students, seven themes emerged frequently in their Work and Activities submissions: teamwork, altruism, success in a practiced activity, wisdom, passion, entrepreneurship, and perseverance. High performers, on average, referenced the themes 7.86 times per application as compared to the low performers’ 3.81 times. 

  • High performers also showcased a more diverse array of themes within their applications than low performers. On average high performers referenced 4.5 different themes in their applications, while low performers averaged 2.5.

  • The most notable differences between high and low performers occurred in use of “perseverance.” Fifty five percent of high performers referenced the trait (19 percent of low performers). 

  • 73 percent of high performers included a reference to their success in a practiced activity (38 percent of low performers). 

  • Among low performing students, common themes emerged as well: Witnessing teamwork (taking a passive versus an active role in a team environment), describing a future event (event that has not yet occurred), and embellishing an achievement.

Preliminary Reports Show Significant Increases for MBA Class of 2022 Starting Salaries

According to Fortune Education, preliminary MBA employment outcome reports for the class of 2022 show that MBA graduates’ salaries “are surging.”

New York University (Stern) announced earlier this week that median base salaries increased to $170,000, up $15,000 from last year. Average total compensation for 2022 graduates, including signing bonuses (median $35,000), averaged $196,143. This is an 8 percent uptick from 2021. Similarly, University of Virginia (Darden) reported last month that 2022 graduates obtained a record-breaking median base salary of $175,000, an increase of 21 percent from 2021. And, at Vanderbilt University, Owen graduates garnered a median base salary of $135,000, an all-time high, coupled with a median signing bonus of $30,000, which equated to a 12 percent increase from 2021.

Representatives from MBA Career Management offices noted that 2022 graduates reaped the benefits of a tight and competitive labor market. “The fiercest competition in the labor market is for ‘top talent,’ and consulting firms are competing for this top talent not just between themselves, but also more broadly versus Silicon Valley, Wall Street, and traditional corporate America,” said Namaan Mian, Chief Operating Officer of Management Consulted, when interviewed previously by Fortune Education.

The Law School Application—Letters of Recommendation

Recommendation letters are not going to make or break your candidacy for law school—ninety-nine percent of the time, applicant’s rec letters are filled with glowing reviews of their academic abilities and potential. But, if done right, a letter of recommendation can reinforce and expand upon key themes presented in other application components like your resume, personal statement, and essays.

Here are some actions to take to make sure this happens:

Select the Best Recommenders

Most schools require two letters of recommendation and will accept up to three or four. At least two should come from academic sources (professor, teacher’s assistant, advisor) who can speak to your ability to thrive in a challenging academic environment. You may also submit letters of recommendation from nonacademic sources, for example a coach, professional manager, or volunteer coordinator. Of course, you will want to choose those you know will sing your praises, but also who can back up their claims (with specific examples) on your abilities in the areas of intellectual curiosity, problem solving, critical thinking, integrity, and perseverance. Don’t ask your family friend who is a Senator or Judge to submit a recommendation letter because you think his/her title will impress admissions committees. Save requests to contacts with significant influence at a specific school (say, they're donors or members of the board) for letters of support, which they can send separately from your application to the Dean of the law school. 

Take a Strategic Viewpoint

If your personal statement is anchored in a story that shows the reader your critical thinking and persuasion skills on a significant project, one of your recommenders could provide additional insight on this project in their letter. And remember, if one of your letters of recommendation further emphasizes your academic potential, the second should focus on other qualities, such as your ability to thrive in a collaborative environment. Furthermore, if you see gaps in your application, you may want to speak with one of your recommenders who could address them in his or her letter and share how you’ve grown from specific challenges. 

Set Your Recommenders Up for Success

Give your recommenders enough time to meet your request. We suggest at least eight weeks prior to submission. It is also helpful to give each one a short portfolio of information, which should include:

  • School names and submission date(s)

  • Method for recommendation submission (e.g., LSAC’s Credential Assembly Service)

  • Background information (academic, professional) and your future career goals

  • Illustrative anecdotes from your work with this recommender, with particular emphasis on the following topics: analytical/critical thinking, writing/presentation skills, leadership, teamwork, personal characteristics you want to highlight (e.g., determination, intellectual curiosity), and your ability to grow from feedback.

Frequently Asked Questions

I’m not very close with any of my professors, but have a great relationship with the volunteer manager at the legal aid clinic. Can I use her as a reference?

Law schools specifically look for recommendation letters to provide insight into a candidate’s ability to thrive in a challenging academic environment. You will need to have at least one reference from an academic source. Even if you aren’t close, providing specific examples from class discussions and course work will allow the professor to speak directly to the quality of your work.

Check with the law school, but most will accept supplemental recommendations. So you can also request a recommendation letter from your volunteer manager.

I’ve been out of school and working for a while now. Can I have my current supervisor write one of my recommendation letters?

Yes, if you have been out of school and working for a few years, you may ask your supervisor to complete a letter of recommendation. But you still must ensure you have one academic reference.  

The law school requires two recommendations, but will accept up to four. Do I need to submit four?

You do not need to submit the maximum number. Carefully consider the perspective and anecdotes that each of your potential recommenders could share. Pare down the number if you feel any of your recommenders will provide overlapping views of your abilities. However, if you have four strong relationships and each recommender can provide a unique view of your skills and character, then feel free to submit them all.

What if my recommender asks me, the applicant, to write the letter?

If a potential recommender puts you in a tough spot and only agrees to submit a letter that you’ve written, it is best to move on. It is often obvious to schools when an applicant has crafted the copy because of similarities in voice to other application components.

The Medical School Application: Sending an Update Letter

The autumn is often a waiting game for medical school applicants. You will wait for interview invitations and admissions decisions. It can be excruciating! But there’s more to do. You can begin writing your update letters. If you haven’t heard anything from a school for six weeks (after submitting your application or interviewing) or you’ve been waitlisted, you will want to send them a letter that includes recent career or academic updates since submitting your application, reiterates your interest in the program with specifics, and makes the yield protection statement where applicable (if admitted, I will attend). Below, we have provided additional guidelines:

  • Confirm that the school accepts update letters, as some admissions committees do not. Once confirmed, address your letter to the Dean of Admissions or the Admissions Director, rather than “To Whom It May Concern.” 

  • Ensure that your updates are significant enough to merit communication. Examples of sound updates include: 

    • Publications: You contributed to a research article accepted for publication, authored an article published in a regional or national magazine or journal, or were interviewed for a published article

    • Professional Development: You presented at a national/regional conference, played a major role in organizing/executing the conference, just finished a successful project, or received a promotion with additional responsibility at work in a related field

    • Awards/Recognition: You received a prestigious award (e.g., Phi Beta Kappa), fellowship (Fulbright), or other honor 

    • Extracurricular Achievements: You took on a leadership position in a club/organization, significantly expanded the scale or reach of a club/organization, started a club/organization (not previously noted in your application), or a club/organization you lead received an honor or award

    • Significant positive changes to your GPA

  • In crafting your letter, take the opportunity to tie your updates back to the school’s offerings as another way to reiterate your interest in the program. If you presented a research paper at a national conference, you may mention, by name, the school’s professors who are engaging in similar research efforts. 

  • Keep the tone formal and the writing crisp. Your update letters deserve the same detailed review as your personal statement and secondary essays. 

  • The length should run no longer than a page. 

  • Do not send more than two letters per admissions cycle. 

Dean of Yale Law School Responds to Judge’s Ban on Hiring Yale Law Clerks

By way of a public letter to alumni of Yale Law, Dean Heather Gerken defended the school’s approach to free speech and the “free and unfettered exchange of ideas” on campus. She outlined recent actions the school has taken to promote free speech, which, she notes, while readily apparent to students, faculty, and staff, they should also be known to the broader community. The institutional actions listed include the hiring of a new Dean of Students to support student discourse, disagreement, and resolution, revisions to the disciplinary code that prohibit secret recordings that discourage free expression, as well as the provision of free speech resources and a physical space to encourage students to meet and discuss disagreements face-to-face.

The letter comes on the heels of—but does not specifically reference—Judge James Ho’s (5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals) public announcement that he will no longer hire clerks from Yale law due to its “cancel culture.” In his declaration, he called out incidents in which conservative speakers were disrupted when speaking at Yale. "Cancellations and disruptions seem to occur with special frequency," he said. Judge Ho also called on other judges to join him. Currently, U.S. Circuit Judge Elizabeth Branch is the only one to do so publicly. According to Reuters, over a half-dozen Republican-appointed federal district and appeals court judges have voiced that they have either no plans to join the boycott or that they actively oppose it. Ho’s fellow 5th Circuit Judge Jerry Smith, a Reagan appointee and Yale Alumni, responded to the ban in writing. “I regularly (and recently) have had Yale clerks who, consistently, are extremely talented and performed spectacularly in upholding the rule of law and supporting toleration for diverse viewpoints,” he wrote. “Instead of boycotting, I hope to receive even more Yale applications from qualified men and women, not only this year but in future years.”

Trends in Business School: Happiness, Purpose, and Self-Awareness

MIT Sloan recently announced that it will offer their MBA students a course on happiness. It’s good timing. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2022 report found that only 21 percent of employees feel engaged at work and, while just a third of employees reported to be thriving, a full 19 percent said they were “miserable.” MIT’s course, titled Pursuing Happiness and a Meaningful Life, will explore research findings on happiness and purpose, and provide students with self-assessment surveys, introspective weekly exercises, and guest speakers. Robert Pozen, MIT Sloan Senior Lecturer, says it will teach students to, “enhance their own happiness by changing their behaviors.”

MIT is the latest among prestigious MBA programs to offer courses focused on soft skills and emotional-awareness. Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal published a profile of Harvard’s in-demand course offering titled Leadership and Happiness. The course, pitched and designed by Arthur Brooks, an HBS Professor, social scientist, and writer behind The Atlantic’s “How to Build a Life” series, contends that happiness is a byproduct of decision-making, not of chance. That good leaders must know how to cultivate happiness for themselves and their teams. His ideas resonate. Although the class has doubled in size from its original 72 students over the past two years, it still has a waiting list.  

At Stanford’s Graduate School of Business, students can take Organizational Behavior 374: Interpersonal Dynamics, better known as “touchy feely.” The course focuses on self-awareness as a key to effective and productive communications and relationships. Yale’s School of Management offers students a course titled Mastering Influence and Persuasion, which provides them with the means to more authentically persuade and motivate others. University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School allows students to apply for a six-week program, “P3: Purpose Passion and Principles,” in which participants take a structured approach to considering and defining what success and happiness looks like for them. 

The wide-spread existence of these courses within the most prestigious MBA programs is a clear indication that the business world’s valuation of soft skills and emotional intelligence is increasing. There is real value in learning to find purpose and joy, and helping others to find it too.

Survey Finds Majority of Summer Associates Felt Law Firm Cared About their Mental Health

Summer associates surveyed by American Lawyer expressed positive feedback on their work experiences in the 2022 Summer Associates Satisfaction Survey. Over 5,400 associates responded to the survey, which asked questions on a range of topics including partner access and mentorship, associate interactions, interest in the work, and firms’ alignment with their own goals and self-image. Based on average scores across the categories, American Lawyer ranked the 2022 best firms for summer associates:

1. Blank Rome, 5.0 (tie)

1. Duane Morris, 5.0 (tie)

3. Kramer Levin, 4.993

4. Paul Hastings, 4.980

5. O’Melveny & Myers, 4.997

6. Stroock, 4.956

7. Allen & Overy, 4.944

8. Day Pitney, 4.935

9. Proskauer Rose, 4.929

10. Akin Gump, 4.915

The majority of the law firms received high ratings and nearly 90 percent of third year respondents said that they would accept an offer from their summer firm for full-time employment. Just under three-quarters of respondents said that they expected to have a career at their law firm. The survey also asked summer associates to rank their concerns. Alongside work-life balance, mental health and emotional well-being emerged as key priorities for respondents. Many summer associates felt that their firms adequately addressed those concerns and almost three-quarters said that they felt that their firm genuinely cared about their mental health. 

AMCAS Work & Activities Section: Hobbies

Hobbies. They are not a make or break component of the medical school (and later, residency) application, but they are an opportunity to provide the admissions committee with a view of the person beyond the test scores. Hobbies are also an effective way to demonstrate how you will add to the diversity of the incoming class, showcase qualities you will need as a medical student/physician, and/or provide insight into how you may relieve stress during medical school. 

Within the AMCAS application, hobbies belong in the Work & Activities section under the extracurriculars category. Applicants can provide up to four experiences under each category type, with a 700 character (with spaces) count, unless the experience is designated “most meaningful” (requires an additional 1,325 characters with spaces). 

Below are our guidelines for adding hobbies to your AMCAS application:

  • Be current. If you played the trumpet in the high school band, but haven’t picked it up since then, consider what hobbies are more relevant to your life now. What do you turn to for fun, and what do you see yourself doing for stress relief in medical school?

  • Be specific in your description. Provide a sense of how often, and how long you have been pursuing the hobby, as well as what the hobby entails. It’s great that you love to read, do yoga, and travel, but so do many others. In what unique ways have you engaged with your interests? Did you launch a monthly book club for discussing the NYT best sellers? Write book reviews for the school paper? Did you gain a yoga teaching certification or take part in a unique yoga retreat? Do you travel to particular destinations or participate in medical experiences abroad?

  • State how your hobby has impacted your personal growth. Did an experience within your hobby contribute to a change in your perspective or influence your decision to apply to medical school? What attributes have you developed through your hobby that will benefit you as a medical student and physician (resilience, effective communication and collaboration skills, empathy, the ability to thrive in a diverse environment, etc.)? 

  • When possible, provide an experience or milestone that differentiates your involvement in the hobby. Many people play an instrument, but fewer start a quartet or play in the university band. Many people enjoy running or fitness, fewer run the NY marathon to support a favorite cause/organization or start a running club. Providing the specific way(s) that you’ve engaged with your hobby will demonstrate to the admissions committee what you may offer to your incoming class. 

MBA Interviews: When the Interview Requires More than an Interview

To get to know applicants better, MBA programs such as Harvard and MIT will ask interview participants to submit additional materials.

Harvard Business School—Post-Interview Reflections

Within 24 hours of the interview, candidates are required to submit a written reflection through Harvard Business School’s online application system. The submission is not a formal essay. Rather, it should be written similarly to a post-meeting summary one would write to a colleague or supervisor at work.

Shortly after instituting the Post-Interview Reflection, Harvard’s Admissions Blog described the exercise as a real-world practicum, as well as a chance to get students’ opinions regarding their interviews. Professionals routinely need to send emails summarizing meetings and offering assessments. Their ability to do this well is critical for workplace success.

Your Strategy: Be genuine and think critically about the interview. What were the highlights? What could have gone better? Were there remaining “gaps” after your interview, and if so, how do you wish you could have addressed those? The post-interview reflection is an opportunity for you to demonstrate real-world critical thinking and writing skills, as well as offer any information that you feel you did not adequately explain in the interview. In other words, Harvard is not expecting your most polished product, but rather a thoughtful assessment of your interview coupled with a compelling communication. As such, this piece should not be crafted prior to the interview, adapted from another essay, or used as additional resume space. You may, however, want to take some time immediately after your interview to make notes on areas that you’ll want to include in your submission. Then give yourself a bit of reflection time prior to producing your final product. You’ll want to make the most of this final opportunity to show the admissions committee who you are and how you think.

MIT Sloan—Pre-Interview Essay Submission

Those invited to interview at Sloan will be asked to answer the following questions:

  • The mission of the MIT Sloan School of Management is to develop principled, innovative leaders who improve the world and to generate ideas that advance management practice. We believe that a commitment to diversity, inclusion, equity, and well-being is a key component of both principled leadership and sound management practice. In 250 words or less, please describe a time when you contributed toward making a work environment or organization more welcoming, inclusive, and diverse.

  • We are interested in learning more about how you use data to make decisions and analyze results. Please select one of the following prompts to respond to:

    • Please select an existing data visualization and in 250 words or less explain why it matters to you. The data visualization should be uploaded as a PDF. Examples may come from current events, a business analysis, or personal research.

    • In 250 words or less, please describe a recent data driven decision you had to make, and include one slide presenting your analysis. The slide may include a data visualization example and should present data used in a professional context. Your slide must be uploaded as a PDF.

The interview process is about getting to know applicants more thoroughly. The first question provides you with an opportunity to not only demonstrate that your values match those of MIT Sloan, but that you are willing to proactively work to put those values into action during your business school tenure. The second question allows you to submit proof of your analytical skills and showcase your comfort working with data and using it to drive decision-making.

Your Strategy: Your response to the first question should examine how you will demonstrate leadership in creating a diverse environment and promoting wellbeing among your peers. Focus on a specific example from your past professional experience to demonstrate your ability to cultivate a positive culture. Use the SAR (Situation, Action, Response) model. Spend about 20 percent of your response on the situation, and the remaining 80 percent on the actions you took and what resulted/what you learned. And be sure to clearly link the perspective you gained from this experience to what you hope to accomplish at Sloan.

In the second question, you will want to demonstrate your comfort with using data to tell a story, draw conclusions, and make decisions. If you opt to share a data visualization, clearly state the reasoning for the data visualization, the story or hypothesis you are looking to understand via the data, and why it is meaningful to you. You may want to visit the MIT Data Visualization project page to see current research projects, and gather inspiration. If you opt to submit a professional power point slide showing a data-based decision, ensure that your slide is simple, easy to read, and clearly describes your analysis, assumptions, and conclusions. Then, use your supplemental essay to expand upon each of these areas including the sources of the data, why you analyzed it in the way that you did (and, if applicable, why you did not use other analysis methods), the basis for your assumptions, and how you came to the conclusion that you did (including additional data that would help you to confirm your decision).

Non-Profit Pilots Innovative Law School Funding Model to Alleviate Student Debt Burdens and Promote Career Choice for Graduates

Stanford Law School recently announced it would begin piloting a new tuition financing method for law school students in partnership with a 501(c)(3) nonprofit called The Flywheel Fund for Career Choice. In an effort to alleviate student debt concerns and allow for students to have greater choice in seeking out legal careers, the Flywheel fund has created safeguards around repayments for both lower and higher-income earners.

The pilot program, set to commence this fall, will include up to 20 Fellows who are current students at Stanford Law and have not yet committed to employment post-graduation. The Fellows will receive up to $170,000 up-front to pay for law school tuition and fees, which will be funded by philanthropic donations to the organization. Repayment will begin when the Fellows start their chosen employment post-graduation.

The terms of the pilot program include the following:

  • A 12-year payment term, with a maximum of 18 years.

  • Fellows will not pay anything until they have started employment (no payments will be requested during any period of unemployment post-graduation).

  • Repayment is tied to income, with special consideration given to both low and high-income earners. For Fellows earning less than $100,000 per year, Stanford has agreed to cover all payments. For those earning between $100,000 and $115,000, Stanford will cover partial payments. A cap is also in place for those who opt to take high-income positions, ensuring that payments are never out-sized. The cap is placed at $225,000 per year/$18,750 per month, and Fellows will not be asked to pay a percentage of their income beyond that level.

  • Fellows will never need to repay more than they would have if the Fellow had taken out a Grad PLUS Loan at the rate in effect at the time they entered into the pilot program.

  • Fellows will also take part in ongoing research on the various factors, including debt, that go into shaping their career selection decisions.

 “We believe this new model for financing a legal education can alleviate financial pressure, encourage students to pursue alternative careers more quickly after graduation, improve our LRAP [Loan Repayment Assistance Program] program, and have a ‘greater good effect’ in terms of helping to finance the legal education of future students at Stanford Law School,” said Frank Brucato, Senior Associate Dean for Administration and the CFO at Stanford Law School.

Are you a Premedical Student with a Nonscience Major? Check Out These Schools.

All premedical students are required to take prerequisites in life sciences before applying to medical school. But the humanities also offer valuable preparation for prospective physicians. In the fall of 2020, about 12 percent of the entering students in the U.S. News top 10 programs in research (11.9 percent) and primary care (11.4 percent) came from a social sciences/humanities background. And, in the fall of 2021, ten schools boasted entering classes with a significant proportion of social sciences/humanities undergraduates (see chart below). If you are a premedical student in the social sciences/humanities, you may want to consider one of these schools.  

Additionally, in your applications and interviews to other schools, be sure to articulate the value of your social sciences/humanities background. A study from 2014 found that while medical students with undergraduate degrees in the humanities maintain consistent academic performance with those from science majors, they also tended to show “…better empathy and communication skills, and a more patient-centered outlook.” Similarly, Rishi Goyal, MD, PhD, and Director of the Medicine, Literature, and Society major at Columbia University, argues that college is an ideal time for exposure to the humanities. “It’s a great time to capture students, to help them develop different parts of the brain,” he said. “It’s more difficult to do that in medical school. Students are already so busy, and it’s harder to convince them at that point that memorizing the Krebs cycle is not as important as holding a patient’s hand or talking to them in their same language.” 

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The Wharton Interview: Excel in the Team Based Discussion

An invitation to Wharton’s Team Based Discussion can be as nerve-wracking as it is exciting. But with preparation and the proper mind-set, it can be an excellent opportunity to demonstrate your ability to think on your feet, respond under pressure, and collaborate with others. 

To ace the interview, consider the following tips:

1. Prepare thoroughly. After you receive the scenario, create a proposal and know it inside and out. Practice your presentation, out loud. Present in front of a mirror, or to a live-audience of friends. Be sure that you feel confident about your ability to present your idea in a relaxed way, showcasing how you thought through the exercise. While you don’t want to memorize your presentation word-for-word or sound overly rehearsed, you do want to be able to describe your idea in an articulate way. 

2. Anticipate questions and think through possible responses. Consider what questions may arise from your teammates about your proposal and write out responses to them. The more people you can share your idea with and collect questions from, the better. After working with an idea for a long period, it will become harder and harder to poke holes in it. Let your friends, co-workers, or parents help you with this process.

To begin, ask yourself the following questions:

  • What are the benefits of your proposal for students? For Wharton?

  • What are the risks of your proposal?

  • What assumptions are you making?

3. Be able to articulate the “why?” behind all the components of your proposal, as well as the “why not?” for other potential possibilities. This is important because (most likely) your proposal will not be selected. However, if you can find other students who have a similar “why?” as the foundation of their ideas, it will help you to collaborate with them and contribute to the discussion.

4. Be a team player. We cannot stress this enough. While there is an aspect of competition to the interview, the Team Based Discussion is an opportunity to show your collaborative nature. Don’t try to “win” by pressuring the group to select your proposal or taking up all of the air time. Instead, demonstrate how you will fit into the MBA community by being inclusive and showing curiosity, humility, and adaptability. Articulate your thought process clearly, be positive and encouraging of others’ ideas, continue to move the group forward by summarizing ideas, and question respectfully. Remember that the point of the exercise is to drive towards a strong team outcome; the better the team interacts together, the better all of you will look individually.

5. Set yourself up for a professional virtual appearance, as Wharton will once again facilitate the Team Based Discussion using a virtual format.

  • Understand the platform that you’ll be using; if it’s new to you, download the platform and practice with a friend or family member to gain some comfort prior to your interview. 

  • Opt for a clean, uncluttered background or select a plain virtual background (forget the beach, mountains, or the Golden Gate bridge). 

  • Place a light in front of you so that your face is clearly visible on the screen (backlighting will result in shadows). You may want to take a test run with a friend or family member around the same time of day as your interview to confirm that they are able to see you clearly (this will ensure any natural light in the room isn’t casting shadows).

  • If possible, ask others in your home to log out of any high-bandwidth activities during the time of your interview, or consider hardwiring your computer into the internet. You may also want to perform an internet speed test (you can find via google).

6. Day-of tips: 

  • Wear a business suit.

  • Make your notes available, but do not read them directly or rely on them for more than a memory trigger. It helps to use a larger font, with key words bolded so that you can find your reference quickly.

  • Pace yourself when speaking. (When nerves hit, people tend to speak more quickly.) Use hand gestures to emphasize your points, and make eye contact as much as possible with the other attendees. 

  • Stay calm in the event of a tough question. Collect yourself by taking a deep breath or a sip of water. Don’t feel the need to launch into a response prior to gathering your thoughts.

  • As much as possible, relax and try to enjoy the experience. This will be representative of the dynamic you’ll live in for the next two years. Ensure it feels right to you.

Related blog: How to Approach Wharton’s Essays

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