Wharton Claims the Top Spot in Financial Times’ 2024 MBA Rankings

Over the weekend, the Financial Times published its 2024 MBA Rankings. The University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton school took the top spot and Columbia Business School tied with Bocconi for the third rank. While just two U.S.-based schools cracked the top five, fifteen U.S. programs placed within the top 25. 

A few notable findings include:

• Wharton’s top rank came as a result of its first-place finish in “research” and its strong performance in “weighted salary” (third, behind only Stanford GSB and Harvard). 

• Stanford GSB came in 23rd overall, but was ranked the highest for “alumni network,” “weighted salary,” and alumni assessment of “aims achieved.” The program also ranked second for “career progress.”

• Harvard Business School, ranked 11th overall, took the second spot for both “research” and “weighted salary,” and fifth for “career progress.”

• University of Georgia’s Terry came in 40th overall, but ranked first for “value for money.” 

The rankings also took into account measures such as gender and international diversity, school environmental policies, and employment data. Check out the full rankings and the rankings for the underlying metrics, here.

2024 Rank / School

1 University of Pennsylvania: Wharton 

2 Insead 

3 Columbia Business School 

3 SDA Bocconi School of Management

5 IESE Business School 

6 Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management

6 MIT: Sloan

8 London Business School 

9 Cornell University: Johnson

10 University of Chicago: Booth 

11 Harvard Business School

12 HEC Paris 

12 Dartmouth College: Tuck

14 Duke University's Fuqua School of Business

15 Yale School of Management

16 University of Virginia: Darden 

17 Esade Business School 

18 UCLA Anderson School of Management

19 University of California at Berkeley: Haas 

20 IE Business School 

21 New York University: Stern 

21 Ceibs

23 Stanford Graduate School of Business

24 Shanghai University of Finance and Economics: College of Business

25 ESCP Business School 

Thinking about an MBA Round Three Application? Sometimes it’s Alright.

As a rule, we do not recommend applying for your MBA in Round Three, but there are a few circumstances when it can be a sound choice for an applicant. 

• You have a competitive application. The third round is among the most competitive because there are fewer seats available. To gain admission, you must submit a strong application. Confirm that your GPA and test scores compare favorably to the school’s average ranges for admitted students. If you have doubts about your test scores or your work experience, or are concerned about getting strong recommendations in a quick time-frame, we recommend that you hold off until the next admissions season.

• You bring a unique value proposition. Admissions committees are looking for applicants who will bring diverse perspectives and experiences to the business school. Applicants who can showcase a unique point of view will stand out even in the competitive third round. Unsure? You might consider holding off on applying while you garner more professional and community experiences.

• You face a professional transition. Were you recently laid off? Did you just return from a military deployment or other overseas work experience? Shutter your startup? If you have a personal or professional reason for submitting an application in Round Three, rather than earlier, we recommend that you include this information in the optional essay space. Providing the admissions committee with an understanding of your timing will help you to build a stronger case for admission. 

• You don’t require merit-based support. If you don’t need financial support in the form of merit-based scholarships, Round Three is fine. Most programs won’t consider applicants for scholarships after the January deadlines.  

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: Linkage Programs

As we’ve mentioned in this blog series, some post-bacc programs and SMPs offer linkage programs. These allow students to skip their “glide year” between their post-bacc program or SMP and medical school, and matriculate into an affiliated med school the fall after their current program ends. Linkage students’ applications to affiliated schools essentially go to the top of the pile. 

Here’s the rub, though: You can only apply to one of the affiliated schools, and if admitted, you’re expected not to apply to more schools within that year and commit to attending the school that accepted you. So, you really only want to do linkage if you are dead set on a certain medical school. 

If this still sounds good to you: Linkage programs can be sweet back door entrances into a university's medical school (or an affiliated university's medical school), provided you do well in them. Students who absolutely nail their linkage SMP or post-bacc courses might automatically be offered conditional acceptance to their medical school if they meet certain criteria. Notice the words “conditional” and “certain” here, they’re doing a lot of work. Schools don’t like to say the word “guaranteed,” even if you rocked the house. 

We know of a non-client who completed his linkage SMP with the required GPA and thus earned his interview at his school’s medical program…but he was then waitlisted. He ended up getting in, but for a minute there, there was a real possibility that he was going to have to apply the following year. That wouldn’t have been the end of the world, though. Schools like to point out that “most” SMP graduates do get into medical school if not during their program, soon afterwards.

If this has spiked your curiosity, find out if your top school has a linkage program, what affiliates it has, and what unique benefits it offers. Here is a little info on just a few linkage programs we like:

• Bryn Mawr’s post-baccalaureate premedical program connects to one dental school and 16 medical schools, including the Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Boston University’s School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University’s School of Medicine, and the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. The school reports that the post-bacc program’s linkage option is quite popular—and successful. “Bryn Mawr has early acceptance arrangements with more medical schools than any other [post-bacc] program, and we have the longest-standing relationships with many of these consortial/linkage schools,” writes Glenn Cummings, Director of the Bryn Mawr Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program. As for the program overall, the school boasts that “over 98% [of students] are accepted to medical school.”

• University of Virginia's pre-med post-bacc graduates have a 95% acceptance rate to medical schools across the country. In addition to teaching the sciences, the program requires students to take a course on the U.S. healthcare system and facilitates volunteering and shadowing experiences. Their linkage program connects to George Washington University’s School of Medicine and Health Sciences and University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine.

• Columbia’s post-bacc premed program is housed in its School of General Studies and offers linkage to New York University’s Medical School, the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Weill Cornell’s Medical College, and eight other programs. If you want to find out more about their various linkage opportunities, Columbia regularly hosts online events.

• Tufts MBS program is a SMP that offers a MS in Biomedical Sciences—and linkage to Tufts School of Medicine’s MD Program. (That’s a lot of acronyms!) On average, 54 linkage applicants from the MBS program get an interview at Tufts each year. Thirty-seven of those students are typically accepted into the school of medicine. Says the school, “MBS students who apply to the School of Medicine's MD program get preferred consideration for interviews and will be carefully and holistically reviewed. This is regardless of if they meet the specific MBS Linkage criteria.” Linkage aside, according to Tufts, most of the MBS class can expect a leg up into medical school. They report an “80+% admit rate to medical school (vs. the 7% national average)” and a “60% interview rate at Tufts University’s School of Medicine for the MD program (vs. 10% from the general applicant pool).” MBS requires a thesis and “in lieu of a traditional thesis defense, MBS students must have their thesis formally approved by their mentor and identified readers,” according to the school. Students can complete the program in one year or two, if they want to extend their clinical work in the community or complete a lab-based thesis.

• Some DO programs offer linkage too. Barry University’s Master of Science in Biomedical Sciences is a non-thesis SMP meant to prepare students for medical or dental school or Biomedical Sciences PhD programs. You can earn acceptance into the program even if you don’t have all your premedical requirements yet. In the program, you might find yourself doing research work with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Institute of Health (NIH), or the Center for Disease Control (CDC). Successful completion guarantees an interview at Barry University’s School of Podiatric Medicine (POD) or an affiliate school, which are: the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine (PCOM), the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine (ICOM), and the Orlando College of Osteopathic Medicine (OCOM).

Related:

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: An Overview

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: Post-Baccalaureate Certification

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: Master’s Programs

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: Special Master’s Programs

Wondering When to Apply to Law School? New Research Confirms the Earlier the Better

Findings from an AccessLex study on law school admissions prove the old adage: If you’re early, you’re on time and, if you’re on time, you’re late. They found: 

Submission timing matters greatly. Students who submitted applications early, prior to the end of November, gained admission to law school at a rate of 40 percent. Those who submitted applications “on time,” prior to the beginning of February, gained admission at a rate of 24 percent. Late applicants, even with similar admissions profiles, were less likely than those who submitted early or on time to receive an offer. 

Kelsey Risman, a senior evaluation methodologist at the AccessLex Institute, spoke about the study results with the ABA Journal, emphasizing the impact that rolling admissions can have on applicants. “The deadline is not really the deadline. The deadline is just when they stop looking at things in a rolling admissions context. If you submit the day before the deadline, you might be fighting many people for one remaining slot,” she said. 

LSAT timing drives an applicant’s submission. The report also showed that a key contributor to overall application timing is LSAT timing. Of the prospective law students who took the test after January 1st, almost two-thirds, 63 percent, submitted their application late. Among those who completed the LSAT before January 1st, the percentage that submitted late decreased to 26 percent.

Sound application strategy is different from law school readiness. The study found no correlation between high LSAT scores and early application submissions. Those who submitted applications early were simply more likely to have demonstrated knowledge of application tactics, while those who submitted late pointed to “an incomplete or inaccurate understanding of sound application strategy.” 

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: Special Master’s Programs

Like an undergraduate post-bacc program, Special Master’s Programs (SMPs) are one or two-year programs (typically one-year) designed to help you prepare for medical school. 

SMPs are for people who completed the pre-medical curriculum...but maybe could have done better. We also know of SMP applicants who had fine grades but were bad test takers and had low MCAT scores. Attending a SMP can show commitment to studying medicine and serve as proof that you’re a capable student. 

These programs are also great for folks who simply feel underprepared for the medical school environment because SMPs offer a med school-esque experience. You might even take courses alongside medical students and be able to pick their brains. 

There’s more than just science courses to SMPs too: Morehouse has a one- and two-year Master of Science in Medical Sciences (MSMS), which offers an MCAT prep course (not every SMP does), scribe training, and courses covering systemic racism to prepare underrepresented students for what they may encounter in med school and the medical field. The MSMS programs also provide matriculants with both a faculty and student advisor. Notes Morehouse: “As of the 2021 graduating class, the Post-Baccalaureate and MSMS degree programs have graduated 160 students with 88% of them entering health professional schools (134 to MD, three to DO, two to PA, one to DDS, and one to PhD programs).”

You might choose your SMP because it is under the same metaphorical or actual roof as your ideal medical school. You’ll have the chance to do some strong on-campus networking, always a plus when interviewing. And SMP students’ med school applications get special notice at the school they’re attending.

Georgetown has the oldest one-year Master of Physiology program built for aspiring medical students in the country; 50% of its students are accepted to medical school while still in the program. And 85% of its graduates are accepted to medical school within two years of completing their Master's degree. SMP students at Georgetown have an advantage when applying to Georgetown School of Medicine (GUSOM). “Many SMP students apply to [GUSOM] while in the program,” notes the school. “The SMPs are pulled out of the general applicant pool and are reviewed separately. GUSOM highly values students from the program and typically interviews half of the class. Of those interviewed, typically half are offered acceptance.”

The AAMC has a detailed list of 311 post-baccalaureate and SMP programs, and if they have linkage affiliations, it notes the schools they’re affiliated with. You can search by school, state, and public or private institution.

Related:

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: An Overview

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: Post-Baccalaureate Certification

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: Master’s Programs

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: Linkage Programs

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: Master’s Programs

A Master's program, like one of Chemistry, Physiology, or Public Health, can bolster a weaker transcript. And because some Master’s programs involve research and a thesis, a strong performance shows your ability to thrive in an in-depth program. Of note, your Master's GPA counts separately from your undergraduate GPA. 

A client of ours pursued an MS in Human Nutrition. Her goal was to learn more about public health nutrition and use that experience to apply to medical school with not only a stronger transcript but deeper knowledge of an area of great interest to her.

If, like our client, you're eager to expand your knowledge of a specific area or better prepare for a competitive and collaborative environment, earning an advanced degree might be for you. A Master's program can also hook you up with a helpful mentor. 

As mentioned in the post-bacc blog, Princeton University offers a short list of post-bacc and master’s programs that highlights elite schools. 

Related:

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: An Overview

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: Post-Baccalaureate Certification

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: Special Master’s Programs

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: Post-Baccalaureate Certification

Post-bacc programs are one- and two-year certification programs (you don’t earn a degree, but rather a certificate) and are ideal for folks who are making a career change or need to enhance their academic record. 

If you have not satisfied the course requirements for medical school, you must earn a post-bacc. (Or at least do a self-styled post-bacc experience, in which you take the courses missing from your undergrad transcript.) Career changers typically lack multiple med school course requirements; the clients who we’ve worked with who have attended post-bacc programs were all career changers. Post-bacc programs are also an option for those who tanked some classes early on in their college career or re-applicants who have some room for academic improvement. A post-bacc counts towards your undergraduate GPA like a fifth year of college. Some post-bacc programs offer MCAT prep too.

There are post-bacc programs that are full-time or part-time and/or offer night classes, making it easy to continue to gain clinical experiences between now and when you matriculate to med school (a must no matter what else you do). 

You can get briefed on the details of many-a-post-bacc-program by using the AAMC's Postbaccalaureate Premedical Programs database. Some post-bacc programs (and Special Master’s Programs) offer linkage programs—we’ll explain that further in a bit—and this database will tell you what schools those programs are affiliated with, if any. Princeton University offers a shorter list of strong post-bacc and master’s programs that is tremendously helpful.

Related:

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: An Overview

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: Master’s Programs

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: Special Master’s Programs

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: Linkage Programs

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: An Overview

If you don’t think you’re ready to apply to medical school (or you’ve been rejected), you may be considering a post-baccalaureate certification, a Master’s program, or a Special Master’s Program (SMP). Maybe you’re even specifically looking for a post-bacc or SMP that offers a linkage program. Or you might not know why you’d pursue any of that! No matter the case, read on, because, in this blog series, we’ll explain the difference between these offerings and what you should think about before pursuing them. 

Before we get into the nitty-gritty, let us say this: If your undergrad GPA is strong, you have done enough science coursework, and you feel ready for medical school, you don't need to take on the added expense of another program before med school. They are cash- and time-consuming. 

Cost is just one of the reasons that these programs are known as “high risk, high reward.” They can give you an advantage in getting into medical school, especially at the one that houses the program. But not doing well in such a program is a devastating look. These programs are challenging, so if you’re not ready for med school, you might not be ready for them, either. 

The value of pursuing a post-bacc certification or an advanced degree before medical school is subjective. These programs offer a great way to mature and expand your knowledge—but they are definitely not a guarantee that you will get into a medical school.

Related:

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: Post-Baccalaureate Certification

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: Master’s Programs

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: Special Master’s Programs

Earning Another Degree or Certification Before Med School: Linkage Programs

You’ve Received Multiple MBA Acceptances. What’s Next?

Congratulations! You now find yourself in the enviable position of having been accepted to multiple MBA programs, and you have to make an important choice. Don’t forget to consider the factors below before committing. 

Post-graduate employment opportunities. Take a close look at what companies are actively recruiting and hiring at the MBA programs that you’re considering. You can review each school’s career placement report (most schools have made their 2023 report available) and/or engage with the school’s career services team to learn more. Alternatively, if you dream of starting your own company, consider how each program supports entrepreneurs with mentoring, networking, and access to financing. 

 Academics. Which schools can boast leading professors in your specific areas of interest? Whose research makes you most excited? Are students involved in faculty research? Confirm that the school offers concentrations or majors in areas that you want to study and/or consistently makes courses available in topics of interest to you (beware the visiting professor!).

Geography. Where you are located plays an important role in your ability to network. If you know where you want to live post-graduation, consider those programs that are within that city or state. Similarly, if your goal is to enter a particular industry, think about programs that are located near one of the industry’s hubs. 

Fit. Will you feel comfortable at the school? Does it meet your expectations in terms of collegiality? Alumni-base? Are there other students similar to you in terms of lifestyle and/or interests? You want to choose a program where you’ll not only be happy for the next two years, but where you’ll be able to build a life-long network. 

Cost. An MBA is a major investment so compare the cost, including cost of living. But, keep in mind, not all schools offer the same ROI. Attending a top-tier school, while necessitating a larger initial outlay, can prove to be a better return on your investment. Conversely, if you know you want to return to your company post-graduation, it may make sense to opt for a very good, but more reasonably priced MBA program.

Prelaw Priorities: Tips for the Early Birds

Sometimes we'll have clients reach out long before they begin applying to law school. And we love it! It gives us the opportunity to advise them on things they can do now that will save them time later, when things are more hectic. 

Journal Your Experiences. In addition to seeking out high quality and challenging academic, professional, and extracurricular experiences you’re interested in, you should keep a journal. It will make the brainstorming process a breeze. Log details while they're fresh in your mind. Did you have a meaningful conversation with a colleague while volunteering? Demonstrate leadership in an organization you’re involved with? Develop an imaginative solution on a team project? How did those interactions feel? What actions did you take, if any? Are there results to share? Pay particular attention to those experiences that prompted an evolution in your perspective and reinforced your interest in the study of law, as well as those that could show the reader your intellectual curiosity, integrity, and abilities in critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration.

Secure the Right Rec in a Timely Manner. If you're a college sophomore and have a current professor who you'd love to support your candidacy for law school, ask for the letter of recommendation right after the course ends. Your Credential Assembly Service (CAS) subscription remains active for five years and will deliver your reference letter when it's time to submit. Alternatively, if you would prefer to wait or if your ideal recommender says, "I'll write it the year you apply," stay in touch and keep them updated on your accomplishments. 

Start Preparing for the LSAT. A long lead-time before you apply to law school allows you to adjust your schedule to accommodate studying and taking the LSAT. Consider when you can most easily make the time for prep. Will it be during the summer while you participate in an internship or job? Or do you hope to plan for a lighter academic load the semester you plan to take the test? 

LSAT scores are valid for five years. If you can take the test earlier in your undergraduate career, you will have space to focus on strengthening other components of your application later. Additionally, taking the LSAT early leaves you with more options if your initial score doesn’t meet your expectations.

Non Pre-Med Courses That Impress Med Schools

Going beyond the expected premedical curriculum shows schools that broader learning is important to you. And, perhaps counterintuitively, that you are serious about medicine. We’ve compiled a number of courses below that will enhance your medical school application. 

• Calculus: Most schools want you to take a college-level math course—and this is a strong one to choose. (If you took a calculus course in high school, go for Calculus II in undergrad.) Calculus improves your comprehension of physics and chemistry. "Given that these subjects constitute a significant portion of the MCAT, it would benefit any pre-med student to learn calculus," according to an article published in Inquiro, The University of Alabama's Undergraduate Research Journal. 

• Statistics: If you strengthen your understanding of data, clinical studies will make much more sense. All prospective medical students would benefit from this course. If you hope to do research in medical school and beyond, definitely sign up for stats. 

• Behavioral Sciences: Anthropology, psychology, and sociology teach you about human beings. You'll learn to observe behaviors and extrapolate potential influences on them. That will help any student or physician in clinical work. 

• Languages: The number of languages spoken in a free clinic each day is mind-blowing. Having a second language on the tip of your tongue or your fingers—American Sign Language is great to know—will make you a more appealing med school candidate.

• Creative writing or other non-required English courses: Powerful writing will aid you during the application process. Becoming a better reader and writer improves your communication skills overall, as does giving feedback to, and receiving it from, classmates. 

• Other Liberal Arts courses: Whether you take art history, philosophy, or civics, it'll teach you to apply critical thinking to everything you do. And not for nothing, these courses are interesting.

Related:

Narrative Medicine Helps Physicians Gain Empathy, Make Connections, and Accept Difficult Experiences

Covid Crisis Brings Attention to the Need for Humanities in Medical School Curriculum

Your Pre-Med Priorities: How to Find Clinical Experiences for Your Gap Year(s)

If you've already graduated and are taking a gap year or two, you can find summer and full- and part-time pre-med research assistant gigs that require a BA on job boards like Indeed, Glassdoor, ZipRecruiter, etc. You can find work as a medical scribe in these regular job listings too. EMT programs are a pipeline to EMT jobs, ditto CNA programs to CNA jobs. The Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs maintains a list of accredited paramedic programs. (Just bear in mind that becoming a paramedic is more intense than becoming an EMT.) You can also try the following:

1. Use your club contacts. If you're a member of your college's pre-med club, you have access to some alumni and/or guest speakers who are interested in helping prospective doctors. If they can't let you shadow or work for them because of their schedule or because their specialty doesn't match up with your goals, they may recommend someone for you to contact or even give you an email intro. Go Greek too. If you're a member of a sorority or fraternity, your organization may be able to set you up with a physician alumnus who is eager to help. 

2. Call a volunteer center. Sometimes a cold call is the way to go. Free clinics tend to be understaffed and are therefore aching to be your clinical experience. But they might not have a job posting up online. Call or email them and ask if they need volunteers. For a hospital volunteer center, go with: "I'm a pre-med student at (or recent graduate from) ABC University. I'd love to speak with someone about shadowing a physician and a volunteer position. I'm most interested in X, but I'm open to all opportunities." Academic affiliated hospitals are probably your best bets. 

3. Connect with a local physician for shadowing. Reach out to someone who specializes in an area you're interested in and is hopefully close to campus. (It would be ideal to shadow them multiple times.) You can call or email their office or direct message them on LinkedIn. Younger doctors are going to be more familiar with shadowing because they did it. Ask your own doctor about shadowing too. Yep, you're really hitting up any doctor who you know. 

4. Sign up for virtual shadowing. There are third-party organizations who can hook you up with a virtual opportunity. If you have other, more substantial clinical experiences, this is just going to be a bonus to your application. Virtual shadowing should not be your sole clinical experience. (It can be your sole shadowing experience.) Virtual can be great if you want to follow a physician with a certain specialty and can't seem to lock down a local one. Just remember, virtual group sessions tend to be large, so you're not going to get one-on-one mentorship.

Related:

Your Pre-Med Priorities: Gain Clinical Experiences

Your Pre-Med Priorities: Clinical Experiences that Medical Schools Love

Your Pre-Med Priorities: Finding Clinical Experiences as an Undergraduate

Your Pre-Med Priorities: Finding Clinical Experiences as an Undergraduate

Your school is built to help you find clinical and research experiences, be it through fellowships abroad, local summer internships, or work in the university's research labs. And many prospective medical students use personal connections to land volunteering gigs and shadowing experiences, which is great. Get these however you can… 

But, what do you do if your school isn't automatically flooding you with information on opportunities and your aunt's fiancé isn’t the top brain surgeon in your city? Try this. 

1. Seek out your pre-health advisor and pre-med professors. “[An on-campus pre-health advisor] may be in the academic dean’s office, a science professor, or a counselor in the career services office,” says AAMC. If you don’t know of an advisor on your campus, you can find out if there is one through the National Association of Advisors for the Health Professions (NAAHP) database. No advisor on campus? Contact the NAAHP to find a volunteer advisor. Can your advisor or a pre-med professor help you connect with someone at your university's medical school so that you can help in a lab or at an affiliated hospital? Can they give you the contact info of a physician alumnus who you can shadow? Your advisor and professors are motivated to help you; they want your application to be a success. You just might have to be the one who makes the first move. 

2. Hit up your school's medical school and science department. Same DIY deal. If, for whatever reason, your pre-health advisor isn't available to you, go ahead and contact these folks yourself. It shows initiative and you could make valuable connections on the administrative teams. 

3. Check out the Student Doctor Network's Activity Finder. We're big fans of SDN, a nonprofit, and overall terrific resource. Their Activity Finder is a one-stop shop that will guide you towards NIH and other research opportunities, volunteering gigs with Americorps and more, virtual shadowing experiences, and clinical work by location and position. 

4. Check other online listings—for research opportunities, especially. Besides SDN, some university websites have databases of summer research opportunities at both their college and others. (You don't have to go to a certain school to work at it. We had a client who went to UConn do her summer research at Yale.) And definitely peruse AAMC's database of summer research opportunities for undergraduates. 

Related:

Your Pre-Med Priorities: Gain Clinical Experiences

Your Pre-Med Priorities: Clinical Experiences that Medical Schools Love

Your Pre-Med Priorities: How to Find Clinical Experiences for Your Gap Year(s)

Survey Shows Law School Admissions Officers Concerned About Impact of Recent Supreme Court Decision

A recent Kaplan survey found that a vast majority of law school admissions officers worry about the impact of last year’s Supreme Court affirmative action ban. In the survey, which included 85 law schools, admissions officers from 74 schools expressed concern. Forty-six of those schools’ administrators reported that they were “very concerned.” 

When asked about the impact of the ban on their own school, admissions officers were slightly more optimistic. Fifty of the schools expressed concern, with just 18 saying they were “very concerned.” 

The survey found that diversity is valued “almost universally” at law schools by both students and administrators. 

Amit Schlesinger, Executive Director of Legal and Government Programs at Kaplan, summarized the findings, while also alluding to the news that the applicant pool has increased in diversity this year. 

"In the wake of the Supreme Court ruling on affirmative action, Kaplan’s survey reveals that law schools are grappling with concerns about maintaining diverse student bodies, which is something many of them have long prioritized. However, the silver lining lies in the promising trend of an increasingly diverse applicant pool, which presents an opportunity to mitigate any challenges they may face in achieving a representative student body. It’s also important to note that while law schools can no longer explicitly use race as a factor, we know that some law schools have broadened their personal statement criteria, which may give admissions officers a deeper understanding of prospective students’ backgrounds, while also remaining within the bounds of the Court’s ruling,” Schlesinger said.

Your Pre-Med Priorities: Clinical Experiences that Medical Schools Love

There are a variety of clinical experiences that medical schools like to see in your W&A section because they inform your understanding of a medical career and the day-to-day work it entails.

They include: 

Medical Scribe: This is one of our favorite types of clinical experience. Working as a scribe allows you to see doctor patient interactions up close; you'll expand your medical vocabulary, read about things touched on in appointments (there's that intellectual curiosity!), and be a valuable part of a medical team. You can scribe at a top hospital or a CityMD clinic. What matters is exposure. Don't just describe the job to the school (they know what it is); share a meaningful story. 

EMT: You'll learn basic life support (BLS) and work in high-pressure scenarios. We had a client who worked as an EMT, and performed CPR on a patient, tag teaming with an experienced colleague so neither would become too fatigued and lag in compressions. Their persistence paid off; their patient survived. As an EMT, you'll have opportunities to help people and maybe even save lives. You can learn a lot from your colleagues, too. They've seen it all. 

Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA): This job will require a 4-to-16-week state-approved training program at a local community college or through the Red Cross. It will also involve major grunt work. You'll be responsible for multiple patients, taking their vitals, making sure they're moving, eating, and drinking water. You'll work closely with a medical team. You don't have to work full-time, and the hours are flexible. It's also a paid gig, and actual clinical jobs can look more impressive than volunteering. 

Free Clinic Volunteer: You'll interact with patients, doctors, and other medical professionals while providing care essential to your community. You'll meet patients with a variety of medical needs, and your entry about working at the free clinic should be about direct patient interaction. (You need at least one patient-interaction in your W&A.) Runner up for the best entry focus is a learning experience you had with a staff member. Showing yourself as a problem-solver is great. 

Research Jobs with Clinical Exposure: A twofer! You'll learn about one area of medicine in-depth and get to know patients. As a hospital research coordinator, one client became a passionate advocate for sickle cell disease (SCD) patients' health and dignity. Through surveying patients at every appointment, he developed strong bonds with them and their families. He learned about the daily trials of the disease and the stigma surrounding its most common treatment: opioids. Hospital staff often treated patients in extreme pain as drug-seekers. One 19-year-old told our client: "I just want to be respected." It affected our client deeply. His involvement in this clinical research project spurred him to join two studies investigating new SCD drug treatments. 

Shadowing: Shadowing is great introductory clinical exposure and prevalent among applicants—88% of Johns Hopkins' 2018 accepted students had shadowing experience. But to med schools, shadowing weighs less than volunteering at free clinics, doing clinical research, or working as a medical scribe, etc. That's because it typically doesn't lead to significant patient interactions. Still, shadowing someone in a field you're very interested in is informative, and you can have poignant experiences. 

Since patient interaction isn't common in these scenarios, you want to emphasize how else a shadowing experience helped you build clinical skills or expanded your knowledge of a medical specialty, preferably one you're interested in pursuing after medical school. If these things don't apply to your shadowing experience, here are some other things to consider: What did you see—and how did it affect you? Did a doctor calmly handle an angry patient? Did you seek more information on any condition a physician diagnosed in front of you? Did you learn something about a doctor's day-to-day life that you didn't know before? Unless you had one incredible experience or really need to fill up your W&A, grouping your shadowing experiences in one entry is a great idea.

Related:

Your Pre-Med Priorities: Gain Clinical Experiences

Your Pre-Med Priorities: Finding Clinical Experiences as an Undergraduate

Your Pre-Med Priorities: How to Find Clinical Experiences for Your Gap Year(s)

Your Pre-Med Priorities: Gain Clinical Experiences

The most important W&A entries are about your clinical experiences. Admissions committees need to know: Does this candidate have enough clinical experience to know what they're getting into? 

"You have to have clinical exposure," Keith D. Baker, PhD., assistant dean for admissions at Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine told US News & World Report. "That's sort of fundamental. That experience lets us and other medical schools know that you have a reasonable expectation of what lies ahead, and if you don't have that, we simply don't have confidence that you're a serious candidate.” 

Schools need to know that you have seen medical care in action and gained experience with patients. "If you're not interested in working with patients, we're not going to be interested in working with you," Paul White, assistant dean for admissions at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine said in a 2019 interview with Case Western Reserve University's All Access: Med School Admissions podcast. In another podcast interview, this one with Admissions Straight Talk, White reiterated that while applicants might assume Johns Hopkins would favor research roles above all other things, the school wants applicants with clinical exposure (though that can be through their research roles). "Most students who are successful in our admissions process have had significant clinical interaction, and that goes well beyond shadowing," he said. "I’m talking about actually interacting with patients…in a position where they interact on a regular basis." The numbers back him up. Matriculation data for the 2018 entering class at Johns Hopkins showed that 91% had medical or clinical volunteer experiences and 24% had some type of paid medical or clinical employment. 

Jorge A. Girotti, PhD, MHA, and associate dean at University of Illinois College of Medicine, believes that the impact that clinical experience has on an applicant's career goals is the most compelling part of their application. "I feel that it makes sense to postpone applications until you have accumulated at least one year of clinical experiences," he told the AAMC. Taking a gap year to acquire more clinical experience is not looked down upon by medical schools. 

Related:

Your Pre-Med Priorities: Clinical Experiences that Medical Schools Love

Your Pre-Med Priorities: Finding Clinical Experiences as an Undergraduate

Your Pre-Med Priorities: How to Find Clinical Experiences for Your Gap Year(s)

Five Writing Tips to Ensure Your MBA Application Essays are Memorable

We see it all the time. You have compiled excellent professional and extracurricular experiences and great personal anecdotes. But, for some reason, when you write your essays they are still coming across as …flat.  We’ve gathered up our top five writing tips below to help you incorporate personality and bring your essays to life. 

• Update your language. In your academic and/or professional life you likely use formal language in your written communications. However, we would caution you against being overly formal in your application writing. A personal essay is more like journalism than an academic paper. You're telling a story, and this one is about you. You want to sound intelligent and respectful but being a bit colloquial makes you appear confident and relaxed. As if to say, "This is who I am. This is who I plan to become." 

A great test is to read your writing aloud and see how easily it flows. Does your language feel natural or stilted? Does it sound like you? Make sure your writing style and language choices promote a connection between you and your reader.

• Structure your writing to grab the reader’s attention. One of the goals of your writing is to inform, but it is equally important to engage your reader and get them personally invested in your journey. You might even take a cue from an action movie. When the lights go down and the curtain goes up, you see the star in a sports car going full throttle. What you don’t know, immediately, is who or where they are. Narrative writing does not have to be linear. After leading with an attention-grabbing scene, the writer can go back and provide additional context and information on what’s missing. 

• Embrace emotion. Take a lesson from advertising. What do the best commercials have in common? They make you feel something—humor, pride, sorrow. As you write your essay responses, ensure that you use emotion to connect with your reader. And, this doesn’t necessarily mean recounting only sad or difficult times. Rather, it means bringing your reader along on the full spectrum of your experience as you share a story from your life. We rarely feel just one emotion at a time, embrace the complexity.

• Make it universal. Let the reader share in your learning by making it about more than yourself and your own experience. Look for the transcendence and let the admissions committee in on it. You didn’t just overcome a fear of public speaking, you learned to challenge yourself and break past self-constructed barriers. You didn’t just overcome cultural differences while working in a diverse group, you learned about seeking out commonalities with others. Whatever it is you learned, dig deep for that universal finding that will help to ensure your reader finishes your essay feeling they are better off for the experience. 

• Don’t forget the basics. One of our mottos is: "Clarity above all things." When you write an essay for your application, leave no room for misinterpretation. The reader needs to see the story how you do. Crisp and untangled writing is also best given character count limitations and how much you need to share.

How to Use Hobbies to Bolster Your Law School Application

Hobbies. They are not a make or break component of the law school application, but they are an opportunity to provide the admissions committee with a view of the person beyond the test scores and transcripts. 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 law student/lawyer, and/or provide insight into how you may relieve stress during law school. With many law schools’ increased focus on student mental health, this is particularly noteworthy. 

Within your application, hobbies might be embedded within your personal statement, included in your resume, or referenced as anecdotes in interview responses. While hobbies can be powerful for demonstrating some of your personal qualities, we recommend considering the following guidelines before you highlight them in your 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 law 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. Consider the unique ways you have 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 did you engage in a volunteer experience while 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 law school? What attributes have you developed through your hobby that will benefit you as a law student and lawyer (resilience, effective communication and collaboration skills, 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.

Let’s Talk MD-PhD. Here’s What You Need to Know Before You Apply.

MD-PhD programs are competitive. Let's get some numbers out of the way: The 122 U.S. programs that grant an MD-PhD dual degree had a collective 2,091 applicants and 750 matriculants in the 2021 cycle. That means approximately 36% of applicants got into a program. (There are also 13 Canadian schools and the NIH MD-PhD Partnership Program to consider.)

Who should be interested in an MD-PhD?

If you're passionate about research but also want to work with patients in a clinical setting, the physician-scientist path might be right for you. A strong applicant should have a research background already. "Most MD-PhD candidates earn their PhD in biomedical laboratory disciplines such as cell biology, biochemistry, genetics, immunology, pharmacology, physiology, neuroscience, and biomedical engineering," according to the AAMC. But there are some programs that allow you to pursue non-laboratory interests as well (epidemiology, healthcare policy, etc.).

How can I improve my odds of acceptance?

There are fantastic MD-PhD-focused summer research programs for undergraduates that will amp up your resume and Work and Activities entries. The AAMC provides a helpful list of such programs. 

If you're an underrepresented applicant, The Gateways to the Laboratory Program of the Tri-Institutional MD-PhD Program focuses on helping underrepresented students prepare for MD-PhD programs. That program is open to freshman and sophomores only, but Tri-I offers other research opportunity programs for undergrads further along in their studies.

Wait, it's HOW long?!

On average, an MD-PhD program lasts eight years. Schools have different ways of covering both bases, but you might attend medical school classes for two years and then switch gears to a PhD program, and then post-thesis switch back to an MD-focus and do clinical rounds.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) MD-PhD Partnership Training Program provides an accelerated track for recent college graduates, current medical students, and NIH Graduate Partnerships Program (GPP) students that can be completed in approximately four years.

Can I apply to both MD and MD-PhD programs simultaneously?

Yes. And it's a good idea since MD-PhD programs are so competitive. You can always apply to an MD-PhD program again after you have a year of medical school under your belt. The first year of an MD-PhD program is basically the same thing. If you're rejected by one school's MD-PhD program, they'll still consider you for their med school.

When should I apply?

At the same time as you would (or will) apply to MD programs. Ideally, you would have your application in decent shape by April. AMCAS opens in May for a sneak peek at the application requirements (you should already be familiar with those). You can submit your application in June. Your program will start the following year sometime between June and August.

Who quits MD-PhD programs?

A 2020 study on MD-PhD dropouts found that students who left programs either lost a passion for research, felt isolated or had a "lack of social integration" during training, had poor experiences with PhD-advisement, or had "unforeseen obstacles to completing PhD research requirements, such as loss of funding." A separate study found that a lot of post-docs suffer from imposter syndrome, which is the inability to believe one’s success is deserved. We know this information is disheartening, but it's good to know before you walk in, the reasons why you might consider walking out. Preparing yourself for these possibilities could prevent your early exit from a program.

You’ve Submitted Your MBA Application… Now What?

Congratulations! You’ve submitted your MBA application and completed required video essays. But your work is not quite complete. You still have the opportunity to make a positive impression on the admissions committee by demonstrating your enthusiasm for the program. 

Consider the following ways to showcase your interest.

• Follow the school on social media and set up Google alerts with key words so you can easily stay informed of current events, research, or news related to the program. You should also confirm that your social media presence is up to date and represents you well.

• If invited for an interview, try to do it in-person. Interviews are a great way for the admissions committee to get to know you and for you to learn more about their program.  While they will likely give you a virtual option, nothing beats connecting in-person.  

• Attend any admissions events, webinars, or other programming facilitated by the school or the admissions committee. And make appointments with professors or current students who share your interests and/or goals. Prep by creating a brief elevator speech explaining, with specifics, how the school's programming aligns with your interests and why you would be a great addition to the student body.

• Follow-up any interactions with faculty, administration, or students with a brief thank you note reiterating your excitement about the program. 

• Send an update letter to the school if you have a significant accomplishment or update, not previously covered in your application, to share. Examples include: a significant positive change to your GMAT/GRE score, publications, professional development (e.g., you presented at a national/regional conference or received a promotion with additional responsibility at work), awards/honors, and/or extracurricular achievements (you took on a leadership position or received recognition for your work with a community organization). 

• In your update letter, don’t forget to express your continued interest in the program, noting specifics that are particularly compelling to you. If the school is your first choice, make the yield protection statement: If admitted, I will attend. 

• Do not excessively contact the admissions committee, particularly to ask questions with answers readily available online or to ask for feedback on your application or admissions likelihood.