Your Premed Priorities: Non-Clinical Experiences that Medical Schools Love

For a strong W&A section, you’ll want to highlight both clinical and non-clinical experiences. Your non-clinical experiences are an excellent way to demonstrate some of the traits and characteristics that will lead to your success in medical school, while also showing some personality. Here are a few of the non-clinical experiences that medical schools love to see.

Research and/or Lab Work: AMCAS matriculation data for the 2018 entering class at Johns Hopkins stated that 96% had research or lab experience. If you want to attend a school famous for its research, you need more than one of these gigs. Even schools that aren't explicitly known for research love seeing multiple research positions in your W&A.

There's so much critical thinking involved in research. And there's the opportunity to be published—a slam dunk. In research work, you will collaborate with a team to accomplish a measurable and valuable task. The cooperation and diligence you need to be a part of such projects are exactly the qualities you want to highlight in your W&A and Personal Statement. Even being a small part of something can make a huge impact. We had a client who essentially did data entry for a research project, but her careful work caught two mistakes that would have ruined the data set. Her team credited her on a scientific paper for her contributions, an unexpected peacock-sized feather in her cap.

Non-Clinical Volunteering: Service is a huge part of medicine—but not all your service has to be medical. Schools like Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine that emphasize caring for the whole person will especially value roles in which you interacted with your community. Volunteering shows compassion and often builds communication and collaboration skills. Share a story where you connected with another person or collaborated with a team of other volunteers.

Such a position can also prove ingenuity. One of our clients volunteered at a non-profit that helped families register for SNAP benefits. After a couple of weeks on the job, she suggested changes to the organization's method for approaching people at family court hearings. She was able to connect with more caregivers who needed help as a result.

Big Academic Wins: To include awards and accolades in the W&A, you must go beyond listing them. Give some background about what you had to achieve to be recognized. If you did a thesis as part of your school's Honors College program, share the process, skills you learned, and how you felt upon accomplishing this goal. If you had any help reaching your goal, say so. Did a mentor work with you during office hours? Did a librarian help you track down a rare manuscript? Medical schools love it when a candidate seeks, accepts, and appreciates help.

Science-Related Anything: A science-related club or volunteering experience will be attractive to schools because it shows a passion for scientific study. Tutoring and mentoring looks especially good because teaching is a big part of medicine. We had a client who spent a year's worth of Tuesday afternoons helping high school students learn about physiology. It improved his ability to break down information. You'll be teaching med students as a resident, residents as a fellow, fellows as an attending, and you'll be translating complexities for a layman patient daily. 

Conferences: Attending a conference is typically only a one-day time commitment, but it shows an interest in learning about the current state and future of medicine. Conferences can be very inspiring. These speakers were selected for a reason. Networking with doctors is great, and talking to any patients in attendance is even better. When you're writing this entry, don't just list what you did or heard at the conference, tell us how it affected you after that one day. 

Outside of the W&A, having attended a conference can come in handy during an interview. You might be asked if there are any new developments in healthcare that you find riveting. If you attended a conference and subsequently read more about the topics discussed, you're going to have a lot of thoughts to share.

Campus Organizations: If you've dedicated years to the same organization, highlight your biggest accomplishments. What did you change as part of this organization, or what important tradition did you carry on? Did you bring anything medical into the mix? For example, when your sorority did charity work, was it for a medicine-related cause? If you have some control over your organization's next event, see if you can swing things in that direction. Incidentally, if your school has a pre-med club and you're not in it, join it now.

Hobbies: Hobbies are not superficial. Yes, your medical experiences, volunteer work, noteworthy club positions, and academic accolades are going to outrank this in the W&A. But you have fifteen unique entries to fill, and you want to show different dimensions of yourself. We believe a hobby is a must in a W&A. Read our blog post dedicated to hobbies. 

Related: 

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

Your Work & Activities Section Series

Washington D.C. Named Best Metro Area to Launch Post-MBA Career

When selecting the schools to where you’ll apply for your MBA, we encourage prospective students not to overlook the importance of geography. Attending a program in or near a city where you would like to live post-graduation increases your networking and relationship-building opportunities and makes local internships and employment a possibility throughout your time in school. 

If you’re still thinking through your longer-term plans and researching target schools, consider Coworking Cafe’s recently released “Best Places for MBA Grads to Launch their Careers.” The analysis includes over 100 U.S. metro areas (with populations of at least 500,000) and incorporates employment, business, financial, and lifestyle metrics to assess professional and personal opportunities. It is important to note that all of the locations boast excellent MBA programs within the city or region.

Here are the top 10-ranked cities. For more detail on the cities and methodology click here. 

1 Washington, D.C.

2 San Jose, CA

3 Durham, NC

4 Denver, CO (tie)

4 Austin, TX (tie)

5 Madison, WI

6 Atlanta, GA

7 Boston, MA

8 Raleigh, NC

9 San Francisco, CA

10 Baltimore, MD

Your Work & Activities Section: Two Problems You Don't Really Have

"Help, I have too many experiences!" 

We've heard it before: "How am I going to keep this at 15 entries? I have 20 options." Here's the thing, you probably don't. You can and should bundle certain activities. Doing so reduces repetition and allows you to include a wider variety of experiences. Say, you were secretary of your student council for one year and vice president for two—that's material for one entry. Even if one of those roles produced one of your Most Meaningful experiences, you can likely cover both in one write-up.

"Help, I Don't Have Enough Experiences!" 

You may insist: "I have had three clinical experiences, two volunteer posts, and was in one club in college. I don't have 15 options!" 

Here's the thing, you probably do. Did you take a weekend long improv class with some friends? It might have teased out a braver you or helped you to think on your feet. Do or did you have a non-medical job? Obviously, you're going to include all medical work or volunteering experiences as well as impressive internships or jobs in any industry. But even working as an office temp, swiping cards at the college food court, and ringing up retail at the local bookstore exemplifies your work ethic and commitment. It also implies that you're not spoiled. Facts are facts: A lot of med school applicants are privileged. Earning your own money can set you apart because it shows personal responsibility and that you know how to balance work and studying. 

Hobbies count too. It is not a waste of space to share that you're an artist or love to garden. You can angle these activities to be more relevant to your application by explaining what transferable qualities—creativity, dedication, patience—you can apply to medicine. Your hobby write-ups also can highlight different strengths than your other entries, have a passionate delivery, and show some personality. 

"No, I really don't have enough experiences."

If you don't have enough experiences, now is the time to get them. Put together a group to clean up tree pits in your neighborhood to practice leadership. Take a hip-hop dance class to become less stiff and stern. If you're interested in mental health, volunteer for a crisis hotline. Exercising empathy and learning to talk to people on the worst days of their lives is useful for a future physician. Last-minute shadowing experiences are an option, too. They in no way should replace clinical experiences, but, if you are light on clinical experience or want to get some career goal-related shadowing experiences in, this is the ticket. Attending a conference or volunteering at a community health fair are one-day events that can lead to impactful encounters. Pursuing and sharing education is very valuable to medical schools.

Survey Shows Almost Half of Junior Law Associates Feel Unprepared for Work at Firms

Nearly half of junior associates at law firms, 45 percent, reported that they do not feel law school prepared them for work, according to recent survey results. Despite this, most expressed satisfaction with their career choices. 

Legal recruiting firm Major, Lindsey, and Africa partnered with legal data provider Leopard Solutions to survey 546 junior associates at law firms earlier this year. The survey aimed to understand newly practicing associates’ law firm experiences, career aspirations, and perceptions of how law school prepared them for law firm life. 

Key findings include:

Just under a third of respondents, 31 percent, said that their “law firm experience didn’t meet their expectations coming out of law school.” 

• Almost all respondents felt that law school had focused too much on “theoretical concepts and doctrinal analysis” rather than practical skills. This included the feeling that law schools over-emphasize litigation at the expense of skills necessary for those entering corporate law. One open-ended response said, “[Law school] did not teach me how to write enough; my drafting is poor, and it suffers. I did very well in law school and feel floundering.”

• Similarly, respondents named business development and client relations as overlooked topics in the law school curriculum, but essential to those entering into firms. One respondent wrote, “I was not taught how to be in business. Being a lawyer is more managing than it is interpreting the law. Business students are more prepared to be lawyers than law students.”

83 percent of respondents reported feeling satisfied with their firm choice and said that they would select the same firm if given a “re-do.”

• Over two-thirds of respondents, 67 percent, plan to stay at their current job for three or more years, although 24 percent said they only plan to stay for two years. Just nine percent plan to leave within the year. 

• Over a third of respondents, 36 percent, named “making partner” as their ultimate career goal, while 24 percent expressed a desire to move to an in-house position and 12 percent to a government or NGO role. Just nine percent said that they wished to ultimately leave legal practice.

• Over a third of respondents, 36 percent, acknowledged that their ambitions had changed from law school to starting at a firm. One respondent shared, “I am unsure about whether I would want to become Partner—as associates, we receive almost no information as to what this entails daily or how to get clients.” Another mentioned a fear that working at a firm could interfere with personal goals. The respondent wrote, “I have begun to wonder whether this position and more senior positions at a large law firm may not necessarily be compatible with my family goals in the future.”

Related:

Best Law Schools for Big Law

Best Law Schools for Practical Training

Your Work & Activities Section: Where to Begin

To improve your W&A writing experience and the quality of your entries, try this: 

Raid your brainstorm. As we’ve frequently mentioned, your brainstorm serves every part of your application process. If you're having a hard time with W&A entries, copy and paste info directly from a brainstorm bucket or two and cut and sew together the first draft of an entry from that material.

One client began a W&A entry on her time as an EMT by briefly sharing salient details about things she did and skills she acquired while working on an ambulance. She then copied (literally control-C) a poignant story from her brainstorm's ah-ha bucket wherein she showed compassion for a patient who had miscarried. She pasted it directly into her W&A draft document. She proceeded to trim unnecessary parts of the story (what day it was, what her partner was doing), and add a takeaway about seeing the importance of caring for a patient's mental health.

Start with the easy ones. Do you know what your takeaway was from shadowing a pediatrician? Did working on a poster presentation with a group help you learn to manage conflict? Have you been swimming competitively since you were a guppy? Instead of writing W&A entries in the order of their occurrence or importance, start with whatever comes naturally.

Do a dirty draft—and re-read it later. You don't have to refine your first draft text right away. In fact, we’d recommend that you write all 15 first drafts (that doesn't have to happen in one sitting) and then go back to the entries with fresh eyes later. Sometimes when you're reading one entry repeatedly back-to-back, you see what's in your head and not what is on the page. So, you might think a description makes perfect sense. But later, you'll read it, discover issues, and revise it accordingly.

Craft your stories. You'll always share some basic duties and details; and they can be pretty cut and dry. For example, "At the free clinic, I checked in patients and learned how to take vitals. I interacted with approximately 20 patients during every four-hour shift." But you must also include what you got out of this experience, preferably using an engaging anecdote. "One patient, Linda…" If you don't think you have a specific story to tell, schedule time with an Apply Point consultant and we'll talk things over and find one. You'll be surprised at how much of a story you can fit into 700 characters. But don't worry about going over the word count in your first draft. We're here to help you pare down, if necessary.

Your Work & Activities Section: Before You Start

Before we make a case for the kinds of experiences you should include in your W&A and get into the deep details you should be sharing, we're going to give you three super-basic tips for writing these entries. Bookmark this page and keep it accessible because you are going to want to check that you're doing these three things in each entry that you write.

1. Use complete sentences. This is not a resume. You might have done an activity log when presenting your candidacy to your pre-med committee. That will be an excellent resource, but it's probably not polished, and these entries must be.

2. Go beyond the "what." Don't just describe a job you did. Share details about how this experience challenged, changed, or motivated you. Through anecdotes, show the qualities that medical schools are looking for, which include leadership and critical thinking abilities, empathy, strong communication skills, resilience, intellectual curiosity, and maturity.

3. Utilize your space well. For general entries, you'll have 700 characters with spaces to tell your story. Aim to max out that character count. Each experience should warrant it—700 is not that many characters. For the Most Meaningful entries, you'll have 700 characters with spaces, followed by an additional 1,325 with spaces. If you come up short on either section of the Most Meaningful entries, don't worry about it, so long as you have something compelling in each section.

Build a Strong Foundation for Your MBA Application (and Beyond) with a Brainstorm Document

Before you begin work on your business school application, we recommend that you create a brainstorm document where you will explore your formative experiences—what you thought, felt, said, and did. This brainstorm will be your touchstone for everything about this application process. It will help you discover what meaningful experiences and qualities you want to highlight in your essays and discuss during your interviews. 

Putting meaningful experiences into different "buckets" helps a lot. You might have some crossover with experiences technically fitting into two buckets or more—don't worry about that; put them in one bucket, for now, to keep things grouped. Maybe write: "This is also a leadership experience" or "Innovation/Critical Thinking" in your notes.

An important note: Eighty percent of these experiences should be from adulthood (college and beyond). Twenty percent can be from before then if they established foundational skills or led to evolutions in perspective. For example, if a family member’s illness inspired you to quit investment banking to pursue a healthcare start-up. 

Bucket 1: A-ha Moments. What meaningful experiences changed your mind about or expanded your perspective on something? Some could be spectacular successes, others, catastrophic failures. Have you learned from a mistake? What skills of yours did you discover in a challenging time? What did you think about these things at the time? How did you feel? (Prepare yourself, we're going to ask those last two repeatedly.) 

Bucket 2: Leadership. In what meaningful experiences did you show your leadership abilities? Did leadership come naturally to you, or did you work to get to this place? (Both things are great!) How did you support your team? Did you encourage collaboration or independence? Did you feel supported by your team? Did you experience any pushback, and how did you handle that if you did? What did you think about these things at the time? How did you feel? 

Bucket 3: Teamwork and Collaboration. During what meaningful experiences did you work with a team or collaborate with others? Were you working with people unlike yourself? Was there a struggle for balance in the beginning? Any confusion? What did you appreciate about your team members? How did they influence and impact you and your actions? Did one or two team members step up in a way you admired? What did you think about these things at the time? How did you feel? 

Bucket 4: Innovation. In what meaningful experiences did you utilize critical thinking and problem-solving skills? How did you determine the best course of action? Did you approach something one way at first and then correct yourself? What did you think about these things at the time? How did you feel? 

Bucket 5: Experiences that Reinforced Your Commitment to an MBA. What meaningful experiences reinforced your commitment to pursuing an MBA and your post-MBA goals? Was it meeting a professional you admired? Was it accomplishing something at work or in a volunteer setting? What did you think of these things at the time? How did you feel?

Bucket 7: Miscellaneous. What experiences have you had that you can't quite categorize? What else should we know about you? What do you think we don't necessarily have to know? Don’t be afraid to expose some vulnerability and use everything you’ve got. You should even include things about yourself and what you care about that you don't imagine will be a factor in an essay (e.g., your quest to make the perfect chocolate cake, your passion for wordle). You might be able to weave aspects of your personality or some fun facts into your essays and interviews to add some color—or something even better.

Your 2024-2025 Law School Application Timeline

It’s never too early to create your law school application strategy! Apply Point's ideal schedule looks something like this timeline. 

Never too early 

• If you haven't connected with us yet, do it as soon as you can. We can guide you on your academic choices and advise you on how to land internships or volunteer experiences that will appeal to admissions committees. 

• Investigate the LSAT. The LSAT is typically offered in January, February, April, June, and then monthly from August to November. Taking it in the summer or early fall of your application year gives you some wiggle room if you must retake it. The latest you should retake this test is November 2024 (for Fall 2025 matriculation). 

• Start a journal. You'll raid your journal for details for your Personal Statement, and School-Specific Essays. Make notes on your current experiences as they happen and past ones whenever you have a moment to ponder them. You can keep a paper or digital diary or even record audio and text notes on your phone as they come to you, and organize them into a document later. (You will eventually want all of your experiences in one place.) 

Spring and Summer 2024

• Be all about LSAT preparation. Take a prep course and/or work with a tutor to prepare for the test. 

• Gain meaningful experiences in both academic, internship/volunteer, and extracurricular settings. 

• Visit law schools of interest, if you’re able, and research law programs to understand their offerings and how they align with your goals. 

• Continue keeping a journal. This is repetitive for a reason—never stop doing this. It is so helpful. 

August and September 2024

• Create an LSAC account and register for the Credential Assembly Service (CAS).

• Reach out to your recommenders. We'd like you to get three to four letters of recommendation, with at least two from professors who can speak to your ability to thrive in a challenging academic environment.  

• Take the LSAT. 

• Finalize your school list. You want a hearty list of "I could go here" schools and you’ll ultimately want to apply to between 10 and 15 law schools. 

• Move all of your journaled experiences into a brainstorming document. 

• Request your transcripts—and this includes those from schools abroad. 

October-December 2024

• Finalize your Personal Statement and School-Specific Essays. This is going to take a while. If you blast it all out in one week, you haven't done it right. Give yourself time for writing, revisions, and re-writing. 

• Update your resume to showcase the results you’ve achieved and impact you’ve had. 

• Follow up with your recommenders to ensure that they have submitted their Letters of Recommendation through the CAS. 

January 2025

• Fill out the school applications and Character & Fitness questionnaires available through LSAC. 

• Submit your applications by mid-January, at the latest. Most law schools offer rolling admissions and submitting your application on the earlier side will benefit you.  

• Prepare for and participate in interviews, even if they are optional. Your brainstorming document will continue to be useful here. Interviews are a great way for the admissions committee to get to know you as a person (beyond your application) and for you to learn more about a program’s student experience, experiential learning opportunities, and/or alumni network.

AMCAS 2025 Application Opens Next Week

On May 1, 2024, AMCAS will open for prospective medical students. Here’s everything you need to know.

Key Reminders:

• Medical schools will receive your text responses as plain text (formatting such as bullets, bold, and italics will be removed). 

• While in AMCAS, save your work frequently as the application times out after thirty minutes and you will be logged out of the system.  

• Ensure that you have edited and reviewed your application thoroughly prior to submitting. Once submitted, your ability to make updates to your application is limited. 

• Add aamc.org as a “safe” domain for your email and/or check your spam box frequently to ensure that you receive any messages from AMCAS and medical schools. 

• Your application will only enter the verification queue once you have submitted your application and your official transcripts are received by AMCAS. Letters of Recommendation are not required for verification. 

• During peak periods, June to September, the verification process will take longer due to high volume. You should check your application status online to confirm that all of your application components have been received, your application is verified and processed, and medical schools have received your application. To confirm your AMCAS status, select “View Application Status History” on the Main Menu. 

There are minimal updates to AMCAS for 2025:

• Mandatory sections will now be marked with a red asterisk (not just mandatory fields). 

• There is an updated list of schools that participate in the PREview exam; schools not participating will not receive PREview scores.

• “Self-Identification” has been added to the race and ethnicity categories and subcategories, and there is a new section for specifying Tribal affiliation.

What You Should Be Doing Now:

• Develop your school list. You want a hearty list of "I could go here" schools and you’ll ultimately want to apply to between 25 and 35 allopathic schools. 

• Finalize your Personal Statement and Work and Activities sections. This is going to take a while. If you blast it all out in one week, you haven't done it right. Give yourself time for revisions. 

• Request your transcripts—and this includes those from schools abroad. 

• Start entering your responses. Next week, when you can access the AMCAS application, enter your app info and follow up with your recommenders and/or your pre-health advisor/committee to ensure your Letters of Recommendation are on their way. AMCAS begins sending these materials out to schools in June. So, why are you checking on this stuff in May? "Because AMCAS must verify your application prior to its transmission, the wait typically is shortest in May, when it is just a few days," according to U.S. News & World Report. "By the end of July, the delay may be several weeks long." A delay in verification can hold up your getting Secondary applications (some schools send them as soon as they have your app; others read the app first and send them later). It can also mess with your getting optimal interview dates. 

• Submit your primary application through AMCAS by mid-June. 

• Start working on your Secondary Essays. "But I don't have the questions for the Secondaries yet!" you might say. That's true. Still, certain themes always come up, and if you have some stuff thought-out or, better yet, drafted, you can quickly tailor your answers to various schools' questions once they send them to you.

Stanford is Back on Top Alongside Penn’s Wharton in U.S News’ 2024 Best MBA Ranking

The U.S. News and World Report has posted the 2024-2025 Best MBA rankings. Stanford GSB and University of Pennsylvania Wharton are tied for the top spot, followed by a tie for third rank between Northwestern Kellogg and Chicago Booth.

Notable changes to the top 25 from the last year’s rankings include: 

• Stanford’s five-rank jump, which moved it from 6th in 2023 back to 1st, a position it also held in 2021 and 2022. 

• Harvard, which has spent the past two years in 5th, dropped one spot into the 6th position in 2024.

• The biggest increases this year, apart from Stanford, were Vanderbilt Owen, which moved up seven ranks to the 20th spot, and Berkeley Haas and UVA Darden, which both moved up four positions to take 7th and 10th, respectively.

• Dartmouth Tuck and Michigan Ross experienced the largest declines from 2023, both falling four positions. Tuck now shares the 10th spot with Darden, while Ross joined Columbia and Duke in a three-way tie at 12th. 

According to Poets & Quants, U.S. News acknowledged that its addition of a new post-graduate salary metric explains some of the movement seen within this year’s ranking. The addition of the metric de-emphasizes post-graduate starting salary/bonus slightly, incorporating MBA graduates’ starting salaries based on the field in which they’re entering. A description is available here. 

Rank School Name, Change from 2023

1 Stanford University (tie), +5

1 University of Pennsylvania, Wharton (tie), +2

3 Northwestern University, Kellogg (tie), -1 

3 University of Chicago, Booth (tie), -2

5 MIT, Sloan, -1

6 Harvard University, -1

7 New York University, Stern, (tie), +3

7 University of California–Berkeley, Haas (tie), +4

7 Yale University (tie), +1

10 Dartmouth, Tuck, (tie), -4

10 University of Virginia, Darden (tie), +4

12 Columbia University (tie), -1 

12 Duke University, Fuqua (tie), -1

12 University of Michigan, Ross (tie), -4

15 Cornell University, Johnson (tie), – 

16 Carnegie Mellon, Tepper (tie), +2

16 University of Texas–Austin, McCombs (tie), +2

18 Emory University, Goizueta (tie), -1

18 University of Southern California, Marshall (tie), -3

20 Indiana University, Kelley (tie), +2

20 University of California–Los Angeles, Anderson (tie), -1

20 University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, Kenan-Flagler (tie), +2

20 Vanderbilt University, Owen (tie), +7

24 Georgetown University, McDonough, –

25 Georgia Institute of Technology, Scheller, +1

Your MBA Application: Tips for the Early Birds

There are still a couple of months before business schools release their 2024 MBA submission dates. But if you know you’re interested in applying for a spot in the Class of 2027 (matriculating in fall 2025), it’s never too early to get started. In fact, we encourage it! Here are a few tasks you can undertake now that will save you time later, when things are more hectic. 

Document Your Experiences. In addition to seeking out high quality and challenging professional and extracurricular experiences you’re interested in, you should keep a brainstorming document where you will explore your formative experiences—what you thought, felt, said, and did. This brainstorm will be your touchstone for everything about this application process. It will help you discover what meaningful experiences and qualities you want to highlight in your school-specific essays, share with your recommenders, and discuss during your interviews (now and in the future!). 

Log details while they're fresh in your mind. Did you have a meaningful conversation with a colleague or mentor at work? Demonstrate leadership in an organization you’re involved with? Develop an innovative 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 an MBA, as well as those that could show the reader your abilities in leadership, critical thinking, problem solving, and collaboration. 

Secure the Right Rec in a Timely Manner. If you have a professional contact who you’ve worked closely with and who you'd love to support your candidacy for business school, ask for the letter of recommendation early. An early ask will give you plenty of time to meet and discuss your goals and for you to prepare a portfolio of information personalized for each recommender that includes Illustrative anecdotes from your work together. Alternatively, if you would prefer to wait, stay in touch and keep them updated on your accomplishments. We recommend giving them at least eight weeks prior to your submission deadline. 

Start Preparing for the GMAT/GRE/Executive Assessment. A long lead-time before you apply to business school allows you to adjust your schedule to accommodate studying and taking the GMAT/GRE/EA. Consider when you can most easily make the time for prep. Will it be during the summer when you have a lighter client load? Do you plan to take a test prep course that meets on weekends? 

Standardized test scores are valid for five years. If you can take the test earlier, you will have space to focus on developing other components of your application later. Additionally, taking the GMAT/GRE/EA early leaves you with more options if your initial score doesn’t meet your expectations.

Network and Research. Take the opportunity to visit as many of the MBA programs as you are able to. Meet with the students and professors, attend a class, and visit the career center. Understanding exactly how each program can support you in meeting your goals will help you to strengthen your case for admission. 

Related:

MBA Application Tips—Letters of Recommendation

Anatomy of a Successful MBA Application: Demonstrate Academic Readiness

Anatomy of a Successful MBA Application: Show Meaningful Professional Experience

Anatomy of a Successful MBA Application: Show Compatibility in Close Knit and Collaborative Communities

Stanford and Yale Continue Reign Atop U.S News’ Best Law Schools Ranking

The U.S. News and World Report has posted the 2024-2025 Best Law School rankings. For the second year in a row, Stanford and Yale Law Schools are tied for the top spot followed by University of Chicago in the third rank. 

Notable changes to the T14 from the last year’s rankings include: 

• A four-way tie for the fourth rank. Duke, Harvard, and UVA joined UPenn in the fourth position this year. Duke and Harvard moved up one spot from a tie at 5th in 2023. UVA made the largest year-over-year gain in the T14, jumping up four places from last year. 

• NYU experienced the largest drop within the T14, moving down four spots to join Northwestern and Michigan in a three-way tie at 9th. 

• Georgetown moved up one rank to officially join the T14 in a tie at 14th with Cornell.  

Outside of the T14, highlights include: 

• Washington University of St. Louis jumped up four spots to tie for the 16th rank with University of Minnesota and University of Texas-Austin. 

• Notre Dame became one of the year’s big winners with a seven spot improvement from 2023, joining the University of Southern California in a tie for 20th. 

• Boston University rejoined the top 25 this year, moving from the 27th rank in 2023 to 24th.

• Brigham Young, Ohio State, and the University of Florida dropped out of the top 25 this year, after being a part of a five-way tie at 22nd last year. Ohio State fell four positions to rank 26th in a tie with Texas A&M. Brigham Young and Florida both fell six positions to tie for the 28th rank alongside Boston College, George Mason, and the University of Utah. 

Slight adjustments were made to the methodology this year. A description is available here. 

Rank School Name, Change from 2023

1 Stanford University (tie), –

1 Yale University (tie), –

3 University of Chicago, –

4 Duke University (tie), +1

4 Harvard University (tie), +1

4 University of Pennsylvania (tie), –

4 University of Virginia (tie), +4

8 Columbia University, –

9 New York University (tie), -4

9 Northwestern University (tie), +1

9 University of Michigan (tie), +1

12 University of California–Berkeley, -2

13 University of California–Los Angeles, +1

14 Cornell University (tie), -1

14 Georgetown University (tie), +1

16 University of Minnesota (tie), –

16 University of Texas–Austin (tie), –

16 Washington University in St. Louis (tie), +4

19 Vanderbilt University, -3 

20 University of Georgia (tie), –

20 University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill (tie), +2

20 University of Notre Dame (tie), +7

20 University of Southern California (tie), -4

24 Boston University, +3

25 Wake Forest University, -3

Six To-Dos for Your Medical School Personal Statement

You’ve created your brainstorming document and culled your experiences into a compelling structure using an outline. Congratulations, you are now ready to start writing your personal statement. Here are six “to-dos” that will help you successfully move from brainstorm to outline to first draft.

1. Emphasize past experiences. Focus on what you've done more than on what you want to do. So many applicants think their essays should exclusively be about their fantasy future. But this isn't a magic carpet ride. Your rug must be on the ground. What you have already accomplished and learned is the only proof that you are committed to the study and practice of medicine. 

2. Remember what resonates most with reviewers. Passion. Depth of Impact. Potential. We probably don't need to explain passion to you. Depth of impact means expressing how much an experience and your actions during it changed things within you and/or outside of you. Potential is you exemplifying one or more qualities that medical schools admire: Leadership, collaboration, critical thinking, etc. You know these from your brainstorm “buckets." 

3. Show that you're self-aware. Many of our clients shy away from sharing examples of their weaknesses or times they've made mistakes in their Personal Statement. But replaying a fumble is an opportunity to then share actions you took to remedy a situation and lessons you learned. That said, not every issue you present must be one that you've fully resolved. For example, say you're great at presenting ideas on paper but you have a hard time speaking up in professional settings. Likely, one beautiful, clarifying moment didn't change that forever. That's something you work on over a long period. You may share an anecdote where you spoke well in front of an intimidating group and how you prepared to do it. Then say how you will continue improving your verbal communication skills and how you plan to exercise that muscle regularly in the future. That's a stronger, more realistic take than "I will never have this problem again!” 

4. See feelings as information. If you can state or allude to how an experience made you feel, you will paint a dynamic picture for the admissions team. You can include "negative" emotions like fear but also positive ones like joy, camaraderie, and pride. 

   We don't believe in self-aggrandizing but don't self-deprecate either. We think the "pride"-vibe you're aiming for is best explained by organizational psychologist and author Adam Grant: "Downplaying your achievements is not the antidote to appearing arrogant. Humility is acknowledging your weaknesses, not denying your strengths. Generosity is elevating others, not diminishing yourself. Owning your success doesn't make you a narcissist—it makes you a role model.” 

5. Show fear when it's applicable. Similarly, the "show no fear" image people often want to flaunt in their applications doesn't seem authentic because it isn't. You have many terrific qualities; being 100% fearless isn't one of them. You've experienced fear, whether it was about not finishing your Honors thesis on time or confronting a colleague about a sexist comment. Good. Fear helps you assess a situation, prepare yourself to address it properly, and take (sometimes very cautious) action. Addressing a fear can be quite humbling—it's another way to show vulnerability in your application. And fear can be a pathway to courage. 

6. Understand that you will rewrite most things. Embrace it. Know now that having to write several drafts is not a failure. It is a way to success.

Related:

Creating an Outline for Your Med School Application Personal Statement

Set Yourself Apart with a Compelling Medical School Personal Statement

Ten Common Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Your Personal Statement for the Medical School Application

More Prospective MBAs Prioritize AI

Interest in AI has surged among prospective MBAs, according to this year’s GMAC Prospective Students Survey. 

Globally, 40 percent of respondents selected AI as an essential topic (29 percent in 2022), and in the U.S., 34 percent (22 percent in 2022) did. Millennials were more likely to express interest in AI (44 percent, globally) than Gen Z (38 percent), which the report notes is consistent with millennials’ stronger interest in the tech sector. And men (42 percent) were more likely than women (37 percent) to deem AI essential.

Below, we highlight a few business schools that are integrating AI coursework into their MBA programs. 

American University’s Kogod School of Business: Kogod recently announced that they were undergoing a “makeover” to integrate AI skills and concepts throughout the school’s curriculum, operations, and philosophy. This includes bringing in experts from the private sector to ensure faculty and staff have the training and knowledge they need. Additionally, starting in Fall 2024, every student will learn how to use AI as a tool for business deliverables, as well as to navigate AI platforms. 

Carnegie Mellon’s Tepper School of Business: The school considers the use of AI and preparing students to engage with this technology as a key component of future-preparation. With faculty already involved in the research and development of AI tools, the school has also sought to embed it within the student experience. Tepper offers new courses specific to AI, and has also integrated AI content into existing courses in other topics, such as ethics. 

Johns Hopkins Carey Business School: Carey has included a mandatory AI class in its core curriculum for all FT MBA students since 2021. The course, Data Science: Artificial Intelligence, includes three main components: a foundation in the math and technology underscoring AI, a computational foundation (python), and instruction on using AI for business insights. 

Related: Trends in Business: MBA Programs Prepare Students for Leadership Roles in Technology

Study Shows Affirmative Action Bans Negatively Impact Law Student Diversity

A recent study conducted by law professors at Yale, New York University, and Northwestern confirms what many law schools are fearing amidst last year’s Supreme Court ban on affirmative action. Such bans negatively impact the racial diversity of law student populations.

The study analyzed law school admissions data from 1980 to 2021, across 23 public law schools in 12 states with affirmative action bans. The researchers found that, on average, the bans produced a decline in diversity between 10 and 17 percent, and that “Black and Hispanic students account for nearly all this decline.” 

At highly-ranked schools, the impacts of a ban were magnified. The study found that among included schools ranked in the U.S. News’ Top 20, such as UC Berkeley, University of Michigan, UCLA, and the University of Texas, student diversity fell by between 36 to 47 percent. 

Across all law schools, not just those in states with affirmative action bans, the researchers found that minority students have been underrepresented in 80 to 90 percent of entering law school classes. While the law student population has diversified over time and underrepresentation has decreased, the proportion of minority law students still lags behind that of the population. And, based upon national population statistics, amongst minority law students, Black and Hispanic students have been consistently underrepresented, while Asian students have been overrepresented. 

There is still room for measured optimism. Last year’s entering law class was the most diverse on record. And, mid-cycle data released by LSAC showed this year’s applicant numbers were up and driven by a surge in minority applicants. Hopefully this is a precursor to another record-breaking year.

How to Ask for a Letter of Recommendation for your Law School Application

Good news! No one who hates you will agree to write you a Letter of Recommendation. It's too annoying of a task to bother with if you don't have nice things to say about someone. Still, some letters can be lackluster, especially if they're rushed or overly general. 

The University of Chicago Law School admissions blog describes a “standout” recommendation letter as one that provides, “specific and substantive discussion of your abilities as a student.” They look for “a discussion of particular examples of your work, possibly a research project or substantial piece of writing” and/or “qualitative comparisons to your peers and illustrative anecdotes.” 

There are ways to make sure recommenders are talking you up effectively. Here’s how to make the ask. 

Individualize your approach. What do you know about your potential recommender? Are they someone who will want a face-to-face conversation about this? Or are they someone who will be open to an email with an updated CV attached?

Remind them of your accomplishments. You're not telling them what to write—and they may well choose to highlight some of your other victories or qualities—but offering them a refresher to reference will make your request less of a burden. Your professors know the drill of writing law school references, but they have a lot of students, so a reminder of what you've done is still appreciated. Ex. "It was a privilege to be in a graduate course as an undergraduate. Attending office hours deepened my understanding of the material and provided me insight into strengthening my arguments for the paper, on which I earned an A. I also found that working with a group on the research project honed my abilities in research and developed my collaboration and leadership skills."

While you will want at least two of your recommendations to be written by those who can speak to your academic performance, you may also include a letter from a supervisor at a job or legal clinic where you volunteered. In this request, you want to tell the manager what it meant to you to work there and how you thrived. Ex. "Your recommendation would mean so much to me because this job reinforced my interest in the study of law. Working to support pro-bono immigration cases gave me a better understanding of the day-to-day work of a lawyer as well as additional insight into the necessary research and client-interaction skills required." OR "Working as an analyst in this consulting firm gave me significant experience with project and time management, developed my written and oral communication abilities, and improved my analytical skills. Over time I have increased my responsibilities. This summer I took on the role of team lead and now run weekly client meetings and oversee the analytic strategy and initial creation of client deliverables. I have also made myself available to newer project staff for mentoring and support.” 

If you're asking for a recommendation from someone who has never written one, loop them in on the qualities law schools are looking for and how you've exemplified them. Ex. "The schools that I am applying to value critical thinking and problem solving abilities, writing skills, and intellectual curiosity. I believe that my final group project on the early work of Chaucer showed my abilities in those areas.”

Go beyond the ask. After someone agrees to be your recommender, you're going to send them a "game plan" that gets into the experiences you’ve had and your accomplishments in greater depth than you did in your initial request. For example, the student who highlighted the Chaucer project can remind their professor what aspects of the presentation they worked on and reiterate that they organized the group's study sessions. You might also attach a copy of the associated paper that you submitted with your contributions highlighted. The applicant who was a consultant should list their daily duties and talk about some of their most poignant or analytical learning experiences. You get the gist. 

Say thank you in a unique way. Once someone has agreed to write your recommendation, do something nice for them. Send a memorable note, maybe even a small gift (a box of their preferred tea or some candy is nice) or offer to take them to lunch. This is common courtesy, but it's also going to remind them to submit their letter on time.

Related:

The Law School Application—Letters of Recommendation

Five Qualities that Law School Admissions Committees Look for in Applicants

Prelaw Priorities: Tips for the Early Birds

Creating an Outline for Your Med School Application Personal Statement

After you finish your brainstorming document, you may feel tempted to start drafting your Personal Statement. But, hold off. Instead, develop an outline for your essay that highlights your most poignant and pivotal moments. An outline will make writing way easier, we promise, as the hardest part of writing a Personal Statement can be deciding on the structure. Outlining will save you time and stress. 

During this process, we encourage you to think like a storyteller rather than an academic. 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. Similarly, narrative writing does not have to be linear. After leading with an attention-grabbing scene, you can go back and provide additional context and information on what’s missing. 

There is no one essay format to follow. That said, there are some ideal beats to hit, and you might hit them in this order:

Event/Problem: Show us you in action. Set the scene: Is it a high-stress experience? A significant interaction? An unforgettable, formative moment? 

Context/Background Info: Who are you in this scenario? How did you get here? What are your responsibilities and greatest challenges in this role/scene?

Re-engagement: This is the heart of the essay. You've introduced the problem and yourself. Now, take us back to the anecdote. Show your critical and creative thinking, empathy, or collaboration. Delve into the complexities of solving a problem. Sometimes there isn't a solution or grand finale. That's okay. You just want to make it clear why this is the scenario you opened with—why this was meaningful to you. And you don't have to bang the reader over the head with claims of your best qualities; you want to show them those qualities through your story. 

Takeaway/Reflection: What did you learn via your experience? How did it change you? This should show that you’re dedicated to growth, self-awareness, and your values, and where these things could take you. 

Conclusion: How did this experience reinforce your commitment to the study of medicine?

Related: Laying the Foundation for Your Med School Application: Build a Brainstorm Document

Laying the Foundation for Your Med School Application: Build a Brainstorm Document

Before you begin work on your medical school application, we recommend that you create a brainstorm document where you will explore your formative experiences—what you thought, felt, said, and did. This brainstorm will be your touchstone for everything about this application process. It will help you discover what meaningful experiences and qualities you want to highlight in your Work and Activities, Personal Statement, and Secondary essays, and discuss during your interviews.

This brainstorm could end up being seven pages or 25—you want to be free and generous in your writing. While your brainstorm text does not need to be polished, your unfinished thoughts should be organized for greater ease when writing. Putting meaningful experiences into different "buckets" helps a lot. You might have some crossover with experiences technically fitting into two buckets or more—don't worry about that; put them in one bucket, for now, to keep things grouped. Maybe write: "This is also a leadership experience" or "Integrity/Critical Thinking" in your notes.

An important note: Eighty percent of these experiences should be from adulthood (college and beyond). Twenty percent can be from before then if they established foundational skills or led to evolutions in perspective. For example, if you taught wilderness first aid as an Eagle Scout. If your interest in medicine sprung from your prolonged childhood illness, that is relevant information.

Bucket 1: A-ha Moments: What meaningful experiences changed your mind about or expanded your perspective on something? Some could be spectacular successes, others, catastrophic failures. Have you learned from a mistake? What skills of yours did you discover in a challenging time? What did you think about these things at the time? How did you feel? (Prepare yourself, we're going to ask those last two repeatedly.) 

Bucket 2: Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving: In what meaningful experiences did you utilize critical thinking and problem-solving skills? How did you determine the best course of action? Did you approach something one way at first and then correct yourself? What did you think about these things at the time? How did you feel? 

Bucket 3: Leadership Abilities: In what meaningful experiences did you show your leadership abilities? Did leadership come naturally to you, or did you work to get to this place? (Both things are great!) How did you support your team? Did you encourage collaboration or independence? Did you feel supported by your team? Did you experience any pushback, and how did you handle that if you did? What did you think about these things at the time? How did you feel? 

Bucket 4: Teamwork and Collaboration: During what meaningful experiences did you work with a team or collaborate with others? Were you working with people unlike yourself? Was there a struggle for balance in the beginning? Any confusion? What did you appreciate about your team members? How did they influence and impact you and your actions? Did one or two team members step up in a way you admired? What did you think about these things at the time? How did you feel? 

Bucket 5: Empathy and Connection: Fill this bucket. You must have multiple experiences that touch on empathy and connection somewhere in your application. In what meaningful experiences did you empathize and connect with others? What effect did you have on others? What effect did they have on you? What did you think about these things at the time? How did you feel? 

Bucket 6: Experiences that Reinforced Your Commitment to Medicine: What meaningful experiences reinforced your commitment to studying medicine? You've probably known that you've wanted to be a doctor for some time—what let you know you were on the right track? Was it meeting a doctor you admired? Was it accomplishing something academically or in research work? While volunteering abroad? What did you think of these things at the time? How did you feel?

Bucket 7: Miscellaneous: What experiences have you had that you can't quite categorize? What else should we know about you? What do you think we don't necessarily have to know? Don’t be afraid to expose some vulnerability and use everything you’ve got. You should even include things about yourself and what you care about that you don't imagine will be a factor in an essay. You might be able to weave aspects of your personality or some fun facts into your Personal Statement, Work and Activities, or Secondaries to add some color—or something even better.

Related:

• Set Yourself Apart with a Compelling Medical School Personal Statement

• Ten Common Mistakes to Avoid When Writing Your Personal Statement for the Medical School Application

• The Medical School Application: Key Tips to Consider Before you Begin Drafting the Work and Activities Section

Best Law Schools for Big Law

ALM/Law.com has published its 19th annual list of “go-to” law schools for big law. Northwestern Pritzker took the top spot, ending Columbia Law’s ten-year streak at the top (pushing it to the second rank). And University of Virginia Law moved up to the third rank from 11th last year. Some schools opted not to participate, including four T14 schools: Harvard Law, Stanford Law, Yale Law, and the University of Michigan Law School. 

In addition to this movement at the top, ALM/Law.com made some adjustments to their methodology. Instead of data sourced from law firms, they used data supplied directly by law schools. 

The top 10 schools and the percentages of graduating students who went into big law are provided below. Check out the Top 50 rankings at ALM / Law.com.  

1. Northwestern: 65.23 percent

2. Columbia: 64.30 percent

3. UVA: 64.08 percent

4. Penn: 62.90 percent

5. Cornell: 62.07 percent

6. Duke: 55.88 percent

7. Chicago: 54.46 percent

8. Vanderbilt: 53.97 percent

9. USC: 53.01 percent

10. Georgetown: 50.80 percent

Related: Best Law Schools for Practical Training

Anatomy of a Successful MBA Application: Show Compatibility in Close Knit and Collaborative Communities

In this three-part blog series, we’re taking a deep dive into what admissions committees are looking for in your MBA application. Each post will highlight one question your application must answer effectively for admissions success. 

After you’ve demonstrated your academic readiness and high quality and quantity of professional experience, one question will remain in the minds of admissions committees: Will this applicant be compatible in our program’s collaborative and close-knit community?  

To answer this question the admissions committee will pay particular attention to:  

• Essay responses. Do not use your essay and/or short answer responses as additional resume space. Instead 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. Keep in mind that listing off your qualities is meaningless if you're not backing them up with real-life examples.

Review our blog on using lessons from memoir to write your personal statement.

• Interview responses. Use nearly every response to tell a story, rather than making general claims about your abilities. Anyone can speak in generalities. How boring! But no one has your set of unique experiences. Through anecdote, your values and character will come alive.   

Review our blog series on the MBA interview. 

• Recommendations. While these responses are not within your control, they are within your influence. Provide each of your recommenders with a portfolio of information that includes illustrative anecdotes that will show your ability to thrive in a collaborative environment and grow from constructive criticism.  

Review our blog on obtaining high-quality recommendations.

Related:

Anatomy of a Successful MBA Application: Demonstrate Academic Readiness

Anatomy of a Successful MBA Application: Show Meaningful Professional Experience