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Harvard Business School Application

June 9, 2013

HBS Admission, HBS Application, HBS Application for Admission, Harvard Application for MBA Admission

HBS has made some changes to their application for admission (photo credit: Joseph Barillari).

The Harvard Business School application is changing. HBS announced that their application has been revised in order to attract a broader range of students and to better reflect the mission of the school. So what exactly has changed, you ask? There will be different stipulations for the recommendation letters and the admissions essays will be different, according to “The Harvard Crimson.” Instead of submitting three letters of recommendation, applicants will now only be asked to send in two. Additionally, applicants will have the option to answer the essay question that reads: “What else would you like us to know as we consider your candidacy?” This question will be without a word limit. This marks a change from this past year when applicants to HBS were directed to answer two essay prompts. One essay concerned something that you wish you had done better and the other concerned something that you had done well. We bet HBS applicants weren’t hard-pressed to think of things they think they did well!

According to “The Harvard Crimson” article on the HBS application changes, “The reduction in the required number of recommendation letters stems from a desire to broaden the applicant pool and remove a potential hurdle for applicants working for ‘organizations where there is not a tried-and-true path for talented folks to leave for business school,’ [Deirdre C.] Leopold [, managing director of HBS admissions and financial aid,] wrote.” HBS’ admissions office isn’t yet sure if these changes will stick, but they’re going to test it out this year and see how it goes.

Are you considering applying to Harvard Business School? How do these changes to their application impact you? Will it be a lot easier for you to secure two letters of recommendation as opposed to three? Let us know your thoughts on the subject by posting below!

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Applying to Med School

March 13, 2013

Apply to Med School, Applications to Medical School, Med School Applications, Med School Apps

Mount Sinai’s dean of medical education, David Muller, is enacting educational reform and we salute him for it.

For those students considering applying to med school, there are some changes in the works at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai that they may want to know about. David Muller, Mount Sinai’s dean of medical education, has spearheaded the institution of a program that will allow college sophomores (a full three years before they otherwise would have been able to attend med school) to go straight to med school without passing go. How cool is that? According to an article on med school admission in “Inside Higher Ed” by Zack Budryk, “In what a press release called the beginning of a ‘fundamental shift,’ sophomore will be admitted to ‘FlexMed,’ a new program in which they will spend the rest of their undergraduate time in tracks such as computational science/engineering, biomedical sciences and humanities/social sciences. Students will be encouraged to take courses in biostatistics, ethics, health policy and public health. These courses would replace the traditional pre-med science requirements.”

It’s a program that Mount Sinai has already piloted on a smaller level and they were happy with it so they decided to expand it. In Muller’s rationale for why the traditional pre-med track to med school isn’t necessarily the best course for students anymore, he said essentially that some of the science classes had become outdated. Muller also suggested that the MCAT, while it shouldn’t be eliminated, should be rethought, according to the “Inside Higher Ed” piece. Muller goes on to state in the article, “‘All of science has changed, even if you went back 50 years. The science that has had the most impact… is completely different.”

We applaud Mount Sinai’s dean of medical education, David Muller, for taking on the status quo, for daring to change a system that folks have become complacent with. Maybe next, Muller can take on hours worked by physicians during residency programs! The Ivy Coach salutes David Muller for enacting reform in medical school education. May more higher education officials be in his mold.

While you’re here, check out this post on applying to medical school.

Categories: Applying to Graduate Schools Tags: Applying to Med School, Med School Admissions Help, Med School Applications, Med School Coaching, Medical School Coaching

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Med School Rankings

March 12, 2013

Med School Ranking, Medical School Rankings, Rankings for Medical Schools

The 2014 “US News & World Report” med school rankings are out. They are labeled 2014 because they’re intended for p

The “US News & World Report” 2014 med school rankings are out (even though it’s only March of 2013). From what we understand, “US News & World Report” publishes the rankings in 2013 but labels them for 2014 because students keeping track of the rankings that come out now will be applying for the 2014-2015 academic year. So which university’s medical school topped the list? That would be Harvard University. Shocker, we know. Placing second is Stanford University. Another major shocker, right? Johns Hopkins slipped to third overall. In fourth is a tie between the University of California – San Francisco and the University of Pennsylvania. In sixth is Washington University in St. Louis. Then comes Yale University. On Yale’s heels are Columbia University, Duke University, the University of Chicago, and the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor (all tied for eighth overall).

And how about for primary care? Placing first is the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. In second is the University of Washington. In third is Oregon Health and Science University. In fourth is University of California – San Francisco. Then comes the University of Colorado – Denver, followed by the University of Nebraska Medical Center, the University of Minnesota, the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, the University of Massachusetts – Worcester, and the University of Alabama – Birmingham.

According to an article in “The Baltimore Sun” on the medical school rankings, “The medical school rankings weigh in assessments by peer academic officials and residency program directors, research activity in total and per faculty member, admissions selectivity, students’ MCAT scores and undergraduate GPAs, and student-to-faculty ratios.”

While you’re here, learn about admission to med school at Stanford University.

Categories: Applying to Graduate Schools Tags: Med School Coach, Med School Coaching, Med School Rankings, Medical School Rankings, US News Med School Rankings

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Emory University Scandal

October 16, 2012

Emory University’s dental school discriminated against Jewish students from 1948-1961. The university is now owning up to its past wrongs.

We previously wrote about the Emory University scandal — the one in which a former dean of the dental school at Emory (between 1948 and 1961) discriminated against students on the basis of their Jewish faith. During this time, Jewish students at the dental school were “flunked out” (even though they were terrific students) simply because they were Jewish. For years, these students lived with the shame of flunking out of dental school at Emory. They were embarrassed to tell their families about the episode. They wanted to forget the episode ever happened, but they couldn’t erase it from their memories — even as some of them would go on to graduate at the very top of their class at other dental schools (no surprise there).

All of these years later, because of the persistence of one of these Jewish students, Emory has finally decided to own up to its past wrongs and legacy of anti-Semitism. The former students recently traveled to Emory to hear remarks from the university president in which he acknowledges the complicity of the university in the discrimination against Jewish students. One student who made that trip — who his family has let it be known yearned for years for the truth to be told — died within just a few days of the ceremony. He lived to hear an apology. He lived to hear that he didn’t deserve to be flunked out, that he was treated wrongly and unjustly.

Emory University is not the only university in America with a history of anti-Semitism. While we hope to not hear stories coming out of universities across America about rampant anti-Semitism in the years after World War II, we hope that those universities with a legacy of anti-Semitism dare to come forward. We hope that they dare to own up to the wrongs of their past. In so doing, they’ll let it be known that such actions will never happen again at their university.

Categories: Applying to Graduate Schools Tags: Discrimination at Emory, Emory Dental School, Emory Dental School Scandal, Emory Scandal, Emory University Scandal

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Emory Dental School

October 8, 2012

Did you know that the Emory dental school has a history of anti-Semitism? A “New York Times” piece by Samuel G. Freedman sheds light on the horrific tenure of its former dean, John E. Buhler, who served in this position from 1948-1961. During this time, the anti-Semitic Mr. Buhler ruined lives by flunking out Jewish students with excellent academic records. The man also changed the application to Emory’s dental school so Jewish students could identify themselves clearly. These students would then not gain admission, regardless of their qualifications.

Emory Dental, Dental School at Emory, Dental Program at Emory, Emory Dental Program

Emory University’s dental school has a history of anti-Semitism that they are now just acknowledging. Shame on Emory for taking over 50 years to recognize the horrors of its past.

According to “The New York Times,” “The evidence of bias against Jewish students in Emory’s dental school under the reign of its dean, John E. Buhler, from 1948 to 1961 has been known for decades. Until now, however, the university had neither admitted the bias nor apologized for it.” Shame on Emory University for taking all of these years to admit the terrible missteps of their past. John E. Buhler, after all, couldn’t have acted alone. He was put in position to lead the dental school by Emory University. The university, which now boasts a Jewish population among students of approximately 20%, is thus equally at fault.

“The New York Times” piece on Emory’s dental school focuses in on Paul Brickman, now 80, who was disgraced when he learned that he had “flunked out” of the school. He had never failed a course in his life. He was a B+ student at Emory as an undergraduate and he had just earned admission to the dental school. He hadn’t even completed a course yet. And Mr. Brickman wasn’t alone. He also learned that summer that three other Jewish students had “flunked out” without cause. And all three classmates happened to be Jewish.

It’s good that Emory University is finally shedding light on the horrors of its past. If not for Mr. Brickman’s persistence in bringing this history to light, the university may never have acknowledged it. Shame on Emory University for its history of anti-Semitism and shame on Emory for taking all of these years to acknowledge its past wrongs. This should have been done years ago!

Categories: Applying to Graduate Schools Tags: Dental at Emory University, Dental Program at Emory, Emory Dental Program, Emory Dental School, Emory University Dental

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Wharton San Francisco

July 9, 2012

When you think of Wharton, you likely think of the University of Pennsylvania. Wharton, after all, is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Wharton, founded in 1881 from a donation by Joseph Wharton, was the world’s first collegiate business school and it regularly ranks as one of the top MBA programs in the nation. Graduates of Wharton often flock to investment banking, private equity, and consulting to name a few of the most popular career choices. Firms like McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, Goldman Sachs, and Bain are just some of the frequent Wharton post-graduate employers. But did you know that if you want to attend Wharton for an MBA that you don’t have to move to Philadelphia?

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Wharton offers executives an MBA in San Francisco.

While it may seem odd, Wharton has a satellite campus for MBA students in San Francisco. That’s right — there’s a Wharton San Francisco and it’s been around for ten years. Students essentially attend courses in San Francisco every other weekend over the course of two years (with some exceptions as there’s a week here and a week there that students have to attend) and graduate with an MBA just like the students in Philadelphia do. The advantage, you ask? Well, students attending Wharton San Francisco can keep their jobs while they earn their executive MBA’s.

This is most certainly a trend you’ll see more of in the future — especially for MBA programs. East Coast universities will seek to establish satellite campuses so that they can offer their educations to prospective students who can’t make the move. Wharton has been a pioneer in this effort and we don’t think it will be long before a host of MBA programs follow in their footsteps. If you walk around San Francisco, you’ll see Wharton San Francisco flags flying on lampposts. You’ll see ads on billboards. After all, Wharton knows how to market…it’s part of what they teach!

Categories: Applying to Graduate Schools Tags: SF Wharton, Wharton in Cali, Wharton in California, Wharton San Francisco, Wharton SF

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Business School Admissions

July 4, 2012

Business school admissions could stand a boost of diversity, according to “The Wall Street Journal.” If you look at the minority statistics at various highly selective business schools, you might think that business schools don’t have any issue in securing minority graduate students. But there’s an old Mark Twain saying – “Lies, damned lies and statistics.” You need only to look at the data a little bit more carefully to realize that business schools do indeed have a problem with securing minority students — they just don’t have an issue in securing Asian American students — an overrepresented minority group in the admissions process.

Business School Admission, Admission to BSchool, BSchool Applicants, Business School Applicants

The percentage of students in MBA programs listed as minorities only tells part of the story of a school’s ability to recruit, for instance, African American and Latino candidates. Why’s that? Because Asian Americans make up a big percentage of this data (photo credit: Joseph Barillari).

As an example, according to “The Wall Street Journal,” “Cornell University’s Johnson Graduate School of Management reported that 34% of its two-year M.B.A. class graduating next spring will be minorities, up from 31% in the class that graduated this year. But taking Asian-Americans from that count shows the share of underrepresented minority students actually fell during that time, to 12% from 15%.” 12 and 15% are a major difference from 31 and 34%, wouldn’t you say? The statistics can indeed be deceiving! And it’s not just that business schools have a hard time in getting minority students to enroll in their programs — they also have a hard time in getting minority candidates to apply for admission.

The statistics can also greatly vary from year to year for enrolled minority MBA students. At Dartmouth College’s Tuck School of Business as an example, 19% of the Class of 2012 was reported as minorities (of which 10.2% was reported as underrepresented minorities). How about for the Class of 2013? The 19% is down to 14%. A 5% drop is significant at one of America’s most prestigious graduate business schools.

Why do you think minority students are reluctant to apply to business schools? Do you think cost being prohibitive is a major obstacle? Do you think it’s because minorities are seeking careers in other sectors? What’s the reason for this? Let us know your thoughts on the subject by posting below! We’re interested to hear your opinions.

Categories: Applying to Graduate Schools Tags: Admission to Business Schools, Applying to Business Schools, BSchool Admission, BSchool Admissions, Business School Admissions

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Dartmouth Medical School

April 29, 2012

Dartmouth Med School, DMS, Dartmouth Medicine, Dartmouth School of Medicine

Dartmouth Medical School has been renamed after a former Dartmouth student who went on to become one of the most celebrated children's authors of all time.

A few weeks back, Dartmouth College announced that its medical school, formerly known as Dartmouth Medical School, would be renamed. The new name? The Audrey and Theodor Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth. We suppose you don’t think much of the renaming. Big deal — universities rename their buildings, endowed professorships, and graduate schools quite often as new major donations roll in. But this is a renaming that is kind of funny if you happen to know who Theodor Geisel is.

Theodor Geisel attended Dartmouth College as a member of the Class of 1925. At Dartmouth, Geisel was a SigEp and the editor-in-chief of the College’s humor magazine (“The Jack-O-Lantern”). When Geisel got in some trouble with the Dean of the College, his punishment was that he could no longer participate in extracurricular activities — including writing for “The Jack-O-Lantern.” And so Geisel decided to write under a pseudonym so that he could keep writing without getting in more trouble. The pen name he chose? Dr. Seuss.

So, yes, the former Dartmouth Medical School is now essentially the Audrey and Dr. Seuss Medical School. How funny is that? Does it make you think of the Robin Williams movie “Patch Adams”? What do you think of the renaming of Dartmouth Medical School? Is it a little bit ridiculous? Do you like it? Let us know your thoughts on the subject by posting below. If you’d like, you can even post under a pen name.

And while the Cat in the Hat might be in, the Dartmouth president is out. He’s been confirmed to become the president of the World Bank.

Categories: Applying to Graduate Schools, Ivy League Tags: Dartmouth Med, Dartmouth Medical School, Dartmouth School of Medicine, Geisel School of Medicine, Medicine at Dartmouth

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Graduate Film School

April 9, 2012

Graduate film school. You’ll see posters for such programs all over Manhattan and Los Angeles. The good ones, of course, are at New York University (Tisch), the University of Southern California, and the University of California Los Angeles. There isn’t really a university with a graduate film school of the same caliber. But don’t take what we just wrote literally because we feel that graduate film school (watch this video!) is utterly ridiculous. And we’ll tell you why.

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Graduate film schools just aren't necessary. There just isn't a good return on investment for students in many cases.

Take for example the Peter Stark Producing Program at USC. Students in this program (mostly aspiring movie and TV producers, writers, directors, and executives) pay big bucks to go to school to learn how to be producers. They learn about film budgets. They learn about film financing, how to effectively frame TV pitches, and they get to be taught by real industry professionals. But is that really worth the money? Our answer, in short, is absolutely, positively not.

When you work your way up the Hollywood food chain (first as an unpaid intern, then as an assistant, etc.), you build connections. And you do grunt work. That grunt work, if you do it with a smile, doesn’t go unnoticed by higher ups and it often leads to a promotion. Going to school in the hope of bypassing the grunt work just doesn’t work. Graduate film school is not an effective bypass of the low rungs on the television and movie business ladder. It just isn’t.

And when students graduate from such programs as Stark and feel entitled, that doesn’t sit well with feature and television executives. That doesn’t sit well with other feature and TV writers and directors. In Hollywood, it’s all about paying your dues. It’s about getting coffee and running errands. Does that mean that it’s the right way? No. But it’s the way of Hollywood. Graduate film school is a whole lot of money for little payoff. The return on investment just isn’t there. Rather than applying, consider trying to land a PA, writer’s assistant, or director’s assistant job in Hollywood. That’s the bottom line.

Categories: Applying to Graduate Schools Tags: Grad Film Programs, Grad Film School, Graduate Film Programs, Graduate Film School, Graduate Film Schools

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