This post was originally excerpted from MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools, by Linda Abraham and Judy Gruen, and has since been updated by Kelly Wilson to reflect recent trends and information. Want to get accepted to a top business school? Check out these 13 helpful MBA resume…
All You Need to Know About Residency Applications and Matching
You’re busy juggling med school and life, and if you don’t stay organized, one of those balls is going to come crashing down. Let’s take a look at what you need to do so you can stay focused, motivated, and completely on top of your juggling act. What Are the Components of a Residency Application?…
Get Accepted to Cornell School of Law [Episode 590]
Show Summary This week, Linda Abraham welcomes Dean Shane Cooper, Senior Associate Dean for Admissions, Financial Aid and Student Services at Cornell School of Law. Dean Cooper shares insights into the admissions process at Cornell Law School, emphasizing the mutual goal of finding the right fit between the school and the applicant. We discuss the…
Practicing for Your Med School Interview
Most applicants come away from their first medical school interview saying, “That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.” As with many things in life, the anticipation of a stressful event can sometimes be worse than the event itself. Although many med schools work hard to make applicants who are interviewing feel relaxed, this…
How to Project Confidence, Professionalism, and Positivity in Your Essays
So you’ve sat down and brainstormed, and you’re now ready to hit the ground running with your essays. Great! You might be wondering how to best convey your reasons for pursuing graduate school to the admissions committees. What kind of tone or approach should you use? A good rule of thumb is to project three…
UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2024-2025], Class Profile
Are you a team leader? Are you committed to sustainable enterprise? Are you seeking the resources and intellectual capital needed to shape both business and government? Are you a motivated, goal-oriented, innovative individual? If you answered yes to these questions, the UNC Kenan-Flagler adcom is interested in learning more about your multidimensional personality and capabilities. …
The MMI: Everything You Need to Know
The Multiple Mini Interview (MMI) has become a very common med school interview format – one that is meant to provide a fairer, more comprehensive assessment of applicants. It’s grown in popularity since 2004, when Canada’s McMaster University published a study illustrating the flaws in the traditional interview format, especially in the ways that interviewers…
How to Get a U.S. Student Visa – Even When There Are Complications [Episode 589]
Show Summary This week, we hear from Marla Schechter, a US immigration lawyer with 20+ years of experience. Marla shares her expertise on various topics related to obtaining a visa for studying in the United States. She covers the process of obtaining an F-1 visa, the advantages of studying in a STEM-certified program, the H-1B…
Vanderbilt Owen MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2024-2025]
Vanderbilt’s MBA program is small, collegial, collaborative, and very close-knit. The school has been called a “hidden gem,” because it ranks in the top 5% to 10% of all business schools in the world but is often overlooked in favor of the M7 schools. However, applicants who do some research might find that the school…
HEC Paris MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2024-2025], Class Profile
While the number of essays HEC Paris wants you to submit as part of its MBA application might initially be daunting, you should view them as a wonderful opportunity to share aspects of your whole self in telling your story. The adcom is looking to gain insight into your hopes, dreams, and accomplishments and into…
Your MBA Goals Essay: Get Ready, Get Set, Stop!
Applying to business school this cycle? Aiming for Round 1 (or later?) and not sure where to start? Deadlines are inching closer every day, but we’ve got you. The first thing you need to do to start writing your essays for business school is to…stop! Yes, take a beat. Assuming that you have already narrowed…
INSEAD MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2024 – 2024]
Don’t be overwhelmed by the number of essays, including job descriptions, that INSEAD asks you to provide. The wonderful thing about the INSEAD application is that you’ll leave no stone unturned when describing your background to the adcom, including your professional experiences, career goals, and personal and academic background. INSEAD wants to learn all about…
Emory Goizueta MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2024-2025], Class Profile
Emory Goizueta wants to learn about your professional plans, alignment with the school’s core values, and ability to concisely convey this information through written essays. Additionally, the school’s video essay allows you to present yourself in a dynamic and spontaneous way. Don’t be fooled by the short length of Goizueta’s required essays. Their brevity requires…
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Tips [2024 – 2025]
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine maintains a strong emphasis on integrating scientific innovation with patient care. In 2023, U.S. News & World Report ranked the school #1 in multiple specialties (Internal Medicine, Surgery, Rheumatology), #2 in Anesthesiology, and #3 in Psychiatry. The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine follows a “Genes to Society” curriculum…
UCLA Anderson MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2024-2025]
Business schools, in general, must keep up with the pace of change, particularly as technology strongly influences business. Technology and analytics are skills required for success, yet leaders must also possess complementary soft skills to be able to inspire teams to achieve their goals and positively affect the world. UCLA believes these are characteristics of…
Do’s and Don’ts for Your Application Resume
Your application resume is usually the first opportunity for admissions readers to get to know you and learn about your experience and skills. Because of the number of other application components they need to review, most admissions committee readers will read your resume quickly. So, not only do you have to make a great first…
You’ve Attended an MBA Fair – Now What? A Guide to Engaging with B-Schools
As an MBA hopeful, you will likely attend an MBA fair, which is an event that allows representatives from various business schools to meet prospective students. Entering the fair room can be a bit overwhelming, given the number of schools represented. As you make your way around the room, you introduce yourself to school reps…
How to Prepare for the Shorter GRE and GMAT Focus [Episode 588]
Show Summary Bara Sapir joins Admissions Straight Talk to discuss the benefits and challenges of the GRE and GMAT exams. She delves into the structure and length of the exams and also discusses the challenges unique to each one. Bara shares her expert tips on how to overcome these challenges, including being an active participant…
Make the Most of Your Experiences for ERAS
The 2025 ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service) application follows on last year’s restructured application, with a few changes. As in the 2024 ERAS, rather than including every relevant experience you’ve had, as you might on a CV, you must choose ten experience entries that communicate who you are and what’s most important to you. And…
Selecting the Right PhD Program
If you are thinking about applying to a PhD program, then you are probably already familiar with the research process, either because you conducted research with professors as an undergraduate, or you earned (or are earning) a master’s degree with a thesis requirement. If you have little or no research experience, then you will position…