Admissions Straight Talk

Tune in to hear all you need to know about the Executive Assessment [Show Summary]Who is the Executive Assessment for? What is it? And how to prepare for it? Introduced by GMAC a few years ago, for the Executive MBA, the “EA” has gained credibility and acceptability for a variety of MBA programs. Brett Ethridge, test prep expert, weighs in and answers all these questions in this informative interview. Interview with Brett Ethridge, founder and president of Dominate Test Prep [Show Notes]Welcome to the 483rd episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for listening. You've seen the stats that most people have a great return on their MBA investment. But what about you? Are you going to see that return? How much could it be? We've created a tool that will help you assess whether the MBA is likely to be a good investment for you individually. Just go to accepted.com/mbaroicalc, complete the brief questionnaire, and you’ll not only get an assessment but also the opportunity to calculate different scenarios. And it's all free. Try the MBA ROI Calculator!It gives me great pleasure to have back on Admissions Straight Talk, Brett Ethridge, founder and president of Dominate Test Prep. Brett earned his Bachelor's in Public Policy Studies from Duke in 2000 and then joined the Peace Corps for two years where he worked in Madagascar. He then earned a Master's in International Finance, Trade, and Economic Integration from the University of Denver. In 2010, he founded Dominate the GMAT, which became Dominate Test Prep. Today, Dominate Test Prep provides test preparation for the GMAT, the GRE, SAT, ACT, LSAT, and most importantly for today's conversation, GMAC's Executive Assessment. The Executive Assessment is accepted by many Executive MBA programs, an increasing number of part-time MBA programs, and even several highly ranked full-time MBA programs, including Columbia, Darden, Duke Fuqua, Georgetown, NYU Stern, UT McCombs, and Vanderbilt. Let's learn all about the Executive Assessment. Let's start with a basic question. What is the Executive Assessment? [2:42]It's a standardized test used as part of the admissions process for a wide range of primarily Executive MBA programs in the United States, but also overseas. It’s also being used by an increasing number of online MBA programs, part-time MBA programs, and full-time MBA programs. It's very similar in a lot of ways to the GMAT exam, which is the widely used entrance exam for business school, but different in distinct ways as well. In short, it's a standardized test that a lot of students are taking right now to get into various MBA programs.Why did GMAC develop the Executive Assessment if it already had the GMAT? [3:32]Because they were asked to (if the story is correct). I actually first learned about the Executive Assessment myself at a forum that the GMAC hosted at their headquarters in Ruston, Virginia back in 2018. I think the Executive Assessment had been around for maybe a year or so at that point. It's a fairly new exam at four or five years old. It was my first time really learning about the exam. At that point, only a couple dozen schools were even using it. The story they told us, so this is straight from the GMAC's mouth, is that the admissions directors at a lot of the top executive MBA programs came to them and said, "Look, we love the GMAT. We're currently asking applicants for our Executive MBA programs to take the GMAT. But it's a really steep hurdle in the application process for a demographic of applicants who are in their forties, sometimes fifties. These people have beeFollow UsYouTubeFacebookLinkedInContact Uswww.accepted.comsupport@accepted.com+1 (310) 815-9553

Expert tips for MCAT success [Show Summary]Todd Bennett, co-founder of The Berkeley Review and expert MCAT instructor, shares his best tips for preparing for and taking the test. Todd Bennett, co-founder of The Berkeley Review and expert MCAT instructor [Show Notes]Welcome to the 480th episode of Admissions Straight Talk, thanks for joining me. Before I introduce our guest today, I'd like to invite you to take Accepted's Med School Admissions Quiz. Ask yourself, "Am I ready to apply to my dream medical schools? Am I competitive at my target programs?" Accepted's Med School Admissions Quiz can give you a quick reality check, just go to accepted.com/medquiz, complete the quiz, and you'll not only get an assessment but also actionable tips on how to improve your chances of acceptance. Plus, it's all free.  hbspt.cta.load(58291, '6f21f36c-c988-4e9c-b947-0b9d4af1557f', {"region":"na1"}); Our guest today is Todd Bennett, whom I met many years ago. He was, at the time, the CEO of the Berkeley Review, and for the entire time, since I met him those many moons ago, he's been an expert MCAT instructor, both for the Berkeley Review and on his own. Is there anything new in terms of the MCAT and the MCAT prep world since we last spoke about a year ago? [1:55]Well, the biggest thing is that COVID restrictions have basically simmered away and it's no longer the same concern it was. The content hasn't seemed to change much, but the delivery and all the stress and weird times looks like it's just going to go back to the regular shot. So that's the biggest thing. There are still some basic protocols, but it's so much less stressful than it was during the pandemic.How do you recommend students prepare for the MCAT? [2:42]The biggest thing at the very start is to look at what you're studying. The only company that puts out realistic questions that have been on the MCAT, or are very similar, is the AAMC. It’s the company that is responsible for the test. Start with their materials. They have an MCAT guide that's the best thing on the market. All these people with “super secrets” are pretty much just people who've read that book from start to finish.They're pretty straightforward in what percentages of the questions they give, how they ask their questions, and what they're looking for. If you start there and really analyze and break that down, you will realize that you don't have to know the material at the same level you studied for college. It's not that it's harder or easier. It's different in that you have to apply it.I'll take physics, for instance. It’s one of the topics I taught for many years. In college, people memorize equations, learn to do problems, show their work, box their answer, and pray for partial credit. That's physics in a nutshell. On the MCAT, they're going to talk about some experiment they do in biochemistry with some machine that uses an electric field, and they'll want to know, "What's true of this electric field if we turn up the voltage", or, "What's true if we move the plates further apart or closer together?" Suddenly you have to take that physics, and apply it to a bio experiment. Getting used to that is the hardest thing I find people have to do. They spend so much time memorizing facts that they never take time to get used to what the questions and passages are like, and they get shocked when they start doing AAMC materials. It’s the number one reason why people postpone or have to repeat. My best advice is to start with the real deal, analyze it, learn what you can from it, and then start your study.How much time shoFollow UsYouTubeFacebookLinkedInContact Uswww.accepted.comsupport@accepted.com+1 (310) 815-9553

Hear about possible changes to the law admissions process and how to get accepted [Show Summary]Mark Hill, Assistant Dean of Admissions at Duke Law, has worked in admissions for twenty years. In this episode, he shares his thoughts on how law schools will be affected by a potential recession and the possible elimination of a test requirement. Mark explores how applicants, especially those hoping to get accepted to Duke, should handle the shifting landscape. (Please note: Between the recording and publication of our interview, Mark Hill was promoted to Assistant Dean of Admissions at Duke Law. The recording has his old title; the show notes reflect his new title.)Interview with Mark Hill, Assistant Dean of Admissions at Duke Law [Show Notes]Thanks for joining me for the 481st episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Are you applying to law school this cycle? Are you planning ahead to apply to law school next year or later? Are you competitive at your target programs? Accepted's Law School Admissions Quiz can give you a quick reality check. Just go to accepted.com/law-quiz, complete the quiz, and you'll not only get an assessment but also tips on how to improve your qualifications and your chances of acceptance. And it's all free. I'm delighted to have an Admissions Straight Talk, Mark Hill, Assistant Dean of Admissions at Duke Law. Mark earned his bachelor's degree in Cultural Anthropology from Duke, and then later earned a master's in Higher Ed from Northwestern, where he also served as Assistant Director of Admissions. In 2002, joined Duke Law as an Admissions officer. Since 2013, he has served Duke Law as Senior Director/Assistant Dean of Admissions. Can you give us an overview of the more distinctive elements of the Duke Law School JD program? [2:21]The way that I think about it, there are two elements that characterize Duke. One is that we're among a handful of really top-tier national law schools with students who come from all over and have really great job prospects all across the country. Most of our grads don't stay in North Carolina. They're looking elsewhere. There's a handful of law schools like that. The other thing that makes us distinctive is that we have a relatively small class size. We're in a smaller city and so we’re a smaller school. We can really give individual attention to students. We help everybody who comes here craft their own course through the opportunities at Duke to get to where they want to end up.Because it's a smaller school and a smaller city, we really attract folks who are intending to be full-time law students. They're focused on engaging with one another and with their professors. I suppose it's not for everybody, but for people who want that kind of full-on focused experience, it can be really great. I've often mentioned a couple of distinctive dual degrees. We have two JD/LLM degrees that can be completed in the three years that it would take to do a JD so they don't add any additional time. You can get a really good concentration and an LLM focusing either on international and comparative law and all the spectrum of the things that means from public law to finance and corporate transactions. The other one focuses on law and entrepreneurship. Maybe you want to be a lawyer who works in the startup space or who works with venture capital. Maybe you have entrepreneurial ideas of your own. Maybe you just want to work for law firms that help provide legal services to those kinds of companies. The JD/LLM in law and entrepreneurship is a great thing there. Those are Duke-specific dual degrees. Of cFollow UsYouTubeFacebookLinkedInContact Uswww.accepted.comsupport@accepted.com+1 (310) 815-9553

Find out what's new to the U. of Colorado SOM curriculum [Show Summary]The University of Colorado School of Medicine has introduced a new curriculum that includes clinical training starting in year two and a longitudinal approach to patient care. Dr. Jeffrey SooHoo, the Assistant Dean for Admissions explains everything applicants will want to know about these changes and gives the inside scoop on how to get accepted.Interview with Dr. Jeffrey SooHoo, Assistant Dean for Admissions, U. of Colorado SOM [Show Notes]Welcome to the 478th episode of Admissions Straight Talk. Thanks for joining me. Do you know how to get accepted to medical school? Accepted's Dr. Suzi Schweikert does and she shares her knowledge and insight in Accepted's free guide, Med School Admissions: What You Need to Know to Get Accepted. Download your free copy!Also, thank you and a shoutout to Nareg Keshisian who left a five-star review for Admissions Straight Talk on Apple Podcasts. He wrote:"Linda does a great job answering many of the questions that are on students' minds. These podcasts give greater insight into what schools are looking for in applicants that would be otherwise difficult to find elsewhere. I would highly recommend them to other applicants who are looking for more information about the admissions process for particular schools."Thank you again, Nareg. Your feedback is deeply appreciated. Giving insight to applicants into what schools are looking for is exactly the goal of Admissions Straight Talk. Your words are high praise.The next step in achieving Admissions Straight Talk’s goal is introducing today's guest, Dr. Jeffrey SooHoo. After attending Boston College as an undergrad, Dr. SooHoo earned his MD at Loyola Stritch School of Medicine in 2009. He did his residency at the University of Colorado in Ophthalmology and a fellowship in glaucoma, also at the University of Colorado. He has been Assistant Dean for Admissions at the University of Colorado School of Medicine since 2020. The University of Colorado School of Medicine introduced a new curriculum almost exactly a year ago. Can you walk us through it, focusing on its more distinctive elements? [2:14]Absolutely. Our new curriculum is called the Trek Curriculum and all the different elements are named after elements of a hike in Colorado. It was named by our students. You start out in the Plains and progress to the Foothills followed by the Alpine and finally the Summit.There's a number of things that I'll point out as being unique features of the curriculum. I think the biggest change is the move of the core clinical year from the third year of training to the second year of training. That decreases our core preclinical time from two years in the classroom to just one. A question I get often is, "Dean SooHoo, do you now expect me to learn two years of material in one year?" And the answer to that is no. We thought really critically about the elements of our preclinical curriculum and what needed to be in there to prepare you to be a clinical student. I think there was a lot of in those first two years that, while interesting and maybe relevant to medicine in some way, didn't necessarily need to be learned during the time before you went out into the clinical space.Students are eager to get into the clinical space. We also think it's better for learning for them to have clinical experiences earlier because it allows them to think more about the science behind the medicine. It also gives them a human framework in which to place that knowledge. Then they ask better questions because they say,Follow UsYouTubeFacebookLinkedInContact Uswww.accepted.comsupport@accepted.com+1 (310) 815-9553