Accepted Admissions Almanac

Med School Student Satisfaction

Is the glass more than half-full or more than half-empty?

AAMC STAT cites a 2004 study that shows "Nearly 90 percent of graduating medical students are satisfied with the quality and content of their medical education."

These results contrast sharply with the results of an AMSA study quoted in last week's post on medical student satisfaction.

There are lies, damn lies, and statistics.

B-School Ethics

Dr. Jeffrey Garten has a thoughtful piece in  Businessweek titled "B-Schools: Only a C+ in Ethics."  Dr. Garten presents several ideas for strengthening the ethical aspects of MBA programs including a suggestion that b-schools ask probing questions about ethical "turning points" and business issues in both application essays and interviews.

Over the years a number of programs have asked students about ethical dilemmas and challenges. I have been struck by how few applicants  see value clashes when they stare them in the face. For example, everyone has to balance conflicting commitments to work and family. That on a very basic level is an ethical dilemma. Most of us value social commitments, respect for elders, and the closer ties we have with family. At the same time, we (usually) take seriously our responsibility to our company, shareholders, and customers. Frequently those values clash.  Applicants, however, rarely see this situation as a value conflict or ethical dilemma.

Business is filled with such conflicts: The short-term interests of current stockholders vs. those of those holding stock for the long run. The claims of employees vs. the claims of customers. The needs of employees, shareholders, and customers coexist but in a tension born of conflict.

If you are asked about ethical challenges you have faced, think of times when your beliefs, relationships, or constituents  were in conflict.  How did you handle the situation? What did you learn?

Law School Application Volume Declines Slightly

The National Law Journal reports that applications  at the nation's top law schools declined  2%  this year from last year.  Applications had  been steadily climbing in recent years.

More interesting to me than the overall slight decline is the wide disparity among schools:

Declines:

• UCLA: -13%
• UT: -11%
• Vanderbilt: -9%
• Cornell: -8%
• USC: -8%

Increases:

• University of Minnesota: +22%
• University of Pennsylvania: +21%
• Duke:  +9%
• University of Michigan: +4.5%
• GWU: +3.5%

The article also reports on trends in minority enrollment.

Medical Specialties and Controllable Lifestyle

Academic Medicine has just published the results of a study on the role of "controllable lifestyle" in the choice of medical specialty. Conclusion:

"Controllable lifestyle was strongly associated with the recent trends in specialty choice for both women and men and could not be explained solely by the specialty preferences of women."

Reminder: Prices go Up on Thursday

Yes. Accepted.com is raising its hourly rate on Thursday September 1. You can beat the price increase by purchasing on or before August 31. That gives you just a few days. So don't hesitate. Choose the expert admissions advising and essay editing that you need to navigate the admissions process.

Washington Monthly's College Rankings

According to the Washington Monthly, colleges should " be engines of social mobility, they should produce the academic minds and scientific research that advance knowledge and drive economic growth, and they should inculcate and encourage an ethic of service."

With these criteria and publicly available data, they ranked US colleges and universities as follows:

1. MIT
2. UCLA
3. UC Berkeley
4. Cornell
5. Stanford
6. Penn State
7. Texas A&M
8. UC San Diego
9. University of Pennsylvania
10. University of Michigan

Certainly a different approach. Maybe this ranking that indicates where the government should invest its dollars. I'm not sure it reveals where parents should invest their dollars.

Medical School Curriculum

AMSA published the results of a medical student satisfaction survey, "Are Medical Schools Teaching Future Doctors Everything They Need to Know?" 322 medical students took the survey and only 17% are "very satisfied" with their education.

MBA Recruiters Chat with MBA Applicants

"MBA Talent Seekers Speak: Why We Value an MBA" is the title of the chat that Accepted.com is co-hosting with Michigan Ross School of Business on Wednesday September 21 at 10:00 AM PT/1:00 PM ET/5:00 PM GMT.  Currently we have the following companies participating and available to talk to MBA prospects and applicants about the value of an MBA and how your can prepare yourself for your post-MBA career.

So far, the following companies are participating:

• The Boston Consulting Group
• Deloitte
• Booz Allen Hamilton
• Johnson & Johnson CPC
• Bear Stearns
• Deutsche Bank
• JP Morgan

I am very excited about this first-ever recruiter event for MBA prospects. As anyone who reads this blog knows, goals and knowledge about career paths are critical to your MBA decision and application.  Details will follow, but for now, mark the date!

Writing Your Law School Personal Statement

A little glib, but good advice at Bad Glacier on writing the law school personal statement.

I do want to caution you about having everyone and his brother commenting on your personal statement as is suggested in some of the comments. You will inevitably get conflicting advice and bad advice and good advice.  Attempting to incorporate all of it, may just suck the life out of your essay.

So definitely show it to others. Professional writers have editors for a reason; they know writing requires rewriting. They know their work benefits from a critical and fresh eye. But they don't ask everyone and his brother to review their work!

I recommend you show your essay to 2-3 people who know you well and 2-3 people who know how to write well or know admissions.

Thanks to Blawg wisdom for the link.

Online MBA Programs Get Attention

Online MBA programs are increasingly popular and consequently have earned some media attention.

• BusinessweekOnline has a thorough review of the advantages and disadvantages of online MBA programs along with red flags to watch  for so that you aren't mashed through a degree mill in "Do Online MBAs Make the Grade?"
• Forbes' "Click and Learn" reflects less on the online MBA industry and more on the personality traits need to successfully pursue an MBA online .