Preparing for Graduate Programs and Transferring Colleges Mid-Year

The most recent episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation addressed a variety of useful topics for our listeners, first digging deeply into how to understand and prepare for two different graduate programs:  the MBA (Master of Business Administration) and the MD (Doctor of Medicine) degrees. Guest host Ian Fisher concluded the show with a college finance expert who offered practical tips for students transferring from one college to another mid-year. Ian’s first guest was Stacy Raddock, a College Coach admission expert and former admission officer at Columbia University’s business school. She began with a discussion of the limitless career possibilities out there for MBA degree holders, then Ian posed the often-asked question about whether or not a student should major in business as an undergraduate student to maximize their chances of being admitted to an MBA program. Stacy emphasized that students do not need to have an undergraduate business degree, and in fact, many business schools look for diversity in their applicant pool, and admit candidates with a variety of academic backgrounds. She went on to share her expertise on the MBA admission process and to offer some fabulous advice to high school students who are trying to choose between a “hands-on” business degree like accounting or marketing and a more theoretical academic discipline like economics or philosophy. Stacy wrapped up the segment by advising students to take the GMAT (the standardized entrance exam for an MBA program) while in college, since the scores are good for five years. If an MBA is in your future, you won’t want to miss this show! Ian’s next guest, college admission expert Abigail Anderson, offered some similar insight into the medical school application process, beginning with advice for high school juniors on what they can do to prepare to be a pre-med student (spoiler alert: it has to do with your extracurricular activities, not your high school academic program).  And when it comes to your undergraduate major and medical school admission, it turns out that medical schools are like business schools—you do not have to major in “pre-med” to get into medical school. As long as you take the required prerequisite courses (which Abigail outlined), it turns out that medical schools look for students from a variety of academic backgrounds when shaping their class. Ian and Abigail wrapped up this segment with some sage advice for aspiring doctors about what matters in the admission process, and some useful tips on how to interpret the medical school acceptance rates that undergraduate programs advertise. Ian concluded the show with college financial aid consultant, Laurie Peltier, who outlined the very specific steps that students need to take if they are financial aid/student loan recipients transferring from one college to another in the middle of the academic year. In this segment they explored a whole range of topics affecting mid-year transfer students, including how the number of credits you transfer in will affect the amount of loan you can receive, negotiating scholarship offers, and the importance of understanding housing options and attending a transfer orientation program if one is available. Don’t miss our next episode of Getting In: A College Coach Conversation, when guest host Ian will welcome college admission expert Kara Courtois to discuss the best courses and extracurricular activities for pre-vet students, and he and college finance expert Kathy Ruby will address listener questions about all aspects of the college admission and finance process.