The Office: Graduate Admission

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So this week, I had two interviews lined up for the podcast - one on information sessions and one on graduate study abroad.  Unfortunately, Amazon has failed me - my new recorder has not arrived, and I surrendered the one I had been using back to media services! Hopefully, it will arrive early next week, in time for me to be able to meet with CB on information sessions, YH on graduate study abroad, and JR about Suffolk On the Road!

In the meatime, you can check out our newest bloggers - BunnyNorton and My Boston Waltz!

More Podcasts!

I just posted another podcast at our iTunesU site "What to Know about Graduate Admissions at Suffolk University."  Today's podcast is JR (the director of graduate admission) on the GMAT.

A lot of business school students worry about the GMAT - it's a standardized test, and some folks don't do well on standardized tests.  There's no way to ask questions.  There's a right answer and a wrong answer, despite the fact that not everyone's thought processes work in a way that leads to the "right" answer directly.  They're timed.  You may or may not be able to go back (you can't go back on many of the computer-based tests). 

Fortunately, we know that the GMAT is not the end-all be-all arbiter of a student's academic abilities.  JR goes into some detail about the fact that the GMAT is a piece of an application, but just as a high GMAT score is not going to guarantee someone will get into a program, a lower GMAT score is not necessarily going to keep an applicant out. 

That said, a low GMAT score needs to be balanced against other factors - a proven record of academic work, for instance (ie, a student's undergraduate schoolwork), and a wealth of job-related experience. 

But don't take my word for it.  Hear it all from my director.  (And check out the other podcasts while you're at it!)

Credential confidential

I've got a new podcast up - the first in our series dealing with credentials in-depth.  First out of the gate is the goal statement (also known as the essay, or statement of purpose).  I can tell you without shame that there have been podcasts I've gone into doing kinda blind, because the person I'm interviewing is the expert on the subject and I am totally not.  The interview notes on credentials....well the problem there is keeping it to a reasonable length.  There are so many things to say about each part of the application packet, and many areas where things can go awry.  Eventually you have to say "this should cover most people, and even the exceptions fall in these broad areas."

You might think the goal statement would be easy, right?  You just have to talk about yourself. 

Not so much.  Yes, you talk about yourself - your strengths, your perceived weaknesses (and what you have to say about them), why you want to be in a program, why now is a good time for you to pursue graduate education, why the program is right for you and what you bring to it...and try to get it done in about a page or two.  That's a lot of ground to cover concisely, and students will often leave it to the last minute. 

JR talks about what makes a good goal statement, what the problems are we see in goal statements, and how we use them (I promise, it's not just a hoop to jump through).  I recommend checking it out.

Rain doesn't swirl like that...

Hoo boy.  I was getting ready to come to work this morning when I looked outside to make the command decision: galoshes or sneakers?  It looked like it was raining, and so galoshes it was, and I traipsed out of the house to get to the bus stop, umbrella in hand.  It wasn't until I was at the bus stop I noticed some of the rain dancing like little motes of...ice...in the air.  Rain doesn't swirl like that, folks.  Nope, mixed in with the rain, there was snow.  It's March 26th, and it's snowing.  By the time I came off the T in Park Street, it was unquestionably snowing - we'll see if it sticks.

In other news, we have a new podcast up - I sat down with Second Language Services to talk about their Summer Bridge Program (which basically lets international students come early, polish their English skills, and settle in a bit before classes start.)  You can find it on iTunesU here.

A Double

The new podcasts are up, and this week it's a special one-two punch.  One is with Dr. Hallberg, Dean of the MBA programs, talking about the Global MBA, and it's travel seminar and internships.  The other is with Karianne Noble, Director of Continuing Ed programs for NESAD on the summer Pre-grad program for MAID and MAGD students.  Both of them are really talking about things people do with their summers.  I'm just excited to think about summer!

How did that happen?

I was kind of shocked to realize it had been more than a week since I posted.  I could have sworn I posted Monday, saying I was back from my vacation.  Apparently not!

I had been away last week, taking a break from the cold weather and enjoying some much needed short-sleeved time.  I land to 22 degree weather here in Boston - Brr.  Ah well. 

Yesterday was the "Snoverkill" - which as far as Boston was concerned was the storm that completely and totally wasn't.  There's just enough snow on my front steps to be concerned about it melting and re-freezing into ice, but that's all.  It's not the feet of snow we were worried about - though Suffolk University did close early yesterday, to make sure everyone got home safe in the event that it DID be a serious Nor'easter.

Exciting news this week is that the graduate admission podcasts are getting ready to be posted - the introduction is already up on iTunesU, and I'll be posting my interview with JR on the application process on Friday.  Also in the pipeline is the conversation with the VP of Enrollment Management (the one in charge of Student Financial Services, aka Financial Aid) - that is edited and ready, and today I will hopefully get to sit down with ED to talk about the application process for international students.  We're looking at posting every Friday, so you can either subscribe through iTunesU or find the page on our website to listen to them individually (getting that page posted is today's project).  

Good stuff.  Time to get back to it.

Life happening, even as classes start

Walk-in registration was last night, and a number of students got their registration done.  There will still be a few folks who trickle in, but for the most part we've got the bulk of the incoming Fall 2009 class ready to go.  Classes start next week, and people's graduate careers will start in earnest.

Things around here may be a little sporadic for a few days (ok, 2 weeks), mostly because I too will be embarking upon a new venture - I'll be off getting married.  While I think CB might be taking the reins in my absence, we'll also be starting travel season and I'm not 100% sure that she'll be in the office the whole time.  Anyway, best of luck to everyone!

New pictures!

I've been busy this morning, adding photos to the Boston Events album - I captured a few snaps from both the Admitted Student Social (from last night) and International Student Orientation.  Enjoy!

And two more

The new crop of bloggers is coming along - I met with one earlier this afternoon and just did the set-up for our next, SynapticFire, to join us.  SF will be in the side bar once I have the first post!

The school year: it's coming.

In fact, it was pointed out that International Orientation is next week.  I really don't know where the summer has gone.  It's a little shocking!

Aaand a little maintenance

Graduation is past, and some of our bloggers are out into the wild world again.  Thus, I've made some changes to the menu bars on the side - showing the archived blogs, the graduated blogs, and the current ones (well, current insofar as they are still students and still continue to update - not current in that they are updating right now, since it's summer and many are away - though some of them may still pop in from time to time).