Looking Back on 2021

By Elizabeth LaScala, PhD

January 5, 2022

Here is a compilation of newsletter articles from 2021, all in one easy place for your reading pleasure. Maybe something will stick out as helpful to read again. Or perhaps you see a hole, an idea or topic I haven’t covered yet. If so, let me know! I strive to write about things you want to read.

Business and Diversity

We kicked off the year with a deep dive into Graduate Business Programs for College Seniors, written by my colleague Stuart Nachbar. In his article, Stuart points out that while most MBA programs seek applicants who have several years of relevant work experience, there are some programs that accept college seniors. This deep dive was paired with an article identifying four questions to help you with Brainstorming a Diversity Statement, a common writing requirement for applications. These questions are: What exactly is diversity? How have I supported, advocated for, or otherwise helped others who are diverse? How does a cause I am passionate about relate to diversity? What actions will I take to support diversity going forward? The article talks more about how to use these questions to structure a diversity statement and provides some sample diversity statement prompts from leading universities from different types of programs.

Letters of Recommendation and Letters of Evaluation

April’s newsletter was dedicated to the efforts other people make to get us into grad school, namely those who are writing your Letters of Recommendation (LORs) or Letters of Evaluation (LOEs) as they are often called if you’re applying to medical school. While it can be tempting for applicants to focus on material that will consume much of their own time (like essay writing and test prep) material that takes other people’s time needs to be a top priority as well. These articles discuss what you can do to secure good LORs and LOEs; I cover the general requirements for these letters, and whom to ask, which differs depending on the discipline.

A Medical School Admissions Overview

In July, I spoke directly to those who have their sights set on medical school. Medical schools across the US, both DO and MD colleges, offer various programs to become a physician. But one thing they all have in common is how competitive the application process is. Therefore, choosing the right premed program and acquiring the necessary knowledge, training and experiences are fundamental to success. In the article Selecting a Premed Undergraduate Program, I unpack the hidden pitfalls of attending “brand name” schools and other considerations for choosing a premed program. In the article Enhance Your Medical Application with Extracurricular Choices, I outline the types of extracurricular activities that are nice-to-haves, have-to-haves, and those that will truly set you apart.

Art School

In October, I dedicated a newsletter just to art school. This newsletter was one of my favorites. I took a deep dive into how to Finance Art School and provided some out-of-the box options. I also outlined Four Reasons to Get Your MFA. This article was written through a skeptical lens because, let’s face it, artists don’t need degrees to be great at what they do. Instead, this article identifies the real reasons why an MFA might be the right choice for you.

What’s next?

I’m still planning the content for my 2022 newsletters, so please let me know if there’s something specific you’d like me to cover. Or, if you’d like to author a guest post, please let me know.