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New York LL.M. Rankings

October 29, 2010 by

 

The New York Law Journal has come out with their Best of 2010 rankings, and has accordingly ranked the best LL.M. programs in New York. According to the NYLJ, New York Law School has the best LL.M. program in taxation, St. John’s in bankruptcy law, NYU in corporation law and international legal studies, and Cardozo in comparative legal thought.

Above the Law highlights these surprising results, since NYU “has long been considered, by U.S. News and others, to have the best tax LL.M. program in the land.” On closer look, the NYLJ has claimed its rankings are “purely democratic.” Readers voted for their favorites via online ballot, and that was the extent of the methodology involved. It’s a popularity contest. You may want to conduct research elsewhere as you weigh your options.

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Filed Under: Law School Admissions Tagged With:

Personal Statement Tip: Scale Back on Clichés

October 29, 2010 by

An essay can turn instantly sour when you stop saying what you mean and start using generic, meaningless clichés.

The best way to eliminate clichés in your writing is simply to go through and cut out any phrases that have lost their meaning or significance due to overuse.

Here are some common clichés. Once you read through them, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.

  • Take it to the next level
  • The bottom line
  • Been there for me
  • The tip of the iceberg
  • Think outside the box
  • All that jazz
  • Ax to grind
  • Hands on
  • Synergy
  • Paradigm shift
  • At the end of the day
  • Going forward
  • Push the envelope
  • Hit the ground running
  • 800-pound gorilla
  • It is what it is
  • Going from good to great
  • Now more than ever
  • Raise the bar
  • Game changing
  • Good to go
  • My 2 cents
  • Sooner rather than later
  • Cutting edge, bleeding edge, and almost anything edgy.

When these phrases were uttered for first time, listeners probably thought, “Hey, that’s unique! This guy’s witty and original.” Maybe even when they were uttered a second, third, or hundredth time. But people, we’re in the millions by now! You want to sound witty and original? Say something that hasn’t been said. Or else you will be left to push the envelope. Shift your paradigm. And get your point across by relying on overused crutches—they won’t get from good to great. Just my $0.02.

:)

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Filed Under: College Admissions, EMBA, Grad School Admissions, Law School Admissions, MBA Admissions, Medical School Admissions, Residency Tagged With:

Wharton Admissions Director Interview

October 28, 2010 by

We had an excellent Q&A last week with Tiffany Gooden, Senior Associate Director of Admissions, and Meghan Bass, Associate Director of Admissions at Wharton. If you missed the Wharton event or if you wish to review it, you can read the whole transcript or listen to the full audio clip online.

Here are a few questions and answers to get you started:

Linda Abraham: This is a question from me that all the applicants should be interested in. When you are evaluating the applications, and the numbers are competitive and the applicants are applicants who qualify and are competitive applicants, what puts one applicant in the admit pile and the others in the rejected or wait list piles?

Meghan Bass: That’s a good question. The applicant pool we get here at Wharton is an incredibly talented pool; they are all high achievers, they are all high scores. They are a very impressive group, and frankly 80% of the applicants we do receive are 100% admissible to Wharton. So then the question comes: how do we choose one over the other? Really it comes down to the compelling story they are going to share. At Wharton we admit 800+ a year. Of that, each student really needs to be able to bring a unique voice and perspective.

We need to have that feeling that this person is going to impact their incoming class; this is a valuable voice to be heard. And that really comes through in your essays. Your essays, your recommendation, the whole thing; it’s really how you choose to present yourself. I will say that we have a ton of people who are high achievers in their careers; we have a ton of high scores on their test scores and academic profiles. Use your essay as a chance to stand apart and introduce yourself. Don’t do anything crazy, but it’s a good opportunity to show who you are, what kind of a voice you are going to bring to Wharton, and the impact you are going to have. I think that is really the defining thing that can set two people apart; how they choose to present themselves.

Linda Abraham: This leads into a question that Stacy is posing. She asks, “What role does community service outside work contribution play in the admission?”

Meghan Bass: It definitely does play a role. Sometimes I see applications where people list a ton of different community service things that they’ve done. But then when I look a little bit closer, each one is maybe for a week, a month, or even a day. I don’t think it’s a good idea to collect things just for the sake of a business school application. I would rather see people perhaps invested in one or two things, whether it’s tutoring inner-city school kids, or doing several ‘Habitat for Humanity’ initiatives because they love to build, and they love to contribute that way to society. I would rather see people passionate about certain areas, rather than trying to blanket everything. Volunteering at soup kitchens and then running to tutor and then running to clean up the neighborhood; that makes me wonder if you’re just collecting for an application.

So again, it’s about you. Think what you are passionate about. We definitely want to see involved students. Social impact is a huge thing here at Wharton, so definitely think about where that is important to you and how you can present that properly.

View the full Q&A transcript or listen to the mp3 recording of the event now!

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Filed Under: MBA Admissions, Wharton Tagged With: ,

ABA to Promote Law School Transparency?

October 28, 2010 by

Although the push for transparency in law schools has gotten off to a slow start, things may be progressing more quickly now that the American Bar Association has taken an interest in the matter.

According to The National Law Journal (via New York Lawyer), the ABA is working on a resolution called Truth in Law School Education, which could require law schools to release cost and employment statistics to all accepted applicants. Moreover, this requirement may even be linked with a school’s accreditation.

Additionally, there will be a subcommittee working with standard 509, which deals with the consumer information law schools must gather and disclose. The subcommittee will push for more stringent requirements, especially regarding employment data, which schools have easily manipulated to suit their needs.

Steve Zack, the president of the ABA, is concerned that at a time when legal job prospects are diminishing, there is a huge influx of law school applications. He “attributes some of that disconnect to applicants who lack an accurate sense of what lawyers do or how much they earn.” And up until now, it has been in the law schools’ best interests to enhance their data as much as possible, since they are “huge profit centers” on college campuses. With the ABA now stepping in to regulate the situation, maybe the truth will finally come out and law school applicants can weigh their decisions with more accurate and realistic information. 

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Filed Under: Law School Admissions

MBA Admissions News Round Up

October 28, 2010 by
  • A Businessweek article reports on the increased phenomenon of helicopter parents…not at preschools, middle schools, or even colleges, but at business schools. “Helicopter parents,” a term used to describe hovering parents, have taken an active role in their children’s b-school application process. And when we say “children,” we mean 20- or 30-somethings who have lived on their own for many years and who have years of experience in the workplace. A survey indicates that 33% of the 35 admissions officers surveyed say that “a pushy or overbearing parent has compromised an applicant’s chance of admission.” Many believe that these over-involved parents are leaving a “noticeable footprint on applications submitted to their schools.”
  • A group of social entrepreneurs in India visited Yale SOM earlier this fall to take part in the Global Social Entrepreneurs course, reports a Yale SOM news release. The course, which is in its third year, is intended to encourage Indian social enterprises to address management challenges, while simultaneously affording Yale SOM students with an opportunity to examine the practical issues surrounding these enterprises. While the Indian representatives have already returned to their posts in India, Yale SOM students will continue to work one-on-one with the participants via phone and email through the rest of the semester. 
  • Can’t make it to an in-person MBA fair this year? Well here’s your next best option: The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) will be sponsoring the GMATCH Virtual MBA Fair, scheduled to take place on November 22 and 23 online. More than 40 business schools will be participating in the online event including UCLA Anderson, UVA Darden, Georgetown McDonough, London Business School, INSEAD, Nanyang Business School (Singapore), and the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. The event will last for four hours each day and will enable prospective applicants the chance to speak with admissions directors, chat with alumni and current students, and “learn effective self-marketing strategies.” Best of all, the virtual fair is FREE, but you do need to register, which you can do here.

 Related Accepted.com Resources:

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Filed Under: Georgetown McDonough, INSEAD, London Business School, MBA Admissions, UCLA Anderson, UVA Darden, Yale SOM Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Last Chance to Save 20% on The EMBA Edge!

October 28, 2010 by

Time is running out for you to purchase The EMBA Edge: A Guide to EMBA Admissions at 20% off.

This informative ebook will bring you through the entire EMBA application process, from researching programs, to winning sponsorship from your company, to writing winning essays, to preparing for your interview…and everything in between!

Get your EMBA edge at 20% when you buy The EMBA Edge: A Guide to EMBA Admissions by October 31, 2010. Enter coupon code EMBA at checkout to save.

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Filed Under: EMBA Tagged With: ,

Free LIVE MBA Admissions Advice — Sign up Now!

October 28, 2010 by

Round 1 has already come and gone…but you’re far from the end of this year’s MBA admissions season. With Round 2 and Round 3 dead ahead, you’re bound to have questions, and likely lots of them.

That’s why Accepted.com hosts its mid-season MBA Admissions Telethon. During this event you’ll receive 15 minutes to speak with an experienced MBA admissions consultant about your Round 2 and Round 3 concerns.

The telethon will take place on Wednesday, November 3rd at 1:00 PM PT / 4:00 PM ET / 8:00 PM GMT for two hours.

The event is FREE but you do need to sign up. Upon doing so you’ll receive a brief questionnaire that you should fill out and submit, along with your resume, so that our admissions consultants can get to know you a little before your 15-minute consultation.

Sign up now for Accepted’s MBA Admissions Telethon! (Space is limited.)

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Filed Under: Admissions Consulting, MBA Admissions

Volunteer Work Is Very Important

October 28, 2010 by

Countless students have said that they are interested in the field of medicine because they want to help people. If this is why you are going into medicine, be sure that your application contains evidence that you have helped people. Being a physician means that you will be dedicating your life to serving others. You need to be sure you want this.

One way to convey your commitment to service work is by volunteering and trying to make a difference in your community. Volunteer for Hospice, become a literacy volunteer or a Big Brother or Big Sister. Get out there, get involved, and make a difference. 

 This post is excerpted from 101 Tips on Getting Into Medical School by Jennifer C. Welch, who has served as the Director of Admissions at SUNY Upstate Medical School since 2001.

Filed Under: Medical School Admissions Tagged With:

Accepted.com Editor Gets Published!

October 27, 2010 by

We’d like to extend a hearty congratulations to Accepted.com senior editor, Judy Gruen, who recently had two essays published in Fits, Starts and Matters of the Heart – 28 True Stories of Love and Loss and Everything in Between, a new essay anthology.

According to Amazon.com:

“Through stories of family and friends, lovers and exes, even pets and rock stars, these writers demonstrate the enduring power of relationships to drive, haunt, empower and enrich our lives.”

Nice work!

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Filed Under: Uncategorized

MBA Profile Evaluation Webinar Available Online

October 27, 2010 by

Last week Natalie Grinblatt Epstein, Accepted.com editor and consultant and former b-school admissions dean, presented MBA Reality Check, a packed-to-capacity webinar about evaluating your business school profile.

In MBA Reality Check, Natalie provides soup to nuts advice on how you can measure your b-school qualifications against the characteristics that admissions directors will seek when assessing your candidacy.

Since self assessment is an ongoing, never-ending process, you’ll want to make sure that you view Natalie’s webinar, even if you caught it the first time around – and since we’ve just posted it to our website, you can get that “reality check” reminder as often and whenever you need it!

View or download Natalie’s presentation of MBA Reality Check now!  

 

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Filed Under: MBA Admissions Tagged With:
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