(This post is a shameless plug. If that offends you, please click away.)

In my Internet meanderings, I occasionally come across posts from applicants who dismiss and deride admissions consultants. These sages, who usually have never talked to a consultant, claim that applicants can get all they need to know from the web and books and talking to a few friends.
 

They don't understand the difference between the dynamic, individual qualities of educational advising and the static, mass nature of information. 

I am proud of the rich information Accepted.com provides, probably more than any boutique consultancy. But I am also keenly aware of its limitations. Information is static, inert. It cannot respond to individual needs. It can't react to a fluid situation.  It doesn't analyze or change. It can target segments, but rarely individuals.

We can write a gazillion articles and ebooks. We can develop web tools, databases, and chats to serve you. But none of them will replace an in-depth, one-on-one consultation or the nitty-gritty work of critiquing and editing your applications and essays.

Accepted editors and advisers can help you develop and implement your admissions strategy, whether you are shooting for a BA, MBA, JD, MD, or PhD or a host of other degrees.  And unlike friends, we stay abreast of admissions news and developments because admissions is our business.

Using our expertise and experience to guide you as an individual interacting with a dynamic admissions world is the magic of admissions consulting.

That's how we help you develop your admissions strategy. Then there's implementation, and the personal statement, application essay, or statement of purpose.

Professional writers have editors with reason: writing is rewriting. Writers can fall in love with their own words and lose objectivity.  Writers need editors.

If the professionals need editors, so do you.

Can you implement a carefully thought-out strategy? Can you maintain your critical eye after reworking an essay ten times? Can you bring the superior editing skills of professional writers to your application?  If you can't, you need an Accepted editor to critique and review your essay(s).

Accepted has two early bird specials running through July 31, 2008.

• For MBA's, you can get 10% off our MBA essay editing and B-School advising and editing packages.
• For residency applicants, you can get 10% off essay editing for your Match essays.

Get the magic before July 31 and save 10%.

A new client asked me to help him with his MBA application essays to Stanford, Carnegie-Mellon, and MIT Sloan. Although he has several years' work experience, including in the financial services industry, his GMAT scores (he took it three times) and lack of demonstrated leadership simply will not make him competitive for these schools.

Like most of our clients, this gentleman is smart and ambitious. But like too many of our clients, he did not at first consider many other outstanding MBA programs where he has a far better chance of gaining acceptance. While Accepted.com editors have helped countless applicants gain acceptance to the most fabled names in the MBA pantheon (Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, etc.) even with less than average stats, we encourage our clients to look for the programs that are the best match for them. This isn’t just about scores and grades – it’s about matching an applicant with a school’s personality, academic strengths and flexibility, career placement opportunities, and other factors.  

For example, the client I'm talking about wanted strong a general management program with entrepreneurship, but until I mentioned them he hadn't considered Darden, Michigan, Duke, University of Texas, and University of North Carolina – each of them excellent general management programs. Additionally, he didn't want to move to a cold climate, making most of these schools well suited to his personal preferences as well.

If an MBA is your goal, look beyond the "Hollywood" names and give careful consideration to the other top-25 schools that really might be a good fit for your strengths and career aspirations, and where you’ll have a better chance of getting in. Fortunately, it’s never been easier to do your homework. Here are a few of the many wonderful information tools to help you learn about various schools and what each one has to offer.

1. Don't focus on a school's overall ranking as much as on its category ranking. Your dream school may be in the top 25 overall, but in the top 5 in entrepreneurship, so if entrepreneurship is your goal, that school is worth investigating.
   
2. Look at where the graduating MBAs end up in the workplace. Are many of them flowing to the field of your choice?
3. If your formal business educational background is skimpy, choose a school with a more structured core curriculum. Already a CPA? Look for a more flexible curriculum.
   
4. Check out what student bloggers are saying about the schools and their programs at the Hella - MBA Student Blog site. This site will give you information that’s about as current as you can get for your target schools.
   
5. Check the web sites of the MBA programs you are interested in to see if they have their own newspaper or blog. For a list of MBA program forums/blogs, go to this ever-growing resource page on Accepted.com (the MBA blogs are about halfway down the page).
   

You are investing considerable time, effort, and money into your MBA education, so take the time to learn as much as you can about each school’s strengths,  curriculum, personality, environment, and even location. You may be surprised to discover there are more “dream schools” out there than you thought. 

By Judy Gruen, who would be delighted to help you find and get accepted to your dream school.

A few 2009 MBA applications have recently been made public:

• Haas' 2009 MBA essay questions and deadlines are now on its web site.  I will comment on Haas essay questions later, but here are the deadlines: Round 1 --November 4, 2008; Round 2 -- December 9, 2008; Round 3 -- January 30, 2009; Round 4 (Final) -- March 11, 2009
• Kellogg published its 2009 essay questions, but has not released its deadlines yet. I will provide tips in a later post.
  
• Harvard Business School, which previously posted its 2009 questions and deadlines, just announced that its online application is available.

In addition to our regular menu of services, Accepted offers a few extras to those ready to start the MBA admissions process now:

• Early Bird Special: 10% off Accepted's regular (non-rush) essay services and school packages if purchased on or before July 31, 2008.
• The last MBA Admissions Telethon for 2009 applicants will take place on Tuesday July 15.  During the 2009 MBA Admissions Telethon, Accepted.com MBA admissions consultants will be available to provide free, 15-minute consultations.
  

One would think that after responding to thousands of posts on the BW Forum, Accepted forum, Facebook, and this blog, not to mention hosting  approximately 200 chats and several telethons, I would be keenly aware of the importance applicants attach to asking questions of impartial, experienced admissions professionals, like the members of Accepted's staff who will take your questions during the telethon.

But the value of such opportunities was brought home to me once again during  my recent evening at Manhattan GMAT in Santa Monica where I presented "Bold and Brilliant Essays" to a group of roughly 55 applicants. They then peppered me with questions for about 90 minutes first in a sweltering room where the air conditioning had broken and later on a much cooler and pleasanter patio. If the airless room was uncomfortable, why was the evening enjoyable? I enjoyed interacting with a really nice group of applicants, and they stuck it out both through the presentation and the Q&A until their questions were all answered.

I hope that wherever you are on July 15, it will be at a agreeable temperature so that you will have your free, mini-consultation in comfort. Sign up for the free MBA Admissions Telethon to reserve your spot.

And if you are ready to start work on your applications and want the assistance of Accepted's top-notch MBA admissions consultants, don't delay. Take advantage of the Early Bird Special. Save money and gain the competitive edge inherent in starting your applications early."

The AIGAC conference was great. Worthy of all my anticipation, excitement, and gushing.

Twenty-six graduate admissions consultants representing 15 consultancies from six countries and four continents gathered to improve skills, talk shop, and share best practices on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. I am proud to say that seven Accepted editors participated in the conference, the largest contingent from any consultancy.

On Wednesday morning we toured Chicago GSB, met with Rose Martinelli -- who addressed us and took questions -- and other Chicago staff. In the afternoon, we traveled to the other end of Chicago, and met with Kellogg staff, a student in Kellogg’s 1Y program, and then heard from Beth Flye.

On Thursday we had three presentations. I served on a panel discussing “Best Practices in Admissions Consulting.” Later that morning, directors of admission from Anderson, Haas, Kenan-Flagler, London Business School, and Tuck, participated in a panel discussion hosted by AIGAC. In the afternoon we had a chance to speak to additional admissions directors including representatives of Michigan Ross, Georgetown, Cornell, Indiana Kelley, Haas, Anderson, Tuck, Kenan Flagler, INSEAD, and Yale. It was a wonderful learning experience for all who attended.

OK. Enough about us.

A few points of interest to you:

• Chicago plans to release the 2009 questions in roughly two weeks. There will be changes in the questions. The PowerPoint question will return.
• Kellogg plans to release its question in two weeks.
• We discussed the current high interest in CSR. The panelists emphasized that interest in CSR has to be substantiated by previous behavior. They also emphasized that while idealism is wonderful, they are teaching business skills. Show that your goal requires what they teach.
• Although HBS has made the goals essay optional and other schools may move away from it, these panelists stressed the importance of goals. While acknowledging that goals do change, they unanimously believed that direction and a good reason for pursuing an MBA are valuable. Furthermore, if you don’t know what to do after your MBA and are in “self discovery” mode, you will suffer from stimulation overload and an inability to prioritize among the many activities and recruiting events that begin as soon as classes start.
• Christie St. John of Tuck emphasized the importance of refreshing or acquiring quant skills before you arrive on campus. The others agreed. If you haven’t had or aren’t comfortable with accounting, calculus, and statistics, take courses either at a local community college or online.
• We asked about trends: Their response: Increased applications last year and this year.

A couple of pictures:

Accepted Editors at the AIGAC Conference (from left to right) Linda Abraham, Cydney Foote, Sonia Michaels, Sachin Waikar, Tanis Kmetyk, Robbie Walker, Katherine Kidd (non-staff ), and Judy Gruen.

 

The Best Practices in Admissions Consulting Panel and Discussion with (from left to right) Jeremy Shinewald, Linda Abraham,  Anna Ivey, Chioma Isiadinso, and Maxx Duffy.

 

While at the beach this past week-end, I enjoyed watching the surfers tackle the waves. The stiff swells and the nearby rocks meant the dozen or so surfers had to be experts at navigating their boards to shore without wiping out. From my vantage point, it was tough to distinguish one surfer from the next because they were all dressed in seemingly identical black wetsuits and they appeared to be equally competent at their sport. One surfer, however, did catch my attention. The distinctive blue of his surfboard allowed me to easily track his movements as he paddled out and then rode the waves in. I found myself silently applauding his beautiful runs, grimacing when he made an error, and cheering him on when he got back up and rode a wave to the beach.

Is your application to business school in danger of being indistinguishable from others with a similar background? It is, if there are others with similar professional experiences, high GMAT scores and stellar undergraduate degrees. If that is your situation, emulate the surfer with the blue surfboard to get admissions committee members to not only notice your application but also to root for your acceptance. Identify and then highlight one aspect of your candidacy that sets you apart from the pack.

Where do you find your blue surfboard? It often hides in plain sight.

I was talking with a new client last year. Her GMAT scores were quite good, her career goals well thought out, and she had solid leadership experience. However, as good as her credentials were, nothing really distinguished her.

I probed about her volunteer activities and whether she volunteered with a community service organization. Oh, yes, came the reply. She had been mentoring children with Type 1, insulin-dependent diabetes for the past eight years. She explained that, being a diabetic herself, she knew how difficult it was for kids and their parents to navigate the restrictions required to successfully manage this disease. We had discovered her blue surfboard.

Look through your volunteer activities and hobbies, and think about what they reveal about your particular strengths. Examine your skills. Can you ace an interview? Are you an effective public speaker? Are you an advocate to upper management for the needs of your division or your product? Find what sets you apart, and your application will be immeasurably strengthened.

My client, by the way, was subsequently accepted into two of the three schools to which she applied.

Like my fellow Accepted.com editors, I’m adept at helping you discover the color of your surfboard.

By Robbie Walker