Teamwork – and its close cousin leadership – are highly prized by graduate programs and universities. But if you haven’t worked in a team on any regular basis, don’t worry! You’ve probably got a number of examples of teamwork in your back pocket that you didn’t even realize were there. Consider the following four ideas…
COLLEGE ADMISSIONS
Admissions Tip: Be Yourself!
Psst! How would you like to know the one thing that admissions committee members really want from applicants? Here it is: they wish – sometimes they even dream – that applicants would stop writing what they imagine the adcom wants to hear. Instead, they want candidates to just be themselves, presented articulately, of course. We…
Four Ways to Highlight Your Strengths in Your Application Essays
One of the most important pieces of advice you will ever learn regarding your personal statements and application essays is this: Show, don’t tell. It’s a classic writing lesson, and you’ve probably heard it before, perhaps many times. But how do you actually “show, not tell,” in your essays? Simply “telling” is ineffective, because it…
Writing an Essay Lead That Pops
How many times have you sampled the first few lines of a book and decided, “Nah, this isn’t for me”? Whether you picked the book up in a store or library, or downloaded free sample online, you probably made a pretty speedy decision about whether it would hold your interest. The human tendency to rush…
Writing Your Career Goals Essay
Check out all the blog posts in this series: Your career goals essay demands a laser-like focus. A personal statement, by contrast, allows for some flexibility in its content, though you can – and often should – discuss your career goals. But a career goals essay has a particular and packed agenda. In fact, the…
Finding a Theme for Your Statement of Purpose
Check out all the blog posts in this series: All effective essays have a distinctive theme, and it can take time and careful thought to identify what yours should be. If you go back to the essays we examined in the previous post in this series, you will see that the public health program applicant…
Starting Your Application Essay: Three Tips
If you haven’t yet read the other blog posts in this series, go ahead and check them out: Once you have reflected on the questions that helped you identify and develop your essay theme, you should have a clear path to writing an effective essay. Here are three essential steps to help you achieve that…
Revise and Polish Your Application Essays
Check out all the blog posts in this series: You’ve completed your first essay draft – this is a great milestone! Outstanding essays are not sprung into the world on the first try, however, so now it’s time to revise and edit. Here’s how to get the job done: 1. Let your essay rest for…
The Resilience Factor: How Flaws and Failures Can Strengthen Your Application
A speaker recently told a story about traveling in Asia, where he saw a stunning emerald. Enchanted by the stone’s beauty, he decided to buy it on the spot. He returned home and took the emerald to a jeweler for appraisal. The jeweler began examining the stone through his magnifier, and as he did so,…
Strategy for Writing an Accomplishment Essay (with examples)
Maybe you’re familiar with macros – the nutrients your body needs to function. Achieving the proper balance of macros leads to optimal health. When it comes to writing your MBA personal statements and application essays, it might be helpful to think of your accomplishments as the carbohydrates, protein, and fat – in other words, the…
Get Off That Waitlist!
Landing on a school’s waitlist can be disappointing and even nerve-racking. As a result, waitlisted applicants sometimes let their anxiety or disappointment cloud their thinking, but if you’re waitlisted, try to stay calm and focused. Remember, if you’ve been waitlisted, you have not been rejected. If you play your cards right, you still have a…
Three Ways Writing About Obstacles Strengthens Your Application Essays
Applicants love to write about their accomplishments, whether in a personal statement for graduate school or in a b-school essay that asks about one’s greatest achievement, challenge, or the like. And they are not shy about sharing their accomplishments, such as driving innovations that led to revenue boosts for their firm, conducting original and meaningful research…
12 Reflections on Teacher Recommendations
Teacher recommendations are an important part of your college application at many schools, with most requiring one or two letters in support of your application. What these recommendations offer are additional insights into your personality, intellectual curiosity, and potential impact on your college community. These letters of recommendation (LORs) are only one element of your…
Six Last-Minute Common Application Tips— 2023-2024
It’s November, and we are starting down the home stretch of the college application season. We are entering the regular admission cycle. That’s right, final deadlines are looming. If you didn’t apply Early Action or Early Decision, your deadlines will vary somewhat over the next few months. Although your first instinct might be to panic,…
Tips for Answering the University of California System Personal Insight Questions [2023 – 2024]
The University of California System consists of ten schools on separate campuses – commonly known as the UCs – that all use the same application: UC Berkeley (Cal), UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis, UC Merced, UC Santa Barbara, UC Los Angeles (UCLA), UC Irvine, UC Riverside, UC San Francisco, and UC San Diego. (Note, however,…
Tips for Answering the University of Pennsylvania Supplemental Essay Prompts [2023 – 2024]
The University of Pennsylvania, or Penn, was established in 1790 and is one of the oldest universities in America. This prestigious Ivy League school is known for its top-notch research as well as its undergraduate programs that focus on practical applications grounded in a strong liberal arts foundation. It accepts the Common Application or the…
Three Mistakes Successful College Applicants Don’t Make
Avoiding preventable mistakes is the best way to improve your outcome in the increasingly competitive college admissions process. The preparation of a successful college application does not happen overnight. In fact, it is the culmination of years of work throughout high school. The most successful college applicants take a number of components into consideration as…
Three Don’ts When Asking for Letters of Recommendation
The individuals who agree to write your letters of recommendation (LORs) are doing you a favor, so the least you can do is make their job easier by following proper LOR etiquette. Breaking the rules we outline in this post could result in your recommenders deciding not to write a favorable recommendation letter for you or…
Ask Away at Your Admissions Interview!
Have you been invited to interview at the grad school of your choice? Great news! This means the program is seriously interested in you, and you are one important step closer to acceptance. To make the most of this opportunity, though, you need to prepare. Overall, your goal is to demonstrate your enthusiasm for and…
Tips for Answering the University of Chicago Supplemental Essay Prompts [2023-2024]
Question 1 (Required) How does the University of Chicago, as you know it now, satisfy your desire for a particular kind of learning, community, and future? Please address with some specificity your own wishes and how they relate to UChicago. (Recommended 250–500-word limit) The key to responding effectively to this prompt is demonstrating your knowledge…
- 1
- 2
- 3
- …
- 15
- Next Page »