Effective wait-list letters often contain three key components. First is an “update” section informing the school of recent professional and nonprofessional developments since you submitted your application. This section is your ostensible reason for writing, so it should be substantial and full of as many significant changes as you can think of (promotions being the…
Your law school personal statement…it needs to be, well, personal!
When writing your personal statement for law school, it’s a good idea to include a few school specific sentences about why each of the schools to which you are applying is interesting to you. This is not “why do I want to go to law school?” but rather “this is why your law school is…
Exercise to Quiet the Critic
Most of us carry a very large critic inside our heads when we sit down to write. I have an exercise that helps writers defeat this critic who keeps them from writing. Dialogs to Diffuse The Power of Critical Voices Years ago, I was flying Southwest Airlines from Seattle to Tucson where I was going…
Navigating the MBA Admissions Labyrinth: for Canadian Applicants
First of all, let me emphasize that what follows is written for Canadians applying to US or European B-schools—because if you’re applying to Canadian B-schools, most of what I say here won’t be relevant! Essentially, I’m focusing on how your application will be received by non-Canadian readers, and what you can do to make sure…
Duke Law School 2009 Application Tips
Most law schools will ask for a personal statement that reflects who you are and why you want to go to law school. Resist the temptation to make this a one-essay-fits-all-schools personal statement. The more specific you can be about each school, the more interested your admissions readers will be in your application. For Duke,…
College Admissions: The Value of Visits
Every August for the past six years, I have gone online and pre-ordered my black and tan executive desk diary planner, which is delivered to my doorstep every September. I find it a little annoying that I have to wait that long, but that’s the first date that it becomes available. I plan my vacations…
MBA Admissions: Approaching the “wild card” essay questions
Every MBA candidate expects to write a goals essay. Everyone expects to tell a leadership story. These are the “flagship” pieces of any application–the essays that will help the admissions committee figure out what you’ve achieved and how you approach your professional life. But then, there are the “wild card” questions–these are almost always very…
Approaching the Ethics Essay
No B-school application essay may be harder to write than the ethics essay. For most applicants, one challenge is simply identifying an appropriate story. Many applicants assume that the ethics essay is designed to put their morals to some stringent litmus test. They brainstorm for examples that show them proudly refusing bribes, pointedly excusing themselves…
Personal Statement Tip: Setting Scenes
To write a compelling personal statement or application essay, you need to draw readers into your experience without much set-up. You have to get to the heart of the matter quickly and at the same time make the reader care to read on. Visualizing a particular moment from a situation that disappointed or thrilled you…
Before you write: some tips for getting the most out of your pre-writing process
It’s nearly July, and many business schools are already starting to release their new or revised essay topics for the coming admissions season. During this pre-season warm-up period, many applicants seem to feel a strong temptation to grab those questions as soon as they come out, paste them into a Word file and just start…
Writing Effective Wait-List Letters: A Quiz
Think you know how to write an effective wait-list letter? Test your knowledge with the following quiz: 1. Wait-list letters may be three or more single-spaced pages long: (a) when the applicant has a lot of accomplishments to talk about, (b) they should never exceed two pages, (c) only for law school wait-list letters, (d)…
Kelley School of Business
I recently attended the MBA Experience Event at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Management. The school-sponsored visit introduced several of us admissions counselors to faculty and students, and gave us the opportunity to attend a class and talk with those in career services and admissions. Kelley is located in Bloomington, Indiana, about an hour south…
