Rejection hurts, especially if it’s from a school that you really had hoped to attend. Competition is always tough at good schools, and space is limited–not everyone who is qualified can get in. You can still achieve your dreams by taking this three-fold approach: Reassess your qualifications, and based on that, revise your target schools…
‘Twas the Night Before Deadlines: A Cautionary Tale of Cliches
‘Twas the night before deadlines, and all through the world, Our consultants sat cramming, coffee brewing, brows furrowed; Though the essays were written with effort and care, There were still a few things that were cause for despair! The clichés! Oh, forsake! Terrible, were they – That all our consultants could think was “oy vey!”…
Happy Thanksgiving!
Today is Thanksgiving in the United States, a national holiday during which we give pause – at least for a brief moment – to count our blessings. Wherever you are, that is a good exercise especially in this year, the year of the corona pandemic globally and in the U.S. the year of a tortuous…
Oh No! A Typo!!
Will that lonely typo doom your otherwise perfect application to the great round file in cyberspace, putting the kibosh on years of effort and nixing your attempt to walk through the hallowed halls of your favored institution? No. A single, minor typo will do nothing. So don’t sweat one minor spelling mistake, a missed comma,…
4 Ways to Show How You’ll Contribute in the Future
Schools are looking for applicants who can show that they have strong leadership qualities and experiences and can demonstrate that they will actively contribute to their student/alumni communities, not to mention to the greater community and society. Many applications include an essay question with some variation of “what would you contribute to your future campus…
First Drafts of Personal Statements: Let Yourself Go
Writing the first draft of your personal statement is probably the hardest part of the whole application process. And it makes sense – it’s not easy to capture so much of your experience onto a single page. Transforming your first draft from just OK to simply spectacular I’ve read hundreds of first drafts over the…
6 Tips for Getting Started on Your Application Essays
Sometimes the hardest part of writing a personal statement or application essay for college or grad school is finding the discipline to sit down and focus. Often, once you accomplish that, the ideas begin to form and the words begin to flow. The following 6 tips will help motivate you to start writing, and then…
Your Guide to Getting off the Waitlist in 2020-2021
The application process is not over for waitlisted applicants. You’ve still got a chance of getting into your dream school. Now’s not the time to slack off, and it’s certainly not the time to give up. Continue fighting for that acceptance! Landing on a waitlist can be a nerve-wracking experience. As a result, sometimes waitlisted…
9 Secrets to Telling an Attention-Grabbing Story
You’ve completed most of your application. Now it’s time to write your personal statement. You want your statement to stand out from the rest, and the way to do this is to tell a compelling story – the tale of your greatest achievements, dreams, and challenges. You can tell a compelling story by tying together…
4 Tips for Highlighting Your Strengths in Your Application Essays
One of the most important pieces of advice I can give you regarding your personal statements and application essays is this: Show, don’t tell. But you may have been given this advice before and you may be wondering how to go about it. Let’s dive into how to show effectively. Here are four tips to…
Case Interview Secrets and More with Victor Cheng
Management consulting hopefuls, pay heed: Our latest episode of Admissions Straight Talk features the guy who passed 60 out of 61 case interviews and landed 7 consulting job offers. (Yes, I did say 60 out of 61.) Victor Cheng, is now a strategic adviser and consultant to owners of mid-size business with $1M – $25M…
Writing About Overcoming Obstacles in Your Application Essays
What does the adcom actually want to know about the challenges you’ve overcome? In this short video, Linda Abraham shares the answer to this often-asked question: Why obstacles? When applicants write about their accomplishments, whether in personal statements for graduate school or in b-school essays that ask for greatest accomplishments, challenges, and the like, they…
How Can You Show Passion in Admissions?
When one thinks of passion, one doesn’t generally think of investment bankers. But the admissions committees are looking for passion in their applicants; so how are you – a computer guy, an engineer, a biology major, or yes, an investment banker – going to craft a winning application that shows them the passion they’re looking…
3 Must-Knows for Finding an Admissions Consultant for Your Child
The college planning process can be stressful for both parents and their children. As a parent, you’re balancing your child’s goals and your family’s needs – while still handling all your other commitments. If it’s your first time navigating the college application system, it’s also easy to feel overwhelmed. Maybe you’re also feeling discouraged by…
How Personal is Too Personal?
The personal statement serves as a terrific opportunity to share with admissions committees an interesting and unique aspect of your life. How much should you tell, and how much is too much? When I applied to college, I wrote a personal statement describing some challenging family circumstances I’d had while growing up. I can still…
The Art of Interviewing—Are You a “Can” or a “Cannot”?
“I am doomed… This is a disaster… I really never expected this… What am I going to do?” This from Daniel, a prospective PhD student. I couldn’t imagine what had happened to cause such a negative response, especially as Daniel is a very strong candidate with impeccable credentials. My shock was further compounded when he…
Admissions Tip: BE YOURSELF!
One of the things admissions committee members tell us again and again is that they wish – really, truly wish – that applicants would not try to write what they imagine the adcom wants to hear, and instead would just be themselves. Admissions committee members time and time again say they wish applicants would answer…
Generic-itis Prevention [Warning: If Untreated, Can Cause Rejection]
Each year, Accepted consultants are witnessing a recurring epidemic. And it’s worse than you can imagine: Generic-itis. What generic-itis looks like Here is an example of a severe case of generic-–itis that I drafted based on several different examples I recently read, along with 25 years of experience in this business: I find Top Choice’s…
What to Include in Your Admissions Resume
I suggest that applicants begin assembling materials for their applications as early as possible in advance of admissions deadlines. One of the first items you should start working on is your resume, a document that all professionals should always have updated and at the ready. 6 tips for creating a rockin’ resume Here are some…
Review Your Essays Like an Admissions Consultant and Use the Editing Funnel
Most of you are now — or will be soon — editing your critical application essays and personal statements. When Accepted consultants review and edit your essays, they go through a process I call the editing funnel. When you edit your own essays, you should follow a similar process. How the editing funnel works Here’s…
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