Accomplishments constitute the bread and butter of personal statements and application essays. That may sound straightforward, however, a fascinating brainstorming session of Accepted admissions consultants reveals that applicants don’t always know what an accomplishment is. What goes into this application staple? And how can you analyze your own profile to find compelling accomplishments to write about? The Bread…
4 Tips for Writing About Last Minute Extracurricular Activities
You want to write about all your fantastic non-school and non-work endeavors so that you really stand out from your competition, but when you start to think about it…you draw a blank. There must be SOMETHING you can show for how you use your free time, but what? Have you found yourself in a last minute…
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 demonstrate that they will actively contribute to their student/alumni communities, not to mention to the greater community and society. Yet grandiose, declarative statements and promises to be a superlative do-gooder are unpersuasive. So how can you show what you…
You Can Do It: Reject Rejection!
For some, the new year is a time for hearing good admissions news; but for others, 2017 may be off to a grim start. If you’ve received a rejection letter from your target school (or – sigh – from all your target schools), then you may be feeling more doom and less hopeful for the…
The Importance of Obstacles in Your Application Essays
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 almost always come up with real accomplishments: driving innovations that led to revenue boosts for their firms, conducting original and meaningful research in their fields of study, or…
Accepted’s Holiday Hours
We wish you a happy and healthy holiday season, enjoying time with family and friends. That’s how most members of Accepted’s staff will spend December 24, 25, 26, 31, and Jan 1 and 2. However, we also know that deadlines are looming for many of you. Over the holiday weekends we will periodically check our…
How to Give Your Application as Much Weight as Possible
Although you may think that your grades, test scores, resume and application essay carry the most weight, the actual application form is important too. The boxes should contain valuable information that helps convince the admissions readers you will thrive at their school and add to their community. If you fill in the boxes at the last…
Application Essay Tip: The Devil is in the Details
You can argue about the devil, but certainly the substance, distinctiveness, and success of your essays depends on the details. Bringing Out Your Uniqueness in the Details Many applicants tend to bury their uniqueness and success under vague assertions. You don’t want to hide your achievements; you want to trumpet them loudly and clearly. For instance, if you…
Bring Your Personal Statement to Life With Vivid, Active Verbs
I watched a candle burn a few nights ago. It happened to have a particularly nice flame that conjured up many different images: • The flame stood erect. • The flame danced. • The flame cavorted. • The flame pranced. • The flame swayed. • The flame flickered. • The flame fluttered • The flame…
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. An attitude of gratitude is worth cultivating throughout the year. I firmly believe it provides benefits from an interpersonal, professional,…
Review Your Essays Like an Admissions Consultant: Use the Editing Funnel
Most of you are now — or will soon be — 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. Here’s how it works… 1. Start…
Have You Saved $500 Yet?
Time is running out for you to save up to $500 on non-rush Accepted orders! Between now and Tuesday, Nov. 22nd, you can save BIG when you purchase Accepted services. And yes, this applies to ALL of our applicants – whether you’re applying to business school, med school, law school, grad school, or college. Use coupon code SAVEBIG at…
Who Wants to Save $500?
Want to apply with the confidence? Now is the perfect time to team up with an admissions expert who will help you get accepted! For one week only (November 16-22), when you purchase MBA, med school, law school, grad school, or college services at Accepted, you’ll get significant savings…up to $500 off! By using promo code…
Where’s the Poetry? The Secret Ingredient in Your Graduate Application Essays
Strategy will necessarily guide your selection of essay topics, anecdotes/examples, and structure. Yet an essay built on calculation alone, even if the strategy is spot on, will often disappoint. Logically it all makes sense. But it doesn’t take flight. Poetry can be the secret ingredient to make your application essay sing – right into the heart of its readers….
Writing About Your Experiences Abroad
You’ve done it – you studied, worked, or volunteered abroad and now you want to include part of this in your personal statement. Maybe you want to show that you’ve experienced a different culture or that you’ve managed to go outside of your comfort zone. Maybe you’ve had interesting experiences – met people, climbed mountains,…
Focus on Fit [Most Popular Show Rerun – Episode 176]
![Focus on Fit [Most Popular Show Rerun – Episode 176]](https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/focus-on-fit.png)
The most popular post of the last six months is “Focus on Fit,” and since Linda is taking a brief vacation, we are reposting it for this week. In this show, she shares the four not-so-easy steps to make sure you show you belong at your target programs. Whether you heard it the first time or…
4 Ways to Display Teamwork in Application Essays
Teamwork, and its close cousin, leadership, are highly prized by graduate programs and universities. Haven’t worked in teams on any regular basis? Don’t worry! There are more ways than you may realize to prove your chops in this area. Consider the following 4 options: 1. Remember: No Man is an Island Unless you’ve been living alone…
Writing a Lead That Pops
How many times have you wandered through a bookstore, opening up a book to read the first few lines only to quickly close it again? How often have you read one of those free samples on your Kindle, only to decide after a paragraph that you’re glad you didn’t buy it? Similarly, how many times…
UGH! THOSE @!#$* WORD LIMITS!!!
Now, now. Don’t get angry. Deal. First and foremost, focus. And use writing techniques that convey your message and stay within the word limits. What writing techniques are those? Glad you asked! 1. Minimize use of the passive voice. • Passive: Experience A has been complemented by experience B. (8 words) • Active: Experience B…
5 Pointers for Projecting Professionalism in Your Statement of Purpose
In my previous post, I discussed the importance of maintaining an appropriate tone in your admissions essay, and provided tips for checking your tone, specifically for finding a confident tone and avoiding arrogance. Once again, “tone” refers to a writer’s attitude toward their subject (and their reader). Your tone comes across in your choice of…
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