Many applicants who are targeting top ranked programs wonder if they should consider adding a lower-ranked school to their list as a “safety school.” Should you? And is there such a thing? What is a safety school? A safety school is one where you are highly competitive, that is strong in your area of interest,…
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, 31, and Jan 1. However, we also know that deadlines are looming for many of you. Over the holiday weekends we will periodically check our email for new…
8 Tips for Better Admissions Resumes
This post is taken from The Quick Guide to Admissions Resumes. Click here to download the full guide. Looking for solid tips for the actual writing of your resume? What should you include? What should you leave out? What sort of tone should you use? What do you need to know? The following eight tips will…
Admissions Resumes: Putting it All Together
This post is taken from The Quick Guide to Admissions Resumes. Click here to download the full guide. MBA and other graduate school applicants frequently submit a resume with their applications. Many schools require it, and some schools, such as Columbia Business School, even specify a given format. The resume not only will present a valuable…
How to Write the Qualifications Summary for Your Resume
The Qualifications Summary section of the resume is, in theory, the first section of the resume that the admissions reviewer will read: it sits at the very top of the resume after the applicant’s name and contact details, exactly where the eye is naturally drawn. However, if it is a bulky paragraph filled with ambiguity or…
Six Tips For Better Resumes
Need advice on how to make your “greatest hits” shine? Looking for ways to grab the adcom’s attention with a resume that highlights your academic prowess, professional strengths, leadership skills, and overall impressiveness? The following six tips will help you create a stunning resume that’s sure to boost your competitiveness and increase your chance of…
Do’s and Don’ts for Writing Your Resume – Part 1: The 9 Do’s
While some potential employers or b-school adcoms may spend a few minutes looking at your resume, the vast majority will spend less than that. You may conclude from that that your resume is not so important since it will only receive a cursory glance, but it actually works the other way around: Since they’ll only…
Do’s and Don’ts for Writing Your Resume – Part 2: The 10 Don’ts
Recently we offered 9 Do’s for Writing Your Resume. Let’s get right to business now talking about the 10 ‘Don’ts.’ 1) First and foremost, don’t make things up. This includes inflating your accomplishments, your level of responsibility, or your skills. Besides the fact that it’s dishonest, your resume reviewer may find out (like if he…
3 Tips for Parents of Grad School Applicants
I’ve been working in graduate admissions for more than 20 years so I have witnessed a change in this trend firsthand: Parents are playing a much larger role in the application process these days than they used to. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing – parents can provide a lot of much-needed support (financial, practical,…
Waitlisted! What Now?
So, you’ve been waitlisted and you’re not sure whether to laugh or cry. You can choose to do either, neither or both, but then it is time to figure out what to do next. Listen to the recording of our latest podcast episode to hear Linda Abraham’s six tips for waitlisted applicants. Make sure you…
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…
Writing About Your Experiences Abroad
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, or lived without air-conditioning….
Personal Statement Tip: Less is More
Most of us have heard the saying “less is more,” but how many of us put it into practice when it counts? Your application essays are the perfect forum for reaping the benefits of this deceptively simple principle. What does “less is more” really mean? It’s the idea that we must resist our natural tendencies…
Focus on Fit [Most Popular Show Rerun – Episode 176]
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 New 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. No Man is an Island Unless you’ve been living alone…
10 Tips for Better Essay Writing
Want to show the adcom that you are a master of the written word, someone who knows how to convey their thoughtful experiences and insightful ideas eloquently? Then it’s time you brush up on your basic writing skills with the following 10 tips: 1. Express yourself in positive language. Say what is, not what is…
Ten Do’s and Don’ts for Your Application Essay
The Application Essay Do’s: 1. Unite your essay and give it direction with a theme or thesis. The thesis is the main point you want to communicate. 2. Before you begin writing, choose what you want to discuss and the order in which you want to discuss it. 3. Use concrete examples from your life…
Common Grammatical Errors: How to Use “Leverage” & “Comprise” Properly
Non-native English speakers (and some native English speakers) frequently make some easily avoidable mistakes. Even if you have excellent English there are sometimes words that get lost among misused prepositions. Here are some tips to help applicants improve their use of two words that are commonly misused: leverage and comprise. 1. Leverage Rule: Do not…
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….
Flaws Make You Real
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 to examine the stone through his magnifier, and as he did…
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- …
- 8
- Next Page »
