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…
3 Steps for Rejected Applicants
By now, many of you have received answers from early application efforts – either you got in…or you didn’t. If you got in, congrats – you probably feel amazing! However, if you face a fistful or rejections or waitlist notifications, then it’s normal and ok to feel disappointed and to express that disappointment. But I…
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…
Writing Effective Waitlist Letters: A Quiz
Think you know how to write an effective waitlist letter? Test your knowledge with the following quiz: 1. Waitlist letters may be three or more single-spaced pages long: (a) if the applicant has a lot of accomplishments to talk about (b) they should never exceed two pages (c) if they are law school waitlist letters only (d)…
How to Write Waitlist Update Letters
The application process is not over for waitlisted applicants. You’ve still got a chance of getting into your dream school, so now’s not the time to slack off, and it’s certainly not the time to give up. Continue fighting for that acceptance! Your waitlist updates (you write those) and letters of support (other people write…
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…
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…
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…
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