Although the SAT essay is going to be optional before long (when the test changes in 2016), as of right now it’s a must. So, love it or hate it, your essay will influence your SAT score, and the admissions offices at the colleges you’ll apply to will see that score. So let’s answer one…
COLLEGE ADMISSIONS
Get a GRIP on Team Questions
I took away a lot of wonderful concepts, frameworks and strategies from my MBA education that led to a successful admission career. In fact, one of the most powerful lessons I learned at Michigan (now Ross) was how to lead and work effectively on teams. Professor Noel Tichy, one of the gurus of Organizational Behavior…
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…
5 Keys to Concreteness
I like to apply the principles established in Chip Heath and Dan Heath’s Made to Stick to personal statements and application essays. In this post I focus on concreteness. The third of Made to Stick‘s six key principles, concreteness, doesn’t seem to apply to intangibles like leadership, achievement, teamwork, or character – the topics you…
NYU Stern Offers New Scholarship
NYU Stern received a $10 million gift that will go towards a scholarship fund for college seniors who wish to pursue their MBAs at Stern after they graduate. The scholarship is named for the donor, William R. Berkley, NYU alumnus and vice chairman of the NYU board of trustees. Berkley’s $10 million gift is part…
Kisses of Death for Your Grad School Application
Guest post by Dr. Drew Appleby, Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis and Dr. Karen Appleby, Idaho State University. Dr. Appleby and Dr. Appleby surveyed psychology graduate admissions committee chairs and discovered 5 types of errors that applicants make and that decrease their chances of acceptance to graduate psychology programs. The authors labeled these mistakes Kisses of…
Admissions Straight Talk: Interview with Daniel Macklin
For this week’s episode of Accepted Admissions Straight Talk, we interviewed Daniel Macklin, Co-Founder & VP of Business Development at SoFi. Check out the full recording to hear our fascinating conversation about alumni funded student loans. 00:47:00 – Introducing Daniel, Co-founder and VP of Business Development at SoFi. 02:25:00 – SoFi’s background. How did Daniel…
Apply to be a Tillman Military Scholar
This is a great funding opportunity for members of the military. The Tillman Military Scholar program was founded to honor the legacy of Pat Tillman, who “proudly put his NFL career with the Arizona Cardinals on hold to serve his country” and died while serving with the U.S. army in Afghanistan in 2004. The scholarship…
Video, Let’s Get Technical
Paper application? That’s like, so yesterday. Now you Gen X, Y and Millennial candidates get a chance to wow the admissions committee with your dope multimedia “skillz.” This blog post is excerpted from Accepted.com’s special report, Audio & Video in Admissions: Get Ready for Prime Time which discusses how to successfully create a one- to two-minute…
Athletic Appeal in Admissions
Long before Gabby Douglas flew through her floor exercise and Michael Phelps dominated the pool, admissions directors have been impressed by athletes. From stories about the perfect basket, goal, spike or serve, athletes have wonderful stories that display their endurance, strength, leadership and team skills. Fascinated by the applicant who used his marathon run as…
Good Employment News for Haas Grads
Whether graduating from Haas with an MBA, Bachelor’s, or PhD, the job search seems to be getting a little bit easier. According to early employment data for the MBA grads, the “mean and median base salary for the class [is] currently trending to exceed last year’s.” Eighty-eight percent of this year’s class has received offers,…
New Infographic for Successful College Students
Presented By: Online Colleges
Optional Essays: When and How to Write Them
In this short video, Linda Abraham explores the two kinds of optional essays, who should write them, and what should go into them. Don’t miss the crucial warning at the end. Related Resources: • 5 Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Application Essays, a free guide • How to Edit Your Application Essays, a podcast…
The President Wrote My Letter of Recommendation!
“Wouldn’t that be great. I’m in!” Or are you? On this President’s Day, let’s think about it: Would a letter of recommendation from President Barack Obama, POTUS himself, ensure your acceptance? I’m sure a letter from President Obama would get passed around the admissions office. That presidential seal and signature (even if from a machine)…
College Values: A Discussion to Have with Your Eleventh Grader
A recent Today show segment highlighted Princeton Review’s Top College Values. In the short segment, they highlighted the top 3 public and private colleges deemed a ‘best value’. While the segment highlighted colleges that I hold in high esteem and have frequently recommended to students, I cringed. The cost of college is an important consideration…
Adcoms’ New Tool to Detect Plagiarism in Essays
Rather than go through the hassle of writing your application essays yourself, especially since you’re not the most effective or practiced writer (or since you don’t have enough time), why not have someone who really knows how to do it well write them for you? That someone could be a friend or colleague who’s offered…
How to Choose a College Admissions Consultant
Earlier this week, my local high school had its college planning night for members of the class of 2013. As an admissions officer, I was often the guest speaker at such events, and as a high school counselor, the host. No matter how thorough we tried to be during that evening, families often left with…
Do I Have to Write a Parent Letter of Recommendation?
As a parent, you might have thought your college application work was done, once you had overseen the last “submit” of the Common Application. And so it seemed — until you, or one of your friends, receive a letter inviting you to add a parent’s recommendation to your child’s college admission file. The parent recommendation,…
4 Application Strategy Tips: Stand Out AND Fit In
It can be confusing: Half of the advice you read urges you to stand out in your application, while the other half advices you to explain how you’ll fit in. So which is it? Should you stand out or fit in? The answer, unsurprisingly, is BOTH. You need to show your distinction and demonstrate fit…
Princeton Supplemental Application Tips
This post about the Princeton supplement to the Common Application is part of a series of posts written to help you complete the 2012 Common Application supplement for Ivy League schools. I’ve always enjoyed working with students who are applying to Princeton. As a group, they have interesting and engaged minds. Extracurricularly, their accomplishments…