The University of Pennsylvania, or Penn, was established in 1790 and is one of the oldest universities in America. Located in Philadelphia, this prestigious Ivy League school offers an exceptional education in a diverse urban setting on a primarily residential campus. Known for its top-notch research and undergraduate programs that focus on practical applications, grounded…
COLLEGE ADMISSIONS
Tips for Answering the Harvard Supplemental Essay Prompts [2021 – 2022]
It comes as no surprise that Harvard consistently ranks among the top universities in the world. Its highly regarded reputation and academic chops attract the best and brightest. The alluring Harvard brand coupled with its extraordinary education cannot be ignored. It is important to keep in mind throughout the application process that your focus should…
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. With the corona pandemic not yet fully behind us and the various wars, tensions, and crises throughout the world, it…
Tips for Answering the Yale University Supplemental Essays and Short Answer Questions [2021 – 2022]
Not surprisingly, Yale University is consistently ranked among the top universities in the world. It accepts the Common Application, Coalition Application, and QuestBridge Application. All three applications require a personal statement essay plus additional Yale-specific short answers and a Yale writing supplement. For applicants interested in engineering or computer science, there is a third optional…
Tips for Answering the University of California System Personal Insight Questions [2021 – 2022]
The University of California System or UC’s, as they are commonly known, consist of 9 campuses that utilize the same application. They are: UC Berkeley (Cal), UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis, UC Merced, UC Santa Barbara, UC Los Angeles (UCLA), UC Irvine, UC Riverside, and UC San Diego. You will use the same responses for…
12 Reflections on Teacher Recommendations
Teacher recommendations are an important part of your college application at many colleges, with most requiring one or two letters in support of your application. These recommendations provide additional insight into your personality, intellectual curiosity, and potential impact on your college community. From my time on the admissions side of the desk, I know that…
How to Quantify Accomplishments on Your Resume
How can you demonstrate impact in your resume or CV? Answer: Use numbers. Showing that you have made an impact is essential for a successful resume. We’ve created a checklist with 38 experiences that can be quantified so that you can wow an admissions reader or potential employer. Some examples: Number of people whom you…
10 Tips for Writers of Letters of Recommendation
It’s time to ask your professor, boss, or colleague to draft a convincing and enthusiastic letter of recommendation for your grad school application. And honestly, you are not looking forward to it. The recommenders you want to write on your behalf are very busy people; can they really give this the attention it requires so…
The College Application Process: A Survival Guide for Parents
Is there a college-bound senior in the house? If so, you may feel the ground shifting beneath you. When this high school senior becomes a college freshman next year, it will be a transformative time. With so much riding on where students will end up attending college, it’s no wonder that the relationship between applicants…
Common App Essay Prompts 2021 – 2022: Tips for Writing Essays That Impress
Many universities and colleges use the Common Application across the United States and in countries around the world. There are over 800 Common Application members in the United States, as well as in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Qatar, Singapore, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. These institutions are united in their commitment to…
The Essay Whisperer: How to Write a College Application Essay
In your senior year of high school, the pressure is on to write your college application essays. Your mission: to present yourself in a way that is real, substantial, and authentic, and thereby boost your chances of getting accepted to the school of your choice. But the anticipation of writing your college application essays may…
Happy 4th of July!
Test-Taking Advice for People with Learning Disabilities or Test Anxiety
Nobody likes taking tests, right? Well, perhaps a few of you out there get psyched at the chance of showing how well you have boned up for your exams. But most people facing a timed test can’t wait to get it out of the way. Even those who are fairly confident of their abilities will…
How Should I Choose Which Essay Questions to Answer When I Have Choices?
You’re sitting down to face your application, and you are glad to see that you can choose which essay questions to answer. You’re not stuck answering a particular set of questions. It’s good to know you have options. After all, you are determined to answer the questions that allow you to portray yourself at your…
5 Tips for Writing About Extracurricular Activities You Started at the Last Minute
You are this close to finishing your application, but in the section that asks you about your extracurricular activities, you freeze up. I don’t really have any extracurricular activities, you think. What should I do now? How will I be able to stand out from the competition? We’re glad you asked. Team Accepted has worked…
4 Sure-Fire Ways to Ace Essays Showing Resilience in the Face of Failure
Recently we worked with a client applying to MBA programs who had experienced a failure that could have been the kiss of death for his job. Not only could it have gotten him fired, it also risked ending a lucrative business relationship between his employer and a major customer. How one applicant transformed a failure…
Upskilling: 4 Steps to Choose your Next Learning Opportunity
In today’s ever changing professional world, the nature of each job, the skills it entails, and the tools it utilizes are changing more rapidly than ever. Thus, we are being forced to embrace “ongoing learning,” or “lifelong learning” (continuously learning beyond traditional schooling). The answer to this is “upskilling,” which is the act of developing…
Ivy League Colleges Accept Record Low Number of Students
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a surge of college applications this year, which led to record low acceptance rates at many colleges, including the majority of Ivy League schools. The eight Ivy League schools, as well as some other highly selective schools, sent out acceptance notifications a…
Can You Use the Same Personal Statement for Different Schools?
One of the questions we are asked most often by applicants to college and graduate programs is this: “I’m applying to six different schools, and each one requires 2-7 essays/personal statements. That’s so much writing! Can I reuse the same essay for different schools? How can I keep up the quality and not burn out…
Encore: Application Trends to Watch in 2021, and a Look Back at 2020 [Episode 411]
Thanks for joining me for the 411th episode of Admissions Straight Talk. I am taking a week off for family time this week. As a result I decided to air an encore of our most popular podcast so far in 2021. It actually is a solo podcast that I did for our 400th episode back…
- « Previous Page
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- …
- 24
- Next Page »