Having worked in admissions for over a decade, I have probably read thousands of activity descriptions for medical school and related healthcare fields by now. While this part of the application may not seem very important, it can actually be the component that makes or breaks your chance of acceptance. It can be quite damaging…
GRAD SCHOOL ADMISSIONS
The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans Application Essay Tips
Paul Soros was often overshadowed by his younger brother, financial wizard George Soros, but he was a millionaire in his own right. In contrast to George Soros’s success in the financial industry, Paul Soros made his mark on the world by innovating in the shipping industry, filing patents, winning several engineering awards, and innovating in…
How Personal is Too Personal?
The personal statement is a terrific opportunity to share an intriguing and unique aspect of your life with the admissions committees. How much should you tell? At what point are you crossing the line into TMI? When I applied to college, I wrote a personal statement describing some challenging family circumstances I’d had while growing up….
7 Simple Steps to Writing an Excellent Diversity Essay
What is the diversity question in a school application, and more importantly, why does it matter when applying to leading programs and universities? A diversity essay is an essay that encourages applicants with minority backgrounds, unusual education, distinctive experience, or unique family histories to write about how these elements will contribute to the diversity of…
Insider Tips on Applying to PsyD Programs
You need only to poll other prospective applicants to realize that applying to a PsyD degree program cannot be “boiled” down to a simple formula or fit together like a perfectly constructed puzzle. The equation may not balance out and one puzzle piece may not necessarily fit together with all the others. However, most PsyD…
Applying to Wharton Lauder? Do Your Research! [Episode 465]
Discover what opportunities the Wharton Lauder MBA program offers [Show Summary] Kara Keenan Sweeney, Director of Admissions Marketing and Financial Aid at the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School and Penn Law School shares how the program continues to offer global opportunities during a COVID influenced world. [Show Notes] Welcome to the…
Making Friends With the GRE: How To Overcome Test Anxiety and Perform at Your Best
“I can’t stop trembling…I can’t eat…I cry for little or no reason…I am just so nervous.” All of this from Janelle, a prospective graduate student on her response to scheduling a GRE test date. I was not surprised that Janelle was nervous as almost all prospective graduate students are a bit anxious about admissions’ tests….
How This Student Got Accepted to MIT’s Engineering Program and Landed a Job at Apple [Episode 460]
Join us for some insights into MIT’s Engineering Program [Show Summary] Syed Shayan Zahid moved to the United States from Pakistan to pursue an education in engineering. He shares his journey from an undergrad at Purdue to a master’s at MIT and his next step, a career at Apple. Interview with Syed Shayan Zahid, student…
How to Write a Perfect Postbac Admissions Essay
One of the most important parts of the application to postbac programs is your personal statement. This piece of writing allows the admissions committee to get to know you – to hear your voice – and learn more about the obstacles you have overcome to pursue your educational goals. 3 attributes of a successful postbac…
Admissions Tip: BE YOURSELF!
One of the things admissions committee members tell us again and again is that they wish – really, truly wish – that applicants would not try to write what they imagine the adcom wants to hear, but would just be themselves instead. Time and time again, admissions committee members tell us they wish applicants would…
Writing a Lead That Pops
How many times have you wandered through a bookstore or library, opening up a book to read the first few lines only to quickly close it again? How often have you tested a free sample on your Kindle only to decide after a paragraph that you’re glad you didn’t buy it? How often have you…
How to Apply Successfully to Grad School Despite a Low GPA [Episode 458]
What steps can you take to get accepted despite a low GPA? [Show Summary] Linda Abraham outlines five steps for mitigating the impact of a low GPA so that you can move forward with a successful graduate school application. Linda Abraham, Founder and CEO of Accepted shares her insights into overcoming low stats [Show Notes]…
Revise and Polish Your Application Essays
You’ve got your first draft ready – this is a great milestone! Now it’s time to revise and edit. Outstanding essays are not sprung into the world on the first draft. Here’s how to edit and polish until your essay shines: 1. Let your essay rest for a day or two, particularly after an intensive…
How to Create the First Draft of Your Application Essay
You now have a clear sense of what makes an essay effective. You have reflected on the questions that helped you identify and develop your theme. Now it’s time to start writing. Before you begin, draft an outline, even if it’s only a very informal list of the main points you want to cover. Based…
Writing Your Career Goals Essay
The career goals essay–a close cousin to the graduate school statement of purpose–also demands a laser-like focus. Unlike personal statements that may discuss career goals but also allow for more flexibility in content, the career goals essay has a specific and packed agenda. In fact, a career goals essay questions may contain several questions in…
Finding a Theme for Your Statement of Purpose
All effective essays have a distinctive theme. Referring back to the essays we read in the previous post, we might say that our MPH candidate’s theme was her passion for finding answers to significant public health issues. Our law school applicant’s theme was his yearning for greater intellectual challenges while remaining in the healthcare field….
Identifying the Ingredients of a Winning Essay
As you gear up to write your application essays, you may have looked at sample “winning” essays published in books or on websites, only to ask yourself afterward, “Sure, these are great, but what do these essays have to do with me?” This blog series will show you how to plan for, draft, and edit…
Writing Your PA School Personal Statement With Impact [Bonus PA personal statement example included]
Becoming a physician assistant (PA) has become a hot career goal, and it’s getting hotter all the time. In the past several years applications have more than tripled at some of the most competitive programs, and acceptance rates have dipped as low as about 30 percent–lower than the acceptance rate for many medical schools. To…
How to Ace Your PhD Interview: Prepare to Discuss These 10 Topics
While not all PhD programs require interviews, some do (including many overseas). If you’re invited to a PhD interview, take full advantage of the opportunity you’ve been given by preparing effectively – review your research on the department, prepare to talk about your PhD research goals, etc. (P.S. A mock interview can be helpful!). PhD…
Your Guide to Getting off the Waitlist in 2022
Landing on a waitlist can be a nerve-wracking experience. As a result, sometimes waitlisted applicants let their anxiety or disappointment get the better of them. But the application process is not over for waitlisted applicants! “Waitlisted” is not “rejected.” If you play your cards right, you still have a fighting chance of getting into your…
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