Many people who think about advancing their skills or changing their career direction via a graduate degree believe they must attend a “prestigious” graduate school – one that is ranked highly in the surveys conducted by U.S. News & World Report, Bloomberg Businessweek, and other media outlets. These candidates apply to the schools in the top ten …
January 29, 2025, was either an exciting day or a tearful one for Harvard Business School (HBS) Round 2 (R2) applicants: the school’s MBA admissions board notified candidates as to whether they were invited to interview or had merited “early release.” As euphemistic as it sounds, meriting early release should really be viewed by R2 …
As admissions consultants, we often hear college and graduate school applicants ask, “I’m applying to multiple schools, and each one requires essays/personal statements. Can I use the same essay for different schools?” Understandably, applicants want to maintain the quality of their essays and avoid burnout when having to write so many drafts. We can sympathize. Even …
In today’s world, where everything moves at lightning speed, we’re constantly making fast decisions. This applies to admissions committees, too. The pressure of their job forces them to make very quick decisions about whose applications they will invest more time in and whose will merit only an obligatory but cursory review before being set aside. …
The most common challenge that my master’s and PhD applicant clients face when writing a statement of research interests or a statement of purpose (SOP) is how to describe in concrete terms what their research interests and goals are. This is understandable. Their ideas are still evolving, and some worry that they’ll later be held …
When you write an application essay or statement of purpose, you’re trying to establish your worthiness for acceptance at your target school. As part of that task, you need to show the adcom that you have the character traits their program values. But how do you prove in a written essay that you’re a person of …
So you’ve sat down and brainstormed, and you’re now ready to hit the ground running with your essays. Great! You might be wondering how to best convey your reasons for pursuing graduate school to the admissions committees. What kind of tone or approach should you use? A good rule of thumb is to project three …
Show Summary This week, we hear from Marla Schechter, a US immigration lawyer with 20+ years of experience. Marla shares her expertise on various topics related to obtaining a visa for studying in the United States. She covers the process of obtaining an F-1 visa, the advantages of studying in a STEM-certified program, the H-1B …
Your application resume is usually the first opportunity for admissions readers to get to know you and learn about your experience and skills. Because of the number of other application components they need to review, most admissions committee readers will read your resume quickly. So, not only do you have to make a great first …
If you are thinking about applying to a PhD program, then you are probably already familiar with the research process, either because you conducted research with professors as an undergraduate, or you earned (or are earning) a master’s degree with a thesis requirement. If you have little or no research experience, then you will position …
Letters of recommendation (LORs) are a key part of your application for master’s programs. Strong letters provide meaningful support, while a lukewarm one can really hurt your chances for admission. In this post, we’ll answer two questions: Who should write in support of your master’s application? How can you make sure your LORs are as …
Did you easily make your connection when you last traveled by plane? If so, artificial intelligence (AI) might have helped ensure that you did. Was cancer detected in a family member at such an early stage that their complete recovery was guaranteed? AI could have played a factor in that fortunate outcome as well. It …
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