Applying to business school this cycle? Aiming for Round 1 (or later?) and not sure where to start? Deadlines are inching closer every day, but we’ve got you. The first thing you need to do to start writing your essays for business school is to…stop! Yes, take a beat. Assuming that you have already narrowed…
INSEAD MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines [2024 – 2024]
Don’t be overwhelmed by the number of essays, including job descriptions, that INSEAD asks you to provide. The wonderful thing about the INSEAD application is that you’ll leave no stone unturned when describing your background to the adcom, including your professional experiences, career goals, and personal and academic background. INSEAD wants to learn all about…
Emory Goizueta MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2024-2025], Class Profile
Emory Goizueta wants to learn about your professional plans, alignment with the school’s core values, and ability to concisely convey this information through written essays. Additionally, the school’s video essay allows you to present yourself in a dynamic and spontaneous way. Don’t be fooled by the short length of Goizueta’s required essays. Their brevity requires…
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Secondary Application Essay Tips [2024 – 2025]
The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine maintains a strong emphasis on integrating scientific innovation with patient care. In 2023, U.S. News & World Report ranked the school #1 in multiple specialties (Internal Medicine, Surgery, Rheumatology), #2 in Anesthesiology, and #3 in Psychiatry. The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine follows a “Genes to Society” curriculum…
UCLA Anderson MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2024-2025]
Business schools, in general, must keep up with the pace of change, particularly as technology strongly influences business. Technology and analytics are skills required for success, yet leaders must also possess complementary soft skills to be able to inspire teams to achieve their goals and positively affect the world. UCLA believes these are characteristics of…
Do’s and Don’ts for Your Application Resume
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…
You’ve Attended an MBA Fair – Now What? A Guide to Engaging with B-Schools
As an MBA hopeful, you will likely attend an MBA fair, which is an event that allows representatives from various business schools to meet prospective students. Entering the fair room can be a bit overwhelming, given the number of schools represented. As you make your way around the room, you introduce yourself to school reps…
How to Prepare for the Shorter GRE and GMAT Focus [Episode 588]
Show Summary Bara Sapir joins Admissions Straight Talk to discuss the benefits and challenges of the GRE and GMAT exams. She delves into the structure and length of the exams and also discusses the challenges unique to each one. Bara shares her expert tips on how to overcome these challenges, including being an active participant…
Make the Most of Your Experiences for ERAS
The 2025 ERAS (Electronic Residency Application Service) application follows on last year’s restructured application, with a few changes. As in the 2024 ERAS, rather than including every relevant experience you’ve had, as you might on a CV, you must choose ten experience entries that communicate who you are and what’s most important to you. And…
Selecting the Right PhD Program
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…
Oxford Saïd MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2024 – 2025]
My first piece of advice when approaching any essay for your business school application is to read the program’s website. You might be thinking to yourself, “Yeah, no kidding!” But when I say read the website, I mean thoroughly review all aspects of it, including videos, brochures, course descriptions, faculty profiles – everything! You first…
First Drafts of Residency Personal Statements: Let Yourself Go
For many residency applicants, writing the first draft of their personal statement is the most difficult part of the entire application process. And the most difficult part of composing that first draft is often getting the first few words on the page. Don’t fret – even accomplished novelists and famous journalists struggle to get started…
University of Washington Foster School of Business MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2024 – 2025]
Are you seeking an MBA program with a strong record of job placement in the technology industry? If so, the University of Washington Foster School of Business might be an excellent choice for you. Almost 40% of Foster’s Class of 2023 joined the tech sector after graduation, while 29% entered consulting. In terms of function,…
Want an MBA or JD with a Focus on International Studies? Consider UPenn’s Lauder Program!
During my time as the director of admissions marketing and financial aid at the Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania, where I served on the admissions committee for more than seven years, I often heard candidates react with surprise when they learned how seamlessly the school’s master in international studies joint degree program fits…
How To Get Into UVA Darden’s MBA Program [Episode 587]
Show Summary Dawna Clarke, Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions at UVA Darden, returns to Admissions Straight Talk to discuss various aspects of the Darden MBA program, including experiential learning opportunities, global study opportunities, the use of AI in the program, the application process, and common mistakes made by applicants. Dawna emphasizes the importance of authenticity…
Georgetown McDonough MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2024-2025], Class Profile
Georgetown McDonough continues to require two essays from all its applicants. Sharing the same structure as last year, the first required essay allows you to choose to answer one of three prompts. The program’s second required essay is a video essay. The admissions office also provides an optional essay, and reapplicants have a dedicated essay. …
MIT Sloan MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2024-2025], Class Profile
According to its website, MIT Sloan is looking for individuals from all around the world, from a broad array of academic backgrounds, who value dignity and respect and demonstrate the following: To uncover these attributes, the MIT Sloan MBA application continues to include its signature cover letter and resume requirements. It also retains the video…
Optional and Open-Ended Essay Questions: What’s the Best Strategy?
Many business schools use open-ended essay prompts, which are usually variations of “I wish the admissions committee had asked me…” or “What is a question that you wish we had asked?” The most common among these open-ended questions is the optional essay, where you have free rein to discuss anything you feel is important, something…
Harvard Business School MBA Essay Tips and Deadlines [2024 – 2025]
Harvard Business School (HBS) continues to be one of the few schools, if not the only one, with just admissions two rounds (September and January). HBS uses an April deadline exclusively for HBS 2+2, its deferred enrollment program. The HBS admissions office announced several updates for the 2024-2025 admissions cycle. New criteria for admission were…
Tips for Answering the Common Application Essay Prompts
Tips for Answering the Common Application Essay Prompts 2024-2025 Whether you are applying to be a first-year student or a transfer student, you will find that many undergraduate universities and colleges use the Common Application. There are more than 1,000 Common Application member schools in the United States, Canada, European Union, United Kingdom, and worldwide….