Will it doom your otherwise perfect application to the great round file in cyberspace, putting the kabosh on years of effort and nixing your attempt to walk through the hallowed halls of your favored institution? No. A single, minor typo will do absolutely nothing. So don’t sweat one minor spelling mistake, a missed comma, or…
MBA Admissions A-Z: E is for Essay
Next up in our MBA Admissions A-Z series is E for Essay, a topic on which we could very easily write an entire book. (Hey – we DID write an entire book. Scroll down for details.) Here we are going to focus on 4 critical MBA admission essay mistakes. Make sure that your essays DON’T…
How to Edit Your Application Essays
In an exclusive interview with… well, herself, Linda Abraham shares some advice that she’s learned over the course of almost two decades of application essay editing. Listen to the full recording of this excellent episode to learn concrete steps you can take right now to ensure that your essays are working for –and not against…
4 Ways to Show How You’ll Contribute in the Future
Schools want to see that the applicants will actively participate in and contribute to their student bodies and alumni communities, not to mention the greater community and society. Yet grandiose, declarative statements and promises to be a superlative do-gooder are unpersuasive. So how is an applicant to show what he or she will do in…
What is “Passion” in Admissions?
Years ago, when I first heard b-school representatives talking about wanting to see passion in applications, I thought to myself, “You’re looking for passion from a bunch of investment bankers and engineers???? That’s a pretty calculating bunch.” “Passion” has a sexy ring to it. An emotional, visceral appeal. It evokes images of glamorous actors and…
Writing A Lead That Pops
How many times have you wandered through a bookstore, opening up a book to read the first few lines only to quickly close it again? How often have you read one of those free samples on your Kindle, only to decide after a paragraph that you’re glad you didn’t buy it? Similarly, how many times…
Save $100 On B-School Editing & Consulting Services – LIMITED TIME OFFER!
B-School Applicants: Get your $100 off coupon here! Through August 31, 2012, you can save $100 on all non-rush MBA editing and consulting services (minimum order $1000) with coupon code MBA100! How’s that for some motivation to jumpstart those applications? Some services that may be of interest to you include: MBA Essay Editing Application Packages…
Save 10% On All Grad, Law, and College Application Services
Get your 10% off coupon here! Between now and August 31, 2012, you can save 10% on all non-rush grad school, law school, and college editing and consulting services with promo code 10OFF! How’s that for an incentive to get started on those applications? Some services that may be of interest to you include: Grad…
Law School Admissions Tip #6: The Importance of Micro-editing
The Top 15 Things Every Law School Applicant Should Know is a series that will teach you the ins and outs of successful law school applications. Stay tuned for the remaining elements. This week we’ll discuss the importance of Micro-editing. You know when you see a typo in a professional publication and think, “How did…
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…
7 Signs an Experience Belongs in Your Application Essay
You have a lifetime of experiences. Which should you include in your application essays or personal statement? How do you choose? The more of the seven signposts of significance discussed in this video that an experience has, the more it merits a place in your critical essay. Accepted.com ~ Helping You Write Your Best
Less than ONE Week to Save Up to $400 on MBA Services
Our super summer service sale has been going on for nearly three weeks, and you mean to tell us that you haven’t yet taken advantage of these fantastic savings? Did you know that receiving 10% off of one of our Application Packages for Top Business Schools could put $200-$400 BACK IN YOUR POCKET? What are…
Where’s the Poetry? The Secret Ingredient in Your Graduate Application Essays
Strategy will necessarily guide your selection of essay topics, anecdotes/examples, and structure. Yet an essay built on calculation alone, even if the strategy is spot on, will often disappoint. Logically it all makes sense. But it doesn’t take flight. Poetry can be the secret ingredient to make your application essay sing – right into the…
MBA Admissions A-Z: J is for Jigsaw Puzzle
Let’s take a look at all the elements that go into creating an MBA application: There’s your GPA, your transcripts, your GMAT, a resume, your letters of recommendation, all those boxes and forms on the actual application page, and finally, your MBA application essays. Creating Your Unique Puzzle One way we like to view all…
MBA Admissions A-Z: F is for Funnel
…and what could a funnel possibly have to do with MBA admissions, you ask? Well, at Accepted.com, one of the tricks-of-the-trade essay editing techniques we use is something called the Editing Funnel. After you draft your essays, you should use it too. Here’s how it works: At the top of the funnel (that’s the widest…
MBA Admissions A-Z: E is for Essay
Next up in our MBA Admissions A-Z series is E for Essay, a topic on which we could very easily write an entire book. (Hey – we DID write an entire book. Scroll down for details.) Here we are going to focus on 4 critical MBA admission essay mistakes. Make sure that your essays DON’T…
MBA Admissions A-Z: D is for Distinctive Writing
We’ve touched upon ways in which to highlight your uniqueness in “Be Yourself” (B in our MBA Admissions A-Z series). There we talked about the importance of expressing what you’re truly passionate about rather than simply enumerating those things that you think the adcom want to hear. Writing about your passions, as well as your…
Cornell Johnson 2012 Executive MBA Application Questions and Tips
The 2012 Cornell Johnson EMBA questions are unchanged from 2011 and we have made only minor changes to the tips. Cornell Johnson Executive MBA Application Essay Questions The Cornell Executive MBA Program has three essay questions in its application, and they have remained the same for several years, indicating the program is consistent with what…
3 Treats that Will do the Trick in Your Personal Statement or Application Essay
In my meanderings on the web, I stumbled across a short video on screen writing. The presenters are two Emmy-winning screen writers, and they know a thing or two about telling a good story. They boil the story-telling stew down to three words — actually 2 do’s and 1 don’t: The do’s: Therefore But The…
Epidemic Among Applicants!
Your personal statements, application essays, and statements of purpose are suffering. It’s serious. And could be fatal to your application. This latest epidemic of vacuous, declarative sentences that either state the obvious or make non-credible claims has reached epic proportions in applicant essays, personal statements, and statements of purpose. The cure? Substance and specifics. Stories…
