Okay, you’ve calmed down after your initial essay-writing anxiety, and you still don’t know where to begin. How do you capture your whole life in the meager number of characters allotted? What is clustering? Whether you’re feeling stuck or feeling overwhelmed by all the ideas bouncing around in your head, a stellar technique to start…
Encore: Focus on Fit in Admissions [Episode 334]
I am taking time off for family this week, and as a result I decided to air an encore of one of our most popular shows ever, Focus on Fit. I chose it not only because of its popularity, but because the topic is relevant to so many, if not all, specialties. A solid understanding…
How to Use Powerful Details to Create Strong Essays
To really draw your readers into your goal-focused essay, you’re going to want to lay the scene for your future accomplishments. After all, what better way to convince the adcom of your ambitions than to illustrate them in your essay? First, identify your goal. When you begin your essay, try showing yourself having reached your…
Generic-itis Prevention [Warning: If Untreated, Can Cause Rejection]
Each year, Accepted consultants are witnessing a recurring epidemic. And it’s worse than you can imagine: Generic-itis. What generic-itis looks like Here is an example of a severe case of generic-–itis that I drafted based on several different examples I recently read, along with 25 years of experience in this business: I find Top Choice’s…
Two Grad School Applicants Walk Into a Bar…
This might be a great opening line for a comedy night at a university student center, but can you use humor in a graduate school application essay? Should you even try? The answer is…maybe. If you have a funny bone, use it If you can use humor effectively, it will help you stand out from…
Review Your Essays Like an Admissions Consultant and Use the Editing Funnel
Most of you are now — or will be soon — editing your critical application essays and personal statements. When Accepted consultants review and edit your essays, they go through a process I call the editing funnel. When you edit your own essays, you should follow a similar process. How the editing funnel works Here’s…
How to Stay Within Essay Word Limits by Reducing Verbal Verbosity
Most applicants – whether applying to med school, law school, business school, or any other grad school or college program – need to deal with rigid character or word limits when writing their application essays or personal statements. You may start out thinking that you have nothing to write, but generally, once applicants begin writing,…
Will Your Common Application Essays Stand Out?
The Common Application has made it easier to apply to college – but one impact has been ever-falling admission rates at elite universities. How can you ensure that your application will stand out? One way is by writing outstanding supplemental essays for each school’s Common App supplement. This is easier said than done, of course!…
How to Add Detail to Your Social Enterprise/Community Service Goals
Whether you’re applying for an MBA, a PhD in Public Policy (or many other doctoral fields), or a Masters in Social Work, you’re likely to talk about social enterprise or community service goals in your application. For some, this will be your primary objective – those of you seeking careers in the non-profit sector, for…
Your 5-Item Checklist for Submitting Your Applications
Whether you’re applying to b-school, law school, med school, grad school, or college, this checklist will be the same. Don’t hit that “Submit” button until you’ve checked off the following 5 to-do’s: You’ve made sure that your application presents a holistic, multi-dimensional picture of you. Each section of your application should not just present you…
Application Essay Tip: The Devil is in the Details
You can argue about the devil, but certainly the substance, distinctiveness, and success of your essays depends on the details. Bringing Out Your Uniqueness in the Details Many applicants tend to bury their uniqueness and success under vague assertions. You don’t want to hide your achievements; you want to trumpet them loudly and clearly. For…
Personal Statement Tip: Less is More
Most of us have heard the saying “less is more,” but how many of us put it into practice when it counts? Your application essays are the perfect forum for reaping the benefits of this deceptively simple principle. What does “less is more” really mean? It’s the idea that we must resist our natural tendencies…
Write Superior Common Application Supplemental Essays
The best way to impress the college admissions board is to write impressive supplemental essays. What should your supplementals accomplish? What should you write about? How should you get started? View this short video to learn how to write superior supplemental essays that will get you ACCEPTED: Video Transcript You’ve written your Common App…
Ten Do’s and Don’ts for Your Application Essay
The Application Essay Do’s: Unite your essay and give it direction with a theme or thesis. The thesis is the main point you want to communicate. Before you begin writing, choose what you want to discuss and the order in which you want to discuss it. Use concrete examples from your life experience to support…
What Should I Write About? Making a Difference
In my non-admissions life, I once went to a lecture given by a biographer whose work I admire. In the course of his talk he mentioned that while writing about genius has merit, writing about typical folks and their extraordinary achievements is more valuable. The compelling story — the inspiration, and attention grabber — resides…
How to Demonstrate Leadership When You Don’t Have Leadership Experience [Short Video]
Most admissions committees are looking for applicants who can demonstrate leadership. If you don’t have any formal leadership positions to discuss in your application essays, that doesn’t mean that all is lost. Watch this short video for Linda Abraham’s definition of “informal leadership” and how to highlight it in your applications. Visit our services section…
Common Grammatical Errors: How to Use “Leverage” & “Comprise” Properly
Non-native English speakers (and some native English speakers) frequently make some easily avoidable mistakes. Even if you have excellent English there are sometimes words that get lost among misused prepositions. Here are some tips to help applicants improve their use of two words that are commonly misused: leverage and comprise. 1. Leverage Rule: Do not…
Stand Out! A Critical Goal for Your Application [Episode 181]
I covered the importance of showing fit in Episode 162 “Focus on Fit,” the second most popular show of 2016 and the most popular show of the second half of 2016. But there is a second focus you need if you want to apply successfully to highly competitive programs. You need a corollary to fit….
Encore: Your Past Doesn’t Define You [Episode 228]
This week we are airing an encore of one of the most populars shows of 2017. Many applicants focus on the past – both the good and the bad – to the detriment of their applications. Find out the role your past plays in admissions and what you should focus on in your applications when you listen…
Writing the Diversity Personal Statement
One of the many challenges of applying to college or graduate school is showing the admissions committee how you’ll fit in and stand out. Adcoms are trying to build student bodies that will work cohesively towards shared goals and ideals, but that come from different backgrounds and with different ideas so that the combined educational,…