Knowing they’ll have to write essays about their goals, most b-school applicants have identified their goals prior to starting the application process. But I’ve found that “identified” often has a misconstrued scope, either too narrow or too broad to effectively serve the purpose of the essays. With some moderate effort, you can flesh out your…
Writing Your Career Goals Essay
In our How to Write Exemplary Application Essays blog series, you’ll learn how to create exemplary essays by analyzing sample successful application essays. A career goals essay, similar to the graduate school statement of purpose that we discussed in a previous post in this series, demands a laser-like focus. Unlike personal statements, which may discuss career goals but…
Focus on Fit [Most Popular Show Rerun – Episode 176]
The most popular post of the last six months is “Focus on Fit,” and since Linda is taking a brief vacation, we are reposting it for this week. In this show, she shares the four not-so-easy steps to make sure you show you belong at your target programs. Whether you heard it the first time or…
Focus on Fit [Episode 162]
In today’s episode, Accepted’s founder and director, Linda Abraham, shares the 4 not-so-easy steps of showing fit in your application. While they are not simple to do, these steps are necessary if you want to get accepted to a program where the acceptance rate is less than 100%. STEP 1: Understand the school’s mission and criteria for…
Hone Your MBA Goals [Video]
A solid MBA goal should drive many of the decisions surrounding your business school application and education. In this video, Linda Abraham explores the essential components of a compelling MBA goal and shares a few tips on how to develop it. By Linda Abraham, president and founder of Accepted.com and co-author of the definitive book on MBA admissions, MBA Admission for…
4 Goals of an MBA Application
Do you want to get into a top MBA program? (Silly question: Of course you do. You wouldn’t be reading this post if you didn’t.) Make sure your application fulfills each of these goals, and you’ll be much better positioned to gain the acceptance you deserve. In your application you need to demonstrate that you:…
4 Application Strategy Tips: Stand Out AND Fit In
It can be confusing: Half of the advice you read urges you to stand out in your application, while the other half advises you to explain how you’ll fit in. So which is it? Should you stand out or fit in? The answer, unsurprisingly, is BOTH. You need to show your distinction and demonstrate fit…
Swoon-Worthy MBA Application Tips Video Viewable Now!
Last week Linda presented an exciting webinar – about how to make top b-school adcom members fall in love with you – hosted by our friends over at the GMAT Club. That webinar, 5 Ways to Make B-Schools Love You, is now available for online viewing, anytime and anywhere. Some of the topics that Linda…
Goals Essay-Writing Tip
Goals Essay-Writing Nitty-Gritty Short- and Long-Term Goals Before you start drafting your goals essays, work out three levels of goals: short-term, intermediate, and long-term. It helps to have this whole picture in your mind regardless of where you’ll “zoom in” for a particular essay. Short-term is immediately post MBA to about two years later; intermediate…
Chicago Booth 2013 MBA Application Questions, Deadlines, Tips
The 2014 Chicago Booth tips are now available. Click here to check them out! Chicago Booth has released its 2013 MBA application essays. 1 – Essay: What are your short- and long-term goals, and how will an MBA from Chicago Booth help you reach them? (500 words) This is a classic, straight-forward MBA goals question. What do you want to…
MBA Goals: A Must
It’s amazing to me how committed someone can be to applying to b-school, as early as next fall, and still have no concrete MBA goals. Clear, defined goals are a MUST when applying to a top b-school – in terms of MBA admissions requirements, they’re up there with your GPA, GMAT, and work experience, and…
Wharton Lauder MBA Admissions Director Interview Available Online
We hope you enjoyed our recent Wharton Lauder MBA Q&A. We certainly learned a lot about the Wharton Lauder application process and about how these two programs work together to offer students a unique learning experience. In the following excerpt, Marcy Bevan, Director of Admissions and External Affairs at the Lauder Institute, discusses the career…
MBA Admissions A-Z: A is for Aspirations
Welcome to Accepted’s newest MBA admissions tip series, MBA Admissions A-Z. Get ready for 26 fantastic tips! Let’s begin with defining your MBA goals and aspirations. What is the Difference between a Goal and an Aspiration? A goal is something that you plan to do or accomplish in a particular timeframe. One way to look…
4 Things To Do If You Can’t Define Your MBA Goals
Top MBA programs are looking for candidates who’ve got their heads on straight and have a clear idea of how a business degree will help shape their futures. It’s for this reason that the MBA goals essay is such an important element in the b-school application. So what do you do if you don’t know…
Wharton Admissions Director Interview Available Online
We had an excellent Q&A last week with Ankur Kumar and Anthony Penna, admissions directors at Wharton. The excerpt below provides an insider look at how the adcom readers approach your goal essays – how you should bridge your past and present experiences to what you’d like to be doing in the future. Linda Abraham:…
Is Ten Days per Business School Application Enough?
Oh, the anticipation of late August! The first business school deadlines, just six weeks away, are filling applicants with excitement and anxiety. Some like The Phoenix are feeling it: he is “really getting the jitters now” as he begins work on his applications, particularly his MBA essays, “even though some people say that I have…
Chicago Booth Executive MBA 2012 Admissions Tips
The 2013 Chicago EMBA Tips are now available. Click here to check them out! Chicago 2012 EMBA Application Essay Questions This 2012 Chicago Booth Executive MBA Admissions tip post is the first in a series of posts providing Executive MBA application and essay advice for applicants to top EMBA programs around the world for the…
CMU Tepper 2012 MBA Application Questions, Deadlines, Tips.
The 2013 CMU Tepper MBA Tips are now available. Click here to check them out! CMU Tepper 2012 MBA Essay Questions ESSAY A. What are your short-term and long-term goals? How will a Tepper MBA help you to achieve these goals? (Please include any information regarding what steps you have taken to learn more about…
MAP Your Way to a Winning MBA Goals Essay
Here at Accepted.com we often refer to the process of writing an MBA goals essay as “mapping.” By mapping, or using the “MAP” strategy, we are referring to two things. First, to the idea that the adcoms are looking for a sort of roadmap—they want to see your point of departure, your current location,…
MBA Admissions Advice for Career Changers
MBA career switchers carry a burden that other applicants don’t: the need to demonstrate an understanding of and fit with a new industry or job function. For example, if you’re already an IT consultant and your post-MBA goals involve IT consulting, then you should have no trouble drafting an MBA goals essay that explains…
