“Tell me about a time when you disagreed strongly with your supervisor. ” “How would you do things differently now?” “What draws you to this program more than to any other?” If you have interviews coming up, whether for a seat in a college program or a job opening, will you be ready to answer…
Optional and Open-Ended Essay Questions: What’s the Best Strategy?
Many business schools ask open-ended questions, many of which are 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 really have free rein to discuss anything you feel is important…
9 Secrets to Telling an Attention-Grabbing Story
You’ve completed most of your application. Now it’s time to write your personal statement. You want your statement to stand out from the rest, and the way to do this is to tell a compelling story – the tale of your greatest achievements, dreams, and challenges. You can tell a compelling story by tying together…
Writing a Powerful Leadership/Achievement Essay [Sample Essay]
Essays that ask you to write about significant achievements fall under the category of what are known as behavioral or experiential questions. The basic assumption behind these questions is that past behavior is a great predictor of future behavior. They are all varieties on the theme of “Tell us about a time when you…” These…
Short and Sweet: Tips for Writing “Mini” MBA Essays
What is an admissions committee’s message or intent in limiting an “essay” answer to 100, 200, or 300 characters? Just the facts, please. Actually, just the key facts. No adornment, no backstory, no extended rationale. In working with clients on such questions, for example the CBS short answer goals question, I’ve been struck by how hard providing “just the…
Writing About Your Experiences Abroad
You studied, worked, or volunteered abroad. Now you want to include part of this in your personal statement as part of an undergrad, AMCAS or other application. Maybe you want to show that you’ve experienced a different culture and expanded your perspective through your eye-opening experiences meeting new people, mountain-climbing, assisting in a rural community,…
How to Write a Great Statement of Purpose [Episode 473]
How to Write a Statement of Purpose That Gets You Accepted [Show Summary] Vanessa Febo is a PhD candidate in English Literature at UCLA and a writing instructor who has guided students to acceptance at top programs at Harvard, Stanford, and USC. In this episode, she shares her expert tips on mastering the writing required…
10 Tips for Better Essay Writing
Let’s take your writing up a notch–or two! Ready to up your game in the writing department? Since you’re probably eager to show the adcom that you’ve got the “write” stuff and can relate your significant experiences and insightful ideas eloquently, these 10 tips are for you: Think about writing as a conversation on paper….
How Personal is Too Personal?
The personal statement is a terrific opportunity to share an intriguing and unique aspect of your life with the admissions committees. How much should you tell? At what point are you crossing the line into TMI? When I applied to college, I wrote a personal statement describing some challenging family circumstances I’d had while growing up….
7 Simple Steps to Writing an Excellent Diversity Essay
What is the diversity question in a school application, and more importantly, why does it matter when applying to leading programs and universities? A diversity essay is an essay that encourages applicants with minority backgrounds, unusual education, distinctive experience, or unique family histories to write about how these elements will contribute to the diversity of…
Why MBA? The Winning Ingredients of a Dynamic MBA Goals Essay
MBA goals need to be practical, not just theoretical In the good old days when Wharton still offered feedback to rejected applicants, I talked with a potential client who was reapplying to Wharton. He had received feedback on his application and had, in fact, really liked his application. “They said I was well qualified, and…
Applying to U.S. Business Schools from Europe, Asia, the Middle East [Episode 467]
What international applicants to U.S. business schools need to know [Show Summary] Michelle Stockman has a Master’s in Journalism, 15 years of experience as an Accepted admissions consultant, and has lived all around the world. Bridging all of these experiences, Michelle gives her tips for international students applying to U.S. MBA programs. Interview with Michelle…
Admissions Tip: BE YOURSELF!
One of the things admissions committee members tell us again and again is that they wish – really, truly wish – that applicants would not try to write what they imagine the adcom wants to hear, but would just be themselves instead. Time and time again, admissions committee members tell us they wish applicants would…
Writing a Lead That Pops
How many times have you wandered through a bookstore or library, opening up a book to read the first few lines only to quickly close it again? How often have you tested a free sample on your Kindle only to decide after a paragraph that you’re glad you didn’t buy it? How often have you…
Revise and Polish Your Application Essays
You’ve got your first draft ready – this is a great milestone! Now it’s time to revise and edit. Outstanding essays are not sprung into the world on the first draft. Here’s how to edit and polish until your essay shines: 1. Let your essay rest for a day or two, particularly after an intensive…
How to Create the First Draft of Your Application Essay
You now have a clear sense of what makes an essay effective. You have reflected on the questions that helped you identify and develop your theme. Now it’s time to start writing. Before you begin, draft an outline, even if it’s only a very informal list of the main points you want to cover. Based…
Writing Your Career Goals Essay
The career goals essay–a close cousin to the graduate school statement of purpose–also demands a laser-like focus. Unlike personal statements that may discuss career goals but also allow for more flexibility in content, the career goals essay has a specific and packed agenda. In fact, a career goals essay questions may contain several questions in…
Finding a Theme for Your Statement of Purpose
All effective essays have a distinctive theme. Referring back to the essays we read in the previous post, we might say that our MPH candidate’s theme was her passion for finding answers to significant public health issues. Our law school applicant’s theme was his yearning for greater intellectual challenges while remaining in the healthcare field….
Identifying the Ingredients of a Winning Essay
As you gear up to write your application essays, you may have looked at sample “winning” essays published in books or on websites, only to ask yourself afterward, “Sure, these are great, but what do these essays have to do with me?” This blog series will show you how to plan for, draft, and edit…
MBA Deadlines Are Coming Fast: Here’s What You Can Do
As you get closer to MBA application deadlines, watch this video for important last minute advice from MBA admissions expert, Michelle Stockman: 3 “Spring Week” Tips for MBA Applicants [Transcript] Hello, MBA applicants, welcome to Accepted. I’m Consultant Michelle Stockman. Now, many of you are nearing the end of what is a marathon MBA application…
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- Next Page »
