A number of schools have variations on this question, and clients regularly ask what they are supposed to do with a topic like this. The answer: It depends. The role of the optional essay Ask yourself: Does the application offer an optional essay space as well as asking this question, or is this the only…
When the MBA Optional Essay is No Longer Optional
You’ve already written the required essays that most business schools ask for – do you really need to write the optional essay? If you’re a strong applicant who doesn’t need to explain weaknesses, low stats, or application inconsistencies, then you may be able to skip the optional question. But the optional essay is NOT AN…
3 Tips for Writing the Optional Essay in Medical School Secondary Applications
Many medical schools include an optional essay in their secondary applications. Obviously, this “optional” essay is not required, and the essay prompt sometimes emphasizes this point. Often, the question will include the stipulation that you cannot include anything that was already mentioned in your primary application or other essays. Some schools even state that most…
How to Choose X Essay Questions to Answer from Y Choices
If you face multiple essay questions on an application, how are you going to choose which one(s) you should answer and which one(s) you should skip? What factors should you consider when choosing the best essays for you? Appreciate Your Options! First, options are good! But they do force you to think (a task we’re…
Add-Ons and Extras: Supplements to Your Law School Application
If your law school’s application offers optional or extra opportunities for submitting supplementary materials, you are wise to take advantage and give the admissions committee members more information about their most desirable applicant – you! Yet you want to choose carefully and write an essay that will make the admissions committee glad that they have…
Are the Optional Law School Essays Optional?
Many law schools include their own optional essays. For example, the University of Pennsylvania Law School provides the following optional essays prompts: • Describe how your background or experiences will enhance the diversity of the Penn Law community (e.g., based on your culture, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, ideology, age, socioeconomic status, academic background,…
Law School Admissions Tip #7: The not so optional “optional” essay
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 not so optional “optional” essay. Almost every law school will ask for a personal statement as part of…
Optional Essays: When and How to Write Them
In this short video, Linda Abraham explores the two kinds of optional essays, who should write them, and what should go into them. Don’t miss the crucial warning at the end. Related Resources: • 5 Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Application Essays, a free guide • How to Edit Your Application Essays, a podcast…
Tips for Completing Your Brown Supplement to the Common Application
This post about the Brown supplement to the Common Application is part of a series of posts written to help you complete the 2012 Common Application supplement for Ivy League schools. Today, when I visited the Brown website, the academic page banner proclaimed, “Brown gives students the freedom to direct their education.” If that…
NYU Stern 2012 MBA Application Questions, Tips, Deadlines.
The 2013 NYU Stern tips are now available. Click here to check them out! This NYU Stern 2012 MBA Application tip post is one of a series of posts providing MBA application and essay advice for applicants to top MBA programs around the world. Check out the entire 2012 MBA Application Tips series for more…
UCLA Anderson 2012 MBA Application Questions, Tips.
The 2013 UCLA Anderson MBA tips are now available. Click here to check them out! This UCLA Anderson 2012 MBA Application tip post is one of a series of posts providing MBA application and essay advice for applicants to top MBA programs around the world. Check out the entire 2012 MBA Application Tips series for…
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…
Columbia 2012 MBA Application Questions, Deadlines, Tips.
Our 2013 Columbia MBA Application Essay Tips are Now Online! Click Here to Check Them Out! This Columbia MBA Application tip post is one of a series of posts providing MBA application and essay advice for applicants to top MBA programs around the world. Check out the entire 2012 MBA Application Tips series for more valuable MBA essay advice. …
Should You Write the Optional Essay?
…it depends. (You didn’t think we’d actually give you a straightforward “yes” or “no” answer, did you?) You may be exhausted after writing the required 3-5 essays that your target business school requires, but that doesn’t give you an automatic “out” from the optional essay. The truth is, some people will get their much-needed…
MBA Admissions Tip: Approaching the Quant Aspects of Your Application
A low GMAT score or a low GPA is not necessarily an MBA deal breaker. No adcom is going to admit or dismiss a candidate based solely on one semester’s poor GPA or a low verbal GMAT score without also reflecting on other numbers as well as the rest of the non-quantitative parts of the…
MBA Admissions Tip: How to Handle a Criminal Record
You want to apply to business school, but you have a misdemeanor (or worse) on your permanent adult legal record. Can you still expect to be considered at a top business school? A criminal record certainly does count as a strike against you, but that’s not to say that the problem is insurmountable. There are…
2011 NYU Stern Langone MBA Essay Tips
The NYU Stern Langone essay questions reflect two contradictory qualities: on one hand short and focused; on the other hand comprehensive and broad, due to the nature of the third essay. One key challenge: portray your career and current work vividly and engagingly. This picture of your work is important because the part-time Langone program…
CEIBS Application Essays, Tips, and Deadlines
This CEIBS 2012 MBA Application tip post is one of a series of posts providing MBA application and essay advice for applicants to top MBA programs around the world. You can access 2011’s series at https://blog.accepted.com/acceptedcom_blog/tag/2011-mba-application-tips. CEIBS (China Europe International Business School), located in Shanghai, is the longest-running MBA program in China, boasting the largest…
Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University 2012 MBA Application Questions, Deadline, and Tips
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Multimedia Hits the MBA Application
More and more highly qualified applicants are applying to business school, which means that if you want to gain admission to a top b-school, you’re going to need to show some serious skill, that is, serious multimedia skills—at least that’s the recommendation according to a recent Financial Times article, “Express Yourself.” High test scores, a…
