Accepted.com
Odds 'N Ends
We have decided to publish this newsletter as a
service to our clients and others who register for it on
our web site. Accepted.com's Odds 'N Ends will
bring you our tip of the month, admissions information
for grad, law, MBA, and medical school applicants, and
news about Accepted.com.
We also welcome contributions from readers. If you
have comments, questions, or perhaps an article idea,
please e-mail our editor.
We cannot publish everything we receive, but we will try
to respond to everyone. And as always, we appreciate
feedback.
Index
What's New at Accepted.com
Tip of the Month
Grad Admission News You Can Use
Law Admission News You Can Use
MBA Admission News You Can Use
Medical Admission News You Can Use
Our Services
What's New at Accepted.com
Pre-Med
Secondary Essay Chat
In response to the enthusiastic demand of the July 14
chat participants, Accepted.com's president, Linda
Abraham, has scheduled a follow-up secondary essay chat
on Tuesday evening, August 17 at 6:00 PM PDT (7:00 PM
Mountain Time; 8:00 PM Central Time; 9:00 PM EDT).
For more information, please e-mail chat@accepted.com
or visit our chat
section.
MBA Chat
— Strategies for Success
Accepted.com has invited Maxx Duffy of Maxx
Associates to co-host with Linda Abraham, founder of
Accepted.com, a chat entitled "Strategies for
Success. The online chat will be held on September 14,
1999 at 6:00 PM PDT (9:00 PM EDT).
For more information, please e-mail
mbachat@accepted.com
or visit our chat
section.
MBA
Expansion Survey
Check out Accepted.com’s expansion plans and tell
us what you think about them by visiting
http://www.accepted.com/help/survey.htm.
And while you’re busy expressing yourself, you will
automatically be enrolled in our Top Secret Drawing. The
winner will receive a $50 gift certificate.
Coming
Soon — Referral Reward Program
One of our best sources of business has always been
word-of-mouth referral. To demonstrate our appreciation,
we will be initiating a referral reward program. Details
will be announced in an upcoming issue of Odds ’N
Ends.
Also
Coming Soon — Resume Writing
We know that your need for writing consultants
probably won’t end when you are accepted to graduate
school. In the coming weeks, Accepted.com will add a
professional resume writer to its talented staff to help
you with that all-important job search. Look for details
in an upcoming issue of Odds ’N Ends.
Tip of the Month
The
Worst Question
"What do the admissions people want?"
That is such a common, innocent-looking question. I
hear it all the time from prospective clients, clients,
and my audience when I give presentations.
However, behind that seemingly logical question
frequently lurks a more sinister one: What is the
magic-bullet essay that will earn me admission to the
school of my choice?
You may wonder why I consider the question dangerous.
Why do I cringe when I hear it? Because the questioners
are either trying to avoid the necessary introspection
and reflection that will contribute to a truly great
application essay, or they do not want to reveal the
unique and interesting aspects of their characters and
experiences — their personal side.
Ironically, those who dwell on this question, usually
and foolishly succeed in removing themselves from their
essays in vain attempts to realize mythical
expectations. Attempting to be Dr. Kildare, Bill Gates,
or Johnny Cochran, they suck the personality out of
their essays and ignore the unique experiences and
insights that would make an admissions person say,
"I would like to meet this person," or
"This applicant would make a great addition to our
incoming class."
So now that you can imagine me gritting my teeth and
swallowing hard when I hear the words "What do they
really want," you may wonder how I actually respond
to the question. Pretty much along the following lines:
- There is no guaranteed formula, pat answer, or
magic bullet that will get you in.
- Admissions officers want the following in your
essays:
- They want to know what is important to you and
distinctive about you.
- They want a well-written essay.
- They want you to answer the question, if you are
responding to a specific question.
Now that you know what they want, you can visit
http://www.accepted.com
to find out how to write it.
Grad Admission News You Can Use
Identity Crisis at Schools of International
Affairs
A number of articles in this section of Odds ‘N Ends
have been devoted to stories of scientific graduate
programs seeking to better prepare their graduates for
non-academic positions in business. The Chronicle of
Higher Education recently revealed that schools of
international affairs are similarly attempting to
prepare their graduates for the growing number of
positions in the private sector. And like most of these
schools, John Hopkins’ School of Advanced
International Studies’ (SAIS) is struggling to remain
faithful to its unique focus on history, languages, and
political science while preparing its graduates for a
world where business, finance, and economics are playing
an increasingly important role in all arenas.
This trend, specifically, the recent hiring of two
full-time professors of corporate and international
finance, has triggered controversy at Hopkins. Some
professors feel the school has lost its way and
permitted "the culture of the three-page memo"
to permeate the institution. Others feel that Hopkins,
like the John Kennedy School of Government at Harvard,
the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts, and
the School of International and Public Affairs at
Columbia, must deal with the realities of the post-Cold
War world. One of those realities: The percentage of
SAIS graduates entering the public sector has halved in
the last ten years. More and more graduates are taking
positions in banking, consulting, and international
business.
Law Admissions News You Can Use
Clinton Supports Law School Affirmative
Action
On July 20 at a White House meeting, President Clinton
urged 150 leaders of the legal profession to increase
opportunities for minority attorneys. He also urged them
to provide more pro bono services to minority groups.
According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, at
the meeting with the president the Association of
American Law Schools announced a plan to aid law schools
in defending affirmative action when it is under
political or legal attack. In the past, the association
has filed friend-of-the-court briefs; it will now also
encourage professors to help defend admission practices
or develop alternative policies to encourage minority
enrollment. Finally the association announced its intent
to reach minority students at younger ages, in
elementary and middle schools, and encourage them to
consider legal careers.
Ranking the Law Firms
Would you like to fantasize about your life after you
pass the bar? Want to know the best firms for $$$,
social life, prestige, or diversity? Well
VaultReports.com is
publishing its second annual Guide to America’ Top 50
Law Firms.
Since it is really rather early to be shelling out
$35 for information that won’t be relevant for another
few years, perhaps you want to view at least some of it
for free online at
VaultReports.com.
Oh, would you like to know what the highest paid,
newly minted, legal hot shot will earn? According to
Business Week Online, a cool $200,000 in his first year
as an associate at New York’s Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen
& Katz.
I wonder what a senior partner makes.
MBA Admissions News You Can Use
The Foreign MBA Page
The Foreign MBA
Page provides a comprehensive set of links and
succinct information for aspiring, current, and former
MBA students. It is a site worth visiting for anyone
considering an MBA anywhere in the world.
UMICH Receives $10 Million Gift for
Entrepreneurship Center
The University of Michigan announced recently that it
received a $10 million gift from Sam Zell and Ann Lurie
to create an Entrepreneurial Institute at Michigan. The
Samuel Zell and Robert H. Lurie Institute for
Entrepreneurial Studies will begin to operate in Fall
1999. The institute will build on Michigan’s strong
entrepreneurship programs. Key features of its program
include a school-run venture capital fund and
experiential learning centers from Michigan to Israel.
Med Admissions News You Can Use
Harvard to use Endowment Money for Teaching
Teaching hospitals are struggling financially, hurt by
flat or declining insurance reimbursements, managed
care, and reduced Medicare funding. The Chronicle of
Higher Education recently reported that Harvard Medical
School, in an attempt to maintain teaching quality in
the face of declining revenues, will increase its
spending on its teaching hospitals by $20 million over
the next five years. The funds will come from the school’s
$1.5 billion endowment and go to endowed medical school
faculty members who must use the money "to advance
medical education."
Dr. Joseph B. Martin, dean of the medical school,
credited the stock market, with enabling Harvard to
increase its endowment payout and "solidify our
commitment to medical education at a time when
traditional funding sources are being cut back."
Another Harvard spokesperson emphasized that the
additional funds are contingent upon the stock market
maintaining its value.
Canadian Medical School Forum
Vijay Anand recently started a forum for Canadians
applying to Canadian medical schools. It is just
starting, so traffic is light, but if you are interested
in Canadian medical school admissions, check out
http://www.delphi.com/anandmed/messages.
Secondary Transcript Posted
Actually, the transcript from our well-attended
secondary essay chat on July 14 was lost due to a
computer glitch in our chat hosting software. We
apologize for the loss made more unfortunate by the
excellent content provided by our guests. However, Linda
Abraham’s presentation on writing secondary essays is
now available in our
transcripts
area.
Also, as noted in the announcement section, we will
have another secondary essay chat on August 17 at 6:00
PM PDT (7:00 PM Mountain Time; 8:00 PM Central Time;
9:00 PM EDT). Please join us at
http://www.accepted.com/chat.
Our Services
Writing a personal statement is a tough challenge. A
former client, an NBC journalist with over twenty years
of experience in the field, once said that his personal
statement "was the toughest thing I ever had to
write." He sought our help. Shouldn't you?
Accepted.com's editors are here to help you write
your best essays — eloquent, compelling essays that
distinguish you from the competition and transform you
from a transcript and test score into a competitive
applicant and unique individual.
Check us out. Complete information on our services,
including prices, testimonials, and information about
our top-notch professional staff, can be found at
Essay Help.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact us
at info@accepted.com
or Phone.
We look forward to serving you.
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