Title

March 2001	Volume 4, Issue 3
Free monthly newsletter	Subscribers: 3133
Back issues	ISSN: 1526-2316
Published by Accepted.com	Linda Abraham, Editor
Subscriber self administration

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

MBA Interview Feedback Database Crosses 500 Mark

One of Accepted.com's best resources is the MBA Interview Feedback Database. Through the database, MBA applicants about to interview at a particular school can view interview feedback from previous applicants who have already interviewed.

Thanks to all of you who took a couple of minutes to provide thoughtful responses, the database now has over 500 informative responses. If you're about to interview, don't waste a minute. Dive into this treasure trove of information.

If you have already interviewed, please take a moment to contribute your feedback to this valuable resource. Doing so before March 31, 2001 will enroll you automatically in Accepted.com's It's a 10! contest. You could be a winner!

AMSA Convention — Save the Date!

On March 28, 2001, Linda Abraham, Odds 'N Ends editor and Accepted.com's president, will give a presentation at the American Medical Student Association's Annual Convention in Anaheim, California. Ms. Abraham's presentation is entitled "Ace the AMCAS Essay."

For more information about the premed activities at the convention, please visit AMSA's Web site .

Save the Date

On March 28, 2001, Linda Abraham, Odds 'N Ends editor and Accepted.com's president, will give a presentation at the American Medical Student Association's Annual Convention in Anaheim, California. Ms. Abraham's presentation is entitled "Ace the AMCAS Essay."

She would love to see you there. Please say "Hi."

For more information about the premed activities at the convention, please visit http://www.amsa.org/news/conv/info.htm#premed.

Acceptances

Those acceptances are rolling in! Stanford, Kellogg, Penn, Columbia, Duke, Tuck, Cornell — if Accepted.com played any role in your application process, whether as an informative Web site or advisor and editor, please let us know where you are admitted, how we helped you, AND how we can do better. Visit our acceptance survey or e-mail acceptances@accepted.com. Alternatively, please let your editor know how you did.

Essay Tip of the Month

Addressing Negatives

Last month's tip focused on mitigating negatives; this month's tip will discuss how you can address low grades, test scores, or less than ideal experience.

Low grades - If the reason for low grades in your freshman year is simply immaturity, then 'fess up. Say so, and provide ample evidence of what you have accomplished once you found purpose and direction. If the need to work contributed to low grades, then disclose it, but focus on what you gained by putting yourself through school or assuming significant responsibility at an early age. If circumstances beyond your control, i.e., health problems, an accident, a family crisis, contributed to a bad stretch, make sure the schools know about the problem. And again, point to the higher grades you earned when you weren't dealing with a personal crisis as evidence of what you can do and of the growth that results from overcoming difficulty.

Low test score - The truth: they're hard to address or excuse. As mentioned last month, improving the score is the best route. However, doing so isn't always possible. I have found only two solid explanations for low scores:

Inadequate experience - What if you are applying to law school and haven't worked in a law office? Or you're applying to medical school and only did one short stint in your local ER? Or you're applying to b-school with less than two years of work experience and much of that at a junior level? What should you do? First determine what attributes the schools want to see. All want to see leadership experience or potential. In addition, law schools want to see applicants who have analytical and writing abilities. Med schools want applicants to have good interpersonal skills. B-schools want teamwork experience among other qualities. Examine your responsibilities and achievements at school, on the job, and in your extra-curricular activities, and then in your essays focus on those experiences that reveal the desired qualities — even if they aren't in the classic venue for your particular specialty. If possible, ask your recommenders to provide additional evidence of those desirable qualities. Show the adcoms that you have the attributes they want.

Resume Tip of the Month

Minimizing Trouble Spots in a Resume

You want the potential employer to notice your accomplishments immediately as she reviews your resume. But you just know that six-month gap between jobs will catch her attention first.

A job gap is a common problem for people who are preparing a resume. Here are some others: frequent job changes; lack of advancement in a company or from job to job; positions that fail to reflect your abilities.

One way to address these problems is by using a functional resume, which differs from the traditional resume in structure. Instead of a chronological listing of positions with accomplishments and responsibilities, it is organized by skill groupings, under which you highlight relevant accomplishments. For example, under "Team Development," you would identify accomplishments related to your team experience in various positions, then you could have a "Marketing" category, to highlight function-specific accomplishments. Below these skill groupings and above the education section, put an "Employment" section simply listing your employment in chronological order.

There is some research that shows employers prefer traditional to functional resumes, so if you use the latter, make it as specific as possible to neutralize this possibility by noting where each accomplishment occurred. Here are some additional pointers for dealing with the common problems that may allow you to use the traditional resume format. (Use judgment, as they don't all work in every case.)

Using just years instead of months/years can eliminate an apparent gap between jobs if your overall work history is five-plus years.

The understanding of "frequent job changes" depends somewhat on the business climate and the industry; research a bit before determining this is a problem.

In an "Additional Information" section, identify a gap, if you have a "valid" reason such as caring for a family member or moving. Or note volunteer work done during the gap.

Vivid accomplishments that illustrate your positive impact can overshadow lack of advancement within a company or underutilized education/skills.

Cindy Tokumitsu
Editor, Accepted.com
Member, Professional Association of Resume Writers

Grad Admission News You Can Use

Suspect Scores from PRC

ETS, the organization that administers the GRE and TOEFL, sent a letter last month to all graduate deans and undergraduate deans of admission warning them of the "theft and unauthorized use of copyrighted GRE and TOEFL materials within the People's Republic of China." The letter urged the deans to "treat all GRE and TOEFL test scores from China with caution," and stressed that "test score results [must] be fully supported by other elements of the file."

ETS to Provide Free Test Prep Material for GRE

Starting September 1, 2001, ETS has announced that it will provide free test preparation material for every registrant for the GRE. Every registrant will receive a free copy of the Power Prep software on CD.

ETS Agrees to Stop Flagging Disability Accommodations

ETS has agreed to stop flagging for the accommodation of extended time on the Graduate Record Examinations, the Graduate Management Admission Test, the Test of English as a Foreign Language, Praxis, and many other standardized admission tests that it administers as of October 1, 2001.

Law Admissions News You Can Use

University of Virginia Raises Record Funds

The University of Virginia School of Law announced that it has concluded its seven-year fund-raising campaign and raised $202 million, a record for an American law school.

The funds have been used for capital improvements, new professorships, scholarships, and academic programs.

MBA Admissions News You Can Use

From the Inbox

"I have this feeling that I won't be accepted because I didn't address the 'Why XYZ School' question well enough. If there's one piece of advice I would give to aspiring MBA applicants, it would be to visit each school in the spring or early fall before you apply, meet students and professors, and write about the experience in each application."

Back to Banking and Consulting

Articles on b-school graduates' rush to security in the wake of the "dot-bust" have flooded the newsstands. For a small sample, please visit:

Med Admissions News You Can Use

	March 16, 2001:		Last day to register with regular fees for April MCAT.
	April 1, 2001:		AMCAS Web application available.
	April 21, 2001:		April MCAT
	June 1, 2001:		AMCAS begins to accept applications for 2002 admission.
	July 13, 2001:		Last day to register with regular fees for August MCAT.
	August 18, 2001:		August MCAT.

AAMC Relaunches Web Site

The AAMC is in the process of redesigning its Web site and has relaunched its student hub with great success. The new version of the site is easier to navigate, well organized, and easy on the eyes.

College Admissions News You Can Use

Harvard Increases Grants to Financial Aid Recipients

Starting in September 2001, all financial aid recipients at Harvard College will receive an additional $2000 to reduce the "self-help" portion of their tuition payments from $5,150 to $3,150. Almost 70% of Harvard undergrads receive some financial aid.

Harvard also announced a 3.5% increase in tuition, fees, and room and board to $34,2690.

Perhaps Princeton DID start a trend last month when it announced its "no loan" policy. more >>

Tell a Friend

Please share this issue with friends and colleagues who share your interest in graduate school admission. Tell a friend or two about Accepted.com's powerful array of online pre-professional resources. They will thank you and so will we!

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 http://www.accepted.com/help/essay_help.htm. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at info@accepted.com or Phone.