Accepted.com Odds 'N Ends

What's New at Accepted.com

Time Marches On
In fact, it seems to march at double time. It's hard enough to juggle everything when you're standing still. Moving this fast, it gets even harder to focus on essays and keep all those personal, professional, and educational balls in the air. Especially when those application deadlines seem to creep up out of nowhere. Those application deadlines somehow manage to creep up mysteriously out of nowhere.

We want to help you, but please give us enough time to do so. Don't wait until the last minute. Sign up today for Accepted.com services or contact your editor ASAP.   

Don't Let Writing The College Application Essay Drive You And Your Family Crazy

Accepted.com editor Sheila Bender has written a wonderful ebook for college applicants and their families. It outlines step by step how to write the college application essays, and it lays out roles for the applicant and their parents. The steps will help you write a compelling, revealing essay and maintain peace in your household. So whether you are a parent or the applicant, check out Don't Let Writing The College Application Essay Drive You And Your Family Crazy. It's also our featured ebook this month and 20% off through Oct. 31.

Beautiful B-School Photo Contest

I have long advocated school visits as a great way to learn about a school, its culture, and its student life. They also provide you with invaluable insights you can use to show your fit with the program in your essays and interviews.

 

Now you can have even more fun while visiting, especially if you're an amateur photographer yearning to be recognized for your artistic brilliance -- or just your nice photo. Compete in the Beautiful B-School Photo Contest for lots of prizes and a chance to show your photo to the world!

 

For additional information and contest rules, please visit the Beautiful B-School Photo Contest Rules.

Judy Koffler's Article in Los Angeles Daily Journal

Accepted.com editor Judith Koffler published an article in the Los Angeles Daily Journal entitled "As Law Firms Go Global, Demand for LL.M. Degrees Mushrooms." In it, Judy highlights the explosive growth of LL.M. programs in recent years and provides tips for LL.M. applicants. This article is now available on Accepted.com as "Law Schools Expand LL.M. Programs."

"It's a 10!" is back
We are pleased to announce the return of our popular It's a 10! contest. Every tenth MBA applicant who fills out an interview feedback questionnaire will win a $10 Amazon gift certificate. It's easy -- just fill out a questionnaire after you interview with an MBA program and you're automatically entered in our contest. For additional information and contest rules, please visit our contest details page.

And watch for upgrades to the MBA Interview Feedback Database coming soon!

And of course, last month's chats have generated must-read transcripts:

•  Consortium Chat with Jackie Olden

• Michigan Ross with Soojin Kwon Koh

• LBS Chat with David Simpson

• Forte Forum with Sara Nordhoff

• Forte Forum with Mariska Morse

• Wharton Chat with Thomas Caleel

Blog Posts of Interest

• MBA Admissions News
• Admissions Haiku
• Oh No!!!! A Typo!!!!
• College Admissions News
• Residency Items

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Personal Statement Myth #1: Personal statements are read by machines.

'What?!' you're thinking. 'I know that's nonsense. You're not telling me anything new!'

Unfortunately, many applicants write as if they think search engines or electronic resume readers, hungry for key words, read their personal statements. They write as if stuffing mantras into essays will persuade the reader of their admissibility. After all, if enough derivatives of 'lead' appear, shouldn't the reader conclude they are leaders?

Sorry. It doesn't work like that. You have to show, not tell, your reader that you're a leader. And you don't need to even have the root 'lead' in your story to demonstrate leadership. Watch how one fictional candidate expresses his successful leadership in just a few short words: 'Despite some initial stumbling I organized my teammates, set deadlines for sub-tasks, and rewarded performance. My team completed our project 10% under budget and on time.' An anecdotal story could also convey the same quality -- and probably do a better job. But whether you want to reveal leadership, compassion, integrity, or analytical skills, use of these terms doesn't convince anyone. Readers aren't machines and won't be swayed by key word stuffing. You need to demonstrate those qualities.

Personal Statement Myth #2: The admissions committees are judges awarding acceptances like prizes -- based on objective criteria and merit.

Wrong. The admissions committees see themselves as professional creators of classes. They're assembling classes with diversity of perspectives, skills, and backgrounds - a symphony of voices, if you will. The adcoms couldn't care less about rewarding you for your past achievements. That's not their job. They will defend to the death the concept that 'merit' and 'achievement' come in many shapes and are not exclusively measured by test scores, grades, or even extra-curricular activities. You may see the fat envelope as a prize, but they see you as a potential tile in a mosaic that they are crafting. Are you going to add a distinctive hue to the class picture or not?  

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