closeEvents & Promotions
| Last visit was: 29 Apr 2024, 05:34 |
It is currently 29 Apr 2024, 05:34 |
Customized
for You
Track
Your Progress
Practice
Pays
08:00 AM EDT
-09:00 AM EDT
08:30 AM PDT
-09:30 AM PDT
12:00 PM EDT
-11:59 PM EDT
08:30 AM PDT
-09:30 AM PDT
10:00 AM PDT
-12:00 PM PDT
10:00 AM EDT
-10:30 AM EDT
12:00 PM EDT
-01:00 PM EDT
12 Dec 2017, 10:01
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: 16 Grad School Application Mistakes You Don't Want to Make |
 The application cycle is in full swing in early December, when I’m recording this podcast. In reflecting on the many applications that my colleagues and I review here at Accepted and the problems we help our clients deal with, I thought it might be a good time to discuss things you shouldn’t do – mistakes that can really hurt your chances of admission. We’ve also prepared an “Unchecklist” that you can download and review at your leisure. The Unchecklist contains the Toxic 16 + one bonus. Make sure none of them poison your application efforts. the application process is still a marathon, not a sprint. How long will it take? That depends on the degree program, but typically three months ahead of time is a great time to start working on applications, and two months still works. However, when you get down to a month prior to deadlines for starting work, it gets a little dicey in terms of time crunch. If you work with an Accepted consultant, waiting until the last minute means there is less we (and you) can do to optimize your application. Delay limits the opportunity for us to review your overall profile, and can lead to a rushed application, which does not allow either you or us to do our best work. Applying is a detailed, difficult process whether you are working on your own or with a consultant. The essays require writing, rewriting, sometimes distancing yourself, and then returning to the essays. There are the boxes to fill in, the recommendations to procure, and perhaps a video to create. And of course, there’s the exam (MCAT, GMAT, GRE, LSAT, etc), which I’ve been assuming you already took. In reality, we talk to so many people who take the exam at the last minute thinking they will apply right after and they bomb it – the low score throws their whole timeline out of whack. Get your tests done early (at least 6 months before you apply), so when application cycle swings into gear, you’re satisfied with your score and the test is behind you. 2. Focusing on your past instead of your future when choosing schools. [4:43] Graduate school is to a certain extent about changing you. Sometimes applicants are so stuck on what they’ve done in the past (“I’m an Indian male engineer. What schools accept lots of applicants with that profile?”), they fail to think about which schools will prepare them most effectively for what they want to do AFTER they graduate. 3. Putting too much emphasis on the rankings. [6:35] Rankings are great storehouses of data, but the absolute rankings are not the elements you should be focusing on when you choose where to apply. You should be focusing on: • Your future goals and how well your target program will help you achieve them. • Your qualifications vs the class profile of admitted students. • Your fit with the schools’ culture, values. • Your personal preferences: Do you want rural or urban, warm or cold climate, a particular geographic location? Rankings should come into play if they measure something that is really of value to you, like how many women are on the faculty and a ranking weighs that factor. Otherwise, only use the rankings as rankings if you are accepted at multiple schools and you are neutral on where to go among the accepting schools – then go to the higher ranked school, as it reflects some element that an influential media organization has chosen to value. goals essays or a statement of purpose because they want you to have a goal and a purpose. If the goal is something as vague and meaningless as “I am excited to join your school to learn all of the things your school teaches” which is what one of our consultants, Jessica Pishko, relayed she sometimes sees (or the equivalent), you are sunk. Closely related to having no goal is having so many goals that it’s clear you haven’t a clue what you want to do. Accepted consultant and former Cornell EMBA admission director Jen Weld gave the example, “I want to do this. Or maybe this. Or maybe this.” While the example is made up, the reality is that we see this kind of “goal” all the time. And it telegraphs that you have NO goal. 5. Assume that one element in your qualifications or profile will get you in. [14:02] You have a 3.9 GPA or a 22 MCAT or 750 GMAT or 330 GRE or 166 LSAT. Congrats! But don’t rest on your laurels. Admissions is holistic. Yes certain fields will focus more on one area or another, but no highly regarded graduate program looks only at a test score or a GPA or even at one exceptional experience. 6. Assume that one element in your qualifications or profile will keep you out. Forever. (Most things can be changed.) [15:52] This actually has some basis in reality – if you are unwilling to change or improve. But we’ve worked with many applicants who had an undergrad record or test score that they were not proud of and they worked and showed that they had changed. So if you are willing to change and improve and perhaps adjust some of your school choices, you still have a chance. Obviously, the particulars count here, but don’t assume that one flaw automatically means you’re a failure or certain to be rejected or that you can’t achieve your dreams. One flaw means you’re human. Most, not all, flaws can be corrected or overcome in admissions if you are willing to make the effort. Turning to the application itself, let’s start with the essays, be they a personal statement, statement of purpose, goals essay, or various other type that you may need to write. 7. Lying anywhere in the app. [18:30] I am not going to take a moral or ethical approach to this issue. Lying simply isn’t worth it, and there is always the possibility of being discovered – after acceptance, while you are in school, or even after you’ve graduated. Bottom line – you’re toast. Just don’t do it. 8. Write what you think they want to hear. This one is the most common complaint I’ve heard from admissions directors. [19:58] Writing what you think the admissions committee wants to hear is one of the most common complaints from admissions directors. Write what you want them to know– what you’re proud of. What experiences and achievements show you fit with the program? What would make them thrilled to have you as part of the community? Have the essay address the prompt and complement other aspects of your application. If you write what you think they want to hear, you’ll have a really difficult time standing out. 9. Aiming to sound sophisticated as opposed to actually being clear. [20:44] Your goal in writing your essays is clarity, NOT sophistication. Don’t write flowery sentences for the sake of being flowery. You want to be showing your communication skills, motivations, achievements, and goals as clearly as possible. 10. Verbosity. [22:15] If you can say something in two words, say it in two words. For the most part you will be dealing with tight word limits. For those essays that don’t have word limits, nobody wants to read a War and Peace-length answer to “What matters most to you?” You can’t afford to waste space with unnecessary gobbledy-gook in your essays. Here are two quick techniques that will allow you to put your writing on a diet: • You don’t need to say, “I had the opportunity to do X, Y, and Z.” Instead you can say, “I did X, Y, and Z.” • There are a lot of words that come in verb and noun form – if you use the verb form you will always tighten your language. “I made the decision to,” vs “I decided.” We do have some resources on word limits on our website, and I will link to that in the Related Resources [see below]. 11. Writing generically. [24:35] If you write, “I want to go to this school because it has a fantastic faculty, amazing student body, and fascinating classes,” it says you haven’t done any homework on the school and your general flattery won’t impress anybody. Say which specific elements of the program attract you and why. The specifics will be more credible and persuasive. If you say, “I love my volunteer work because I am assisting society,” that is generic. Give me an example, like a small child that you helped, or an elderly person that you spoke to. Give me some specifics about what is motivating you. Ask yourself the question why until you get into specifics. 12. Failing to answer the question posed. [26:07] Some of you are just asked to write general personal statements so this item won’t apply to you. However, most of you are responding to very specific questions, sometimes multi-part questions. Make sure you answer all parts of the question. One way to check and see if you’ve answered completely is to engage an Accepted.com consultant, but if you want to do it yourself, read the essay and then read the question to see if you can answer the question entirely based on what you just read. 13. Going for title over substance in choosing recommenders. [27:15] This is a big mistake. Choosing the senior VP at your company who barely knows your name or a professor you haven’t spoken to in years isn’t going to help you much. You need people who have a relationship with you, and based on personal experience supervising, mentoring, or working with you, can comment on your fitness for the program you are applying to. 14. Attempt to wing an interview. [28:22] Interviews require preparation. It’s just that simple. Preferably a mock interview, which Accepted provides, because the rehearsal can calm nerves and allow you to address weaknesses before the real interview. If you prepare on your own, review your application for the interviewing school and take notes. Start with the things you are proud of, and anything noteworthy since you applied. Figure out what qualities these examples exhibit. Also list the interviewing school’s criteria and values, and match your experiences to those values. Hopefully they gel well with the school’s values. Again, we do offer mock interview services at Accepted. 15. Be arrogant or rude to any member of the school’s community when you visit or go for an interview. [30:04] Be polite, courteous, and kind to every person you encounter – whether the receptionist, the janitor, the Uber driver, or the students. Arrogance or rudeness toward any member of a school’s community is an application killer. 16. Wear attire that draws attention to your appearance and perhaps takes away from the professional impression you are trying to make. Particularly true of professional programs like MBA, med, and law. [31:08] An acquaintance of mine is a medical school admissions interviewer, and she has been instructed to let the admissions committee know whenever she interviews anyone not wearing a suit. Make sure your attire is professional and conservative (err on the side of conservative if in doubt). 17. [Bonus] If you are waitlisted, pester or pressure the waitlisting school. [32:27] An admissions director once said an applicant was waitlisted and called in after being on the waitlist for several weeks. The applicant said he needed to know that day if he was accepted by that school because otherwise he was going to put a deposit down at another school. The director wasn’t pleased with the gunshot-to-the-head approach, but reviewed the application, and said, “Denied.” The applicant then asked if he could still be considered on the waitlist, and he was promptly told that not only was he no longer on the waitlist, but he would never be admitted to the school because he had lied to the director in attempting to pressure him for a decision. Period. End of story. Bottom line, be appreciative of the extended consideration you are being given on the waitlist (we know the uncertainty is not easy to deal with!) – you are not owed an acceptance — or even a spot on the waitlist. Exercise restraint. There you have it. 17 application killers.  Related Resources: • UGH! THOSE @!#$* WORD LIMITS!!! • Generic-itis Prevention [Warning: If Untreated, Can Cause Rejection] • What if the President of the United States Wrote Your Letter of Recommendation?• Accepted Admissions Services Related Shows: • Your Past Doesn’t Define You • 5 A’s for Your Low GPA • The Unbelievable Story of an Orthopedic Surgeon Subscribe:   Admissions Straight Talk, Grad School Admissions, Law School Admissions, MBA Admissions, Medical School Admissions The post 16 Grad School Application Mistakes You Don’t Want to Make [Episode 237] appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog. |
13 Dec 2017, 10:01
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Top MBA Program Average GMAT and GRE Scores [Infographic] |
  Feel free to grab this code and share the timeline on your blog or web site: <a href=”https://blog.accepted.com/top-mba-program-average-gmat-gre-scores/”> <img alt=”Top MBA Program GMAT and GRE Average Scores from Accepted” src=”https://blog.accepted.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/top_mba_program_average_gmat_scores.png” /></a> Top 10 MBA Program Average GMAT Scores The GMAT is a computer adaptive test that assesses certain analytical, writing, quantitative, verbal and reading skills. Used for admission into graduate management programs. 1. Stanford GSB – 740 2. Northwestern (Kellogg) – 732 3. UPenn (Wharton) – 730 4. Chicago (Booth) – 730 5. Harvard – 729 6. Yale SOM – 727 7. UC-Berkeley (Haas) – 725 8. Columbia – 724 9. MIT (Sloan) – 722 10. Dartmouth (Tuck) – 722 Stanford GSB has set the highest record for it’s incoming MBAs with a 740 GMAT score. Top 10 MBA Program Average GRE Scores The GRE is a standardized test that is an admissions requirement for most graduate schools in the United States. It tests verbal reasoning, analytical writing and quantitative reasoning. 1. Stanford GSB – 329 2. Yale SOM – 328 3. Virginia (Darden) – 326 4. NYU Stern – 324 5. Georgia Tech (Scheller) – 324 6. Carnegie Mellon (Tepper) – 323 7. Michigan (Ross) – 322 8. Dartmouth (Tuck) – 320 9. Cornell (Johnson) – 320 10. UCLA (Anderson) – 320 There has been an uptick in the number of MBA applicants submitting and getting in with GRE scores at top MBA programs. Boston University’s Questrom School of Business grabbed the lead with 42% of the 2016 intake accepted based on their GRE scores.  Tags: MBA Admissions The post Top MBA Program Average GMAT and GRE Scores [Infographic] appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog. |
13 Dec 2017, 11:01
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Writing Your Career Goals Essay |
 In our How to Write Exemplary Application Essays blog series, you’ll learn how to create exemplary essays by analyzing sample successful application essays. A career goals essay, similar to the graduate school statement of purpose that we discussed in a previous post in this series, demands a laser-like focus. Unlike personal statements, which may discuss career goals but also allow for more flexibility in content, the career goals essay has a specific and packed agenda. In fact, most career goals essay questions contain several questions in one, so make sure to address each of them. (For example, some ask “Why is now the right time for you to earn this degree?” or “What do you hope to gain from the XYZ program?”) Your essay must have a theme, of course, but should also do the following: 1. Highlight specific achievements. Choose among the experiences you have had, either at work or through a community or extracurricular activity, that will showcase your leadership, creative thinking, and collaborative abilities. 2. Explain why your career goal makes sense in light of your experiences and influences so far. 3. Demonstrate why you are suited to a particular field as a result of your education, experience, abilities, and enthusiasm. Ideally, the material you choose to include will also allow you to demonstrate your knowledge about industry trends, and point to how your particular abilities can help make a contribution to that field. That is a very tall order. Let’s see how this was achieved in this sample MBA Goals Essay. Based on the previous two posts in this series, you’ll easily recognize why the opening is attention-getting for all the right reasons. The writer introduces herself as the supremely busy executive she envisions herself becoming in the future. She trades large amounts of stock, then dashes to a teleconference, rushes down the stairs, hails a taxi, then catches a plane. With all those busy verbs, we can practically feel her heart pumping as she rushes towards her flight. She establishes her theme in this opening, and then gives the context for her MBA goal. Notice that in writing about her work as an accountant for a major firm, she provides relevant details, including how many years she has been in this field, her bilingual abilities, and specialty area as an auditor. This is the springboard from which she explains why she is pursuing the MBA – her role as an accountant is too limited for her to achieve her career goals as a money manager. Outstanding career goals essays don’t simply list what the applicants have done and what they want to do; they also convey real enthusiasm for the applicant’s career choice. This writer achieved this in the first paragraph and returned to it at the end where she painted her idealized (if frantically busy) future. She also proved her seriousness by registering for CFA examinations. Some career goals essays also ask why you have chosen that particular school. If you are faced with such a question, make sure to leave enough room to write knowledgeably and enthusiastically about that specific program. This will be easier if you have made campus visits, attended student recruitment meetings, participated in forums, read school blogs, communicated with current students or recent alumni, and otherwise familiarized yourself with the program and the courses and specializations it offers that are relevant to your goals. Summary Tips: • Focus on answering each and every question asked (usually there is more than one), and try to balance the amount of content for each. For example, if you have a four-part question, plan to use about 25% of the word count on each of the four parts. • Be specific when writing about your experiences so that your achievements and motivations are clear and compelling. • Do your homework about why the school is a good fit for you so you can write about it with genuine enthusiasm. In the next post in this series, we’ll show you how to take all of this advice and turn it into an exemplary first draft. Work one-on-one with an expert who will walk you through the process of creating a slam-dunk application when you check out our catalog of application services. Our admissions consultants have read thousands of essays and know the exact ingredients of an outstanding essay.   Related Resources: • Why MBA, a free guide to help you determine your MBA goals • 7 Signs an Experience Belongs in Your Application, a short video • Focus on Fit, a podcast episode Tags: College Admissions, Grad School Admissions, Law School Admissions, MBA Admissions, Medical School Admissions The post Writing Your Career Goals Essay appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog. |
14 Dec 2017, 10:01
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: What Should You Do If You Can’t Visit B-Schools in Person? |
 “What Should You Do If You Can’t Visit B-Schools in Person?” is excerpted from MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools, by Linda Abraham and Judy Gruen. I realize that for many, if not most applicants (particularly international applicants applying to U.S. schools), a school visit is simply out of the question. Don’t worry. There are many valuable channels that can yield the information you need to make an informed decision about where to apply, and to help you when answering a frequently asked essay/interview question, “What steps have you taken to learn about Our Amazing MBA Program?” First, you can attend school-sponsored receptions and information sessions either in your city or another one within reasonable traveling distance. The same questions that you gathered from studying the web site can still be asked at these sessions. Schools also often participate in larger MBA fairs organized during the fall and held in many major cities across the world. How can you get the most out of attending these fairs? Peter von Loesecke, CEO and Managing Director of The MBA Tour LLC, which organizes information sessions between MBA admissions representatives and prospective students, offers these tips: 1. Come prepared. Research the schools participating in the event ahead of time. Think about your career interests and goals and know how an MBA helps you achieve those goals and interests. 2. Make a good impression. Have your resume available and wear business attire. Business casual is ok, but most serious students, especially those outside the United States, attend in business attire. Ask questions that pertain to your personal situation and goals, and asking questions that can be answered off the school’s internet site. Don’t monopolize conversations with school reps; limit your chats to between three and five minutes unless no one else is waiting. 3. Expand your horizons. Don’t be limited by first impressions of programs and where you want to go to school. Try and visit as many schools as you can and have your visit recorded so there is a record of interest at that program. 4. Ask for business cards. This way you can send follow-up emails thanking them for the time they spent with you. You can even resend your resume too! 5. Don’t ask questions that are not relevant to your situation or that show you haven’t done any research. Questions not to ask include: “What is your average GMAT score?” Research this online. “Tell me why I should apply to your school.” This sort of question implies you think the school would be privileged to accept you and shows arrogance. “Where is your school located?” Another question that reveals no prior research. “How strong are your career services in this city?” A better question is: “Does your career services center have connections into XYZ industry where I am looking for a position after graduation?” The second question is a fair question and should be asked. The first one will generate a predictable response of “Of course we are strong in job placement in this city.” If you still can’t get to a school or visit a school fair, you can amass a wealth of information without even leaving your chair or couch thanks to the internet. Blogs, articles, podcasts, webinars, chat transcripts, and other information are available through individual school web sites, Accepted’s website, and others such as Bloomberg Businessweek, MBA Podcaster, QS World MBA Tour, Poets & Quants and The MBA Tour. These resources will provide valuable insights and help you learn in-depth about the programs you are interested in and enable you to narrow down your search. For personalized advice tailored just for you, check out our MBA admissions consulting and editing services and work one-on-one with a pro who will help you discover your competitive advantage and use it to get accepted.  Related Resources: • The Quick Guide to Admissions Resumes, a free download • Are You Targeting the Right MBA Program for You? • 15 Reasons MBA Applicants are Rejected Tags: MBA Admissions The post What Should You Do If You Can’t Visit B-Schools in Person? appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog. |
15 Dec 2017, 10:01
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: What Should You Do If You Belong to an Overrepresented MBA Applicant Group? |
 I recently received a question – or more of a complaint – from a client who was concerned with his status as an Indian IT male. This individual was considering changing his location on his application – he was born, raised, and still lived in India, but his family had lived in Zurich for four years, starting when he was six, and he wanted to focus on that. And he wanted to highlight his job as a restaurant manager, rather than his extensive experience and education in IT. I get questions like this all the time, so I thought it would be appropriate to post the answer that I gave this particular young man: B-schools have been known to “group” applicants in ethnic, gender, and professional categories for administrative purposes, but that certainly does not mean that they are accepting and rejecting candidates based solely on those labels and groupings. Moving beyond labels – if you can do it, so can the adcom The purpose of the admissions process is to allow the admissions committee an opportunity to get to know you as an individual – beyond labels. It’s your job to show the adcom that you are not simply another face in the crowd of Indian (or American, for that matter) IT males, but that you are a unique, category-less group of ONE. You are not Indian, not American, not American Indian, not Indian American, not IT, and not male; you are YOU. Don’t get hung up on the group or the label. Instead focus on ways you can draw out your individuality. It is true that you will need to work on this harder than, say, an entrepreneurial woman from a village in the Himalayas, but that’s not to say it can’t be done. Come to life with a strong, passionate essay By constructing killer essays that come alive with your personality, your diverse interests and talents, and your not-to-be-overlooked strengths and passions, you’ll prove that your candidacy is equal in competitiveness to our Himalayan applicant. That was my response to our Indian IT male friend, but it can be applied to anyone who is getting bogged down in the labels and losing focus on the process of individuating. Think about what sets you apart from your group. Highlight your uniqueness Highlight your uniqueness in your essays, and the adcoms will get a clear look at how you – not your group – will contribute to your chosen MBA program or profession. Last but not least, don’t stress. Just because you are an Indian IT guy (or a member of some other common subgroup in the applicant pool), doesn’t mean that you don’t possess other unique qualities that will make you an attractive candidate at top b-schools. You are unique, whether you realize it or not, and our expert admissions consultants can help you identify your individuality and highlight it in your applications. Check out our MBA Admissions Consulting Services to learn how we can help you stand out from the crowd and get accepted to business school!   By Linda Abraham, president and founder of Accepted.com and co-author of the definitive book on MBA admissions, MBA Admission for Smarties: The No-Nonsense Guide to Acceptance at Top Business Schools9 Secrets to Standing Out in Your MBA Application, a free guide • 4 Tips For Indian MBA Applicants • Different Dimensions of Diversity, a podcast episode Tags: MBA Admissions The post What Should You Do If You Belong to an Overrepresented MBA Applicant Group? appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog. |
17 Dec 2017, 10:01
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Multiple MBA Acceptances: Negotiating Scholarship Offers |
  On a day like today, I’m doing my happy dance. My MBA clients have been contacting me with good news from the schools to which they applied. Several of them have multiple offers with scholarships attached, which immediately present the question: Can they negotiate their scholarship offers? Since most of you have yet to take your MBA negotiations class, I’ll give you a little advice…everything is negotiable. You have an offer of admission and unless you did something egregious that the schools discover in their background research, the school will not take that offer away from you. In fact, the schools want you to come to their programs so much that they’ve offered you scholarships, tuition discounts, or graduate assistantships to entice you away from other schools. You are in the power position, but you have limited time to act. If you have multiple scholarship offers, you have even more power. So play the schools off each other. You will need to provide proof of funding and develop a clear statement of what it would take to have you deposit and attend that school. If school A matches school B’s offer, go back to school B and ask for more. Many schools have some wiggle room with scholarship offers. And the worst-case scenario is that school A will say “no” to your request and then there is no harm and no foul. Caution: While you may be in the power position, remain likeable, respectful and courteous. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot by coming off as arrogant. And if you have deposited at a school, you have diminished your position of power. Are you lucky enough to need consultation on this matter? An admissions expert can help you construct the communication that in the words of one of my former clients made his “investment in Accepted a very positive ROI.”   By Natalie Grinblatt Epstein, an accomplished Accepted consultant/editor (since 2008) and entrepreneur. Natalie is a former MBA Admissions Dean and Director at Ross, Johnson, and Carey. Want Natalie to help you get accepted to business school? Click here to get in touch! Related Resources: • Harvard, Stanford, Wharton: What’s the Difference? • Choosing From Multiple Business School Acceptances • MBA Choices: Dream School vs. Scholarship School Tags: MBA Admissions The post Multiple MBA Acceptances: Negotiating Scholarship Offers appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog. |
18 Dec 2017, 10:01
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Assessing Your MBA Admissions Profile |
  In our Choosing the Best MBA Program for You series, you’ll learn how to create a list of business schools that are the best fit for your educational, social, and professional preferences and how creating this list will boost your chances of getting accepted. Thinking about what you want and need in an MBA program is the fun part. Before you do that, though, you’ll need to tackle the less fun part: assessing your profile. Knowing a program has everything you’ve ever dreamed of is nice, but if it does not welcome applicants like you, it’s just a fantasy, not something to expend effort and money applying to. Conversely, learning that a seemingly so-so program would likely value your candidacy might prompt you to take a closer and warmer look. Break down your assessment into several basic areas, as follows. 1. Work experience There are many dimensions to the work experience element: your industry and company, your role overall, how you compare to accomplished peers, how fast you’ve advanced and/or how impressive your impact has been, and your leadership (formal and/or informal). What are your strengths in this area, and what are the weaknesses or challenges? A challenge might be, for example, that you’ve increased responsibility significantly but because you work for a “flat” company you don’t have promotions. Another challenge: You work in the tech side, so you have to illustrate your business knowledge and exposure. One more: You’re a successful consultant or financial analyst, but how do you differentiate yourself in this group? Strengths would be distinctive roles or industries, visibly rapid advancement, clear leadership. 2. Academics This part includes your undergrad GPA and transcript, grad GPA and transcript (if any), and GMAT or GRE score(s). What are the strengths and weaknesses in each area, and how do they add up overall? For example, a weak undergrad GPA and solid GMAT will not be great if your GPA trended down and the quant section of the GMAT was under 80%. However, if the GPA trended up and your GMAT quant was 90%, you’re in much better shape. A strong grad GPA won’t completely neutralize a low undergrad GPA but it can go a long way to doing so. (NOTE: If your GPA is low and you have time to take a class or two and earn A’s, this can help mitigate your lower GPA – I recommend doing this even if you have a high GMAT.) 3. Goals What industry? What function? What specific position(s) are you considering immediately post-MBA? Is it a major career change? A slight career shift? What is the link between your current work and your goals? If it’s a career change, how will you build the bridge between here and there? 4. Extracurriculars At the least, extracurricular activities will round out your profile. At most, they will set you apart and give your application extra sparkle. They will be more important to some programs than to others. And the weight they have in any individual application will vary depending on the other factors, as adcoms review the applications holistically. 5. Other miscellaneous factors Honor code infraction, DUI, DWI, academic probation – all clear negatives, but again, how negative truly will vary. Perhaps the worst is the honor code infraction. On the positive side: obstacles overcome, extraordinary level of achievement in almost any area, and military experience. With a clear understanding of your profile and your competitiveness, you can determine which schools are likely safeties, on-pars, and reaches. You can significantly increase your chances of getting accepted by applying to the programs that are the best fit for your unique qualifications, goals, and preferences. Our MBA admissions consulting services will provide you with the one-on-one guidance you need to submit the best MBA applications to the best MBA programs for YOU!   Cindy Tokumitsu has advised hundreds of successful applicants, helping them gain acceptance to top MBA and EMBA programs in her 15+ years with Accepted. She would love to help you too. Want Cindy to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch! Related Resources: • Why MBA?, a free guide to writing about your MBA goals • 5 Tips to Assess Your MBA Profile • Are You Targeting the Right MBA Program For You? Tags: MBA Admissions The post Assessing Your MBA Admissions Profile appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog. |
19 Dec 2017, 10:01
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Creating the First Draft of Your Application Essay |
 In our How to Write Exemplary Application Essays blog series, you’ll learn how to create outstanding essays by analyzing sample successful application essays. In the last post in this series, we discussed what makes an essay effective, and reflected on the questions that will help you develop your theme. Now it’s time to start writing. Before you begin, write an outline, even if it’s only a very informal list of the main points you want to cover. Using the answers to the questions posed in post #2 of this series, you should have a list of experiences, anecdotes, and ideas that you want to include in your essay. Now let’s break the job down further to keep the task manageable. First, how long is your essay? Grad school application essays can range from as short as 300 words to more than 1,000. Ironically, it’s much harder to write a very short, very good essay than it is to write a very good, longer one. Writing a super-short essay is like being six feet tall and stuck in a coach airline seat – you’re going to feel cramped even when writing as economically as possible. Assuming you have more leg room, so to speak, and have 750 words, you still have to estimate how much space you will have, approximately, for your introduction, the main body, and conclusion. Dividing your essay into parts like this will help you gauge how much you can afford to write in each section. You can start out by writing a little extra, maybe up to 25 percent above your essay’s word limit in your early drafts, since you will probably be able to trim the fat later on, creating more space for the meat and potatoes of your story. You may only want to follow this rule, though, if you have an editor ready to help you streamline. In the first and third posts in this series we saw examples of strong introductions. Don’t get hung up on crafting the perfect introduction before moving on to the rest of the essay. If you aren’t confident about your introduction, experiment with different ones, but don’t stay stuck at the beginning. Often, the perfect introduction will come to you when you are well into writing the rest of the essay. Finally, keep in mind the picture you want to paint of yourself to the admissions committee. As you read your draft, are you getting a sense of that amazing, talented, focused person? Stay focused on how best to paint that picture through your own lively, meaningful examples. Do not just claim to be something without backing it up with evidence. Summary Tips: • Make an outline, even if it’s informal. • Estimate how much space you have for each section of your essay to avoid overwriting. • Keep working on the body of the essay even if you haven’t perfected the introduction. The introduction does not have to come first! In the last post in this series, you’ll learn how to revise and polish your exemplary essays. Work one-on-one with an expert who will walk you through the process of creating a slam-dunk application when you check out our catalog of application services. Our admissions consultants have read thousands of essays and know the exact ingredients of an outstanding essay. Related Resources: • 5 Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Statement of Purpose, a free guide • The Miraculous 15-Minute ROUGH, ROUGH Draft • Writing a Lead That Pops Tags: Admissions Consulting, College Admissions, Grad School Admissions, Law School Admissions, MBA Admissions, Medical School Admissions The post Creating the First Draft of Your Application Essay appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog. |
20 Dec 2017, 10:01
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Accepted’s Holiday Hours |
 We wish you a happy and healthy holiday season, enjoying time with family and friends. That’s how most members of Accepted’s staff will spend December 24, 25, 31, and Jan 1. However, we also know that deadlines are looming for many of you. Over the holiday weekends we will periodically check our email for new orders and inquiries. We also have a few consultants willing to work over the holidays. Our best suggestion is to purchase as early as possible to reserve a consultant’s time. (If you want 1-business-day turnaround or need someone to work on the dates listed above, you need to pay rush rates.) However, if things get too busy and despite your best intentions you find yourself needing our assistance over the holidays, head over to our website and purchase the service that best suits your needs. We look forward to helping you get accepted this year!  Tags: Admissions Consulting, College Admissions, Grad School Admissions, Law School Admissions, MBA Admissions, Medical School Admissions The post Accepted’s Holiday Hours appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog. |
20 Dec 2017, 11:01
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Stress-Reducing Solutions for GMAT/GRE Success – Live Now! |
 If you missed our webinar on Five Effective Stress-Reducing Solutions for GMAT/GRE Success, don’t worry! You still have a chance to learn these stress-busting life skills. The webinar is now available for on-demand viewing. Watch it now and give yourself the skills to control your anxiety and go into the test center confidently on exam day – ready to perform to the very best of your ability.  Tags: MBA Admissions The post Stress-Reducing Solutions for GMAT/GRE Success – Live Now! appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog. |
22 Dec 2017, 02:14
22 Dec 2017, 10:01
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: ‘Twas the Night Before Deadlines: A Cautionary Tale of Cliches |
 ‘Twas the night before deadlines, and all through the world, Our consultants sat cramming, coffee brewing, brows furrowed; Though the essays were written with effort and care, There were still a few things that were cause for despair! The clichés! Oh, forsake! Terrible, were they – That all our consultants could think was “oy vey!” The bloopers! The follies! The overused phrases – Oh what would the adcom say? Imagine the look on their faces! So we cleaned and we scrubbed and we checked all the words; We made sure that nothing sounded clichéd or absurd. Then swift as a mouse looking for plum pie crumbs, We sent those essays back with the click of our thumbs. And oh, the good cheer and ah, the delight, To see a perfect essay with no clichés in sight! Then with boundless cheer and some joy and some tears; The applicants submitted their essays! Phew – they were in the clear! Moral of the story: phrases and idioms come and go in waves. While it’s okay to use some popular phrasing, you want to make sure that your essay is original and not chock full of clichés. The first time someone used “take it to the next level” in their essay, the reader probably stopped and thought – wow, that’s a great way to put it. They probably thought the same thing the second and third and even tenth time they heard it. But the hundredth time? The thousandth? It’s just not as impressive. In fact, after original phrases get used to death, they become boring, even silly, and lose their meaning. We recently polled Accepted’s consultants and asked “What are the most abused and misused clichés used by applicants?” When we dug out from under the flood of responses, we found the following to be the ultimate winners/losers: • Take it to the next level • Lend a helping hand • Been there for me • Want to give back • Outside my comfort zone • Making a difference • Disruptive-anything • Global-anything • Diverse-anything • Onboarding • Thinking outside the box • Synergy • Touch base • Circle back When writing your essays, try to move outside your comfort zone and take your writing to the next level. You want to really make a difference and get on board with this global thinking and diverse wordification. Yeah, we thought that would help make our point. Does your application essay need a good, solid edit? Take advantage of Accepted’s expert admissions consulting and editing services, whether you’re just getting started with your essays or are ready for that final cliché-abolishing polish. Our advisors are ready to help you take your essays to the next level create the most impressive essays possible!  Related Resources: • From Example to Exemplary, a free guide to writing outstanding essays • Common Grammatical Errors: How to Use “Leverage” & “Comprise” Properly • Review Your Essays Like an Admissions Consultant: Use the Editing Funnel Tags: Admissions Consulting, College Admissions, Grad School Admissions, Law School Admissions, MBA Admissions, Medical School Admissions The post ‘Twas the Night Before Deadlines: A Cautionary Tale of Cliches appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog. |
24 Dec 2017, 10:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Determining Your Needs and Wants in an MBA Program |
  In our Choosing the Best MBA Program for You series, you’ll learn how to create a list of business schools that are the best fit for your educational, social, and professional preferences and how creating this list will boost your chances of getting accepted. In our last post, we discussed tips for assessing your profile. Now it’s time to focus on the future: what you want and need in your MBA program. If you are visiting schools now, the visits can help you sort through these points and see them in a new light. For example, you might have thought you could never spend two years outside a city, but stopping by Tuck on a skiing trip opened your eyes to the abundant diversity and culture the campus and town offer, and you give the excellent program a closer look. Whether or not you get a chance to visit schools before compiling your school list, consider the following factors and decide what’s important to you in each category: • Academics This category includes the curriculum structure and approach (for example, preset concentrations versus flexible), strength in particular disciplines, professors in your areas of interest, degree of analytic rigor, opportunity to take courses outside the b-school, and study abroad options. • Recruiting and career services Recruiting for both internships and post-MBA positions should be relatively strong for your goals. But students’ actual need for this service varies depending on their existing contacts and resources. Similarly, some people have more need than others of career services’ support. • Extracurricular opportunities Most people will want to see that the school hosts clubs and activities in their areas of professional interest. Other than that, do you want certain volunteer activities, arts or cultural activities, religious resources, or political opportunities? Are you looking for people who share your interests? If you don’t find something you need, would it be easy to initiate a club or activity? • Brand This factor is critical to some, insignificant to others, and somewhere in between for most. There is brand in your own perspective, and brand in the eyes of your prospective employers. Probably the latter is more important and less open to compromise. Do not mistake “brand” for “ranking.” If you need a highly competitive program such as Columbia or Wharton, that’s fine. But the issue isn’t “top 5”; it’s the value of the specific school brands for your context. • Environment and ambiance Do you prefer a warm and fuzzy or a hard driving learning environment? Everyone wants diversity, it seems, but what kind: geographic, professional, functional, ethnic, religious? Do you prefer a small, close-knit campus or a large, teeming one? Does it matter to you if the student body has a more conservative or liberal orientation? • Geography Where would you like to be? Start broad, like continent. Many non-US applicants think globally, considering programs in Asia, Europe, or the US. Many Americans however remain fairly US-centric almost reflexively. If you are an American traveling abroad, try to visit some of the overseas MBA programs. You will be pleasantly surprised. • Other personal factors Do you need quick access to an international airport? Special medical resources? Resources for a spouse or partner? Or maybe you’re really into bobsledding and want a track nearby…. Once you’ve established what you’re looking for, you’ll have an even easier time narrowing down your choices and selecting the programs that are just right for you. But first, you’ll need to weight those items that you’ve deemed important or unimportant – what are the things that you absolutely cannot live without, what would be nice to have but not entirely necessary, and what do you really not need at all? We’ll discuss how to do this in the next post in this series. You can significantly increase your chances of getting accepted by applying to the programs that are the best fit for your unique qualifications, goals, and preferences. Our MBA admissions consulting services will provide you with the one-on-one guidance you need to submit the best MBA applications to the best MBA programs for YOU! Cindy Tokumitsu has advised hundreds of successful applicants, helping them gain acceptance to top MBA and EMBA programs in her 15+ years with Accepted. She would love to help you too. Want Cindy to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch! Related Resources: • MBA Admissions Decisions: Should You Go Full Time Or Part Time? • 3 Ways to Determine Which Business Schools are a Good Fit for You • Too Old for an MBA? Check Out 3 Outstanding MBA and EMBA Alternatives, a podcast episode Tags: MBA Admissions The post Determining Your Needs and Wants in an MBA Program appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog. |
26 Dec 2017, 11:00
27 Dec 2017, 10:00
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: NYU Stern Names Rangarajan Sundaram New Dean |
 NYU President Andrew Hamilton and Provost Katherine Fleming have announced that beginning January 1, 2018 Rangarajan “Raghu” Sundaram will be the new Dean of the Leonard N. Stern School of Business. Professor Sundaram will succeed Peter Henry, who has held the position since January, 2010. Professor Sundaram joined Stern’s faculty a little more than 20 years ago. He is the Edward I. Altman Professor of Credit and Debt Markets and Professor of Finance. He has been Vice Dean of MBA Programs since 2016. Despite having a pool of prominent candidates for the position of Dean, Stern ultimately chose one of their own. “Raghu Sundaram has a strong, highly regarded record of leadership and innovation, scholarship and teaching, and collegiality and service to both Stern and the University. In a field of distinguished candidates for Stern’s deanship, Raghu stood out.” The search committee was headed by Batia Wiesenfeld, chair of the Management and Organizations Department and the Andre J.L. Koo Professor of Management at Stern. Professor Sundaram’s areas of expertise include agency problems, executive compensation, corporate finance, derivatives pricing, credit risk, and credit derivatives. He has published articles in Econometria, Journal of Economic theory, Journal of Business, Journal of Financial Economics, Journal of Finance, and Review of Financial Studies. He has authored two textbooks: A First Course in Optimization Theory (Cambridge University Press, 1996) and Derivatives: Principles and Practice (McGraw-Hill, 2010). Professor Sundaram has received research grants from, among other organizations, the National Science Foundation. He has been awarded the Jensen Prize, was a finalist for the Brattle Prize, and won the Stern School’s first Distinguished Teaching Award. He received his BA in economics from the University of Madras in 1982, and his MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahemedebad in 1984. He was awarded his MA in economics from Cornell University in 1987, and his PhD in economics from Cornell in 1988. He joined the faculty of the University of Rochester in 1988, where he stayed until he joined Stern’s faculty in 1996. Professor Sundaram was chosen as Stern’s Vice Dean for MBA programs in 2016. Among his achievements as Vice Dean were the creation of new, specialized one-year MBA programs, securing the support of business leaders such as Amazon, Microsoft, IBM, PayPal, and others, and Stern’s entry into online education. Do you need help applying to NYU Stern or other top MBA programs? Our expert admissions advisors can guide you through every step of the MBA application process, from initial brainstorming to acceptance. Contact us and we’ll match you with your personal consultant today!  Related Resources: • Best MBA Programs, a guide to selecting the right one • What’s New at NYU Stern? A Lot!, a podcast episode • NYU Stern MBA Essay Tips & Deadlines Tags: MBA Admissions The post NYU Stern Names Rangarajan Sundaram New Dean appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog. |
27 Dec 2017, 11:01
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Revising and Polishing Your Application Essays |
 In our How to Write Exemplary Application Essays blog series, you’ll learn how to create exemplary essays by analyzing sample successful application essays. In the last post, we shared tips on how to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard) to create that first draft. 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: Step 1: First, let your essay sit for a day or two, particularly after an intensive writing session. You’ll return to your document with fresh eyes, and undoubtedly find ways to strengthen it immediately. One of the most common problems plaguing these types of essays is bland, forgettable writing. When you return to your essay, if you spot any writing as generic as in the next sentence, you have work to do: “Although I have been responsible for a lot of exciting projects, I want to move into management, which may not happen on my current path.” What kind of projects? What made them exciting? Why wouldn’t a management path be open to the writer? Let’s resuscitate this prose by adding appropriate details. “My role as a product manager for a mid-sized giftware business has allowed me to develop my creativity as well as communication and market research skills. As exciting as it has been to have been involved in the planning and release of our innovative kitchen giftware, whose designs are based on famous Impressionist paintings, I want to move more into management, which seems unlikely at this family-owned and managed company.” Adding details takes more room, but it makes your essay come alive. It’s also better to write about fewer examples and flesh each out in greater detail than to write a laundry list of either accomplishments or character traits you feel you possess. “Show, don’t tell,” remains a cardinal rule in writing. Step 2: Ditch the passive voice – this will further enliven and tighten your writing. “Negotiations over the extent of the website design were carried out by a team of managers and myself, representing the technical team.” This passive construction is five words longer and drags a bit. Move the “doer” of the action to the head of the sentence for a resulting sentence that makes you sound like a leader: “I represented the technical team in negations with management over the extent of the website design.” Step 3: Read your essay aloud. Reading your work silently to yourself is quite different than actually hearing the words out loud. When you listen to your essay, you’ll likely catch small mistakes that you inadvertently missed during the editing process, and hear phrasing that you can strengthen. Step 4: Make sure your essay achieves the job you set out for it. Do you sound like the irresistibly focused, thoughtful, and energetic individual you want to sound like? Make sure that the voice you created on the page resonates positively. Summary Tips: • Wait a day after writing a draft, so you can return to it with a fresh perspective. • Look for instances of bland writing or passive voice, then replace with writing that is specific and active. • Read your essay aloud so you can hear the voice you have created. Does it meet your goals? If not, keep revising and enlist an experienced editor to help get you to the finish line. Work one-on-one with an expert who will walk you through the process of creating a slam-dunk application when you check out our catalog of application services. Our admissions consultants have read thousands of essays and know the exact ingredients of an outstanding essay. Related Resources: • Five Fatal Flaws to Avoid in Your Personal Statement, a free guide • 3 Tips for Showing Strengths in Your Application Essays • Bring Your Personal Statement to Life With Vivid, Active Verbs Tags: BBA Admissions, College Admissions, Grad School Admissions, Law School Admissions, MBA Admissions, Medical School Admissions The post Revising and Polishing Your Application Essays appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog. |
28 Dec 2017, 11:01
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Top MBA Programs That Defer |
 Most U.S. MBA programs will allow students to defer acceptance (push off starting the program for a year) for U.S. military deployment, illness, or illness of a loved one for whom the candidate is the sole or a major caregiver (you will need proof of the above). Check with the individual programs, but here are a few specifics: • Stanford GSB admits students directly from college, but suggests a 1-3 year deferral to gain experience. • Harvard Business School has a similar policy, but applicants must be admitted through the 2+2 Program. • MIT Sloan offers an automatic readmit to candidates they admitted in the prior year, but who could not attend. It’s basically the same as a deferral except the candidate must complete the application again. Top 20 MBA programs rarely offer deferrals for financial or work related reasons (other than military and the exceptions I stated above). However, it never hurts to ask. A Cautionary Tale When I was the Director of Admissions and Financial Aid at Cornell Johnson (many years ago), I had a Cornell candidate who applied three years in a row due to work-related reasons (his consulting firm just kept giving him projects he didn’t want to turn down). The first year he sent me a note about the new project and explained how much stronger a candidate he would be if I deferred his admission. I asked him to reapply because we did not defer for work-related reasons (except military deployment). He reapplied, and the second year I admitted him again, but he never sent me a note indicating that he would not be attending the program. He just didn’t show on the first day of class and assumed that was okay. It wasn’t. He had the nerve to reapply the third year, and I did not admit him despite the strength of his application. His lack of communication when he wanted to defer a second time took a spot away from another candidate. That kind of hubris did not belong at Cornell (and I didn’t mind telling him my reasons when he called to find out why I denied his application… he was stunned). What Should You Do If You Want to Defer? • If you haven’t yet been accepted: If you have not yet heard a decision from the school, you should withdraw your application from further review. Explain why you are withdrawing your application, indicate that you will be reapplying next year and that you plan to attend the school if admitted (if true). • If you’ve already been accepted: If you’ve already been admitted, request the deferral. The worst case scenario is that the school will tell you that they don’t grant deferrals. Not sure if you should defer or not? Need assistance weighing the pros and cons of your unique situation? Our expert consultants can help you evaluate your admissions case to determine if, when, and how you should defer. Check out our MBA Admissions Consulting Services for more information!  By Natalie Grinblatt Epstein, an accomplished Accepted consultant/editor (since 2008) and entrepreneur. Natalie is a former MBA Admissions Dean and Director at Ross, Johnson, and Carey. Want Natalie to help you get accepted to business school? Click here to get in touch! Related Resources: • When & Why to Pass on a B-School Acceptance Offer • Harvard, Stanford, Wharton: What’s the Difference?, a short video • MBA Choices: Dream School vs. Scholarship School? Tags: MBA Admissions The post Top MBA Programs That Defer appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog. |
29 Dec 2017, 11:01
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Writing About Resilience in the Face of Failure |
  Essay questions dealing with failure, risk, mistakes, and difficult interactions or conflict often cause applicants to cringe, squirm, and bite their nails. After all, you want to show yourself succeeding and conquering the world in your essays and personal statements, not falling down. But there’s a reason why these questions are common. Schools want to see how you grow following a setback: Do you show resilience? Do you smile and try again? Do you view the stumble as temporary, move on, applaud your effort, and accept a helping hand when offered? Reading about setbacks is a way for the admissions committee to learn about your character. Here are three tips to portray your setbacks as growth opportunities and occasions of achievement: 1. Focus on how failures lead to successes. All humans make mistakes, and mistakes often lead to great things. You may accidentally stumble on a new idea or invention that you otherwise wouldn’t have encountered, or you may grow and learn how to become a greater person from the failure or disappointment. Thomas Edison, the inventor and businessman who invented the light bulb and phonograph, once said about his scientific experiments, “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” Edison took his failures in stride and reframed them to pave his way to success. You should do the same! TIP: Choose an experience for your essay where you experienced feelings of failure, disappointment, frustration, or inadequacy. Define your “blew it” moment, but use your “failure” to demonstrate success, accomplishment, resilience and character. EXAMPLE: Perhaps you made a mistake in the lab that cost you weeks of work, but you learned something important about lab techniques, and now you’ve become a more fastidious researcher as a result. (Note: this needs to go way beyond the normal trial-and-error nature of research.) Or perhaps your failure was personal: maybe you neglected an important relationship, and as a result of that loss, you’ve made a point of treating people with particular respect. 2. Focus on why something went wrong. Another important theme of your essay should be a deep understanding of your negative experience. By discussing what went wrong and why it went wrong, you’re showing the adcom that you don’t just place blame on circumstances, but that you look for real answers and real solutions. TIP: In your essay, reflect on the reasons behind your failure and the steps you took to avoid similar mistakes. EXAMPLE: If you pushed to complete a work project resulting in resentment among colleagues, then you should write about the extra attention you now pay to the suggestions and efforts of your colleagues. 3. Focus on what you’ve learned from the experience on a personal level. Not only do your failures help you stay away from future failures, they also impact you as a person. TIP: Write about the importance of owning up to your mistakes. The humility and maturity that accompany owning up to your error are excellent self-improvement qualities to highlight. EXAMPLE: If you made a programming error, a client caught it, and you accepted responsibility for your actions, you can write about how you’ve since implemented more stringent quality assurance protocols, and how you’ve accepted that you need better QA – that you aren’t infallible. Of course, don’t just talk about “resilience.” Demonstrate it through anecdotes that show you picking yourself up, improving, acknowledging effort, persisting, and ultimately succeeding in one way or another. By portraying these qualities in your essay, you will convince the adcom that you can indeed conquer the world, or at the very least pick yourself up after you stumble. Not sure how to move forward with a failure-themed essay? Our consultants at Accepted can brainstorm with you on how to present your best self even in tough situations. Be in touch today! Related Resources: • Leadership in Admissions, a free guide • The Past Doesn’t Define You, a podcast episode • Flaws Make You Real Tags: College Admissions, Grad School Admissions, Law School Admissions, MBA Admissions, Medical School Admissions The post Writing About Resilience in the Face of Failure appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog. |
29 Dec 2017, 11:01
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: 10 Tips and Tricks for Acing the IELTS |
  The path to passing the IELTS is not a straight line, nor a short walk. You can think of it more as a long hike, challenging but rewarding. Now, if you go on a long hike, you’ll need to pack a bag of supplies. In the case of the “hike” to IELTS success, your supplies are a bag of tips and tricks. Below, let’s look at 10 tips & tricks for the IELTS. These can help you a lot on the road to your target score. 1. Practice with full-length IELTS Tests Don’t just practice for the IELTS a few questions at a time, or one section at a time. While shorter practice sessions can be useful, it’s very important to also use some full-length IELTS exams in your test prep. Why? Because–and maybe I’m stating the obvious–on test day, you’ll be taking a full-length IELTS! The best way to prepare for the real exam is to take practice tests that have the same length and the same sections. 2. Use official IELTS materials As I just told you, you want to use practice materials that are true to the real test day experience. So practice questions and tests from the official creators of the IELTS are a must-have! Only the makers of the actual IELTS offer test questions that are taken from real past IELTS exams. This kind of practice is very valuable. And you can supplement the official stuff with high quality unofficial questions from websites such as Magoosh IELTS. Magoosh also has a free guide on where to get good IELTS practice materials, including official practice. 3. Aim for a higher score than the one you need Let’s say your university or employer wants a 6.5 IELTS score. Do you aim for 6.5? You could, but that’s actually risky. Instead, you want to aim for at least a 7. That way, you have room for a few unexpected mistakes on test day. Always aim for at least 0.5 higher than the required score. 4. Understand how IELTS scores are calculated As the English-language expression says, “knowing is half the battle.” You should know how your Listening and Reading “raw scores” (your actual number of correct answers) will be converted to an official band score (band 6, band 6.5, band 7, etc.). You should also take a good long look at the scoring standards for IELTS Writing and Speaking. To learn all about your IELTS grading, check out this guide to IELTS scores. 5. Choose your IELTS test date wisely Choosing an IELTS test date can be the “tightrope walk” portion of your journey. It requires delicate balance to schedule your test at the right time. But it’s worth the effort. Take the time to choose wisely. If at all possible, set a date that both meets your deadlines and gives you enough time to prepare. Also try to set a date that gives you time for a retake, just in case you need one. For a guide to registering for an IELTS test date, choosing the right day, and more, see this article on IELTS test dates and registration. 6. Know exactly where your test center is… before test day Let me tell you one of the most preventable causes of low IELTS scores: showing up to the test center late… or showing up with no time to spare, tired and stressed-out from the trip. You can prevent this by visiting your test center in person before the test day. Learn exactly how to get to the building by actually going to the building. Know where the testing room itself is. And above all, make note of how long it takes you to get there. You want the end of your journey, the actual physical trip to the test site, to go as smoothly as possible. 7. Look at sample IELTS Writing essays The best writers read a lot. And to be a good IELTS writer, the most important thing to read is samples of top-scoring IELTS essays. For model IELTS essays and tons of other IELTS Writing tips and tricks, read through these comprehensive guides to IELTS Academic Writing Task 1 and IELTS Writing Task 2. 8. Get feedback on IELTS Writing and IELTS Speaking The first two sections of the IELTS, Listening and Reading, are graded with an answer key. But IELTS Writing and IELTS Speaking are both graded by a human team of scorers. So your practice with these sections should include the human touch. Find an actual person, whether it’s a teacher, a classmate, or a friend or family member with good English. Then have them give you feedback on your practice essays and your IELTS interview answers. Human feedback will help prepare you for the human scorers you’ll face when you sit for the exam. 9. Know what accents to expect IELTS Listening focuses on standard British English. But those aren’t the only accents you hear on the exam. You may encounter any “native English” accent in IELTS Listening, including Australian, New Zealander, Canadian, American, and Irish. Know the different styles of English speech, and pay attention to the range of accents you hear in IELTS Listening practice sets. 10. Build up a good range of vocabulary for IELTS Reading Written English is just “fancier” than spoken English. This means you can expect to see a pretty wide range of vocabulary in IELTS Reading. This is true both for IELTS Academic and IELTS General Training. So make sure you build your IELTS vocabulary well. Consider an official IELTS vocabulary workbook, such as Cambridge’s Vocabulary for IELTS. And when you go through practice IELTS reading passages, note and study any unfamiliar words you see.  David Recine is a test prep expert at Magoosh. He has a Bachelor of Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and a Masters in Teaching English to Speakers of other Languages from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. He has been teaching K-12, University, and adult education classes since 2007 and has worked with students from every continent. Currently, David lives in a small town in the American Upper Midwest. When he’s not teaching or writing, David studies Korean, plays with his son, and takes road trips to Minneapolis to get a taste of city life. Related Resources: • Different Dimensions of Diversity, a podcast episode • Affordable Online Test Prep, a podcast episode • English Language Skills & Your MBA Admissions Profile Tags: College Admissions, Grad School Admissions, Law School Admissions, MBA Admissions, Medical School Admissions The post 10 Tips and Tricks for Acing the IELTS appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog. |
31 Dec 2017, 10:01
| FROM Accepted.com Blog: Weighting Your Needs & Wants When Applying to Business School |
  In our Choosing the Best MBA Program for You series, you’ll learn how to create a list of business schools that are the best fit for your educational, social, and professional preferences and how creating this list will boost your chances of getting accepted. In our last post, we began discussing evaluating what you need or want in an MBA program. In this post, we’ll delve deeper into the needs and wants issue by weighting them – though not rigidly. Simply, understanding the importance of a given factor will save you time up front by not considering schools that don’t meet your core needs. It will also help to uncover any contradictions that you might need to resolve (like if you prefer to attend schools in the southeast, but also want to be near your significant other in Boston). For each of the wants/needs you’ve identified, assign one of the following categories: • Essential: This category applies to things that you must have no matter what – without them, you can’t attend a program. If you are making a career change into marketing, you need a program with strong marketing curriculum and recruiting. Period. • Very important: This category applies to the things that are highly important to you, but are not “must-haves” like those above. Things that you would consider compromising on if you really, really had to, but really, really don’t want to. For some people that might mean a geographic location, for others a warm and open community, for others the chance to take courses in the university’s law or public policy program. • Important: Consider this the “nice to have” category – things that would make a program more attractive to you but wouldn’t necessarily be a deciding factor. • Neutral: This category means simply not a factor. Some people would just as readily have curriculum flexibility or structure or would just as readily live in Palo Alto or Fontainebleau, strange as that may seem. The main purpose of this exercise is to think about and define your priorities. Some people may be comfortable keeping these rankings in their head as they go through the next steps; others will make a spreadsheet with them. You can significantly increase your chances of getting accepted by applying to the programs that are the best fit for your unique qualifications, goals, and preferences. Our MBA admissions consulting services will provide you with the one-on-one guidance you need to submit the best MBA applications to the best MBA programs for YOU! Cindy Tokumitsu has advised hundreds of successful applicants, helping them gain acceptance to top MBA and EMBA programs in her 15+ years with Accepted. She would love to help you too. Want Cindy to help you get Accepted? Click here to get in touch! Related Resources: • Navigate the MBA Maze: 9 Tips to Acceptance • Are You Targeting the Right MBA Program for You? • Which B-School is the Best for You? Tags: MBA Admissions The post Weighting Your Needs & Wants When Applying to Business School appeared first on Accepted Admissions Blog. |
|
|
||
