Should You Go to Grad School?
Graduate school can be deeply fulfilling, put you on a path to a career you love, and allow you to study things that you’re passionate about under the mentorship of people who are genuine experts....
How to Avoid “Frankenstein Essays”
Within 20 seconds of reading a draft personal statement, I can tell whether the author has a clear sense of what they want to say or whether they’ve spent far too much time asking for...
Is My Personal Statement Too Long?
When it comes to personal statements, less is often more. Though most schools and programs have set word limits, many do not. This uncapped essay creates a temptation to over-write. This is a trap! Keep...
A Happy Problem! How Do You Choose Between MBA Offers?
When I checked my email this morning, I remembered why this is my favorite time of year! Two of my favorite clients got into their dream schools, and my back-and-forth emails with a client who...
You Can Get Into Your Dream School Despite a Few Blemishes
We all mistakes because we're all human. In my 16 years of working with clients and helping them get into top business schools, one of the most common things I've witnessed is accomplished and smart...
Ten Tips for Nailing Your Interview
I am one of those people who enjoy job and academic interviews. I’m weird that way, I guess. I’ve always viewed them as an opportunity to talk about the things I’m passionate about with someone...
Use the ‘Hemingway Rules’ to Build a Powerful Personal Statement
Writing a powerful personal statement can be a genuine challenge for inexperienced writers. They often pile on unnecessary complexity, use fancier-than-needed words, and try too hard to *dazzle* their reader. Don’t do that. The best...
How to Write a Strong Diversity Statement
I want to spend a few posts talking about Diversity Statements. Most schools require some version of this, and for many applicants it can be quite confusing in terms of what the prompt is asking...
Five Tips for Writing a Great Letter of Recommendation
Letters of recommendation are hugely important parts of your application. Having a third party assess your skill, talent, experience, accomplishments, potential, and maturity provides admissions committees with valuable data. Unfortunately, because this is an “outsources”...
Be Enthusiastic in Your Personal Statement!
People like happy people. People respond passionately to passionate people. That’s why you need to make sure that your Personal Statement has some fire in its belly! It can be helpful to show passion in...
