Lots going on this week for MBA applicants:

• MBA Admissions Telethon for Round 2 and 3 applicants on Wednesday Nov. 19. During the 2009 MBA Admissions Telethon, Accepted.com admissions consultants will be available to review your resume, take your call, and answer your questions. Free.
• Consortium Chat on Nov. 19, 2008 at 5:00 PM PT/8:00 PM ET with Jackie Olden, the Consortium's Director of Recruiting, and representatives from NYU Stern, CMU Tepper, USC Marshall, and UNC Kenan Flagler.
• In honor of National MBA Interview Month, Accepted is offering 20% off MBA I.V.: Mainline to Top MBA Programs. And don't neglect the free MBA Interview Feedback Database when preparing for your interview.
• Manhattan GMAT is hosting a mixer on Thursday November 20 for young professionals in Silicon Valley. Here's the scoop:

"Learn the ins and outs of the GMAT, while mingling with fellow young professionals working at top companies in and around Silicon Valley. Enjoy drinks and appetizers as one of our expert Instructors helps clarify the myths that have surfaced about this challenging exam. We'll separate fact from fiction – you'll walk out knowing how the GMAT works, what it tests, how business schools interpret scores, and why short-cuts and tricks will only get you so far."

• The Toigo Foundation launched a new Facebook page for "young professionals of color who share a common interest in pursuing an MBA and a career in finance."

Yale Daily News reports that the number of early action applicants to Yale College increased by over 10.4 percent this year. Yet, despite the discontinuation of early admissions programs at both Harvard and Princeton, Yale Dean of Admissions, Jeff Brenzel predicts that the college will extend fewer early admissions offers than it did last year. In order to accommodate the increased number of applications, the office of admissions hired two additional staff members.

Last year, competition at Yale College was higher than ever. Out of 22,817 applicants, 1,952 were admitted, producing a low 8.6 percent acceptance rate.

The four college counselors interviewed for the article did not expect the economic downturn to affect Yale’s application numbers because of its strong financial aid program. Some even view Yale’s financial aid as a possible explanation for the increased applications. Sari Rauscher, director of college counseling at the Waterford School, said, “I think the pressure for students to get into top schools from a financial standpoint is greater.”

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that NYU Medical Center's latest gifts of $150 million and $110 million bring this year's total private giving to NYU's Medical Center to $506 million. The $150 million gift, donated by Helen L. Kimmel, will pay for a new patient pavilion, while the $110 million gift was donated anonymously, and will be used to redesign the Tisch Hospital.

Despite the economic downturn, several other universities received significant gifts in recent months:

• University of Chicago announced a $300 million gift to its business school from alumnus David G. Booth.

• Eli and Edythe L. Broad pledged $400 million to endow a biomedical research center, to be jointly run by Harvard, MIT, and the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research.

Although such significant donations have continued up until this point, Rae Goldsmith, vice president for communications and marketing and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, thinks that depending on how long and deep this recession is, the gifts may become fewer and farther apart. “Mega-gifts are not going to disappear when the economy is down...They just may not be as frequent.”

Most of us carry a very large critic inside our heads when we sit down to write. I have an exercise that helps writers defeat this critic who keeps them from writing.

Dialogs to Diffuse The Power of Critical Voices

Years ago, I was flying Southwest Airlines from Seattle to Tucson where I was going to teach a weekend writing class. Then Southwest Airlines gave boarding passes at the gate, first come, first serve, and loaded their planes in boarding groups rather than assigning seats to passengers. The boarding passes were given out one hour before departure and people started lining up before the agent actually arrived behind the counter, so they could be in the first boarding group. I was standing behind an elderly man and a middle aged man, both dressed in Western gear, tight jeans, cowboy boats, and cowboy hats, their belt buckles sparkling under the florescent lighting. They may have been father and son. Their conversation went something like this:

Older man: There sure were a lot people downstairs at the check in.

Younger man: Yup, these days, you can never give yourself enough time.

Older man: They sure wanted us here early and there's no one ready to see us.

Younger man: Yup, that's how it is, hurry up and wait.

Older man: I guess we could've gotten all jammed up at that place where they check the carry-ons and the people for weapons.

Younger man: Yup, these days you can't have enough security.

I realized that the conversational style hadn't really allowed either party to say very much. The answers they gave one another were clichés and just seemed to shut things down. "What if," I thought, "writers applied a strategy like this to a situation where there were higher stakes?" An exercise was born: Think of an area in your life where you have to interact with someone you feel has annoying power over you. Think of lines that annoying person says. After each line, imagine answering that person with a cliché. This will create a patronizing tone and put the "I" (you!) in the driver's seat.

Here's a case where a writer chose to have a dialog with her inner critic by answering in clichés:

• That's not bad for a first try, but why are you calling it an essay?
• A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.


• This little part isn't historically accurate.
• Historical, schmistorical.


• People aren't going to like it.
• You can't please everyone.


• You may think you can write, but how do you know other people will think so?
• Bite me.


• Your ego is getting in the way of your writing.
• Takes one to know one.


• Your style is too uninventive, not colorful enough.
• I'm saving my pennies for a rainy day.


• You could be spending your time more productively.
• Penny wise, pound foolish.


• You aren't listening to me.
• Whatever.

By the time this dialog ends, the writer is drifting into her own space. She is leaving behind the critical voice that keeps the writing from happening.

Any time we resist being pushed around, we are helping to free ourselves from the forces that trample our desire to express ourselves.  If you are having trouble getting a first draft finished, stop and do a dialog like this one. Your writing energy will ramp right up.

By Sheila Bender, author of McGraw Hill's Perfect Phrases for College Application Essays and a supportive, constructive mentor ready to help you nurture your essays.

Ameriglide, the leading supplier and distributer of home mobility products, announces the first ever Ameriglide Achiever Scholarship. The scholarship is available to full-time students enrolled in an accredited university, who use a manual or electric wheelchair. The goal of the scholarship “is to help provide financial assistance for books or other school-related supplies to deserving mobility-challenged students.” The winner of the scholarship will be announced on March 1, 2009, and will receive $500.

For scholarship application information, including requirements, instructions, and the essay question, please click here.

To contact Ameriglide directly regarding the scholarship, please email scholarship@ameriglide.com.