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
Essay Tip of the Month
Resume Tip of the Month
Grad Admission News You Can Use
Law Admission News You Can Use
MBA Admission News You Can Use
Medical Admission News You Can Use
College Admission News You Can Use
Our Services
September 11
Tragically, I must open this issue of Odds 'N Ends with condolences. On behalf of
Accepted.com's staff and editors, I want to convey our heartfelt condolences to those of
you who have lost loved ones, friends, and acquaintances. Our prayers are with you.
I also want to express our profound admiration for those of you who helped with rescue and
who have worked with dedication and determination, despite your sorrow, to return to the
business of living. Writing on an airplane flying from LA to Boston, and scheduled to fly
home on Tuesday on the successor flight to American Airlines Flight 11, I know it isn't
easy to do so. And I only have a taste of what it must be like for those of you who were
near the plane crashes or who knew some of those who perished.
I have been asked about the impact of these attacks on admissions. I feel it is far too early
to assess the attacks' impact. I certainly can't. This is a time of confusion and loss
for all of us. I personally don't know anyone who perished; I do know friends,
acquaintances, at least two editors, and a few clients who have lost loved ones and friends.
Despite my relative distance, I too am in shock as I attempt to process what had been
unimaginable, but what became in the space of a few short minutes a horrific reality. It
will take months, and perhaps years, to analyze the impact of September 11, 2001.
One immediate impact: many of you are having trouble focusing on your essays. At some point
-- maybe already -- we must all slowly force ourselves to turn back and reclaim as much of
our pre-September 11 lives as we can, including dreams, MBA aspirations, and even the essays
necessary to achieve them. But it's not going to be easy, even for those of us who knew no
one in the WTC and Pentagon. We have all lost something, as yet undefined and amorphous, but
nonetheless precious and mourned.
New Web Site
Over the next few months Accepted.com will be rolling out a new Web site. In addition to a
new look, the site will contain a valuable search function, simpler navigation, faster
function, and ultimately a catalogue system for choosing Accepted.com's services.
Don't Wait Until the Last Minute
If you are an Accepted.com client, please don't wait until the deadline to submit your
essays for editing. If you want to become a client, please sign up as soon as possible. Help
us help you by giving all of us enough time to our best work.
Chats
We currently have two exciting chats scheduled with MBA admissions directors, and many more
in the pipeline. Don't miss these valuable events.
Save the Date
On November 2, 2001 at 4:30 PM Eastern Time (3:30 PM Central Time; 2:30 PM Mountain Time;
1:30 PM Pacific Time), I will be the guest on the Mr. E.D.U. radio show airing on KFNX AM
1100 in Phoenix and WALE AM 990 in Providence. If you don't happen to live in Providence
or Phoenix, you can listen to the show at www.NABCinc.com
using RealAudio.
World MBA Tour
I enjoyed meeting some of you at the World MBA Tour's event in Boston, as did Cindy
Tokumitsu in New York and Paul Bodine in Toronto. Thanks for stopping by our table and
saying hello. Welcome also to all of you who signed up for Odds 'N Ends at these
successful and well-attended events.
Those of you in Europe, Asia, and the Middle East can still meet adcom members from top
American and European schools when they come to you on the World MBA Tour (Disclosure: WMT
is an Odds 'N Ends advertiser).
For more information, please visit
http://www.topmba.com.
Accepted.com Editor Teaches Personal
Statement Writing in Seattle
If you live in the Seattle area, you can take a class from editor Lisa Schnellinger on
writing personal statements for law school applicants or writing personal essays for MBA
program applicants. These workshop-style classes are offered through the Experimental
College of the University of Washington on three consecutive Tuesdays, Oct. 16-30, from 7 to
9 p.m.; the personal statements class is Wednesdays, Oct. 17-31, from 7 to 9 p.m. The fee
for either class is $31 plus $5 registration for UW students, $43 plus $10 registration for
the general public. Contact the
Experimental College for registration and additional information.
Letters of Recommendation
Who should write them and what should they contain? Those are the central questions you need
to answer when approaching this vital part of your application.
This month we'll cover the "who." Next month, content.
Recommenders should first and foremost be people who have personally seen you perform. For
MBA applicants, schools are most interested in feedback from your current or perhaps recent
professional supervisors. For applicants to law school, med school, grad school and college,
academic recommenders or a combination of academic and professional or community service
recommenders is effective. For medical school applicants, someone for whom you did research
may also write an effective recommendation. In choosing recommenders you will need to
consider the requirements of your specific program, but lean towards those who have seen you
in action recently. An alumnus from or current professor at your favorite school can be a
plus, but again, look first for a recommender who can write about you based on personal
experience.
Who should NOT be your recommender? Your mother, father, grandparents, siblings, and close
personal and family friends — even if you have worked in a family business. Their
credibility is suspect. On the other end of the spectrum, don't ask a VIP who barely knows
you to write your recommendation.
When you decide whom you would like to ask to be your recommenders, make an appointment with
the prospects and ask them if they would be comfortable writing a positive letter of
recommendation on your behalf. If they hesitate, don't press. Find someone else. At least
one month before you need the letter, provide the recommender with the following:
- The recommendation form.
- The date you need to have the letter.
- Your resume.
- Accepted.com Letters of Recommendation tips (found in every content section of
Accepted.com)
- Copies of your application essays, if complete.
- If you think the recommender is receptive to guidance, a short summary of achievements
or topics that you would like them to discuss in their recommendations.
If your recommender is a busy person (and who isn't?), contact your recommenders two weeks
before you need the letter, ask them if they need anything, and remind them when you need
the letter.
Oh yes, don't' forget to send your recommender a thank-you note after you receive the
recommendation.
Next month: What should go into the letter.
Handling Unemployment
Job applicants left unemployed by the dot-com implosion or other reasons face special
problems when constructing their resumes. If your job loss was not the result of your poor
performance, the fact that you are unemployed will probably not be an impediment, provided
it occurred within the past year.
Even when your job loss was not your fault, however, it is still a "negative" fact.
Since your resume, cover letter, and job interview should all be driving home a positive
message, you may choose to avoid the traditional reverse-chronological format, which makes
your unemployment the first thing the employer sees. This may turn the employer off before
the rest of your resume has had a chance to market you. (If you do choose to use the
reverse-chronological format you can at least minimize the problem by eliminating the months
from each date range.)
The so-called functional format and its variants (the "hybrid" or combination
resume) solve this problem by either omitting employment dates entirely or placing them at
the end of the resume. In this resume, the body consists of three or four sections of
bullet-listed accomplishments that highlight skill areas the employer you've targeted
really needs ("Project Management," "Software Development"). If your
skills closely match the job description and your accomplishments are stellar you may pique
the employer's interest enough to win an interview. Also, don't use up valuable space
"explaining" your job loss in the cover letter.
Save it for the interview, when you'll be able to explain it or place it in a positive
context. By then, the employer may be viewing you so positively that she'll view your
unemployment as the temporary setback it really is.
Paul Bodine
Editor, Accepted.com
Member, National Resume Writers Association and
the Professional Association of Resume Writers
Number of Cross-Disciplinary Programs Grows
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the number of cross-disciplinary
programs has soared in the last ten years, pointing at the University of Maryland as a prime
example of an institution that offers an alphabet soup of different programs — Pharm.d/MBA,
MSW/JD, MD/JD, MD/MBA. Demand is driving the growth of these programs. Physicians are seeing
advantages to going to a lawyer who also understands medicine. Social workers see advantages
to knowing how to budget, market, and lead their programs. While the benefits to students in
these joint programs are largely unquestioned, academics teaching in the joint programs are
concerned that their tenure and promotions may be negatively affected. Still, most academics
feel that the cross-breeding and cooperation required between faculties that sometimes feud
is a plus for higher education.
You can view the report at www.acenet.edu
Job Market Strong for Psychologists
Employment for PhDs in psychology (mostly in academe) has held steady, but the number of
doctorates of psychology (PsyD) has almost doubled from 1988 to 1999. As of 1999, according
to the Chronicle of Higher Education, only 1.1% of all psychologists were seeking
employment.
LSAT Slammed Again
The group, Testing for the Public, which consistently criticizes the LSAT, published the
results of a study that shows minority students with the same GPA do not perform as well on
the LSAT as their white colleagues. The study compares students from 1996 - 98 at Boalt
Law School who had attended 15 top undergraduate institutions and evaluates the LSAT score
of students with the same GPA, major, and graduation date. It concludes that black students
scored on average 9.2 points less than whites and that Latinos scored 6.8 points lower than
whites.
Columbia Chat
Please join us for our first online chat of the 2002
MBA admissions season. Linda Meehan, Assistant Dean and Executive Director of Admissions and
Financial Aid at Columbia Business School, will be our guest at a chat on Wednesday October
17, 2001 at 6:00 PM Pacific Time (7:00 PM Mountain; 8:00 PM Central Time; and 9:00 PM
Eastern Time). Come and ask all your questions about Columbia's admissions policies and
outstanding program to someone who really knows.
Haas Happening
At 6:00PM (7:00 PM Mountain Time, 8:00 PM Central Time, and 9:00 PM Eastern Time) on Tuesday
October 23, 2001, Accepted.com will host a chat with
Peter Johnson, Director of Admissions at the Haas School of Business, and a second-year
student at Haas. This is a great opportunity for you to obtain information about the Haas
program and Haas admissions. Bring your questions about its admissions policies and
top-ranked program. Mark your calendars!
Darden Grows
The University of Virginia's Darden School of Business announced that it is increasing its
class size by 25% for the class entering in 2002. With new facilities in the works, Darden
plans to increase its class size from 240 to 300 entering students.
BusinessWeek Does it Again
I have long felt that Businessweek online has one of the most comprehensive and informative
Web sites for prospective MBAs. Over the past few months it has added periodic chats to an
existing reservoir of admissions interviews, articles and forums. The most recent chat, with
Liz Riley of Fuqua, not only provided insight into Fuqua's admissions process, but into
MBA admissions in general. Make sure you review the transcript of this and earlier chats
(including one with me) at BusinessWeek
Online.
Haas, Columbia, and Goldman Sachs Expand
Social Venture Competition
Thanks to Haas, Columbia, and the Goldman Sachs Foundation, the Haas Social Venture
Competition is morphing into the National Social Venture Competition. Now with anchors on
the east and west coasts, Columbia and Haas will encourage and nurture entrepreneurs from
around the country to show how entrepreneurship can be a vehicle for social change. Goldman
Sachs' $1.5 million gift will underwrite the competition in April 2002 and symposiums
leading up to the actual event.
Thunderbird Faces Turbulence
The Chronicle of Higher Education recently reported that Thunderbird: The American
Graduate School of International Management is struggling to maintain its edge in
international management education at a time when business schools worldwide have heeded the
siren call of globalization. The school, whose MIM (Masters in International Management)
degree had placed it at the cutting edge of international business education, is having
trouble attracting students, keeping faculty, meeting its budget, and defining its mission.
As a result of the changing educational climate, Thunderbird has introduced a one-year MBA
program with fewer language requirements that could serve an American manager who does not
intend to spend his or her career abroad, but does want to be able to handle global issues
from the US.
Residency Trends
The Journal of the American Medical Association reported the following trends among
those just finishing medical school and starting residency programs in 2000-2001.
- There are 20% fewer physicians matching in primary care residencies, particularly family
practice, than there were in 1996-97.
- An increasing number of osteopathic physicians are also seeking allopathic training -
up 7.9% from last year.
- There was a very slight decline in the average number of on-duty hours for first-year
residents (from 55 to 54 hours since 1996-97), but those programs that report the most
on-duty hours showed no decrease.
Medical School Applications Decline
For the fourth year in a row, medical school applications declined in 2000. The 37,092
applicants who applied for matriculation in 2000 represent a 3.7% drop according to JAMA.
It is a little premature to start celebrating the absence of competition. According to the NAAHP
News, there are still twice as many applicants as places in American medical school.
Will the trend continue? It's hard to say. Dot-coms are less attractive these days than
they were two years ago, but so are HMOs.
Minority Enrollment Continues to Rise
The American Council on Education reports that minority enrollment rose 3.2% from 1997 -
1998, a slightly lower rate of increase than the 3.7% increase reported in 1996-97. The
number of bachelor's degrees earned by minorities rose 5.3% from 1997 to 1998.
Ivy Degree Not Required for Prestigious Fellowships
The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that prestigious fellowships, like the
Rhodes scholarship program, are no longer the exclusive province of the Ivy League schools
or even prestigious public universities. The fellowship programs are eating up stories of
students' bootstrapping and awarding graduates from schools like Oklahoma State and
Clemson University prestigious fellowships. The prestige (and alumni money) associated with
having a graduate win one of these awards is not lost on the smaller schools, who are
quickly establishing fellowship offices to help their intellectual giants compete for these
scholarships.
They must be doing something right. Last year Harvard did not have one student win a Rhodes
scholarship for the first time in seventy years.
SAT Holds Steady
The College Board announced that average scores on the SAT remained almost identical this
year to last year. The average math store stayed at 514, but the average verbal score inched
up to 506, its highest level in over ten years.
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!
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 on our
Essay Help page.
If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at info@accepted.com
or Phone.
We look forward to serving you.
|