Hi Rachel,
I'm happy to let you know that I got accepted to Georgetown's MA program! They offered decent merit aid plus an assistantship, and I actually just paid the seat deposit today (which reminded me of your message).
I wanted to thank you for your wonderful help with my whole application, and the personal statement in particular. The writing process that you guided me through was invaluable in teaching me to communicate big ideas through the lens of my own personal story in a way that resonates. More than just a one-off essay, that discovery has continued to pay dividends, giving me the skills to create compelling narratives that build bridges between life experience and academic interests.
Thanks again, Michael
Working with Dr. Rothman was instrumental to my success during my PhD interviews. We began to work together with limited time, just a few days before my interviews were scheduled, and Dr. Rothman was very flexible in working around my tight timeline. I also began the process low on confidence and high on anxiety: The pandemic had cut short my research experience, which anyone applying to PhD programs knows is typically the most important element of your application.
Dr. Rothman is not only highly knowledgeable about the application process in general but is also himself a trained biomedical researcher. He knew exactly what kinds of questions I was likely to be asked, and his scientific background allowed him to probe expertly into my research interests.
During our first meeting, he was able to quickly identify where my preparation was lacking, and which areas my interviewers were likely to focus on. He pushed me to better understand the broader narratives and goals of the projects I was involved in rather than simply my individual role within those projects. He also reminded me to always slow down and breathe!
With Dr. Rothman’s help, I had just enough time to complete my preparation and I entered my interviews calm and confident. I was admitted to my top choice PhD program.
Where do I even begin? Firstly, this isn’t my first time working with Esme on grad school applications. She also helped me get into Duke Fuqua’s MMS and UT Austin McCombs’s MSM programs last year. During my grad studies at Duke, I realized that I wanted to take on another, more specialized field of study, so I decided to try for a Business Analytics degree. Naturally, I asked Esme to help me with the process again. I chose to apply to three schools this year (I got gold packages for guidance throughout the entire process) but got my acceptance to UCLA’s MSBA before I submitted the last application. Frankly, we were a little less confident this year about applying in general, since there are so many applicants and I already have a master’s degree under my belt. I also don’t have a math/engineering/computer science background, which is what a lot of MSBA programs are looking for. But somehow, almost magically, I got into UCLA on some merit scholarship. All I can say is, Esme is AMAZING at what she does. The UCLA app was tough, consisting of four 500-750 word essays. I started applying a little less than a month before the second deadline, and upon seeing the length of the essays I was pretty put off and thought that it would be better for me to submit by the last deadline to have more time. However, Esme encouraged me to apply asap, saying that she had confidence in me to turn out an outstanding application. She’s so incredibly responsible in the sense that she doesn't stop pushing you until the essays are as good as they can be, not to mention she's extremely patient and understanding, so there's no shame in being a poor writer. Even after three, four, or sometimes even five rounds of editing, she’ll still look for ways to improve upon the writing. She knows what these business schools want in their applicants and will adeptly bring out all your strengths. Her experience with business-related graduate studies makes her the perfect consultant to go to because she also provides valuable advice on which programs and schools would be the best fit for you. I can say with confidence that if it wasn’t for Esme, I definitely would not have gotten into Duke or UCLA (again, both on merit scholarship (even though my undergrad GPA was not hot)!!) I don’t anticipate I’ll be applying to graduate school again anytime soon, but if I did, you know for sure I’ll ask for Esme’s help again, and if I have any friends who are applying, I’ll send them to Esme with no hesitation. Trust me when I say that it’s one of the best investments you’ll ever make toward your education!!
I got my first acceptance at XXX for their CS doctoral program! ...
Lastly, thank you so much Karin! You preserved my confidence by not letting my doubts get in the way. Additionally, you gave me lasting essay writing advice and writing.... I can say that I've used what I learned from our sessions everyday -- heck, I would have benefited from more writing sessions. These lifelong skills helped me write a final SoP that communicated my motivation, love, and strengths. I'm actually quite proud of it.. Thank you a ton!
