We're very pleased with the admissions outcomes we achieved for our clients in the 2007-2008 admissions season. Now we're gearing up for 2008-2009. The feedback we're getting from our clients, consultants, and university and college contacts, plus news from the educational sector, suggests we'll face another challenging year.

Several top b-schools reported increases in application volume last year and seem likely to see continued growth this year. However, the biggest news happened after most of the season over, with the Scoretop cheating scandal that surfaced at the end of June. While the GMAC is still researching the data, it's likely that some percentage of the 6,000 users of the website might face some sort of penalty. Despite this, the application season was highly competitive and we're looking at a repeat again for 2008-2009.

College admissions are likely to be as least as competitive for Fall 2009 as they were last year. One trend that we feel is not getting enough recognition is the rise in application volume and the consequent drop in acceptance rates at many large public universities and small private colleges – the institutions once regarded as 'safety schools' for accomplished high school graduates. This year's applicants are well advised to take this trend into account as they plan their college applications. Even excellent students should not assume that admission to their state school or local college is theirs for the asking any more.

Additionally, several top schools highly inflated their waitlists this season and many decision weren't made until deep into May. With the larger number of schools students are applying to, many universities are being more cautious in offering admissions and trying to focus on students who seem the most interested in attending the college.

Medical and law school admissions remain as competitive as ever, despite a gradual increase in medical school class sizes and a continuing lag in law school applications. There has been a sharp increase in applicants to osteopathic programs as the AMA continues to call for more medical practitioners by 2015. We respect the tenacity of people who are dedicated enough to these fields to run the gauntlet of the application process, and are committed to providing them with the insight and advice that can make a difference in their admissions success.

The changes we've seen in admissions over the past year leave us more convinced than ever that the key to successful applications lies in understanding what schools and programs are the best match for your ambitions, abilities, and preferences, and understanding what your 'wow' factors are and how to present those to admission committees effectively. We're looking forward to putting that philosophy to work for our clients over the coming months – and are confident that this time next year we'll again be able to say we're very pleased with our results!

Our consultants can help you understand these and other aspects of college and graduate school admissions. They have served on admissions committees themselves, making accept/reject/waitlist decisions at highly selective colleges, b-schools, and law, grad, and medical schools. Their understanding of the admission process can give you the edge you need to prepare effective applications and maximize your admissions chances at your top-choice schools. Call us at 703.242.5885, email us, or visit our website to learn about our consultants' various fields of expertise and how they can help you position yourself for admissions next fall.

The GMAC has stated that they are meticulously going through the hard drive that contained posting and personal data of the site, trying to identify those who may have cheated on the GMAT over the course of the site's existence since 2002. While the ultimate penalties will be determined by the individual b-schools, many may find themselves denied enrollment, expelled from the program or even a revocation of their degree.

However, it's still a wait-and-see process. None of the schools knew what they would do when notified of any students who cheated on the GMAT, preferring to wait and evaluate each case individually. Many did indicate in a recent BusinessWeek article that expulsion and revocation of awarded degrees are not out of the question. Duke University's Fuqua School of Business spokesman Chris Privett was quoted as saying that "the penalty would be consistent with that which would apply to anyone who has lied or cheated to gain an advantage either in the admission process or as a student at Fuqua." Those penalties "range from suspension to expulsion to revocation of a degree, depending on the infraction."

Other schools declined to comment on possible penalties until more was heard from the GMAC, which may take a while.

The good news is that students who frequented the site but did not purchase a membership are not being investigated.

For more information, the GMAC has posted a FAQ on their website.

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A number of the top b-schools have released their essay questions for Fall 2008 over the past few weeks. Click on the following links to see this year's essay requirements for these schools, courtesy of BusinessSchoolAdmission.com:

• Chicago GSB
• Dartmouth - Tuck
• Harvard Business School
• Northwestern - Kellogg
• Stanford GSB
• UC Berkeley - Haas
• Univ. of Pennsylvania - Wharton

Every one of these schools asks applicants to write about their leadership qualities at some point in their essays.

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MBA applicants sometimes ask whether holding an undergraduate degree from a lesser-known college or university might affect their chances of winning admission to a top U.S. business school. The honest answer to that question is that it can – but not by much, and not in any way that couldn't be offset by following an appropriate application strategy. For more information, see "Undergraduate Institutions and B-School Admissions," which I contributed to MBAAdmission.com as this month's David's Corner.

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One of the most frequent questions we hear about college admissions is, "How many AP courses do I need on my transcripts to be considered for admission to a selective school?"

It's a tough question to give a specific answer to. The answer depends entirely on the applicant in question and his or her situation and profile.

Some applicants might be well advised to stretch themselves by taking additional AP courses. Others might be better off putting their time into extracurricular activities. It's the kind of question that Senior Consultant Nadine C. Warner delves into during her initial client consultations.

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If you are a high school junior and college bound, chances are that you've begun to think —and possibly stress — about taking either the SAT or ACT, as almost all undergraduate colleges and universities require applicants to take one of the two tests. Many students take both. The stakes are high and in the competitive environment of college admissions, many high school students and their families are willing to go to great lengths to achieve top scores on their college entrance exams.

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"Every part of a graduate school application is important," says Senior Consultant Heather MacNeill. That said, she feels that letters of recommendation are one application component that many applicants should pay more attention to.

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Will Your Application Succeed in Setting You Apart from the Rest of the Applicant Pool? That question can be harder to answer than you might think – and a wrong answer might make the difference between getting into your target schools and being dinged. Our consultants can help you avoid making that mistake. Call us at 703.242.5885, email us, or visit our website to learn more about our graduate school admissions consulting services.

As you begin your research on school selection, here is a list of some new, interesting graduate programs.

The City University of New York School of Professional Studies is starting a M.A. in Applied Theatre, the first of its kind in the United States. The program is a sequential, ensemble-based program for students interested in the use of theatre to address social and educational issues in a wide range of settings.

American University in Cairo announced a new master's degree in migration and refugee studies -- the only multidisciplinary program in the world that will combine both migration and refugee studies with a focus on the Middle East and Africa.

The State University of New York at Plattsburgh is starting a master of science degree in natural science. The program will make extensive use of the Adirondack region’s habitats.

The University of California at Santa Barbara is starting new M.A. and Ph.D. programs in feminist studies, a department that has just changed its name from women’s studies.

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"I'm often asked how many applications someone should submit to law schools," says Senior Consultant Heike Spahn. "Last year, the number of schools my clients applied to ranged from 1 to 27. For most applicants, I think the ideal number falls somewhere in the middle of that range.

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Get a Head Start on Your 2009 Applications! You'll need to work hard this summer if you want to submit polished applications early in the admissions cycle. We can help you do that. Sign up today for a highly customized 'pre admissions' consultation. That first hour of personalized guidance from a consultant with law school admissions committee experience may be all you need to settle any questions you have about how to proceed with your law school applications. Call us at 703.242.5885, email us, or visit our website to learn more.

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• Saturday, October 4, 2008  (or Monday, October 6, for Saturday Sabbath observers)
• Saturday, December 6, 2008  (or Monday, December 8, for Saturday Sabbath observers)
• Saturday, February 7, 2009 (or Monday, February 9, for Saturday Sabbath observers)

Whenever you plan to take the test, make sure you give yourself enough time for test preparation "Proper preparation is the key to success on the LSAT," says Jeff Glazer, president of Griffon Preparation Services.

He advises against using non-LSAC practice tests. "Study books published by companies that use fake questions should be avoided at all costs," he says. "Such questions rarely mimic the real thing and can cause confusion on test day."

If you choose to prepare for the exam on your own, some of the best self-study material available for the LSAT is distributed by LSAC themselves, says Glazer. "They have multiple publications that include real LSAT questions from previous test administrations. In particular, LSAC's SuperPrep contains three exams plus wonderful explanations of correct answers from the test writers."

He also encourages law school applicants to begin their test preparation well ahead of time. "Since the LSAT is weighted so heavily in the law school admissions process, it is crucial to spend as much time studying for the LSAT as possible," he says.

Focused preparation is the key to doing well on the LSAT, says Jeff. "The LSAT isn't like other tests," he says. "The exam is designed to test a pattern of critical reading and thinking. That means that studying for the LSAT must be approached differently than other tests. Simply taking many timed tests will not usually improve one's score. You'll need to sit down with a few real LSAT tests and work out how to derive the correct answer from the information you are given."

Were You Denied for 2008 Admissions? Our consultants can help you understand why your applications failed the first time around and advise you on how to secure a better outcome for 2008. Our special, fixed-fee ding analysis package may be just what you need to get your educational and career plans back on track. Call us at 703.242.5885, email us, or visit our website to find out more about our services.

In a proposal that should strike joy in the hearts of pre-med students struggling through organic chemistry, Jules L. Dienstag, dean of medical education at Harvard Medical School, writes in support of reforming the pre-med curriculum to focus more on human biology and fields with greater relevance to modern medicine.

The standard pre-med education requirements — one year of biology, two years of chemistry, one year of physics, and, at some schools, one year of mathematics — are too removed from clinical practice, are not taught rigorously enough to be of value to medical students, and steal time from science preparation that might be more relevant to future doctors, says Dr. Dienstag in the essay, Relevance and Rigor in Premedical Education.

In their place, he recommends that colleges adopt sequences of interdisciplinary courses that span areas of biology, chemistry, and physics most germane to advanced medical studies, and teach pre-med students biologically-relevant quantitative skills and the basic statistics needed to understand scientific literature. "A sick patient does not represent a biochemistry problem, an anatomy problem, a genetics problem, or an immunology problem," he writes.

He also urges medical schools to rethink their admission criteria, and suggests that the Medical College Admission Test be revised to better assess applicants' scientific competencies rather than their knowled NSERT INTO CONSTANT CONTACT HERE--> ic disciplines.

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Enrollment is Expanding - But Admissions Are Still Competitive! Our consultants can give you the insight and advice you need to make informed choices about your medical school options and how to best position yourself for admissions success. Call us at 703.242.5885, email us, or visit our website to find out more about our services.