We’re very pleased with the results we got for
our clients in the 2004-2005 admissions season.
Now we’re gearing up for 2005-2006. The feedback
we’re getting from our clients, consultants, and
university and college contacts, plus news from
the educational sector, suggests we’ll face some
interesting challenges this year.
Application volume is down at many business
schools, but admissions remain highly
competitive at top-tier programs. Several top
schools have introduced new programs to give
potential MBA students more, and more
attractive, options, including new EMBA programs
and different concentration options. We think
these are great options for some applicants, but
remain convinced that many business
professionals are still best served by a
traditional, 2-year MBA program – and that where
someone gets their degree makes an enormous
difference in their career.
Ivy League schools saw record numbers of
freshman applications last year, for a static
number of seats. At the same time, multiple
applications have become much more common, which
is impacting the percentage of applicants
schools accept and the way they use wait lists.
Another wrinkle in college admissions is that
colleges and universities are still working out
how to use the results of the new SAT,
especially the new essay section, in their
admissions decisions.
Medical and law school admissions are just as
competitive as ever. In fact, it’s getting to
the point where it seems that the biggest
challenge a lawyer or doctor will ever face is
just getting their foot in the door of law or
medical education. 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!
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Schools Release Application Deadlines and Essay
Questions
A number of top business schools have announced
their deadlines for the 2005-2006 application
season. Several have released their essay
questions as well. A good site to check out is
www.businessschooladmission.com. It is being
updated regularly as new deadlines and essays
are released. Some of the schools include:
Chicago – deadlines and essay questions*
(Chicago applicants should note that the first
round deadline is about two weeks earlier than
it was last year. Also, note that the essay
questions are quite different than the ones
asked in previous years.)
Columbia – deadlines and essay questions
Cornell – deadlines
Harvard
– deadlines and essay questions
MIT (Sloan) – deadlines
Northwestern (Kellogg) – deadlines and essay
questions
Stanford – deadlines
UC Berkeley (Haas) – deadlines
U North Caroline (Kenan Flagler) - deadlines
U Penn (Wharton) – deadlines and essay questions
U Virginia (Darden) – deadlines and essay
questions
Thoughts on the Admissions Essays
MBA admissions consultant Matt Whitaker states,
"The admissions essays should be like love
letters. Any school that receives one should
feel like it is the one and only - a perfect
match with the applicant. When I was reading
applications at Chicago and I would sense that
an applicant would be a better fit at Kellogg or
would prefer Wharton, for example, I would
usually drill in and scrutinize other aspects of
the application more carefully." Matt is a
Chicago MBA who graduated with high honors and
he spent two years on the GSB's admissions
committee.
You Don’t Need to be a Math Whiz to Get a Good
GMAT Score
GMAT tutor Bara Sapir has found that math anxiety
causes many people to put off taking the test.
"Clients come to me thinking they will have to
study several textbooks of math to do well on
the quantitative section of the GMAT,” she says.
In reality, the actual math skills needed for
the GMAT are quite basic. “You can efficiently
cut down your prep time by knowing what is on
the test rather than attempting to become a
mathematician,” says Sapir. “None of the
questions use trigonometry or pre-calculus.
Instead, they use math that you learned sometime
between 7th and 10th grade.”
Learning how to read test questions carefully
also makes a big difference in quant scores,
Sapir says. “Ironically, in addition to knowing
how to do the math, you need to read the
question clearly. KNOW what it is asking you to
do. It is often not the math that is tricky, but
the way the question is worded.”
Is Good Economic News Making You Reconsider Your
B-School Timing?
There’s been a lot of good economic news this
year – which, ironically, poses a dilemma for
aspiring MBAs. Should you go to b-school now,
trusting that your education will position you
to take greater advantage of job opportunities
when you graduate? Or should you put off
graduate school in order to gain additional
business experience – and perhaps save up some
money to pay for school? If you do decide to get
more work experience before applying to MBA
programs, what kind of experience will best
position you to be a strong candidate at top
schools?
We can help you assess your options and make
informed decisions about your future. We’ll
ensure you are optimally positioned for b-school
applications, whether you decide to apply now or
to wait a year or two. An initial, one-hour
consultation with one of our consultants may be
all you need to help you decide what to do next.
Call us at 703.242.5885,
email us, or
go to our website to sign up
for a one hour, pre admissions consultation and
receive a detailed and highly-customized action
plan from one of our expert consultants!
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College Admission News
Common Application for Fall 2006 Now Available
The Common Application, Inc. is now taking
applications for the 2005-2006 admissions
season. 277 colleges and universities –
including Yale, Cornell, Duke, and Dartmouth -
are members of the Common Application, a
non-profit organization that allows students to
complete a single application for multiple
schools. (Note, however, that many common
application schools also ask applicants to
complete supplemental forms.) Visit www.commonapplication.com for a list of
member institutions.
Even if you’re not ready to choose the schools
you want to apply to, it’s not a bad idea to
download a copy of the common application from
the site. It will give you an idea of the kinds
of information you’ll be expected to provide in
any college application. That way, you can start
putting together a file of information (dates,
addresses, etc.) that you will need when you do
apply to schools – which is a first, relatively
painless step toward becoming a college student!
Univ.
of California Pulls Out of National Merit
Scholarship Program
Sara Hernández, a college admissions consultant
and former Assistant Director of Admissions at
Cornell University, notes that, starting in fall
2006, the University of California will no
longer award merit scholarships to incoming
freshmen on the basis of PSAT scores. UC's
Academic Council looked at past results and
decided that the National Merit Scholarship
program’s reliance on PSAT scores put minority
and low-income students at an unfair
disadvantage. UC will continue to fund
merit-based scholarships, but will award them
using other criteria than PSAT scores. Students
who receive National Merit Scholarships funded
by other sources can still use those to pay for
a UC education, but UC will not put its own
funds into awards based on PSAT performance.
We think it’s too early to call the UC
California decision on merit scholarships a
trend, but it does reflect the fact that
colleges and universities are re-thinking how
they use standardized test scores. It was
recently announced that another small liberal
arts college, Knox College (Galesburg, Illinois)
is making SAT and ACT scores an optional part of
its application package. Knox joins a
surprisingly long list of US schools where SAT
and ACT tests are not required for admissions.
An organization called FairTest maintains a Web
page (at www.fairtest.org) with a list
of these schools. You’ll see some schools you
would never want to wind up at, but also some
highly respected colleges, including Bates,
Bowdoin, and Sarah Lawrence.
Middlebury
College and Monterey May Team Up
Middlebury College and the Monterey Institute of
International Studies have tentatively agreed to
a partnership under which Middlebury would take
over management of the Institute. Monterey would
benefit from Middlebury’s financial resources
and its growing popularity among college
applicants. Middlebury would benefit from using
Monterey’s expertise and assets to expand its
programs, especially those in Asian language,
culture, and area studies. If the deal comes
through it could open up an interesting option
for students who like the idea of a Middlebury
education but whose international interests are
more oriented toward the Pacific Rim – and who
would really rather live in coastal California
than in Vermont.
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Law School Admission News
Electronic Applications Now Available Through
LSAC
Admissions consultant and former University of
Chicago Law School Assistant Dean Heike Spahn
notes that LSDAS registrants will soon be able
to use their LSAC accounts to gain free access
to electronic applications for all ABA-approved
law schools. The service will allow applicants
to enter standard information (name, address,
etc.) one time, with the program then entering
that information in the appropriate field on
each application form. Personal statements,
résumés, and other information can also be
attached to the on-line forms and submitted to
schools from the site. For more information,
visit the Law School Admissions Council Web
page, www.lsac.org. (According to LSAC, the site
will be rolled out this month, but fall 2006
applications will not be posted until
mid-August.)
Use Your Summer to Research Schools and Work on
Applications
Spahn also notes that the summer months are “a
great time to research law schools.” One of the
best reference sources available to aspiring JDs
comes in the form of LSAC Law School Recruitment
Forums, which are held throughout the United
States during the summer and fall. To find
information on where and when forums are being
held, and to register to attend one, visit LSAC’s Law Forum Web page.
Summer is also prime time to begin working on
your applications, Spahn says. “While the actual
applications won’t be released until August, you
can use this time to begin working on other
aspects of your file. Update your resume, secure
your letters of recommendation, and begin
drafting your personal statements or optional
essays.”
More Room for Out-of-State Students at Texas
Schools
Texas law schools are increasing the number of
out-of-state students they will enroll,
according to the
Houston
Chronicle. Ceilings for out-of-state
students will almost double, going from 20% to
35%. The move is part of an effort to raise the
schools’ profiles and increase their national
rankings.
Changes to LSAT Writing Exercise
Some changes have been introduced to the LSAT’s
unscored writing exercise. The writing space has
increased from one to two pages, and the time
allowed was increased slightly, from 30 to 35
minutes. In addition, test takers will now face
one of two different kinds of writing prompts. A
‘decision prompt’ presents a choice and asks the
writer to make a decision and support the choice
made. An ‘argument prompt’ presents an argument
and asks the writer to analyze the cogency of
the argument and the use of evidence. As before,
the writing samples are not scored and have no
impact on LSAT scores. The samples are, however,
sent to schools along with LSAT scores.
Our Special ‘Head Start’ Offer Can Help You
Position Your Applications!
Law schools will release their 2006 application
materials starting in mid-August. That means
you’ll need to work quickly if you want to
submit well-planned and well-prepared
applications early in the admissions cycle. We
can help you do that by providing informed
advice about which law schools will best meet
your educational and career goals, and about
what it takes to be a competitive candidate to
those schools. Sign up today for a highly
customized 'pre admissions' consultation – that
first hour may be all you need to settle any
questions you have about your law school
applications. Should you decide to sign up for
further services, we will deduct the price of
this one-hour consultation from that of a
Silver, Gold, Platinum, or Diamond multiple
application package. We only require a one hour
retainer fee to get started because we are
confident that you will be happy with our
services and will voluntarily return to us for
additional help with your applications. By
taking advantage of this offer now, you’ll be
getting our signature, comprehensive service for
your applications, as well as several months’
time to implement a detailed action plan that
will optimize your positioning and increase your
chances of gaining admission to your top-choice
law schools.
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Medical School Admission News
How Many Schools Do You Need to Apply to?
Medical school admissions consultant Dr. Wesley
Hsu notes that applicants often ask him, ‘How
many schools should I apply to?” The right
answer to that question, Hsu, a Johns Hopkins
M.D. who served on that school’s admissions
committee says, “is always answered on a case by
case basis. However, there are several factors
that should be considered by the applicant. One
is that the primary AMCAS application is only
the first step in a long and, quite honestly,
rather arduous gauntlet of application
materials. For some schools, the primary
application is all that is needed.
Unfortunately, applications from other schools
require additional material that can be just as
time consuming to complete as the primary AMCAS
application itself!
“Unless an applicant can devote a significant
amount of time to the completion of application
materials, I think that most applicants are well
served by applying to 10-15 schools. Any less
and one runs the risk of not being accepted to
any school at all. Any more, and one may not
have the time to complete all of the necessary
materials in a careful and sophisticated
manner.”
More Medical Schools to Run Student Background
Checks
The American Association of Medical Colleges
recently advised member colleges to begin doing
background checks of incoming students. The
Winston-Salem
Journal notes that UNC-Chapel Hill,
Wake Forest University, and East Carolina
University will all start running checks this
year. (Duke has already been conducting checks
for several years.) More and more states are
requiring criminal background checks for medical
licensing. AAMC sees little point in providing a
medical education to someone with a background
that would prevent him or her from ever getting
licensed.
Medicine Is Americans’ Top Career Choice
A May Gallup Poll found that 1 out of 5
Americans would like to see their child become a
doctor, making “be a doctor” the most common
career advice that American parents give to
their children. Medicine also tied with teaching
as one of the two most popular career choices
among teenagers who were polled. Aspiring MDs
can take heart in knowing that their chosen
field is held in high esteem – but they should
also prepare themselves for the reality that
medical school admissions will continue to be
highly competitive.
Are you unsure of how to proceed from here? We
can help.
Call us at 703.242.5885,
email us, or
visit our website to find out more about our
services. An initial one-hour consultation with
one of our consultants will help you understand
your situation and lay out a plan that will
maximize your admissions chances!
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AdmissionsConsultants
is a full-service admissions consultancy that
maximizes the admissions chances of its clients.
Our consultants have admissions committee
experience,
meaning they have made accept/reject/waitlist
decisions and, therefore, truly have expert
knowledge of the application process. It is this
admissions committee experience that enables us
to know exactly what differentiates successful
from unsuccessful applicants including:
strategies, essays/personal statements, letters
of reference, resumes/cvs/activity statements,
applications, and admissions interviews. We
understand that admissions committees care about
more than just typo-free essays and that is why
we offer comprehensive services.
We recently assisted a former undergraduate
admissions officer with some graduate school
applications. She chose us because she
recognized she would benefit from the expert
advice of someone with the appropriate
admissions committee experience. We offer this
same expert level of service to you.
If you would like more information about our
services, you can call us at 703.242.5885,
email us, or
visit our website. We will be glad to advise
you through the application process and ensure
that you maximize your admissions chances!
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For
Immediate Release: 