Within 20 seconds of reading a draft personal statement, I can tell whether the author has a clear sense of what they want to say or whether they’ve spent far too much time asking for advice, deep-diving into forums, or otherwise overthinking it. These “Frankenstein...

When it comes to personal statements, less is often more. Though most schools and programs have set word limits, many do not. This uncapped essay creates a temptation to over-write. This is a trap! Keep your essay short and to the point. If your essay...

When I checked my email this morning, I remembered why this is my favorite time of year! Two of my favorite clients got into their dream schools, and my back-and-forth emails with a client who just found out that he got into Stanford brought a...

Writing a powerful personal statement can be a genuine challenge for inexperienced writers. They often pile on unnecessary complexity, use fancier-than-needed words, and try too hard to *dazzle* their reader. Don’t do that. The best writing is simple, clear, and direct. It will also feel...

We all mistakes because we're all human. In my 16 years of working with clients and helping them get into top business schools, one of the most common things I've witnessed is accomplished and smart people who write off their chances at admission into a...

I'm one of those people who enjoy job and academic interviews. I’m weird that way, I guess. I’ve always viewed them as an opportunity to talk about the things I’m passionate about with someone who’s genuinely interested in hearing about my life and perspective. This...

I want to spend a few posts talking about Diversity Statements. Most schools require some version of this, and for many applicants it can be quite confusing in terms of what the prompt is asking for or what you should write in response. I’m going...

Letters of recommendation are hugely important parts of your application. Having a third party assess your skill, talent, experience, accomplishments, potential, and maturity provides admissions committees with valuable data. Unfortunately, because this is an “outsources” part of the application, many applicants aren’t sufficiently thoughtful about...

People like happy people. People respond passionately to passionate people. That’s why you need to make sure that your Personal Statement has some fire in its belly! It can be helpful to show passion in your MBA personal statement, as it can demonstrate to the...

Personal Statements are an unusual form of writing. We’re so rarely called on to write about ourselves, much less boast about our accomplishments. This is doubly difficult for people without a lot of essay-writing experience. As such, it’s natural that people make some pretty basic...