My answer to this question used to be a hard “No.” But now, it’s “Yes! Kind of.”   We’ve gone through an admissions cycle during which applicants used AI tools such as ChatGPT, CoPilot, Gemini, and others with both positive and negative outcomes. Some colleges, graduate schools,...

         Some people perhaps thought my last post on academic life was too negative, so I want to provide some balance to people who feel passionately that they want to pursue a PhD but are also feeling a bit scared. Academia can be wonderful... or...

  In the competitive world of applications—whether for college, graduate school, or a new job—a strong letter of recommendation can be a deciding factor in your favor. At Gurufi, where we specialize in personal statements, CVs, and letters of recommendation, we have seen firsthand how a...

Bucolic afternoon strolls on lovely campuses. Dedicating your life to studying and teaching ideas that you’re passionate about. Tweed jackets, afternoon coffees with smart people, getting paid to read books, and summers off. There are a million things that make academic life attractive and, if...

Having worked in admissions for over two decades, I have read thousands of activity descriptions for medical school and related healthcare fields. Some candidates seem to view this element of their application as less important than their personal statement, writing only cursory descriptions of their...

Mike knew that an intern on his team was struggling with speaking up on client projects, so he mentored the individual throughout the summer and encouraged them to take on a key role on a final presentation.  Amy worked part-time throughout college but still found ways...

The personal statement is your chance to stand out and make an impression on the admissions committees. How can you make your essay original? How much should you tell? And at what point are you crossing the line into TMI? When I applied to college, I...

Show Summary In this episode, Dr. Miroslava Chavez-Garcia and Dr. Yvette Martínez-Vu discuss the challenges faced by underrepresented groups in graduate school and provide advice for all grad school applicants. They emphasize the importance of finding a good fit in a program and building strong relationships...

With years of experience preparing engineers for their careers – and as an Accepted admissions consultant since 2015 – I’ve seen what works and doesn’t work when applying to master’s and PhD programs in engineering. There are many academic departments within the broad engineering field,...

What is a diversity essay in a school application? And why does it matter when applying to leading programs and universities? Most importantly, how should you go about writing such an essay? Diversity is of supreme value in higher education, and schools want to know how...