Some brief pointers for editing MBA and other graduate school application essays

 Chances are extremely high that when you initially write any application essay and even when you have a good working version of it going, it is likely to be over the word count.  If it is not over the word count, especially at the initial stage that itself is actually a problem.  In another blog post, I will explain why writing to the word count initially is a very bad idea.  In this post, I will assume that you have a good working version of your essay, but it is just too long. 

Here are some suggestions for editing statement of purposes, Why MBA and why this school, leadership/teamwork/values questions, and personal statements down to word or page count: 

1. Is there anything in the essay that repeats what is said in the other essays? If so, you can probably cut it out.  For applications that involve multiple essays or essay-like application form content, part of your job is to fully leverage the entire application. Hence don’t repeat information that can be easily found elsewhere unless it is really useful to do so. You may be using the same data points (facts about yourself) or experiences in multiple parts of the application, but you should be doing so to maximize the value of that information, which is rarely achieved through mere repetition.  With each part of the application, figure out what really needs to be communicated there and look at the application as a whole to make decisions about how to divide your experiences effectively.

2. Do you find yourself needing to explain too much context about your background? If so, consider whether any of it can be explained in the application’s optional essay. If that does not solve the word count issue, consider whether the problem is that you are approaching the story from the wrong angle. Often the problem with context heavy essays is that they don’t tell a story from the right starting point.  In general, defining the right starting point and building content into an action-focused narrative can help.  I know this sounds abstract, but looking at the starting-point often helps clients reframe their stories for both great impact and for purposes of word count.

3. Do you find yourself extensively name dropping? “I met with Anand Kumar (Class of 2006), Sally Johnson (Class of 2009), Taro Suzuki (Class of 2010), Anat Weinstein (Class of 2011), Mohammad Efendi (Class of 2012), and Tom Lee (Class of 2013)…” (Note all these names were made up and any relationship to actual people alumni is merely coincidental). If you do, consider cutting or summarizing it. Also, consider whether such lists can be included in an optional essay. Some schools have a place for including who you met with from the school, so it is not necessary to repeat that in the essay.  On the other, if you are writing a Ph.D. or LL.M. statement of purpose and you want to work with Professor Mada Sukram, you should mention him. In other words, name drop only if doing so is key to argument you are making about why you want to attend a particular program.

4. Do a paragraph by paragraph and then a sentence by sentence search for redundancy. When a client asks for my help in cutting words, which is typically for the last draft, I look for redundancy.

5. Now the really hard part. You have a tight text and it is still over the word count. You have cut something “important.” Prioritize your content and eliminate low priority items. Killing good content is never fun, but sometimes is simply necessary.

Happy Editing!

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

How to Prepare for MIT Sloan MBA Admissions Interviews

In this post, which is significantly updated, I discuss how to prepare for an MIT Sloan MBA admissions interview. If you have been invited to interview for the Class of 2018, this post is for you!


Beyond my 18 comprehensive service clients admitted to MIT Sloan since Fall 2008 entry (I began my own consulting service in September 2007), I have worked with additional clients only on interviews. and more still from 2001-2007 when I was working for a top test prep company’s consulting service.  The advice below is thus based on working with clients on MIT interviews for almost fourteen years.

I do believe in the value of intensive preparation and doing mock interviews that are harder than the actual ones. As my client admitted in R1 for the Class of 2016 wrote in his testimonial, “Once I got the interview invitation, Adam gave me two comprehensive mock interviews that made my real interview looks like children’s game in comparison.” Whether you prep with me or otherwise, I hope this post helps you view the real interview in the same way!


YOU NEED TO BE A STAR!
Before reading the rest of this post, I strongly suggest reviewing  MIT’s  Preparing for Your MIT Sloan School Interview, because reading it first will maximize the value of my comments below.
The STAR technique is really the core method you need to use for answering Behavioral Event Interviews (BEI) questions. It is simply this:

• Situation: define the situation or "set the stage."
• Task: identify the task/project performed.
• Action: describe the action you took.
• Result: summarize the outcome

The STAR technique was created by Bill Byham, who originated the behavioral interviewing method in 1970. When you are using STAR, just keep in mind that you need to be introspective as well, so in an interview say what you thought as well as what you did. Don't just present "the facts" but actively interpret your actions. There is really nothing overly complicated about this as long as you understand that you need to tell a DETAILED story. Pure abstractions disconnected from a concrete set of action steps are highly likely to result in a weak answer. Similarly, grand actions not told in any depth are also likely to be weak. Identify specific actions that contributed to the result so as to establish a clear link between cause and effect.

As when answering any kind of question, another important consideration is to think very critically about what your story selection, understanding of the task, actions taken, and results say about you. Keep in mind that the whole point of asking behavioral questions is to determine how someone acts and thinks as a basis for selecting or rejecting that person. It is obviously critical to be aware of your own message. Specifically think of examples you can use to highlight your intelligence, creativity, leadership skills, interpersonal communication skills, and conflict resolution skills.


How To Prepare Outlines for Practicing BEI Questions
I would suggest making some simple STAR (Situation Task Action Result) outlines.  For example:
Team Story 1: Project X
S:  Harry was not cooperating with the rest of the team on Project X.
T: My job was get the team to work together because Project X really required everyone to participate. Harry was important because of his technical skills.
A: In order to get Harry to cooperate I..  (ACTION 1) first talked with him privately to better understand his perspective.  Next, (ACTION 2) I talked with the rest of team to try and make an adjustment so that Harry would feel more comfortable. Finally (ACTION 3) Established information sharing sessions so that everyone understood what needed to be done and how our work fit together.
R: Project X succeeded.
The above outline could be used to answer such questions as “Tell me about a time when you were part of a team that had poor dynamics/didn’t get along well,” “Tell me about a time when you had to deal with someone who wasn’t pulling his/her weight,” and "Describe a time when you have worked as part of a team working towards an important goal, when you have addressed conflict between two or more team members." Now, when you actually practice the above for a behavioral interview, you would need to flesh out the story and provide more details.  If you have outlined a STAR story, you  have not practiced it yet.   The only reason to outline STAR stories is if you cannot systematically turn any spoken story into STAR automatically.  Actually once you start using STAR, chances are that you will not need any outlines.  STAR is actually a highly intuitive way to tell stories and useful for telling stories in any situation.



A “typical” MIT Interview, which can last anything from 20-60 minutes (assume approximately 30 minutes), might consist of the following questions:
1. Any updates since you last applied?
2. 1-2 questions based on specific details from your application and/or resume related to a hobby, award, or work activity.
3. 3-6 of the above behavioral questions.
4. Perhaps a question about your goals or motivation for Sloan.
5. Questions for the interviewer.
DISCLAIMER: The above is just a general guide as the actual interview will vary greatly. If I do multiple MIT interview prep sessions with a client, I alter my style to account for the different interviewing styles an interviewee might encounter.


The Questions
Like he has done with many other schools, my colleague, Steve Green has compiled the following list of questions from from all the reports submitted to accepted.com   and clearadmit.com.  In addition to our client reports, we use lists of questions like these as part of our prep sessions with clients.

Two things that Steve encourages all applicants to remember:

1. Expect detailed follow up questions about the content of your answers.

2. Expect questions based on specific points in your essays. (Your essays may be quoted back at you.) 

The questions in Italics were reported to Clear Admit and Accepted.com over the past year.

Resume and Background (Not usually BEI questions)

• Do you have any recent accomplishments you want to share? / Are there any changes to your resume since you submitted it? /  Tell me about a recent accomplishment that is not in your application.
• Tell me more about 
• Walk me through your resume. (FOLLOW UP)
• Why did you change jobs? / Why have you changed jobs frequently?
• Tell me more about the leadership role you played in (NON-PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITY ON RESUME.)
• What do you do outside work?
• How do you have time for all the things that you do (REFERENCING RESUME)
• Tell me about your job, have your responsibilities changed since your promotion.
• Tell me about yourself, what have you been doing in the last two years.
• What exactly do you do? What have you been doing in your position recently?
• Tell me about something at work you have been proud of in the last year.
• What’s a personal goal that you’ve set for yourself recently?
• Where do see your business heading?

Goals (Not BEI Questions: They did not ask about your goals in the essays, but they can certainly do so in the interview!)

• Why an MBA?
• Why now?
• What do you think about MIT?
• Why did you decide to apply to Sloan? Tell me your thought process.
• What are your professional goals?
• What are two professional goals you've set for yourself?
• What are two personal goals you've set for yourself?

The BEI Questions

While public reports over the last year show a smaller range of questions, based on my own client reports, I do recommend preparing for questions beyond those that are italicized.

Teamwork and Relationships 

• Tell me about a time when a colleague had a different opinion or gave you feedback and how you incorporated that into your approach.
• Tell me about a time when someone challenged your opinion.
• Describe a time when your idea was rejected. How did you feel?
• Tell me about a time when you had to work with people not at your intellectual level.
• Describe a time when you had to manage a conflict. How did you resolve it?
• Tell me about when you had a difficult time with your job.
• How did you manage to resolve a conflict situation and move the team forward?
• Tell me about a difficult conversation you had to have with someone.
• Tell me about a time when you had to present something to someone who you did not like.
• Tell me about a time you had a challenging interaction with someone.
• Tell me a time when you influenced someone
• Tell me about a time when you butted heads with a co-worker/client/employee.
• Tell me about a time when you were part of a team that had poor dynamics/didn’t get along well.
• Tell me about a time when you had to deal with someone who wasn’t pulling his/her weight

Leadership

• Tell me about a time when you mentored someone.
• Tell me about a mentor or someone in your life who influenced you. Describe that influence.
• Tell me about a time when you had to persuade your colleagues.
• Tell me about a time when you set a goal and moved towards achieving it.
• Tell me a time when you thought outside of the box.
• Tell me when you did something innovative.
• Tell me about a time when you were managing someone who did not meet your expectations.
• Tell me about a time when you took the lead on something.
• Tell me about a time you led a team to a solution.
• Tell me about a time when you had to persuade/convince others.
• Tell me about a time you convinced others to follow your plan.
• Tell me about a time when you had to decide among multiple options.

Strengths and Weaknesses

• Tell me about feedback you've received, and how you responded to it.
• Describe a time when you took a big risk.
• Tell me about a recent setback at your current position. What happened, how did you feel and what did you do?
• Tell me about something you’ve done that you’re proud of.
• Tell me about a recent disappointment where you believe you failed or did not do justice to your responsibilities.
• What would recent team members say about what it was like to work with you?
• How would a friend describe you? A client?
•  Tell me about a time when you had to step out from your comfort zone.
•  Tell me about a time you had to ask for help.
•  Tell me about a time you failed.
• Tell me about a time your idea was rejected.
• Tell me about a time when your expectations were not met.
• Tell me about a time when someone needed your help.

Conclusion (Not BEI)

• Any questions for me?
• I’m meeting a lot of people today, what is going to make me remember you?
• What do you wish I had asked you?

 Further Advice on Practicing for MIT Interviews

The map is not the territory!
Clients often want me to read their interview preparation notes. I usually refuse because I think it is a total waste of their money to have me do that.  I believe such outlines are useful for the person doing the preparation, but all I can really evaluate is their performance.  If I have a client with a TOEFL under 100, I might review their scripts because given that they may lack basic English vocabulary for effectively telling their stories. This is not case with the vast majority of my clients, even those with TOEFL scores at the 100 level.
An outline is a map, but in the case of an interview it is really limited map because an interview is all about performance, the territory. You can have the best stories in the world, but if you can’t deliver them effectively, you are dead.

Actual Practice
Depending on your communication skills, available time, and comfort with interviews you may need days or weeks or months to be at your best. Whatever amount of practice you think you need, try to actually do more than that.  One of my clients who had already been admitted to two top schools, did 50 hours of practice on his own to get ready for HBS.  He was successful because he put in enough time actually speaking the answers  to many common questions that he could feel comfortable and confident.  He did just a couple of hours of interview practice with me and one of my colleagues. He was admitted to HBS. I wish all my clients followed this example of extensive self-practice.  While the exact ratio of counseling hours (strategy sessions focused on developing good answers and mock interviews) to self-study will vary, I think somewhere between a 1:5 and 1:20 ratio is ideal.  I am always depressed when a client only does interview practice during sessions with me and then does no practice by themselves because I know they are not maximizing their performance. Like a great musician or actor, you need to internalize your script/notes/outline to perform it effectively. I can best help a client by judging that performance.  Something could look great or horrible on paper, but very much the reverse when actually performed.

How to practice:
1. Speak.  Doing it in your head is not enough.  Actually perform to the hardest audience you will ever encounter: yourself.
2. Record yourself and listen and/or view the results. Note problems and practice more.
3. Speak in front of other people who can give you feedback.  Even if you are using a consultant try to practice in front of other people. This will help make you comfortable having an audience.
4. Have school specific mock sessions, either with a admissions consultant or someone who can at least ask you the questions.
5. Given that the MIT Interview will be either with an admissions officer (Always the case if the interview happens overseas. My International clients have had a much higher chance of interviewing with Rod Garcia than those who were based in the US!) or a contracted interviewer (Usually an MIT Sloan staffer, but not in adcom) who has read your file, you should closely review your own Sloan application.  It is best not to repeat the stories you told in your essays, but feel free to discuss variations based on the same situation. You don’t want to make your interviewer feel like they hearing the same story they already read.

For additional suggestions on interview strategy, please see:

-MBA Application Interview Strategy
-Interview Practice is ABOUT SPEAKING!
-Further Comments on MBA Admissions Interviews 
-General Characteristics of Admissions Officers, Students, and Alumni Interviewers
-Recovering from a bad answer during an MBA admissions interview
-10 Ways to Blow an MBA Admissions Interview
-When to start MBA interview practice? How to prepare?


I know that what I am suggesting might be burdensome and time consuming, but so what?  The whole application process is like that.  And at least with interview practice, you might actually become better at telling stories (Good for making friends!) and interviewing for jobs. Best of luck with your MIT Sloan MBA interview!

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

Short, Medium, and Long-term Planning for Graduate Admission

In this post I discuss graduate degree planning. Whether you are applying for admission to programs with a start this year, next year, in a few years, or maybe in five years or more, having a plan in place increases your chances of success.  While I work mostly with MBA applicants (Clear enough from reviewing my client results), this post is equally applicable to those applying for any sort of graduate program. Beyond MBA (and EMBA), since 2001, my clients have been admitted to a full range of graduate degree programs including Masters of Law (Harvard, Stanford, Yale, Columbia, NYU, Chicago, Northwestern, Berkeley), Public Policy (Harvard Kennedy School of Government), International Relations (Columbia, Fletcher & Georgetown), Finance (London Business School, London School of Economics), Economics (University of Chicago), Engineering (Stanford), Computer Science (Stanford),  Environmental Studies (Yale), and Physics ( Harvard and Stanford). While I work primarily those applying for masters degrees, I have also helped clients gain entry to doctoral programs.  This post draws on the full range of my experience as a graduate admissions consultant.

 Planners and Procrastinators
Let’s start at the end of the process for  submitting applications: Are you a Planner or a Procrastinator? When it comes to applying to graduate school, there are those who plan, are organized, and stick to a timetable that does not involve them pulling an “all nighter”  to get an application in and then there are those who do the opposite and create a situation where they are applying at the last moment. I have worked with both types of clients, though thankfully more of the former than the latter.  When I work with someone who is organized and takes the application seriously enough to give it their best shot, my work is a consultant is at its best because my client has time to implement what I suggest, time to review and rewrite, and even put a draft away and come back to it with fresh eyes. Clients who procrastinate, who must submit first or second drafts, and are more worried about having an answer that is decent rather excellent, are missing the opportunity to submit truly excellent applications.  I am  a results based coach and consultant: I only consider it a win if my client gains admission, not just if I get paid for my work.  The last minute types rarely get results that are as good. I can make fast emergency room type suggestions to make an essay viable, but that is not the way I want to work and it is not the kind of essay I want my clients or anyone applying to graduate school to submit. That is one reason  I think planning is important.

If you are someone who does procrastinate, who tends to submit things at the last moment, and who has gotten away with it, feel free to try your luck again. But sooner or later doing stuff at the last minute will backfire. Especially as you get older, your ability to do  all nighters will decline.  I am 47 and I know this.  If you are trying to produce quality deliverables, working in a panic and with little time to edit will work against you.  Consider the application process an opportunity to alter your behavior so that in whatever career you pursue you don’t find yourself repeatedly in situations where you are doing stuff at the last minute and making careless mistakes. And careless mistakes are so common with hastily prepared applications. As someone who works regularly with reapplicants, one of the most common mistakes I find is an application filled with typos and contradictory information. Such mistakes would have been eliminated had the applicant not been working against the clock.

Make Planning Your Friend
A friend is someone who you like and who supports you. Your plan for graduate school should be like that too.  Don’t make a plan that you can’t keep. You know your own schedule and how much free time you will have for the admissions process. While I don’t have data for non-MBA programs, based on the 2013 AIGAC survey, applicants spent a total of 90-140 hours on their applications including test preparation time, not including any time needed for TOEFL or IELTS preparation.  For those applying to non-MBA graduate programs that require multiple essays such as the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, the total hours would probably be somewhere around 75-125 hours (not including TOEFL or IELTS preparation) because interview preparation is not needed.  For applying to graduate programs that only require a statement of purpose and a GRE or GMAT, the time cou ld be significantly less. Of course, this does not include any time for writing samples or portfolios for programs that require it.

English language preparation can be a significant barrier for some international  applicants, while for others taking TOEFL or IELTS is merely a minor inconvenience.  If you need to further develop your English abilities you should really factor this in to the time you will need. English performance can easily delay the application process by months and in some cases by a year or more.

Being realistic about the time you will likely spend on the process is a core part of coming up with a realistic plan.  Especially for those who are applying in the next admissions cycle, a realistic plan is critical.

In the rest of the post, I will outline short, medium, and long term planning.  In subsequent posts, I will elaborate on the topics mentioned here. Eventually I will hyper link different parts of this post with subsequent and previous posts.

Short Term Planning
If you are less than 12 months away from the deadlines for the school(s) that you will apply to, you will need to engage in short term planning.  A good short term plan typically consists of the following elements:
-Reviewing applications to determine what you need to submit (test scores, transcripts, a resume, recommendations, writing samples,  proof of foreign language proficiency , etc.)
-Planning out a schedule for studying for and taking GRE, GMAT, TOEFL, and/or IELTS as needed.
-Determining whether you need an admissions consultant or otherwise who will review your application content.   Even if you don’t have use an admissions consultant and can’t get anyone with knowledge about the program you are applying to to assist you, have at least someone who you can use for proofreading.
-Determine who you will use as your recommenders.
-Investigate and prepare for any scholarships that might be applicable to you.
-Prepare/update your resume/CV
-Figure out which schools you really want to apply to and investigate them throughly.
-Determine why you need to attend the degree program, why particular programs, and what you intend to do with the degree subsequently (future goals).
-Begin drafting essays once the school releases the essay question(s). For graduate programs other than MBA, you most likely need not wait  because such programs don’t often change their essay content.  It always fine to contact an admissions office to ask if they will be changing their essay question(s).
-Create a schedule with set target dates from completing the above.

In addition, ask yourself what you can do in terms of your professional or extracurricular activities to enhance your candidacy.  If you are only a few months or less from the time of application, it might be hard to start something new that is meaningful, but for those with greater time, it is still possible to add something to your profile. In subsequent posts, I will discuss what might be added even in a limited time frame.

Medium Term Planning
If you are 1-2 years years away from the deadlines for the school(s) that you plan to apply to, you can begin the above short term plan to get an early start.  But given your time frame you can do even more than that. You have time to start new activities to build your experience in order to make you a stronger candidate.  Whether it is taking on leadership roles at work or in extracurricular activities (Good for MBA and MPA applicants especially), conducting research on topic related to the field you want to study, enhancing valuable skills (foreign language skills, quantitative skills, skills related to your future academic and/or professional plans), overcoming a prior weakness in your background (like lack of volunteer or community service), if you are 1-2 years away from applying you have much more of an opportunity to really enhance your candidacy.  Changing jobs might be of immense value for some. For others, it might mean be more aggressive about seeking out leadership opportunities on the job or in extracurricular activities. For others, it might be about getting some international experience.  Whatever the gap or whatever way you wish to enhance your candidacy, you have some time to address it

If you are 1-2 years away from applying, it is really good time to take care of any standardized tests (Just keep the period of validity for the test in mind, so that you make sure your score will be valid when you make application) that you might need to take and also to enhance your foreign language skills if that is needed for the programs you will apply to.

You also have plenty of time to engage in detailed research, including school visits and networking with alumni and/or current students. If you are applying to academic programs for a Masters or Ph.D., you should be reading work by faculty you are interested in studying with.

Long Term Planning
If you are 3 or more years away from applying to graduate school, you really are in a position to do all the things mentioned above, but more than that, you really have the potential to build an extensive track record of activity to enhance your credibility as a candidate.  That is to say, you can really make significant changes to yourself. Do you need to enhance your work experience?  Diversify your experience? Gain new skills?  Develop academic expertise?  Produce high quality writing samples or a portfolio(Typically for creative writing and arts degrees)?  You have the time to do it if you make the effort.

Do you have a general sense that you should pursue a graduate degree, but are unclear about what kind of degree you want?  Now is a good time to begin to figure out what you want. Whether it is through career coaching, degree advising, networking, researching about various options, taking courses in different fields of interest, if you are 3 or more years away from applying, engage in some experimentation and open yourself up to a range of possibilities before narrowing down.

Once you  are certain about what kind of degree you want, ask yourself and others what you can do now to make that degree into a reality.  Getting advice early means that you have the bandwidth to ask a great range of people before reaching any final conclusions. Getting advice early also means you are more likely to be able to act on any advice you decide to follow.

Even if you are three or more years aways from application, set some goals for yourself and break them down sufficiently into a series of steps that are realistic to complete. Don’t overwhelm yourself with goals stated so grandly that you will fail, but also don’t underwhelm yourself. If you are not willing to push yourself now, when will you be ready?

Finally, if you are seeking advice on degree planning, I offer personalized coaching for those in college, recent graduates, and anyone else who is considering an MBA or other graduate degree. To learn more about this service, please see here.

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

Harvard Law School LL.M. Program Deadlines for September 2014

Harvard Law School has announced the LL.M. Program deadlines:
“For the LL.M. class beginning in September 2014, the application deadline is December 1, 2013. (We strongly encourage all application materials be submitted by November 15, 2013.)”

The application form has not been updated yet, but based on the deadline and materials page, it appears that nothing will likely change from last year. I’ll keep checking till the open the application for 2014 and update my HLS application essay post if needed, but applicants looking to start early should  review that post now.

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

Stanford GSB Class of 2016 Essays & Recs just announced

For my Class of 2016 Stanford GSB analysis see these five posts on overall comments, Essay 1, Essay 2, Essay 3, and additional information/resume/employment history/activities. My analysis of Stanford GSB interviews can be found here.


Stanford GSB Admissions on the new application:
“The big news about essay questions for application to the Class of 2016 is that there is no news. Last year, we reduced the number of essays from four to three, and increased the suggested word count in one of the essays. This worked really well, so essay questions are remaining the same as last year.
Bigger changes are taking place in the Letters of Reference requirements. We are streamlining the questions we ask your recommenders—merging two questions on the professional recommendation, and making the last peer question optional. We honed our questions to garner the most essential information needed to evaluate your application. This way, we ask only for what we need and your recommenders' time is well spent.
One other small change to the application: Last year we added a "Just for Fun" question that asked what your favorite food is. We found this made the admission readers hungry, so this year we're asking what your favorite place is instead.”

What this means is my essay analysis from last year for Stanford GSB still applies, but the recs have changed. See my overall comments post on Stanford here which links to entire series for Fall 2013 entry. I will update it all very soon, but if you want to writing your essays for Fall 2014 entry, here are the questions with hyperlinked to my relevant posts:


Essay 1: What matters most to you, and why?

Essay 2: What do you want to do—REALLY—and why Stanford?

Essay 3: Answer one of the three questions below. Tell us not only what you did but also how you did it. What was the outcome? How did people respond? Only describe experiences that have occurred during the last three years.

• Option A: Tell us about a time in the last three years when you built or developed a team whose performance exceeded expectations.
• Option B: Tell us about a time in the last three years when you identified and pursued an opportunity to improve an organization.
• Option C: Tell us about a time in the last three years when you went beyond what was defined or established.

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

A guide to my resources for reapplicants

I wanted to let readers to my blog know about my resources for reapplicants. I think the best place to start is my June 2010 Reapplication for Success Webinar Transcript and Slides.  Also see MBA Reapplication: Why were you dinged? Now what?
For a more introspective take on rejection and recovery, please see The Warren Buffett Club: Thoughts on MBA Rejection.

I love working with reapplicants because they approach the admissions process with a level of commitment, realism, and focus that only the best first-time applicants can match.  Failure is a harsh teacher, but for intelligent people, a great one. For fall 2011, my reapplicant clients obtained admission at HBS, Stanford GSB, Haas, Chicago Booth, INSEAD and Columbia University Law School LL.M as well as number of other programs.

When a client comes to me for reapplication, I typically review one or more their applications and the use that as basis for developing a new set of winning strategies. Most reapplicants are coming to me for the first time, though I have certainly worked with an existing clients who come to me for reapplication after an initial effort has not succeeded. I customize my reapplication service to meet a meet client’s specific needs as I offer reapplication counseling as part of both a one-time service and as part of comprehensive counseling.

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

Harvard Law School LL.M. Essay Questions for Fall 2013

Harvard Law School has "updated" their Master of Law application page for Fall 2010 admission, so I am updating my post Harvard LL.M. program as well.  Actually the application has not changed significantly for years and this is my first major update in about four years. The deadlines: For the LL.M. class beginning in September 2013, the application deadline is December 1, 2012. (We strongly encourage all application materials be delivered by November 15, 2012.)

While almost all my clients are applying to MBA programs,  I have extensive past experience working with applicants applying to LL.M. programs, but generally only work with a small number of applicants per year. For Fall 2012 admission, I worked with 5 clients with 1 accepted at HLS, another accepted at Yale,  2 each admitted to Columbia and NYU, three admitted to Georgetown, and one each to Chicago Cornell, Berkeley and UCLA. For Fall 2011, I worked with only 1 LL.M. client who applied only to Columbia and was admitted. I worked with no LL.M. applicants for Fall 2010. For Fall 2009 admission, I worked with three LL.M. clients, two of whom were admitted to Harvard. You can find their results here.  For me, working with very high caliber LL.M. clients is quite interesting.  Before establishing my own consulting service in 2007, about 30% of my clients between 2001-2006 were LL.M. applicants, but these days, it is a rather limited aspect of my work.  

WHY SHOULD CARE ABOUT HLS EVEN IF YOU DON'T APPLY THERE
I think everyone who applies to top LL.M. programs should think about the Harvard Law School essay questions even if they don't intend to apply to Harvard: 

1. Harvard Law School is the top general LL.M. program. Yale and Stanford are harder to get into, but they are small specialized programs. Harvard has the best name brand reputation of any American university in the world and so does its law school.

2. Not a single one of the LL.M. admits to Harvard I worked with or know about ever rejected it to attend Columbia, Chicago, or other top general LL.M. programs.

3. For applicants who apply to Harvard, it is the hardest application they will likely have to complete. The only other exception might be UC Berkeley because of the need to have a very detailed plan of study, but that is arguable and highly variable.

4. Most importantly, those who apply to Harvard are also applying to the other top programs and many will most likely be utilizing their Harvard content to prepare essays for other schools. The rigorous analytical and legal thinking that makes for great Harvard essays will thus impact not only their chances for admissions at other schools, but all other applicants' chances as well.

5. Therefore even if you don't apply to Harvard's LL.M. you need to apply the same level of intellectual rigor to your essays that a successful Harvard admit would be applying to his or her essays. Since you are competing with those who apply to Harvard, you need to write essays at the same level as required by Harvard.

In summary, Harvard has a more difficult set of essay questions than other LL.M. programs ask and most who apply to Harvard will be utilizing their content for other schools. So, even if you don't apply to Harvard, you should be aware of what some of your strongest competition will be doing. Harvard has four essay questions (Taken from the online application) and gives a total of 1900 words.

The Personal Statement questions (taken from the online application):

Please read parts a. and b. below carefully and write an essay addressing both questions, with part a. constituting at least half of the total length. Footnotes do not count towards the overall word limit as long as they are limited to providing sources and citations. Your entire statement should be no more than 1,500 words—anything exceeding the word limit will be disallowed. Please type or word-process your statement, with your full name on the top of each page and your signature at the end, and attach it to your application.

1. Briefly describe either an important issue in your field of interest or a current legal problem facing a particular country, region, or the world, and then propose a theoretical framework or a legal analysis or strategy to address this issue.
2. Please tell us something about yourself—in particular, why you wish to pursue an LL.M. degree at Harvard and how doing so connects with what you have done in the past and what you plan to do in the future.

Important: Your personal statement must address the above questions specifically, and must be solely the product of your own efforts. We reserve the right to disqualify a statement written by, or with the help of, someone other than the applicant. 

Note: There is a word limit of 1,500 words; please provide a word count at the end of your essay. Please be sure to type or word-process your statement in 12-point font, with at least one-inch (2.5 cm.) margins on each side.

Now while (a) and (b) are the main questions, there are actually two other "essay" questions (taken from the online application):

Please do NOT use ALL CAPS when completing your form. 13. ACADEMIC INTERESTS Please indicate at least two areas of your academic interests by selecting from the options below (a) a general category and (b) within that category, a specific topic. Interest 1: Category:   Business / Commercial Law Civil Rights / Race Relations Constitutional Law Criminal Law & Procedure Employment / Labor Law Environmental Law Family, Gender, Children's Law Finance Govt Structure & Function Health Law Human Rights Intellectual Prop & Cyberlaw Internat'l & Comparative Law Interdisciplinary Perspectives Legal & Political Theory Private Law Procedure & Practice Regulatory Law Taxation  Topic:  Find Topics | Clear Topic Interest 2: Category:   Business / Commercial Law Civil Rights / Race Relations Constitutional Law Criminal Law & Procedure Employment / Labor Law Environmental Law Family, Gender, Children's Law Finance Govt Structure & Function Health Law Human Rights Intellectual Prop & Cyberlaw Internat'l & Comparative Law Interdisciplinary Perspectives Legal & Political Theory Private Law Procedure & Practice Regulatory Law Taxation  Topic:  Find Topics | Clear Topic Interest 3: Category:   Business / Commercial Law Civil Rights / Race Relations Constitutional Law Criminal Law & Procedure Employment / Labor Law Environmental Law Family, Gender, Children's Law Finance Govt Structure & Function Health Law Human Rights Intellectual Prop & Cyberlaw Internat'l & Comparative Law Interdisciplinary Perspectives Legal & Political Theory Private Law Procedure & Practice Regulatory Law Taxation  Topic:  Find Topics | Clear Topic Please tell us why you are interested in these areas and how they relate to your career goals. (Note: Please limit your response to no more than 1500 characters.) 14. CAREER PLANS What are your career plans after you complete your graduate law studies? (Please choose one option from each box) Year 1-3  Law Firm/Solicitor Barrister/Advocate In-House (Corporate Counsel) Law Teaching Research Elected Office Judiciary  Prosecutor Other Government Service International Organization Non-Governmental Organization Business (non-law) Other Non-Law  Year 4-6  Law Firm/Solicitor Barrister/Advocate In-House (Corporate Counsel) Law Teaching Research Elected Office Judiciary  Prosecutor Other Government Service International Organization Non-Governmental Organization Business (non-law) Other Non-Law  Year 7 and beyond  Law Firm/Solicitor Barrister/Advocate In-House (Corporate Counsel) Law Teaching Research Elected Office Judiciary  Prosecutor Other Government Service International Organization Non-Governmental Organization Business (non-law) Other Non-Law  Please elaborate on your plans. In which country (or countries) do you intend to pursue your career? (Note: Please limit your response to no more than 1500 characters.)

Clearly no applicant should duplicate the content they write in essay (b) and in these two shorter questions, yet I believe many applicants do because they treat these two shorter questions as simply application questions and not essay questions. If you think of them as essay questions, you see that, in fact, Harvard gives approximately 2000 words maximum to each LL.M. applicant. This is more than you are likely to write for any law school with the possible exception of schools that don't specify essay length.

Is This One Essay or Two?
Since the two questions are actually divided and you need to have at least 750 words for (a), I have always advised my clients to write each as a separate essay and not a single essay. While the instructions don't absolutely specify that, it would surely make it easier to determine if part a. is at least 750 words if the two parts are separated.  Of course, there should be a connection between the two parts in as much as what you are interested in (a) should relate to what you discuss in (b) as well in terms of your academic interests and career plans.

Now let's analyze the questions:
(a)Briefly describe either an important issue in your field of interest or a current legal problem facing a particular country, region, or the world, and then propose a theoretical framework or a legal analysis or strategy to address this issue.
Question (a) is what makes Harvard's essay different from most other LL.M. applications. It is a real test of your analytical and legal thinking. It is also test of your ability to communicate something important in 750-1000 words. You will probably need at least 500 for (b) and (a) must be at least 750 words long. From my experience the most effective way to write (a) is to:

1. Identify a legal issue that you know really well and can provide a nuanced perspective on. Ideally it should also relate to what you intend to study at Harvard, but at minimum should be a reflection of your best legal thinking.

2. Write a long first draft, say 1000-2000 words.

3. Expect to go through at least four more drafts before it is close to being finished.

4. Show it to a lawyer or other legal expert who can assess whether what you say is actually accurate and impressive. With my clients, I always tell them to do this. Even if I am very familiar with the legal issue my client is analyzing, I ask them to try to get expert advice. If expert advice is not available, find the next best thing, a fellow legal practitioner whose opinion you trust.

5. If you use an admissions consultant, you should ask him or her to assess this essay within the context of your entire application and in comparison to other applicants who were admitted to Harvard. If you are interested in learning more about my services, please see my website.


(b)Please tell us something about yourself—in particular, why you wish to pursue an LL.M. degree at Harvard and how doing so connects with what you have done in the past and what you plan to do in the future.

This is actually a standard question though somewhat different from the standard catchall questions that most other schools ask. The real task is to think what you don't need to include here, which requires looking at the next two essays first, so we will come back to this question.

Academic interests
For most other schools, this would be a standard part of the main question, but Harvard does it a little differently. This means that in (b) you don't have to discuss your academic interests in detail because you will doing it here. In the context of your answer, provide the list they ask for. You can only focusing on two or three areas of legal interest in the application form.  I suggest you come across as someone with a very focused academic plan. Your academic plan at Harvard should be consistent with your future career plans.

Please elaborate on your plans. 
You should use this space to provide a specific career plan. You will have already talked about your future in (b), but at a more conceptual level. Here you should provide details of your future plans.

One thing to keep in mind: HARVARD IS FOR LEADERS. It does not matter if your leadership is as a judge, a prosecutor, a leading attorney in your field, a government expert, a scholar, or an in-house legal counsel, Harvard is looking for people who will make a difference. Your career plan is the place to show how you will use the legal knowledge you acquire at Harvard to become a credit to the legal profession. In (b) you will focus on "why?"

Now back to (b):
(b)Please tell us something about yourself—in particular, why you wish to pursue an LL.M. degree at Harvard and how doing so connects with what you have done in the past and what you plan to do in the future.
Given that you don't need to provide the details of either your academic plan at Harvard or your career plans, there is plenty of room in (b) to focus on what Harvard wants to know:

1.Why do you want an LL.M. at Harvard? Explain clearly the reason(s) for obtaining an LL.M. and at Harvard in particular.

2. Connect to the past: You need to reveal something about yourself, in particular your motivations for pursuing a legal career and need to trace that motivation to your desire to pursue an LL.M. Tell a story that reveals something about you. If you are having difficulty understanding how to do that, I suggest taking a look at my earlier posts on law school essays.

3. Connect to the future: You need to explain why an LL.M. will help you achieve your future goals. The details for that plan will be discussed in your career plan essay. If you are having difficulty formulating goals, please click here.

A great (b) answer should effectively provide the conceptual backbone that connects all four essays because essay (b) is about your past and future motivations as a legal professional. Those motivations should certainly impact what legal issue you write about in (a) as well as your academic plan at Harvard and your future career plans.

Putting together a great HLS application is a time-consuming labor of love, but if approached early enough, it really is manageable.

-Adam Markus

I am a graduate admissions consultant who works with clients worldwide. If you would like to arrange an initial consultation, please complete my intake form. Please don't email me any essays, other admissions consultant's intake forms, your life story, or any long email asking for a written profile assessment. The only profiles I assess are those with people who I offer initial consultations to. Please note that initial consultations are not offered when I have reached full capacity or when I determine that I am not a good fit with an applicant.

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