Youtube Posts: Adam & Steve Interview Each Other

Adam and Steve are now posting videos at Youtube under the name "GradAdmissionsGurus," but anything we post there will be posted here. In the first two of the videos below, Steve interviews Adam. In the third, Adam interviews Steve. As you can see, we are going for that natural video blog look which is further facilitated by the use of Adam's mighty Xacti. We have not yet mastered the art of video, but thought these were not too embarrassing to show publicly.

Video 1: Adam
Adam discuss why he established this blog, its relation to his admissions consulting business, and why he asked Steve to be a contributor. NOTE: It seems to take longer for this video to load than the next two videos.


Video 2: Adam
Steve asks Adam a mean question about the low number of posts in August and the plan for the rest of the year. The post ends with Steve asking Adam about admissions trends in the US.


Video 3: Steve
Steve is interviewed by Adam about why Steve does admissions consulting, some of the methods Steve uses, and why Steve blogs with Adam.


Now that the introductions are over, our future videos will be more focused on specific admissions issues.

If you have comments about the videos, please either post a comment or email Adam at adammarkus@gmail.com. Yes, Adam knows he needs to go on a diet.

For more about Steve's consulting services, see http://hstevengreen.com/home.html. For more about Adam's, see http://adammarkus.com/.

-Adam & Steve
アダム マーカス
グリーン・ハロルド・スティーブン

http://twitter.com/adammarkus

I am now twittering. Since I will not bore you with my daily routine, you can expect references to articles, the occasional comment, and, if it is logistically manageable, Live Twittercasts from MBA admissions events. While you can find my latest posts on this page (look to your left), you can also do so by joining Twitter or going to http://twitter.com/adammarkus.

Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com.
Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see my recent post on "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant." If you are interested in my graduate admission consulting services, please click here.
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス

トゥイッター ツイッター

Let me hear you! UCLA MBA Essays for Fall 2009

For its Fall 2009 application, the UCLA Anderson School of Business has done something completely unique in the annals of MBA application history (Please someone tell me I am wrong!). They now request that applicants provide a one minute audio response to one of three questions. While it is possible to opt out of this audio option, only someone wanting to commit "application suicide" would do that. WHATEVER YOU DO, MAKE A RECORDING. If your TOEFL iBT Speaking score is weak, this is your best shot at showing you can say something meaningful in one minute. Get a decent recording device, prep your answer intensively, and get this one right if you want to be part of the Class of 2009. After all, no other school asks this question, so UCLA admissions will be able to judge how much time and effort you put into their application. I have more to say about this question below.

Here are the questions and instructions taken from UCLA's website:

The UCLA Anderson Admissions Committee is interested in getting to know you on both a professional and personal level. We encourage you to be introspective, genuine, and succinct. We are more concerned with the content of your essays than their form or style.

All responses to essays must be on double-spaced pages that are uploaded in document form, except for Essay 4 for first-time applicants and Essay 3 for reapplicants, which may be submitted as an audio file instead. (Please note the word limits in parentheses.)

Four required essays:

1. How has your family and/or community helped shape your development? Please include information about where you grew up, and perhaps a highlight or special memory of your youth. (750 words)

2. What experience has had the greatest impact on who you are today and why? (500 words)

3. Discuss your short-term and long-term career goals. What is your motivation for pursuing an MBA now at UCLA Anderson? (750 words)

4. Audio or text: Select and respond to ONE of the following questions. We would like you to respond to the question by recording an audio response (up to 1 minute). If you are unable to submit your response via audio, then please upload a written response (250 words) instead. The supported file types for audio files are: .avi, .wav, .mp3, .wmv, .midi, .wma, .aiff, .au, .mp4

a. What does entrepreneurial spirit mean to you?
b. What global issue matters most to you and why?
c. What is something people will find surprising about you?

5. OPTIONAL: Are there any extenuating circumstances in your profile about which the Admissions Committee should be aware? (250 words)

The first thing you should notice about this set of questions is its emphasis on personality. It is fair to say that it is almost the total opposite of application like Columbia Business School's that has a focus on work-related topics. It would indeed be possible to write UCLA's entire set of questions without including a standard "leadership" or "greatest work accomplishment" essay. It is worth considering what UCLA says about its admission criteria:
The Admissions Committee evaluates applicants? prospects as leaders in management and their projected ability succeed in, benefit from and contribute to the UCLA Anderson MBA Program. Committee members carefully consider personal and academic background information, GMAT scores, TOEFL scores (for most international applicants), achievements, awards and honors, employment history, letters of recommendation, and college and community involvement, especially where candidates have served in leadership capacities. The Admissions Committee seeks to create a community of students who bring unique contributions from their diverse backgrounds and experiences and who will collectively enrich the educational experience.

UCLA is very focused on understanding your ability to make a contribution to their community. This very much at the center of the education they offer and how how they differentiate their program:

Student life at Anderson is exceptional, highlighted by:

• Challenges: Whether it?s tackling the intricacies of corporate strategy, leading a student initiative, or climbing a nearby mountain, students will be tested by both the academic rigors of UCLA Anderson and development activities outside of class.
  
• Values: The values of UCLA Anderson set it apart from other schools. By working with professors and administrators, students forge a community that values learning, teamwork and research-based practical knowledge
  
• Collegiality: The hallmarks of student life at Anderson are compassion, mutual respect and support, which students demonstrate toward one another. The UCLA Anderson community is built on the collective strengths of our diverse student body.
  
• Access: The network of personal relationships and industry contacts that students develop while attending UCLA Anderson and after they graduate is arguably as important as the academic degree they earn. Countless opportunities exist for students to connect with individuals, business and community outside the classroom, and for alumni to stay in touch with the school, faculty, fellow alumni and current students.
  

I mention all of the above because I think it is quite helpful in understanding what UCLA is looking for: Highly collaborative, community-oriented individuals, who are great at networking. The Anderson School is also very focused on entrepreneurship. You should most certainly look at the Harold and Pauline Price Center for Entrepreneurial Studies webpage.

1. How has your family and/or community helped shape your development? Please include information about where you grew up, and perhaps a highlight or special memory of your youth. (750 words)
While UCLA does not ask a standard contribution question like Kellogg does, this question, which for years has been the "UCLA Question" should help admissions understand who you are and what you can bring to their community. While the question does not require to only focus on your youth, it certainly requires that you emphasize the past.

While there is the potential for overlap with Essay 2 (see below), I will suggest below about how you can avoid that.

Use this essay as way to help admissions understand who you are and where you come from. This might take the form of personality traits connected to your parents, values connected to the community you were raised in, and/or core skills that you can trace to your youth.

Given the length, I suggest providing two to four "stories" including at least one about yourself (a highlight or special memory) that will help admissions understand who you are. The other stories may be about you, your family, or other aspects of your background that will demonstrate who you are.

It is not necessary to be explicit about how you might make a contribution at Anderson, but it is important that you tell stories and analyze them so that the adcom will really understand what you could contribute. Therefore, it is critical that you just don't tell stories, but you provide a very clear interpretation of them in order to highlight what makes you a unique individual.

You need to think carefully about what will work here. Always ask yourself whether what you are telling admissions will really help them understand why you should be a part of their community.

2. What experience has had the greatest impact on who you are today and why? (500 words)
As I mentioned above, there is the potential for overlap between questions 1 and 2 because it is certainly possible that the experience that had the greatest impact on you occurred in your youth, but even if that is case, I suggest you don't do that. Instead, think about Essay 1 as focused on your past and Essay 2 as focused on your present. I suggest you focus in Essay 2 on an experience that has a connection to your future professional objectives.

Think of Essay 2 as story that will serve as your bridge to the future you will write about in Essay 3. The possibilities here are great, but think about that one story that will really help UCLA know who you are. This essay could take the form of a leadership experience, a mistake that you greatly learned from, and/or an accomplishment.

Whatever you write about, keep in mind that "why" of the question is at least as important as the "what." Make sure that you provide a strong interpretation of why this particular experience has had the greatest impact on who you are.

3. Discuss your short-term and long-term career goals. What is your motivation for pursuing an MBA now at UCLA Anderson? (750 words)
As I mentioned above, this question is focused on the future. Rather than repeat much of what I have previously written about other versions of this question, I would suggest that you look at my analysis of Kellogg 1, Stanford GSB Essay B and Chicago GSB Essay 1 as much of what I write about those schools can be applied here.

A great Essay 3 will clearly answer the "Why now" aspect of the question without focusing too much on past experience. One core focus of this essay should be on how being a part of Anderson's Class of 2011, will contribute to your intended professional future. Make sure that your motivations for pursuing that future are clearly stated in this essay and perhaps explained further elsewhere in your essay set.

UCLA puts great emphasis on applicants demonstrating that they have become informed about The Anderson School, so I strongly suggest that you visit if you can, but at least attend one of their admissions events. Getting in contact with UCLA alums would also be helpful. At a minimum, learn as much as you can from their web page. You really need to convince adcom that you know what you need from UCLA for your future goals. If you have the word count do so, you may also want to address what you can contribute. Japanese applicants should most certainly take a look at The Japan America Business Association (JABA) page.

4. Audio or text: Select and respond to ONE of the following questions. We would like you to respond to the question by recording an audio response (up to 1 minute). If you are unable to submit your response via audio, then please upload a written response (250 words) instead. The supported file types for audio files are: .avi, .wav, .mp3, .wmv, .midi, .wma, .aiff, .au, .mp4

a. What does entrepreneurial spirit mean to you?
b. What global issue matters most to you and why?
c. What is something people will find surprising about you?
I have already mentioned that I COMMAND you to send them an audio recording! If you are technologically challenged, get someone's help. Unless you lack vocal cords, I am not sure what excuse you could have.

Basically they are asking you to write and deliver a one minute speech. Structure your answer so that you are clearly answering one of the three options and that you make a clear point. If you think about it, this is a great way to test an applicant's ability to say something meaningful in the amount of time that one might typically make a comment in a class. My suggestion is that you practice enough so that it does not sound like you are simply reading a piece of paper. Record yourself a few times until you are happy with the result.

a. What does entrepreneurial spirit mean to you?
As I mentioned above, UCLA has a strong entrepreneurial focus, so if your goals are specifically entrepreneurial, this is a great question to answer. My suggestion is to pick one or possibly two specific values or qualities and brief example to explain what entrepreneurial spirit means to you.

b. What global issue matters most to you and why?
For those with an international, environmental, or social responsibility focus to their personal or professional goals, this is a great question to answer. Keep in mind that the "why" is just as important as the "what," so don't become overly focused on the global issue itself. Make sure that adcom understands why this issue is so important to you that you are using one of your precious essay questions for it.

c. What is something people will find surprising about you?
This question is a great opportunity to balance out the rest of your application. Is there something really important about you that would not be clear from your application form, essays, resume, and recommendations? Is there something you really want to emphasize about yourself? Here is the chance to do that. Unless a professional topic would reveal something surprising about you, I don't necessarily think this question lends itself well to most work-related topics. Otherwise, the options here are wide open. As with option b., just make sure that adcom understands why this issue is so important to you that you are using one of your precious essay questions for it. Finally, make it surprising! If it is obvious from your application, it will bore them.

5. OPTIONAL: Are there any extenuating circumstances in your profile about which the Admissions Committee should be aware? (250 words)
This is a nice open-ended version of the standard "anything negative" optional essay. If everything is good, you don't need to write this one. If it is not, I suggest doing so. See my comments regarding Chicago GSB's optional question as they apply here.

Questions? Write comments or contact me directly at adammarkus@gmail.com.
Please see my FAQ regarding the types of questions I will respond to. Before emailing me questions about your chances for admission or personal profile, please see my recent post on "Why I don't analyze profiles without consulting with the applicant." If you are interested in my graduate admission consulting services, please click here.
-Adam Markus
アダム マーカス

UCLA カリフォルニア大学ロサンゼルス校 のビジネススクール

HOW TO WRITE A STRONG STATEMENT OF PURPOSE

This is the second of two posts on writing statements of purpose by Steve Green. The first post is here. To learn more about Steve's graduate admission counseling services, please click here.
-Adam

Below are some of my suggestions for writing a strong statement of purpose. Please read my previous post on SOPs before reading this one. The first four are based on my methods for reading client essays.

1. Make it believable: Do not exaggerate your claims or knowledge or try to make them sound “bigger” than what they are

2. Make it personal: Even someone who knows nothing about your field (which will include members of the adcom, as I’ll explain below) should be able to understand why it interests you and what you want to do in it. You should:

• Select specific experiences from your own life and studies in order to…

• Show how you came to wish to devote your career to a particular field

You should not:

• Write a lecture about a particular topic in your field: this essay is first and foremost about YOU

3. Make it persuasive: The primary task of an essay is to convince the admissions committee to accept you. You should:

• Demonstrate how you will be a successful graduate student

• Show how you will achieve your post-graduation goals.

• Illustrate your fit with a particular program

4. Make it easy to understand: Some of the adcom members who read your essay will be people who are not in your field of study. Therefore, you must write for an audience of non-specialists, which, frankly speaking, you probably are yourself. You should:

• Strive for clarity: Make sure your real intentions are clear

• Avoid jargon from your field

• Write like you speak in a classroom: avoid slang as well as rarely used “impressive-sounding” vocabulary

• Avoid humor, unless it is gentle and obvious (and even in that case have someone you trust read it to make sure they find it obviously, and gently funny.)

• Avoid sounding angry, bitter, or vengeful, etc.

5. Make it unique: As discussed above, you should organize your essay around demonstrating your distinguishing characteristics.

6. NO EXCUSES! It is best to avoid discussing any potential weaknesses in your essay, particularly if they are in our GPA and or test scores. After all, the adcom will see these facts as well as read your SOP and will draw their own conclusions. They certainly do not need or want you to tell them, “My excellent test score and not GPA is the best indicator of my ability,” and, besides, the opposite could also be true.

Advising clients on their SOPs is my primary responsibility as an admissions consultant. I recommend that you consider working with me, or any of my highly qualified peers beginning with myself, or Adam. The advice of an objective, but experienced reader is invaluable when working on drafts of your statement of purpose. If you do not choose to work with a professional admissions consultant, I hope you will find someone who can read and comment upon your essay drafts regularly and honestly.

Good luck and remember: This process really will help prepare you for graduate school.

For questions regarding this post, please contact me at h.steven.green@gmail.com. To learn more about my graduate admissions consulting services, please click here.
- H. Steven ("Steve") Green, グリーン・ハロルド・スティーブン

大学院留学 カリフォルニア大学バークレー校 マクスウェルスクール シラキューズ大学 大学ケネディスクール

STATEMENT OF PURPOSE FOR GRADUATE DEGREE APPLICATIONS

This is the first of two posts on writing statements of purpose by Steve Green. The second post is here, but read this one first. To learn more about Steve's graduate admission counseling services, please click here.
-Adam

This post is for anyone applying to a graduate school program that requires a statement of purpose (also referred to as personal statement, statement of intent, etc.) For detailed advice on MBA essays, please read my colleague Adam’s many excellent posts on the subject. Additionally Adam has posted his analysis of the essay questions for Harvard Law School's LL.M. program.

In this post I provide detailed advice for how to write a strong statement of purpose (SOP). My advice is based on working with successful applicants to graduate programs in economics, electrical engineering international affairs, physics, public policy & administration, sports management, and statistics.

I will provide advice for master’s degree and for PhD applicants.

REMEMBER: You should carefully read the application instructions for each school to which you are applying. Depending on the school, the program and the field, there can be a wide variety of expectations about what applicants should write in the statement of purpose.

The statement of purpose for a graduate program arguably is the most important component of your graduate application.　　Here’s why:

1. The SOP is the only chance for an admissions committee (“adcom”) to see how you think, and how you write

2. Great test scores & a great GPA will not be enough if your SOP is weak. On the other hand…

3. A strong SOP can overcome weak test scores and/or a low GPA: The SOP is a way to overcome potential weaknesses in the objective components of your application by demonstrating, without you stating so explicitly, that one or more objective components of your application are not the best indicators of your abilities.

Think of the statement of purpose as your first writing assignment for graduate school: Everyone is asked the same question and evaluated by how much specific detail they can utilize to support a main point, and by how well they organize their thoughts.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Before writing

II. Understanding the statement of purpose

III. How to write a strong statement of purpose

I. BEFORE you begin writing the first draft of your SOP, you should do the following:

1. Determine your specific career goals. For a way to think about that, see one of Adam's earlier posts.

2. Prepare your resume or CV. See my earlier post on how to do so.

3. Choose several accomplishments from your resume/CV to write about in your SOP (The number will depend upon the length of the essay.) Choose accomplishments that:

   • Illustrate the strengths that will help you to succeed in graduate school. These typically include skills in text and/or data analysis, organizing, time-management, leadership, communication and, writing, demonstrated academic excellence such as a high GPA and/or scholarships, among others.

   • Highlight different skills, i.e. do not use different accomplishments that illustrate the same strength.

4. Decide how you can distinguish yourself. Assume that everyone applying to the same programs is as qualified as you. (After all, everyone who is accepted will, as will be many who are not accepted.)

What makes you unique?

• Think about this in terms of marketing yourself: Figure out how to stand out in a field of qualified applicants. From my experience of working with successful applicants to graduate programs some possible unique selling points include international experience, such as working or studying abroad, extensive professional experience, internships as a university student, academic excellence, publications, and even unique post-graduation goals.

• REMEMBER: The point of your SOP is to demonstrate in detail how what makes you unique will enable you to:

  • Succeed in graduate school.

  • Contribute to the value of your fellow graduate students’ education and, when combined with a degree,

  • Succeed professionally

5. FOR PH.D. APPLICANTS: In addition to the points above, you will also need to describe a particular area of research you are interested in pursuing. For PhD programs, the SOP is also a test of whether you can at least formulate a research question. Many programs publish titles of the dissertations by successful graduates, which can give you an idea of the kind of research pursued in different departments.

   • Your goal is to show you seek to solve a particular problem or answer a particular question: You should not merely discuss some area of interest.

   • Be as specific as possible about what you want to research and study

   • Find out what each program expects from applicants in the SOP

II. UNDERSTANDING THE SOP:

First, read the sample SOPs below, which are taken from the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia and from the UCLA Master of Public Policy program. These SOPs ask for essentially the same information and are representative of graduate school SOPs universally: You will not find much variation in application essay topics BUT you should check each program’s procedures carefully.

• Please describe how your academic, professional, and personal background has influenced your decision to pursue a graduate degree from SIPA. How and why will the pursuit of a degree at Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs assist you in achieving your professional goals? Please be specific as possible concerning your goals and limit your response to no more than 850 words.

• Write a Statement of Purpose describing your background, interest, and qualifications for the MPP program. If you use more than one page for your statement be sure to number the pages and include your name on each page. Your SOP should not be longer than 3 double-spaced pages or approximately 750 words. (UCLA’s MPP program)

Taking these SOPs as representative samples, we can break down the SOP into three core parts: your background, your interest in a program and your professional goals. In the second example above, “interest” can be interpreted to mean interest in the UCLA program as well as professional interests (i.e. goals) and “qualifications” means applicants should provide specific details about why they fit the UCLA MPP program.

I’ve divided the next three sections of this post into one each for the core parts.

1. Your background:

You should:

• Highlight only those factors from your professional, personal and academic background that are relevant to the task at hand (i.e. getting into a graduate program of your choice) and that reflect your strengths and the development of your interest in the field.

  • Decide what you will emphasize from BOTH your academic and professional backgroud

• Be able to highlight at least one accomplishment from your academic background, whatever your major was. This can include an overall high GPA, high grades in courses related to your graduate study, participation in a selective seminar, academic awards or merit-based scholarships.

• If you are currently working in your field, e.g. are already working in public service but seek and MPA or MPP then you should:

  • Highlight your specific professional accomplishments as well as relevant academic accomplishments

• If you are currently working in a different field from the one in which you seek a graduate degree then, in addition to highlighting your academic strengths, you should discuss in detail how you achieved particular professional accomplishments. MOST SKILLS ARE TRANSFERABLE! Even if you are working in a field that is unrelated to the one you wish to enter after graduation, you probably use certain skills in your work that will enable you to succeed in graduate work.

• AN EXAMPLE: One of my successful clients entered the graduate program of her choice in international affairs and diplomacy, although she had majored in communication in college and had worked for five years as an analyst for the financial arm of a major bank. She wrote in detail about how she achieved success in her work through superior analytical abilities and time-management skills and suggested she would apply these skills to her new interest of study.

• If you are currently a university student, then emphasize your academic achievements in detail as well as any extra-curricular activities in which you developed skills relevant to graduate success. Even if the activity itself does not seem related to graduate study, such as a sport, or even a part-time job that you worked at for 20 or more hours weekly, the fact that you pursued it diligently while maintaining a high GPA says a great deal about your ability to manage your time, which is an important skill.

  • Current students should also discuss in detail activities such as internships, volunteer work, study abroad or workshops/events you organized or joined, e.g. Model U.N.

• If you are applying for a PhD program then you should emphasize your interest in a particular academic subject in your field and how you came to it, i.e. focus on particular coursework or experiences that introduced you to the topic, cite specific authors if you can.

You should NOT:

• Write a biography, chronology of your life or prose version of your resume.

• Discuss anything prior to entering university UNLESS it is directly relevant to your current goals. FOR EXAMPLE: In my experience, some applicants to psychology programs write movingly and logically about the impact the mental illness or emotional troubles of someone they when they were younger knew affected their lives and their decision to enter the field. REMEMBER: If there is not a clear and continuous thread between the event and your decision to apply now, then NEVER talk about anything prior to your undergraduate studies.

REMEMBER:

YOU NEED TO DISTINGUISH YOURSELF.

WHAT ARE YOUR GREATEST STRENGTHS?

2. Your interest in a particular program

You should:

• Demonstrate fit: Explain in detail why the program to which you are applying is the BEST means to your goals. See my earlier posts on selectingMPA/ MPP Programs for more about fit. Topics you should discuss include:

• Specific courses, i.e. the skill & knowledge you need to achieve your professional goals

• Dual-degree or interdisciplinary coursework opportunities

• Unique opportunities outside the classroom, e.g. fieldwork, internships

• The desire to work under the guidance of a particular faculty member (if applicable: This is often the case for PhD applicants but usually not for Master’s degree applicants.)

REMEMBER:

No graduate admissions committee will accept you if they do not believe you actually want to study at their particular program. TAKE THE TIME TO LEARN THE SPECIFIC ATTRIBUTES OF EVERY PROGRAM TO WHICH YOU PLAN TO APPLY

3. Your professional goals

Here’s one-question, pass-or-fail test:

“After earning a degree in (field of your choice) I aim to begin working as

a/an _________ at _____________.”

If you cannot provide a job title and organization name above, then you have “failed” this test and may not be ready to apply to graduate school right now.

If you are applying to a 1-2 year graduate school program now, then 1-2 years from now (late summer, 2008) you will probably begin job hunting. If you do not have a specific career vision in mind right now, then you may not actually be ready to start graduate school.

Keep in mind that you are free to change your mind AFTER you are accepted, but right now you need to make a convincing case that the graduate degree is the next logical step to a specific career goal.

Graduate school reputations are not based not only on the caliber of students accepted to the school, but also on the career paths pursued by graduates.

In this part of your essay, you should:

• Explain a specific job title, level of authority and name or type of an organization or institution where you wish to work

• Illustrate that, combined with your existing academic/professional strengths, the degree AT THIS PARTICULAR SCHOOL is the best possible means to reach your professional goals

You should not:

• Present vague goals, e.g. a plan merely “to work in the field of international development.”

• Present lofty goals that are unrealistic for any new graduate degree holder, e.g. a plan to be the Secretary General of the United Nations immediately or within a few years of graduation

REMEMBER:

YOUR GOALS SHOULD BE SPECIFIC & REALISTIC

In my next post, I will discuss how to write a strong statement of purpose.

For questions regarding this post, please contact me at h.steven.green@gmail.com. To learn more about my graduate admissions consulting services, please click here.
- H. Steven ("Steve") Green, グリーン・ハロルド・スティーブン

大学院留学 カリフォルニア大学バークレー校 マクスウェルスクール シラキューズ大学 ハーバード大学ケネディスクール コロンビア大学の国際関係・公共政策大学院（通称SIPA)