College Admissions Archives - Consultants' Corner

Choosing Between Multiple Schools

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 warm feeling to my heart that just about melted the huge pile of snow outside my house!

During the late fall and early winter, we’re incredibly busy at Gurufi, helping clients get into their dream schools. But now, our clients are starting to hear back from graduate and medical programs, and the good news we get is fantastic and justifies all the late nights working with them to perfect their personal statements and CVs. But now, many of our clients face a happy dilemma: how do you choose between two good schools?

Though technically speaking picking from among schools isn’t part of my job, I often give clients some advice about this question based on years of experience. Here are ten thoughts on how to pick between schools after you’ve been offered admission!

Ask yourself: do I want to live there? One of the biggest mistakes that I’ve seen people make is to view their graduate school experience as something that they should just endure or merely Not your preferred location? Well… it’s only a few years! That is the wrong approach. If you’re happy, you’re more likely to thrive, make connections, and get the most out of the experience. So, take the school’s location and size into account. Think about whether you want to attend a large or small school and if you want to live in a major city or a small town. Ask yourself, “is this somewhere I could live?” Don’t be afraid to try something new, but listen to what your gut says and ask yourself “could I thrivehere?”

Once again, look into the academics and how well they align with your goals. Especially if you’re trying to decide between comparable programs, take the time to do another “final check,” perhaps even more in-depth than when choosing whether to apply. Check out the instructors and available programs. Check the curriculum to see if it fits your professional objectives, and look into the professors to see if they have any relevant experience or publications. Contact current students and ask them what they love and what they wish they could change. Write down what you think your two years of coursework, training, resources, and extracurriculars would look like.

Okay, fine… take into account the school’s reputation and ranking. I am a HUGE believer in the idea that fit matters more than ranking, but ranking and reputation do matter. Rankings should not be the primary consideration, but they can help you determine the standing of the institution and the caliber of its curriculum.

Think about the alumni and current students you’ve met. By this point, you’ve likely talked to lots of current students and alumni. Once you’ve been admitted, use LinkedIn and other resources that the school provides to have more conversations about the school and its strengths. You’ll likely find that students are even more frank with students who’ve been admitted. Similarly, find out about how active alumni are and the kinds of things that they’re up to. After graduation, a robust alumni network may offer useful contacts and assistance.

Price compare. Usually, schools provide financial aid and cost information a few weeks after admission. Sometimes longer. As soon as you have this information, it’s time to get down to brass tacks. How much are you willing to spend? Importantly, you can also use this period to bargain. Contact the Admissions and Financial Aid offices if you’ve gotten a more generous package from another school, and ask them to close the gap. They won’t always be able to do so, but they often can, and it never hurts to ask! At any rate, once you have some solid numbers, a basic ROI assessment that includes everything from long-term trajectory to immediate salary bumps can help you figure out your next move.

Don’t forget to do a deep dive into local expenses! If you’re comparing, for instance, NYU and Ross, remember to account for the fact that Manhattan is a lot pricier than Ann Arbor.

Listen to your gut… but you don’t have to obey it! Churchill said that “intuition is reason in a hurry.” There’s real truth to this. In 99% of cases, people have a gut-level preference for one school. Begin by acknowledging what this is, and then ask why. Are you a little too enamored with rankings? Did the campus dazzle you? Whatever the reason, ask yourself a follow-up question: is the basis of my gut’s decision rational and good? If not, then be willing to deny your intuition and take a more thoughtful approach. If so, then you know what to do!

Consider the culture and ideals of the school. To learn more about the school’s culture and beliefs and determine whether they coincide with your own, visit the school’s website and go to informational sessions. If this hasn’t been made clear to you, ask somebody. Attending a school where your values align with theirs is vital, so don’t overlook it.

Dig into the data. Now is the time to get even fussier about all of the relevant data that schools keep. What’s their 1-year and 5-year employment data look like? Average salary? Long-term satisfaction rate (or its proxy: alumni giving percentage)? You probably looked at this information during the application process, but now is the time to do it again!

Take into account the school’s inclusion and diversity. A varied and inclusive school may offer a richer educational experience and can also be a positive reflection of the ideals of the institution. And if that touchy-feely stuff doesn’t move you, remember that you’re hoping to thrive within an increasingly global and diverse world, so be sure that you have the background and comfort level to do this!

I hope that you have the happy conundrum of trying to choose between great options! If you’d like to have this problem, then be sure to check us out Gurufi.com! For seventeen years, we’ve helped thousands of clients craft powerful personal statements and attractive CVs. Check us out at Gurufi.com. Our personal statement editors and consultants have decades of experience helping clients get into top medical, law, and graduate programs. We pride ourselves in guaranteeing the satisfaction of every client. Our specialty is helping you craft compelling personal statements that move the needle in your admissions process! For questions, shoot us an email at service@gurufi.com. Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Why Using A.I. to Write Your Personal Statement is a Bad Idea, Part 2

Colleges and universities are freaking out because students are beginning to use ChatGPT to do their academic work. A recent poll of Stanford students found that 10% used it to create homework that they turned in without additional alteration. Now, many people are turning to ChatGPT to craft their personal statements.

This is a mistake.

@gurufi_admissions

OpenAI’s #ChatGPT is an exciting new technology, but it’s not ready to write your #personalstatement … yet. The results are, frankly, boring. #MBA

♬ original sound – Gurufi

OpenAI’s ChatGPT can produce content that is grammatically, syntactically, and structurally sound. BUT, writing a personal statement isn’t a grammar lesson or purely an exercise in basic composition. In short, it needs a human touch and a level of understanding about you, as an applicant, that at present, an AI cannot reproduce. Moreover, personal statements are meant to demonstrate your character, capabilities, and experiences. This implies that they must be particular to you and distinctive. In your voice, from your mind, and reflective of your thoughts and values. Although ChatGPT can create material of a high caliber, it is unable to give it your voice and viewpoint, which is a crucial component of a personal statement.

Second, there are ethical issues with writing your personal statement utilizing ChatGPT. This is an understatement. It is dishonest to have a language model write your personal statement, and if you’re discovered you risk that school telling other schools you’ve applied to. As this video makes plain, schools are investing in high-quality AI-detection software and they are already using them in admissions departments.

Finally, utilizing ChatGPT to draft your personal statement involves some practical issues. Although it might save you time, careful thinking and introspection are still necessary. To create a powerful personal statement, you must reflect deeply on your goals, interests, and accomplishments. If you rely on a computer to do this job for you, your essay can end up being less strong and persuasive.

For more help with your personal statement, check us out at Gurufi.com. Our personal statement editors and consultants have decades of experience helping clients get into top Masters and Ph.D. programs in STEM, humanities, fine arts, and social sciences. Our specialty is helping you craft compelling personal statements that move the needle in your admissions process! For questions, shoot us an email at service@gurufi.com. Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

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DON’T Use ChatGPT to Write Your Personal Statement

This is a mistake.

@gurufi_admissions

ChatGPT’s #OpenAI has been in the news, and Admissions Committees are freaking out! Here’s why you should NOT use it to write your #personalstatement

♬ original sound – Gurufi

For more help with your personal statement, check us out at Gurufi.com. Our personal statement editors and consultants have decades of experience helping clients get into top Masters and Ph.D. programs in STEM, humanities, fine arts, and social sciences. Our specialty is helping you craft compelling personal statements that move the needle in your admissions process! For questions, shoot us an email at service@gurufi.com. Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

Twenty Tips for a Powerful Personal Statement

I used to teach a summer seminar to aspiring MBA, law school, and college students about how to write a powerful personal statement. While transitioning my material to a new laptop, I recently discovered my old notes on “Twenty Quick Tips for a Great Personal Statement.” For many of them, I’ve added some YouTube videos that I did, either for my channel or for GMATClub.

Start early and give yourself plenty of time to brainstorm, write, and revise.
Choose a topic that is meaningful and personal to you, and that showcases your unique perspective and personality.
Begin with an attention-grabbing opening that engages the reader and sets the tone for the rest of your essay… BUT, avoid gimmicks that are over-the-top and don’t feel authentic to you.
Use specific examples and anecdotes to illustrate your points and bring your essay to life.
Use descriptive language and active verbs to convey energy and enthusiasm. Identify passive constructions and “to be” verbs (am, is, were, was, etc.) and work to eliminate as many of them as possible.
Stay focused on the main theme of your essay and avoid veering off on tangents or discussing unrelated topics.
Keep your essay concise and focused. If no specific work limit is given, aim for a word count of around 500-1000 words.
Use transitions to help the reader follow your thoughts and ideas.
Proofread carefully to catch any errors in grammar, spelling, or punctuation.
Show, don’t tell. Use concrete examples to illustrate your points and bring your essay to life.
Avoid cliches and overused phrases, and try to be original and authentic.
Be honest and genuine, and avoid exaggerating or embellishing the truth.
Use a strong, clear voice and avoid using passive language.
Avoid using jargon or technical terms that may be unfamiliar to the reader.
Use quotes sparingly and only if they add value to your essay.
Don’t repeat information that is already included in your application or resume.
Don’t be afraid to seek feedback from others, but be sure to keep your own voice and perspective in the essay.
Use a variety of sentence structures to keep the reader engaged and add interest to your essay.
Conclude your essay with a strong closing that summarizes your main points and leaves a lasting impression on the reader.
Finally, don’t be afraid to be yourself! Admissions committees want to get to know you, so be genuine and authentic in your writing.

For more help with your personal statement, check us out at Gurufi.com. Our personal statement editors and consultants have decades of experience helping clients get into top colleges and universities. Our specialty is helping you craft compelling personal statements that move the needle in your admissions process! For questions, shoot us an email at service@gurufi.com. Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

How to Write About Blemishes in Your Personal Statement

At Gurufi, we help applicants of all backgrounds write powerful and compelling personal statements, but if I had to pick our specialty, it would be helping people with blemishes on their record. Maybe you had a bad first year in college; maybe you got arrested when you were 19; maybe you founded a company right out of college that went bankrupt and lost your investors a ton of money. We’ve seen it all. In nearly every case, we’re dealing with people who stumbled, got up, and rebuilt their lives informed -and even powered by- the lessons they learned from their mistakes.

@gurufi_admissions

Don’t let academic or professional setbacks derail your MBA application! Here’w how to address these concerns in your personal statement. #MBA

♬ original sound – Gurufi

As you look to build your personal statement or write about a blemish in your past, here are five tips to follow:

Be sincere: When discussing flaws in your history in your personal statement, it’s crucial to be sincere and upfront. Don’t speak in vague terms or euphemisms. Being direct, clear, and frank can demonstrate maturity and self-awareness and assist you in giving the reader a more accurate and genuine picture of who you are.

Consider the lessons you’ve learned: When writing about previous transgressions, take into account the lessons you’ve learned and how they’ve helped you become a better person. This might show that you’re able to grow from your mistakes and make progress. A good rule of thumb is that you should look for a 2:1 ratio (lesson learn to describing the mistake) when talking about missteps.

Don’t concentrate on the bad: While it’s vital to acknowledge and talk about previous mistakes, you should try to avoid focusing on the bad parts of the event. Instead, concentrate on the advantages of your development and progress. Make it clear how / why you’re a better person. If you can, provide an example of an instance where you faced a similar challenge and crushed it.

Give particular instances: Give specific examples to support your views and to assist explain the lessons you’ve learnt from prior mistakes. This can enhance your writing’s vividness and interest, as well as assist the reader remember your personal statement longer.

Keep it short: It’s always a good idea to eliminate unnecessary text, but it’s 10x important to keep this section lean and direct. Be succinct and to the point while writing about flaws in your history. Stay away from delving into too much detail or focusing on the unpleasant parts of the encounter. Instead, concentrate on your main points and leave it at that.

Use the ‘Hemingway Rules’ to Build a Powerful Personal Statement

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 more authentic and allow you to connect with your reader on a human level.

@gurufi_admissions

Write a Write a Powerful Statement Using the Hemingway Rules for Writing!230120_Fobi_Be Like Hemingway_4x5_JC_D1

♬ original sound – Gurufi

There are many summations of the Hemingway Rules, but I like this one from the University of Chicago’s International Association of Business Communicators. 1. USE SHORT SENTENCES Short sentences are easier to digest. They make it easier to follow each point of an argument or story. Your job as a writer — or editor — is to make life easy for your audience. Forcing the reader to navigate through a bunch of long, complex sentences is like forcing him/her to hack through the jungle with a machete. Create a nice, tidy path with plenty of short sentences.

2. USE SHORT FIRST PARAGRAPHS

3. USE VIGOROUS ENGLISH Copywriter David Garfinkel describes it like this: “It’s muscular, forceful (writing). Vigorous English comes from passion, focus and intention.” This rule is really a reminder to do your homework and fully understand what you are writing about. It is impossible to write with “passion, focus and intention” without having a real grasp of the subject. In most cases, if you’ve done your homework, you will write with authority and vigor.

4. BE POSITIVE, NOT NEGATIVE Basically, “be positive” means you should say what something is rather than what it isn’t. — Instead of saying something is “inexpensive,” say it is “affordable.” — Instead of describing something as “unclear,” say it is “confusing.” This might seem like a small point, but it’s actually quite important. Being “positive” makes your writing more direct. Whether they realize it or not, readers are turned off by “roundabout writing.”

So, there you have it: eminently practical writing tips from one of the masters — or more accurately, from the Kansas City Star. “Those were the best rules I ever learned for the business of writing,” Hemingway said in 1940. “I’ve never forgotten them. No man with any talent, who feels and writes truly about the thing he is trying to say, can fail to write well if he abides with them.”

For more help with your personal statement, check us out at Gurufi.com. Our personal statement editors and consultants have decades of experience helping clients get into top Masters and Ph.D. programs in STEM, humanities, fine arts, and social sciences. Our specialty is helping you craft compelling personal statements that move the needle in your admissions process! For questions, shoot us an email at service@gurufi.com. Check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.

How to Write About Blemishes, Setbacks, and Failures in Your Personal Statements

After collaborating with hundreds of business school applicants over the past 15 years, one thing that I have learned is that there are many paths to an MBA. Often, these paths are bumpy, circuitous, or unconventional. Yesterday, I had the pleasure of talking to a group of applicants on GMATClub’s YouTube Live broadcast, and I decided to focus that talk on how to overcome blemishes or even big problems in your application.

Midway through, a funny thing happened! My kids escaped from the playroom and decided to investigate what Dada was doing… several times! Like many of you, all of us at Gurufi.com have had to adjust our lives to the realities of COVID-19. Our office in Portland closed because of local restrictions, so we’re all working remotely from home. As my kids ran in (repeatedly) to see what was going on, it occurred to me that this was an excellent lesson for the kinds of challenges we face in life: randomness intervenes, complications arise, family situations suddenly require our attention.

I hope you’ll check out this presentation because it gives some handy advice for how you can account for setbacks, blemishes, and disasters in your life within the context of your Personal Statement. We also touch on how to write a powerful “biggest failure” essay that some schools ask for. The TLDR is:

• You shouldn’t run from your mistakes if it’s something that the admissions committee will know. You need to provide the frame for how they view this.

• “If you can’t fix it, feature it.” For big mistakes, think about how you can contextualize the setback within the broader scope of your life and career in a way that depicts it, not as a failure, but as the first act in a story of success.

• Admissions committees understand that people aren’t perfect. Find ways to make them see you holistically.

If you have questions for Brian, send him a line at service@gurufi.com.

For help with your Personal Statement or other admissions writing, check us out at Gurufi.com! We have a fantastic group of experienced editors and consultants ready to make your application shine!

Tips for Getting a STRONG Letter of Recommendation

Letters of recommendation are a vital part of your application, but people often don’t treat the process like it! Even though your recommender is doing the writer, you still have real work to do in order to make sure that it is a strong letter that advances your candidacy. Here are some hints and insights on letters of rec.

An Insider’s Guide to PhD Admissions Committees From Someone Who’s Been There

If you are applying to a PhD program, it’s important to understand how the admissions process works once your application gets sent. Many people offering expertise on admissions writing come from the world of undergraduate, business school, or law school admissions, but these areas of expertise are of very limited usefulness when it comes to understanding how to approach an application to a doctoral program. To be blunt: while some basic concepts are portable, on the whole an admissions strategy built upon a business school or undergraduate model puts you at an acute disadvantage.

Below are four factors that will help you understand how to approach your graduate school application. For additional questions or to get help with your graduate school personal statement or positioning, be sure to check us out at Gurufi.

1. Professors are the AdCom. Unlike colleges, law schools, and business schools, graduate school departments don’t have dedicated staff whose only full-time position is selecting the incoming class. In most departments, the Admissions Committee is composed of professors in that department, sometimes supplemented by one or a few advanced graduate students or postdocs. As such, you can be assured that you are interacting with high-level experts who understand your subject with comprehensive sophistication and granularity. These means a few things: a) you can feel a bit more free to use jargon; b) you need to know the department’s strengths; c) you should figure out where your department’s professors stand on controversial topics within your field so that you don’t step on toes; and d) you need to write as though you understand the field yourself and are ready, on day one, to do advanced work within it. This last point is really vital. Unlike business school applicants, who don’t need to spend time in their essay discussing the scholarship on, say, leadership, investment, or corporate structures, you need to have at least a paragraph (and probably more) in your essay where you’re engaging with the core questions within the field you’re studying.

2. Grades are important, BUT… One of the things to keep in mind is that departmental admissions committees have a great deal of latitude to admit whomever they want. In fact, except in rare cases, the overall graduate school admissions boards tend just to rubber-stamp the choices made by particular departments. As such, particular departments don’t have concerns about, for instance, maintaining an overall GPA average for the admitted class; they just want to pick the best people who fit the culture and academic strengths. What this means is that, while grades are very important, they’re not the be-all and end-all of doctoral admissions. I recall one instance of a student, who is now a professor at a very prominent West Coast university who had a 1.8GPA in college, but went on to work as a lab tech where he fell in love with neuroscience and in his free time began studying up on the subject. A few years later, he was making substantive contributions to the research of the lab and his advisor urged him to apply for doctoral programs. His advisor wrote him a compelling letter of recommendation that detailed his accomplishments and, despite his disastrous four years of college, was admitted into a dozen of the top doctoral programs, including Harvard and UCSF.

Also, do keep in mind that many departments have different ways of calculating GPA. When I was on the Admissions Committee, we were given a form that included “relevant GPA,” which excluded any grades from the first 1.5 years of college. This is based on pretty sound research suggesting that grades in the first three semesters of a student’s undergraduate career are mostly correlated with the quality of their high school, and not long-term success or ability. This may have changed since, but when I applied to graduate schools, about half of the top programs either didn’t even ask my freshman year grades (there was no spot on the form for them), or I later discovered that the packets produced by the department secretaries simply excluded this information. This can be a huge relief to people who might have stumbled out of the gates but found their academic stride later.

3. The AdCom is very concerned about “fit.”

When the committee met, one of the most frequent conversations that we had about a candidate is whether they were a good fit. This is important for two different reasons. First, the AdCom wants to know if you will actually attend if admitted. Most graduate school cohorts are quite small (usually fewer than 25 people, often fewer than 10), and once admissions are offered, the tables turn a bit and it becomes a scramble for departments to recruit the admitted applicants they see as the top students. So, if the committee is confident you’ll attend, they’re slightly more likely to offer admission to you. This is doubly true if a school perceives that it’s your “safety school.” In my case, I was admitted into all of the top-8 programs I applied to, but didn’t get into the #24-ranked program. I don’t know for certain, but I think it was likely because the committee didn’t think I would go if offered a slot. With this in mind, if there is a school that is absolutely your top choice, say that in your essay or in other communications with the department. BUT, don’t say this to more than one school. First, it’s lying; and second, these professors talk to each other, and there’s a too-high-to-risk-it chance that your rouse will be discovered.

The other way that fit becomes an issue is in discussions about whether your intended area of scholarship actually fits in with what that department does. Note that this is partly linked to the discussion I just referenced, in that we often had conversations that went like, “Jane is interested in applied legal theory, but Stanford’s department is better at that. She’s likely to go there…” But, it was often just a more general assessment of where the candidate might fit in within the department. It’s important to note that sometimes this is a function of how many advisees the professor who would likely serve as your advisor already has.

4. Your potential advisors are consulted… If the committee looks at your application and says, “oh, Jane would likely work under Prof. Sarah,” then do note that Prof. Sarah may be contacted about your application. And, if you do mention (which you ABSOLUTELY should) a professor under whom you are interested in working, the committee will usually contact that professor about your application. Having them say, “yes, Jane’s ideas are interesting and I could work with her” is quite useful for your application. This is why it’s really important to contact your potential advisors before you apply (a VERY brief email + a request for a coffee or telephone call) so that they have the heads-up on your application. Sometimes, they might tell you that they’re not taking graduate students or that you’re not what they’re looking for. This can be disappointing, but it allows you to reframe your admissions strategy accordingly by either selecting other professors or simply scratching that school off your list.

You see that the admissions process for PhD programs is quite different than that used in law schools or business schools. There are additional steps that you need to take and additional things that you need to be cognizant of. It’s its own kind of process, and as such if you decide to get help with your application or with your personal statements, then you need to choose someone who’s aware of how this all works. At Gurufi, all of our consultants and editors have graduated from elite graduate programs and we have experience serving on graduate admissions committees so we know the idiosyncrasies of this process quite well.

How Thanos Can Help You Write a Powerful Personal Statement

Over at Gurufi.com., we’re putting together a short series of videos on how you can use effective storytelling techniques to make your personal statement more engaging. We decided to create this series in order to combat what is the most prevalent problem that I encounter when helping people organize, write, and revise their personal statements: bland essays that feel like narrative versions of the author’s CV.

Many people resort to this style of writing because they either don’t understand what makes for a compelling essay or they’re convinced that they don’t know how to write a good story. To the first point, what I can tell you after having read literally thousands of admissions essays is that the best essays are essays that tell a story. Rather than looking to recount lots of small achievements, they go into depth on just a few (or even one) really important transformative moment. These sorts of stories, when properly deployed, can clarify your positioning as an applicant and make you memorable in a way that a list of accomplishments simply cannot.

So how do you write a compelling story? Well, there are many aspects to this, which our video series will cover, but over the next few weeks, I’ll be describing some of the most important tips and tricks. Today, I’ll start with the most important one: have a good villain. Now, let me be clear about what I’m describing. I’m not telling you to describe a terrible person in your essay, but rather I want you to think about what makes any adventure story or movie good: you have to believe that the good guy might fail. You create stakes by making the obstacle immense, and thus when the hero surmounts it, they show their qualities of strength, guile, intellect, resilience, and maturity.

To use an example, think about the recent two-part “Avengers” movie. In the first part, the villain, Thanos, had to seem invincible, and the audience had to believe that their heroes couldn’t possibly beat him. He was too strong, too smart, and was always two moves ahead of them. Then, when in the second part, the heroes managed to beat him, their story was much more interesting and engaging and the audience was left with far more awe and respect for the heroes.

So how does this apply to writing a personal statement? Far too often, applicants will write about their accomplishments without fully explaining what made those accomplishments so impressive. Take the following examples:

“I led a $15 million purchase of Company A.”

“I spent a month working with HIV orphans in Tanzania.”

“I volunteered for 18 months with a legal aid non-profit.”

If this is all you write, these would be nice additions to your application, but they wouldn’t be fantastic home runs. What these applicants need to do is ask some follow-up questions: 1) why was this work so challenging? 2) What was my hardest day on the job? 3) What was the biggest challenge I faced doing this work? 4) What was the closest I ever came to failing? 5) Why? The applicant could then use these answers to these questions to tell their story in a fuller and more interesting way. For instance:

“I led a $15 million purchase of Company A.”

You can flesh this out by adding some vital points that make clear how hard this was to achieve, such as:

->The deal nearly collapsed because of miscommunication

→ With a midnight deadline looming, I gathered the conflicting parties on a teleconference and worked through each of the sticking points

→ The CEO of the target company refused to budge, and the deal looked dead until I flew to Cincinnati and convinced him to have lunch with me. My coming to his home office established trust, and this laid the foundation for fruitful dialogue that let us complete a win-win deal.

These details, when added thoughtfully into the essay, will make the experience pop off the page in a way that merely describing the end accomplishment could never do.

By going through this process of really focusing on the most difficult and dire moments, you make your contributions stand out and the story becomes both more memorable and a more powerful expression of your strengths as an applicant. The reason is that the reader can feel the difficulty of this situation and recognizes that, but for your efforts, this deal might have failed.

For this reason, I often urge clients never to focus only on the accomplishment. If you feature an accomplishment in an essay, you should first try to make clear why the accomplishment was such a big deal. Your story needs “a villain” to really allow the hero to shine. This “villain” is almost never an actual person / opponent, but rather a set of tough circumstances and unexpected occurrences that you had to overcome, solve, or work around.

Every year, Gurufi.com helps hundreds of applicants get into the school of their dreams. Last year alone, Gurufi clients earned admission into the top business schools in America and around the world, including: Oxford Said, Wharton, Kellogg, Yale School of Management, Harvard Business School, NYU Stern, MIT Sloan, Booth, U Michigan Ross, and Cal Berkeley Haas, to name but a few. For help, visit Gurufi.com or contact them directly at service@gurufi.com