Beat The Round 1 Crunch
Applying round 1 to b-school? Well, the deadline countdown has begun, and earlier than ever for some top schools. Wharton and Harvard are at the front, with round 1 deadlines on October 1. Duke, Columbia, Stanford, Yale, INSEAD, and Ross follow shortly afterwards. Don’t wait until the last minute! Sign up today for Accepted.com’s services or contact your editor to continue receiving Accepted’s comprehensive one-on-one guidance.

Take 2 Webinar Online
Reapplying to business school? The 2010 application season has begun, but this time, make sure you create a better sequel with Accepted.com’s Reapplicant’s Webinar – Take 2. If you missed the live event or simply want to review the information a second time, the recording is now online, together with our two previous MBA Webinars. Feel free to tell your friends, too.

Featured Ebooks
Techie? Consultant? Finance Pro? Here's how you can distinguish yourself from your competition and gain acceptance to a top MBA program. Accepted.com’s specialized guides will help you turn yourself from a "same ol' same ol'" applicant into a distinctive and exciting prospect that will stand out among the masses of your MBA applicant pools. And through September 30, you can save 20% by using coupon code GUIDE on the any of the following three focused guides:

• The Consultant's Guide to MBA Admission
• The Finance Professional's Guide to MBA Admissions Success
• The Techie's Guide to MBA Admissions

• Sept.  2: Yale SOM Q&A
• Sept. 10: Michigan Ross MBA Admissions
• Sept. 16: London Business School
• Sept. 24: Notre Dame Mendoza
• Oct.   1: Columbia Admissions Q&A
• Oct. 12: Cornell Chatter
• Oct. 20: Consortium Application Strategies

• 2010 Wharton MBA Admissions Q&A with J.J. Cutler
• 2010 MIT Sloan MBA Q&A with Rod Garcia & Jen Barba
• 2010 Yale SOM MBA Q&A with Bruce DelMonico

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Blog Posts Of Interest

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Essay Tip

"Connecting the Dots"
You were an English lit major and now want to become a doctor. You were a comp sci major and now want to go into law. Or you were a software programmer and now want earn an MBA in finance.

How can you convince the adcom your background is relevant to your future goals?

Show that your past experience, when combined with your desired degree, prepares you to achieve your goals.

There are two complementary approaches to connecting the dots:

1. Show that your past provides good preparation for your future. After all, doesn't literature really provide an education in human nature and fantastic training in communications—both of which are critical for MDs? Obviously, you also need training in the sciences and the MCAT score, but you should be able to show the connection. And if you want to go into IP law, then your study of computer science will be a tremendous asset and your work on the school's remote control car team is directly relevant.


2. Show that your major or work experience to date has taught you what you don't like as well as what you like. Take the case of the software programmer. Perhaps she learned that she likes to be in more of a strategic than tactical role and that she likes to balance the big picture with small details, but felt stuck exclusively with the small details as a programmer. At the same time, her programming work in financial services and her off-the-job management of family financial affairs for her non-English-speaking parents show that when she says she is interested in financial analysis she knows what she's talking about. She has based her goals on her experience. So if the link between your past experience or academic career and future studies and goals isn't obvious, don't make the adcom readers guess. They won't bother. Connect the dots and ensure that they see that your goals are well thought out and anchored in your experience.

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Wrap Up