It is with great pleasure that I welcome our three new editors:

• Catherine Cook served on the Duke University Law School Admissions Committee and also has previously worked with Accepted. She has published two books and numerous articles. Her clients have been accepted to top law and business schools including Columbia, Dartmouth, Stanford, Penn, NYU, Boston U, Duke, Georgetown, Northwestern, Boalt, and UCLA, among others.
  
• Dr. Katherine Kidd has advised hundreds of students through their undergraduate careers and on to their graduate education in her capacity as professor and director of two undergraduate international studies programs. Her former students have been awarded Fulbright Scholarships to study in Bahrain, Venezuela, South Korea, China, and France among other countries, and her advisees have been accepted at top graduate and professional schools including Yale, Tufts, Columbia, Georgetown, American, George Washington, New York University, the University of Washington and the London School of Economics. Dr. Kidd has a masters from Harvard and a Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania.
• Dr. Rebecca Blustein served in UCLA's Scholarship Resource Center from 2004 - 2008. There she helped hundreds of students craft winning applications and personal statements, for everything from small departmental essay prizes to prestigious international awards such as the Fulbright.  Dr. Bluestein has a Ph.D in English and Comparative Literature from UCLA and taught composition courses at UCLA.

Two reminders:

1. Today is the last day of our current price structure. Tomorrow these prices will be history as new, higher prices go into effect. Buy today to beat the price increase.
2. The first MBA Mojo contest ends today. Test your MBA admissions knowledge. Win prizes. There will be another set of questions posted tomorrow.
   

UNC Kenan Flagler 2009 Deadlines

   Application Deadline       Decisions Released

Early Action  Oct 24, 2008        Dec 15, 2008

Round 2         Dec 5, 2008         Feb 9, 2009

Round 3         Jan 9, 2009          Mar 23, 2009

Round 4         Mar 13, 2009        May 4, 2009

* Application Due by Midnight EST

UNC Kenan Flagler 2009 MBA Essay Questions

My comments are in red.

UNC Kenan-Flagler encourages you to assess your known talents and potential skills, understand your personal style, and confirm your values and interests. If you do this prior to beginning your MBA studies, you will be better equipped to navigate the many options the MBA program will provide. There is not enough time to do all the activities and take all the courses that will be available to you. It is important, therefore, to make your choices based on your own development plan. Think of the UNC Kenan-Flagler MBA application as a first step toward uncovering the unique attributes and goals that will inform your development plan. Please be thoughtful and reflective in your answers.

Essay One (Required)
What are the 2 or 3 strengths or characteristics that have driven your career success thus far? Do you have other strengths that you would like to leverage in the future? (500 words maximum)

Rather than list Strength 1, Strength 2, and Strength 3, I recommend you start with an anecdote that illustrates ideally 2-3 or your strengths and then analyze how they have contributed to your career success. Remember to describe your achievement in terms of impact and quantify as much as possible. Another approach: Describe the accomplishment anecdotally and then go into the characteristics that contributed to it.

In both cases, also include a paragraph about a trait that you would like to use in future projects and successes.

Essay Two (Required)
Briefly describe the career path you intend to pursue immediately after b-school. Explain why this career option appeals to you and why an MBA is appropriate at this time. (500 words maximum)

What do you see yourself doing immediately upon graduation and for the first five years after you graduate? Based on UNC's instructions, you need to have a clear direction and goal when you arrive or you will be lost. Describe why this path attracts you. What experiences have convinced you to pursue it? Why do you need an MBA, especially one with UNC's  approach to business education, to proceed down your chosen path.

Essay Three (Required)
What personal qualities or life experiences distinguish you from other applicants? How do these qualities or experiences equip you to contribute to Kenan-Flagler? (500 words maximum)

Everyone has a story. What's yours? What makes you unique? What hobbies and experiences will differentiate you from the IT guy, consultant, real estate developer, or banker that the adcom just read about? How will your perspective contribute to the classroom and community at Kenan-Flagler?

Essay Four(Required)
What do you expect from your MBA program? How and when will you measure the return on your investment in the MBA?
(500 words maximum)

What do you want from your MBA program? Thoroughly go through UNC's web site and see where its features match your requirements.  Let this essay reflect your research, not by spitting back the copy and videos on the web site, but in a deeper way  -- discuss the Kenan Flagler values and strengths that you identify with most strongly.

In terms of ROI, you can measure ROI in terms of money, but I don't believe that UNC is talking exclusively about financial ROI. Like most business schools, it places enormous emphasis on developing leaders. It is proud of its 4-point process and 360 degree feedback.  It is a general management program that makes extensive use of the case method and small teams for learning.  Without ignoring the greenbacks, also talk about ROI in terms of personal development.

Essay Five(Optional)
If your GMAT quantitative score is low, or if you have not had coursework in calculus, microeconomics, statistics and financial accounting, please tell us how you plan to prepare yourself for the quantitative MBA curriculum. (300 words maximum)

This is pretty straightforward. Just answer it.  You may also want to highlight professional preparation that you have already had in quantitative areas.

Essay Six(Optional)
Is there anything else you think the Admissions Committee should know about you in order to evaluate your candidacy?
(300 words maximum)

font color="#cc0033">My favorite: The optional question. A gift allowing you to give the adcom one more reason to admit. you.

If you would like help with UNC's Kenan-Flagler essays, please consider Accepted.com's MBA admissions consulting and editing services.

GMAC published "Applications Rise at Business School Worldwide"  today with impressive stats about the just concluded 2008 MBA admissions season. A few highlights:

• "Among full-time MBA programs participating in the 2008 GMAC Application Trends Survey, 77 percent - the highest level in five years - said they saw application levels increase. This compares with 64 percent in 2007 and reflects the second-largest year-over-year surge in applications to full-time MBA programs since the survey was first conducted by GMAC in 2000."
• Part-time and EMBA programs also reported increases, but not at the same torrid pace.
• "The GMAT was administered 246,957 times during the testing year that concluded June 30, 2008, representing the busiest testing year ever for the exam."

The Wall St. Journal reports today that US New & World Report, which publishes the much watched and reviled law-school rankings, is considering changes to its rankings formula. These changes could have serious consequences for law schools and students.

The front-page article "Law School Rankings Reviewed to Deter 'Gaming' " claims that many schools are 'gaming" the rankings by using part-time programs as back doors into law school for applicants who may bring down their ranking.

Part-time students' stats have not been considered in the rankings and are generally lower. The part-time students frequently become full-time students during the second year, when their stats will not be considered by US News. That policy--or loophole--may disappear according to Robert Morse, director of data research at US News. The WSJ writes,

"Counting part-timers would roil the law-school rankings, which have a big impact on where students apply and from where law firms hire. A number of law-school administrators interviewed about the potential change contend it could have another effect: narrowing a traditional pathway to law school for minorities and working professionals."

Use the rankings for the data. Rank the schools for yourself.