I recently reviewed an essay that had so many metaphors in one sentence, I suffered from image-overload. As the pictures floated, clashed, and overlapped in my mind's eye, I struggled to understand the writer’s point. I alternated between a headache from the conflicting images and side-splitting laughter because the combination occasionally was quite funny. Those metaphors failed, however, as tools of communication; they simply confused and distracted me.

The next day I spoke with a friend who raved about a speaker who powerfully used "the fourth wall," a concept from the theater, as a metaphor for her relationship with those around her. The listener was able to repeat the main points from the speech with no difficulty because that image made the speech visual and memorable (no PowerPoint). Furthermore, the metaphor provided the speaker with an anchor and structure for her entire speech. Clearly the metaphor assisted both the listener and the speaker.

An effective metaphor can serve as a foundation and frame for your essay, allowing the reader to visualize or experience your theme – a major achievement if you are dealing with an intangible topic, as most of you do.

A few key tips for using metaphors:

• Less is more. Don’t overdo it.
• Keep them simple, few, and consistent.
• Make sure they illustrate the point you are trying to make.

For more information, please see:

• Metaphors in your Personal Statement and Application Essay
• Lively Language
• Metaphors

Welcome to a busy week at Accepted! MBA Admissions Interview Month ends with a bang this week.

• The MBA Admissions Teleseminar. Take advantage of this opportunity to speak to MBA interview experts for free. The Teleseminar is this Wednesday November 28 at 10:00 AM PT/1:00 PM ET/6:00 PM GMT at your local, handy-dandy telephone. Please register to reserve your place and obtain call-in instructions.
• MBA I.V.: Mainline to Top MBA Programs is Accepted's featured ebook this month. With tips and advice on preparing for your MBA admissions interview as well as comprehensive lists of frequently asked questions organized by school, you don't want to walk into an interview without it. It's 20% off through Friday Nov. 30.
  
• MBA Interview Feedback Database. New reports from schools including HBS, Kellogg, Chicago, Duke, and Columbia are pouring into the database. So be sure to check it out before you interview. And after you interview, please contribute your report to share your interview experience. Doing so automatically enrolls you in our It's a 10! contest.
  
• Beautiful B-School Photo Contest.   If your interview entails a school visit, take a few pictures and submit the best of the best to compete for  one of three Amazon gift certificates worth up to $250. As of this moment, your chances of winning a top prize couldn't be better.
  

While Accepted has several events this week geared towards round 1applicants and MBA interviews, we are by no means ignoring applicants applying in round 2 or even later in the application cycle:

• Accepted's Round 2 Package special ends on Friday. Save $100 off our Buy-7-Get-1-Free or $50 off your first MBA Program Comprehensive Package.  Start your round 2 applications ASAP and save money with these two specials.
  
• Duke Fuqua Admissions Chat with Liz Riley Hargrove, Assistant Dean of Fuqua's MBA Daytime Program. The chat will take place on Thursday November 29 at 10:00 AM PT/1:00 PM ET/6:00 PM GMT in the Accepted Chat Room.
• Coming up next week, INSEAD chat on December 3.
• If you are busy crafting, drafting, grafting, and editing MBA essays or plan to do so in December, sign up for Accepted's free email course "Five Fatal Flaws in MBA Essays."  It will teach you how to avoid them.
  

I could write now about the aspects of my life I am thankful for: my husband, five healthy children, two delightful, adorable grandchildren, my daughter's recent engagement, a thriving business, work that I enjoy, and good health. I have done so in the past as I wished you a Happy Thanksgiving, a US holiday that is being observed today.

However, I would like to pursue a different approach this Thanksgiving and tell you a story of gratitude. Let's go back to World War II Poland. The Nazi murder of Polish Jewry is underway. A young Polish Catholic woman, Natala, goes into a Jewish ghetto three times and rescues one teenage girl each trip. The first teen is my aunt's best friend, Helena; the other two are my mother and her sister. Natala hides them, feeds them, clothes them, and cares for them. When she senses danger, she sends them to the family farm, obtains identity cards for them, and even finds them work. At the risk of her life, she saves their lives. All three survive. The young women recognize a profound debt of gratitude. And they act accordingly.

Fast forward. My mother and aunt immigrate to the US, marry, settle in Los Angeles, and begin their families. Helena settles in Argentina with her husband. All three send money regularly to Natala, and these monies make a material difference in her standard of living. When Natala's daughter, Janie, turns 18, the three families arrange for Janie's immigration to the US. In 1964, Janie arrives in Los Angeles.

With Natala so many miles away, my aunt, uncle, and parents guide and provide for the young immigrant. They give Janie room and board, arrange for her to learn English, meet young people, and obtain a profession. She becomes independent and meets the man of her dreams. Natala cannot come to LA for Janie's wedding, so my father walks her down the aisle, and my aunt hosts the reception in the young couple's honor.

The years pass. I'm not sure when, but at some point the three survivors apply on Natala's behalf for the highest award given to Holocaust rescuers. Natala deservedly receives it. Posthumously. She knew she was going to be honored, but unfortunately passed away a few days before the ceremony.

Joe and Janie moved from Los Angeles in the early 1980s and recently settled in Florida. They have always expressed their appreciation to my aunt, uncle, and parents for sponsoring Janie's immigration to the US: They keep in touch and go out of their way to visit when in California; helped my aunt when she was dealing with a terminally ill adult daughter and an invalid husband; and have for the last several years repeatedly invited the two older women to visit them in Florida as their guests. Last week my mother and aunt did exactly that and spent a great week with Janie and Joe in Florida. The hosts made sure that my aunt and mother had a wonderful time -- showing them the local sites, hosting a reception in their honor, taking them to a concert, and arranging for them to meet a friend they haven't seen in decades. While the plaque and medal awarded for Natala's heroism hold a proud position on the wall of their living room, when introducing their guests Joe and Janie referred to them simply as "Janie's sponsors."

Gratitude expressed through action. As much as I value words, action amplifies the message. It is far more eloquent than mere phrases, however superlative. My aunt, mother, and their friend expressed their gratitude to Natala and subsequently to her daughter in ways that have reverberated for decades. Janie and Joe's deeds also have conveyed appreciation, and again will continue to resonate when language ceases to echo.

What does this post have to do with application essays? With you? I have tried to illustrate techniques that are important to you in writing a personal statement or application essay:

1. Tell a story. People like stories and respond to them. Adcom readers are people. Write anecdotally.
2. Stick to your topic. I could write pages based on my mother's war time experiences. I could write in more detail about my family's relationship with Janie and Joe or with Helena's family in Argentina, but doing so would take me away from my theme of gratitude expressed through action or make this post unnecessarily long. Throw out words, phrases, sentences and paragraphs that distract you and your reader from the topic (and make it harder to stay within the word limits.)
   
3. Use detail. Use the particulars to illustrate your theme, especially if your theme relates to a value or attribute -- something non-tangible -- like teamwork, leadership, compassion, communications ... or thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving!

During this week's upcoming Haas MBA admissions chat, Stephanie Fujii, Senior Associate Director of MBA Admissions at the Haas School of Business, will answer your questions about Haas' top MBA program and its focus on innovation and leadership.  Please join us tomorrow Tuesday November 20 at 10:00 AM PT/1:00 PM ET/6:00 PM GMT for an informative online chat.

We had two excellent and very different chats last week. The first, for the Consortium, was a wide-ranging discussion and included representatives of that organization as well as NYU Stern, Michigan Ross, USC Marshall, Wisconsin at Madison, Simon, and Goizueta. Here are a couple of short excerpts.

Andre Llewellyn (Nov 13, 2007 7:59:34 PM)
Is there any truth to the perception that most Consortium schools will not consider most applicants if they are ranked 2nd in the applicant’s preference?

JacquelineThomas-BellSIMON (Nov 13, 2007 8:00:42 PM)
Hello Andre-- no, that is not true. Schools look at an applicant first based upon admissions criteria for the school itself and then look to Consortium fellowship consideration.

VeronicaHoMARSHALL (Nov 13, 2007 8:01:33 PM)
Andre Llewellyn: No, I don't think that's true. Most applicants list several schools, and we know you must rank them. We look for strong applicants and will give consideration to all applicants who list our school.

fp1982 (Nov 13, 2007 8:02:40 PM)
What types of questions will be asked during the Consortium interview and what is the best way to prepare yourself for the interview?

VeronicaHoMARSHALL (Nov 13, 2007 8:04:24 PM)
fp: Most will ask about your career goals, reasons for wanting an MBA, why that school, challenges, successes, etc. It can be similar to a job interview but for an MBA.

JimHayesRoss (Nov 13, 2007 8:04:32 PM)
fp1982, you should approach the interview just like a job interview. Be prepared to talk about the representations on your resume and behavioral support for the assertions. The questions are not designed to stump you, and anything discussed should be topics about which you should be prepared through your professional and life experiences.

 The full Consortium transcript will be available shortly and accessible from our chat transcript page.

During the Wharton chat, Thomas Caleel and three Wharton students discussed life and Wharton admissions policies with a focus on the Wharton interview. Here again are excerpts:

ThomasCaleelWharton (Nov 15, 2007 12:57:59 PM)
Please note that we do have a different feedback mechanism this year, so if you are not successful, please read your decision letter carefully...

ThomasCaleelWharton (Nov 15, 2007 12:59:11 PM)
Yes. We have a separate email address where unsuccessful applicants can send and email (please follow the instructions carefully). We will then select feedback candidates at random in May.

ThomasCaleelWharton (Nov 15, 2007 12:59:39 PM)
We have done this to level the playing field from our traditional model, which was call-in, and was difficult for some international students.

nicky484 (Nov 15, 2007 1:01:52 PM)
Thomas: What are you looking for at interview?

ThomasCaleelWharton (Nov 15, 2007 1:02:06 PM)
Nicky, the IV, like the app, is holistic. We will look for your motivation to attend Wharton, as well as your goals.  We may ask about leadership or teamwork or involvement as well. I would advise you to re-read your application before the IV, then just go in and relax. Too many applicants seek the "right" answer, and end up not listening and answering the questions asked...

The transcript should be posted by the end of the week and you can access it then at Accepted's Wharton zone.  

The Wall St. Journal reports that application volume is up at many of the nation's top colleges. Most of the schools believe the increase means applicants are submitting more applications to early action programs because they no longer have to deal with the binding nature of early decision programs at certain schools, particularly Harvard and Princeton.

The stats:

•  Yale has received 4,820 applications so far to its early action program, up 36% over last year.
• The University of Chicago has received 4,349 applications, up 42% over last year.
• Georgetown has experienced a 30% increase in applications to 5,925 applications submitted so far this year.
• Stanford's application volume is down slightly, but not significantly.

The WSJ cited the dropping of early decision programs by Harvard, Princeton, and the University of Virginia as a factor in the increased application volume at the schools with the sharpest increases. Applicants applying to more schools also contributes to soaring application volume.

The article also suggests that yield will likely drop and certainly be harder to predict.