I've noticed some interesting posts and articles. And there are a few items of note at Accepted.com too.

• November Specials at Accepted.com. Start your Round 2 applications early so you can ensure a joyous holiday season and applications that present you at your best. Plus during November, save $100 on Accepted.com's Buy-7-Get-1-Free and  $50 on any B-School Comprehensive Package.
• Yale's New Curriculum. In "Rewriting the Business Plan" The Boston Globe's Robert Weisman presents an excellent review of Yale's new curriculum and the goals of its energetic, new dean Dr. Joel Podolny. If you are applying to Yale, read this article. Thanks to Dave at Journey to my MBA for publicizing this article.
• MBA Interview Feedback Database. Feedback is coming in steadily from applicants who already interviewed at Darden, Tuck, Duke, Kellogg, Chicago, and other schools. These 2006 interview reports will soon to be joined by their cousins at Harvard, Stanford, Wharton and the rest who start interviewing later. Please take advantage of the rich resources in the database. Oh yes, please remember to share your interview experience after you interview. And if you visit the schools, please compete in the Beautiful B-School Photo Contest.
  
• BW Interview with Dawna Clarke, Director of Admissions at Tuck. Excellent interview. Dawna answers Kerry Miller's questions thoughtfully and directly. Here's a short excerpt :

"What are some common mistakes that candidates make in their applications?

"I think the most common mistake is that sometimes when people write their essays they will take direct quotes from our Web site or viewbook, or they will start an essay off with something like, "According to Thomas Jefferson, leadership is…." That might tell us a lot about what the particular person that you're quoting thinks about leadership, but we really want to know about what the applicant has to say.

"Quoting from viewbooks or the Web site or quoting from other people isn't particularly compelling, because we're really trying to get to know the applicants themselves. We want to see that they have done their research, but not to the point that they need to quote the brochure.

"Another common mistake is making very broad, sweeping statements like, for example, "I'm a strong team player." It's much more compelling when they use an anecdote or a vignette or an example. And tell your recommenders to do that as well. Some applicants make broad, sweeping statements but don't necessarily substantiate them."

• GMAT Volume through Sept. 30 2006 continues the trend that has prevailed for the last several months: A small but steady increase in registration over last year (3.28%) and a shrinking decline in test taking when compared to last year at this time (.93%). I suspect that test taking and registration will both be up modestly by the end of the year.

I have missed the first deadline for these tips, but I hope they will help those applying R2. AFter this paragraph black text reveals Anderson's words. Red text is mine.

1. Please provide us with a summary of your personal and family background. Include information about your parents and siblings, where you grew up, and perhaps a highlight or special memory of your youth. (Limit to 2 pages.)

Choose 1-3 important elements of your background and youth to discuss in this essay. You can focus on your family life, vacations, mealtime, seminal experiences or events that were formative. The key is to highlight particular topics and not write the sweeping (and superficial) bio.   Avoid "I was born in Timbuktu and when I was 4 we moved to Outer Mongolia and then when I was ..." or the equivalent.

2. Discuss a situation, preferably work related, where you have taken a significant leadership role. How does this event demonstrate your managerial potential? (Limit to 1 page.)

The situation is important but more important is how you answer the second part of the question. How does the event you describe "demonstrate managerial potential." Think about  Anderson's collegial atmosphere and emphasis on teamwork.

3. Discuss your career goals. Why are you seeking an MBA degree at this particular point in your career? Specifically, why are you applying to UCLA Anderson? (Limit to 2 pages.)

UCLA's is a pretty straightforward goals question. What are you goals? Why now? How will UCLA Anderson help you achieve your goals. As always be specific and make sure you answer all elements of the question.
If you are a concurrent degree applicant, please incorporate in your answer how the dual program fits your professional interests.

4. (Optional) Is there any other information that you believe would be helpful to the Admissions Committee in considering your application? If you feel the application already represents you well, do not feel obligated to answer this essay question.

Please see The Optional Question: To Be or not To Be.

If you would like help with UCLA's essays as you prepare for its next January 3 deadline, please consider Accepted.com's UCLA Anderson Comprehensive Packages or our other MBA admissions consulting and editing services.

We are hosting two admissions chats this week for two great schools:

• MIT Sloan with Admissions Director Rod Garcia, Associate Admissions Director Jon McLaughlin and an MBA student on Tuesday Oct. 31 at 10:00 AM PT/1:00 PM EST/6:00 PM GMT.
  
• Columbia Business School with Linda Meehan, Assistant Dean for MBA Admissions, and other representatives from Columbia on Wednesday Nov. 1 at 10:00 AM PT/1:00 PM EST/6:00 PM GMT
  

Both chats will take place in the Accepted chat room.

Many applicants complain that the schools don't want to answer your questions. Others complain that the boards and forums provide a means for the spread of ignorance and rumor. In contrast, online chats with admissions professionals like Rod, Linda and the students and specialists they bring with them are opportunities for you to obtain informed answers to your questions. Take advantage. See you there.

I am please to announce that Cyd Foote and I have published a new ebook, Write Your Way to a Fellowship Match.  This succinct, 38-page guide contains:

• 16 Steps to an exceptional personal statement.
• 7 mistakes not to make in your personal statement.
• 4 proven tactics for foreign medical school graduates.
• 5 criteria for choosing recommenders.
• 6 building blocks of an effective letter of recommendation.
• 4 terrific tips for your CV.
• A timetable for a successful fellowship match.
• Tips for targeting programs.
• And much, much more.

I haven't decided whether to have an annual Clichés of the Year post, but I have decided to have one this year. Either I am getting old and crotchety since becoming a grandmother for the second time, (Actually I'm thrilled. She's gorgeous, 3 weeks old tomorrow, and this was simply the first time I figured out a way to mention her .) or you folks are including more clichés in your writing, or it's just time to write about them. I think the latter.

A cliche according to Dictionary.com:

"a trite, stereotyped expression; a sentence or phrase, usually expressing a popular or common thought or idea, that has lost originality, ingenuity, and impact by long overuse."

I like that definition. But I'll also share my own description.  In a recent email to Accepted.com editors asking for their "favorites," I wrote:

"Every year certain phrases seem to come into vogue, almost like an outlandish fashion that works only on a few models and rare occasions... and somehow everyone who is anyone wears it everywhere and all the time."

Then it ceases to be fashion statement. It ceases to express anything. 

So what are my "favorite clichés" in applicant personal statements and essays? And the winner is...

Take it to the next level 

This poor phrase, abused and overused, has lost all meaning, distinctiveness, and color. Like the frequently washed tie-die T-shirt form the 70's, it's long past retirement age. It's more than ready for the rag heap.  Strike it from your essays! Frankly, when I see "take X to the next level" my eyes glaze over, and I really just don't want to read more because I have read this so many times before.  That's not the reaction you want your essay to engender.

Now the Runner's Up, in no particular order.

• Synergies:  Jennifer Bloom  nominates "synergies." She thinks they're "going nuts this year." Sheila Bender adds that she feels like sneezing when she sees "synergies" in a personal statement. You also don't want your essays to trigger allergic reactions.
• Leverage: Tanis Kmetyk is seeing less of  "leverage," but I still see too much of it for my taste.
  
• Been there for me: So banal and hackneyed. And vague. Did he or she listen to you rant and rave at all hours of the night? Walk with you daily to help you deal with loss? Visit regularly? Sit with your quietly? Work long hours? Simply lend profound emotional support in uncounted ways large and small? For Heaven's sake tell me what they did!
• The bottom line: Whatever happened to "conclusion," "summary," "crux," "main point," "core," or a host of other phrases. Bottom line means Income - Expenses. Limit its use to income statements.
  

These are just a few of the most pernicious clichés that infest your essays.  Don't use them!!!!!

Ok. I feel better now. If other admissions readers, Accepted.com editors, English teachers, or admissions consultants are reading this blog and want to share their "favorite" clichés from application essays and personal statements --  you know the ones you really, really despise and never want to see again -- please add them in a comment. Maybe, just maybe, we won't see them so often if applicants know they how evil they are.

We can only hope, although I recognize this post reflects the tip of the iceberg,  And yes.That's a cliche.