Two questions on the application process

j41981

Hi Stacy,

A big thank you from all of us reading this board. I have two questions:

1. I am thinking of applying to 10 schools, mostly within the top 20. Do schools share their list of applicants with each other? In other words, does it look bad to each school to which I'm applying if each knows that I am applying to 9 other schools?

2. After I graduated, I wanted to try a career in a field (advertising) mostly unrelated to my major (business/finance). However, after about a year, I realized I was at a learning plateau and wanted to transition back to a job in finance, which I did, and I have worked at said job for two+ years now. How does one approach explaining this transition in an essay? The truth is I thought I could apply some of the skills I learned in school to a new field, but eventually found myself unchallenged and switched back. Is it alright if I explain it as such and admit my mistake, or do I explain it some other way?

Thanks again.

wildrebel · Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 11:11 pm Post subject: I second that!

Hi Stacy,

I second the query above- similar situation here, although a little inversed.

I studied Marketing in school, then got into Design, got an opportunity in Advertising (Client Servicing) within 8 months, worked in Advt for 6, switched back to design and have been working there ever since.

Reasons for the switches are pretty much what has been mentioned in the post above.

Some help on this issue would be highly appreciated! Smile

Stacy Blackman · Posted: Tue Sep 19, 2006 11:12 pm Post subject:

1) I would not worry about the schools knowing how many other schools you have applied to. I am, however, concerned about your aplying to ten schools. In my opinion it's way too many and could negatively impact the quality of your apps. Each one is a lot of work - I recommend about 4-6. More than six and you are likely to burn out.

2) I would be honest about your process of self discovery. As long as you have very focused goals now, I think it is okay to admit it took a bit of time to figure out exacly what you wanted to do. Of course I would have to read your essays to be sure, but this is my gutt on how you should handle it.