MBA Abroad Education Consultants | Future Works

How to pick an admissions consultant best suited for you?

First, think about whether you need an ad missions consultant. Many do, others really dont. Are you the perfect candidate?: Do you have excellent academic records and an exceptional track record beyond academics? If you are perfect, you may not need an admissions consultant. If you are strong in these areas, but have some weaknesses, then an admissions consultant can help you to neutralize these weaknesses before you apply or address your weaknesses in your application. Are you good at positioning yourself and articulating this positioning?: When you are applying, what you need to think about is how to differentiate yourself from all the other stars out there? How can you stand out in the crowd. A consultant can help you to develop this positioning and then help you develop the best way to articulate this positioning. Next, you need to think about how to go about selecting a consultant.

Compile a list of all the consultants you may want to work with. A good way to compile this list is to talk to friends and family, recent applicants and to go online and do your research. Once you have a good list, narrow down to a select few based on the following criteria: o What is the academic background of the consultant?: Have they been to a leading university themselves? o What admissions experience does this consultant have?: How much and what type of experience do they have? Have they been an interviewer for their university? Have they worked in an admissions office at a leading university? What type of clients have they worked with? o What experience does this consultant have beyond admissions?: Are they a branding or marketing expert who can help you position yourself? Have they worked in countries or industries you want to work in? o Are they a university agent or an admissions consultant?: There is a key difference between the two and its important to know that. A university agent is representing the university and getting paid by them so if you know you want to go to that university or the set of universities that agent represents it makes sense to go to the agent. Leading schools generally do not have agents why is that? Because universities such as an Oxford, Harvard, Stanford, dont need to sell themselves their brands are so strong that the acceptance rates are between 8%-15% o What services are they providing?: Do they provide you customized services? Is there a robust process that they follow? Is it an extensive process or just an editing service? o What are they charging?: Cheaper isnt always better! If they are too cheap they are probably not offering an extensive service. I have heard of a company that says they have consultants from Ivy League Schools and charge Rs. 15,000 (USD 300) for applications to 4

schools. Now if you assume that this would take 20 hours of the consultants times (usually i ts a lot more) then this mean the Ivy league consultant is charging USD 15 per hour the same rate you can get stamping books at your graduate school library in the US!

Meet Future-works consultants, who is reading Classics at Oxford University

And we have yet another interview with one of our consultants, Udit Bery, who is reading Classics at Oxford University. Here it is! 1. You are moving towards the end of your first year at Oxford University. How has the experience been so far? I have throughly enjoyed being at Oxford and everything from the city to the work to the people is fantastic. It is great to be studying in a place where everyone is genuinely happy to be doing what they are doing and some of the conversations I have had have been fantastic. 2. What do you love most about being an Oxonian? Being part of a University with the tradition and history of Oxford and at the same time being part of the University that is not scared of new ideas. The license to express yourself without reservation is unique. 3. What is the one important piece of advice youd like to give students who are aspiring to go abroad? Definitely choose the university that you can imagine yourself doing well at and enjoying, dont just go to the best university you think you can get into even though you think youll be miserable there. 4. At Future Works, how do you plan to help students realize their dream of studying abroad? I hope to work with students individually and try to understand what their aspirations truly are. I think the college application process apart from being stressful is an educational one where you can discover things about yourself and your interests you never knew existed and helping students to realize that is what I think is essential if you want to study abroad. 5. When it comes to writing skills what are some of the general areas on which students need to focus on? This is a difficult question, but in my experience the main problems Indian students face is that they never read so even when they are 17 or 18 years old their writing style has not developed. I think that focusing on getting to terms with a variety of styles of writing is best achieved through reading, and not just reading anything!. If a student reads and more importantly is well-read before they start the college application process, the essay writing will be much easier. I also believe that students should develop an interest in the history of thought and keep alive a healthy interest in contemporary culture and current events which will all go a long way in developing a mature prose style. Most importantly it is important to have original ideas and is ultimately what will determine whether you get into college or not. For these very reason, at Future Works we encourage students to read, by giving them reading lists, and then discussing those very topics with the students afterwards.

 Trends Indicate Future Admissions to Become More Competitive

Youve waited and waited and waited and waited! You chewed on your nails till your fingers ble d, pulled your hair out till none were left, and drove your parents up the wall till they were ready to throw you out of the house. But your wait is over and the suspense has lifted. Top schools in the US have announced their under-graduate admissions list. And around the world a collective sigh of relief seems to have escaped thousands of students! This year, most top schools received an overwhelming response from undergraduate students. For instance, at Stanford, the applications for the class of 2017 touched an all time high. At 38,828 applicants, it is the largest application pool in Stanford history. Talking about the selection process, Richard Shaw, Dean of Admission and Financial Aid, said The most daunting challenge is to select a relatively small number from among a most competitive and exceptional group of candidates . (As quoted in Stanford News) Cornell University, too, recorded a 5.8% increase in the number of students applying to it. This year, the total number of applications it received for freshman admission topped 40,000. Lee H. Melvin, Associate Vice-Provost for Enrollment, acknowledges that The increase in applications is notable, quoting this years figure the highest to date. With some pride, he also added Cornell continues to lead the Ivy League in attracting applicants for admission. (As quoted in Cornell Chronicle) Other universities boast of similar increase in the number of applicants. Northwestern University received the highest number of applications ever 32,772 while Yale refers to its applicant pool of 29, 610 as a record high. Princetons has been among the largest in its history, but more impressively, John Hopkins continued to attract a record-breaking number of people20,613 for the eleventh year in a row. Yet another common trend that was noticed this year was the effort made by universities to have as diverse a group as possible for their class of 2017. For instance, the one at Cornell includes students from 82 countries around the world, whereas Northwestern Universitys Class of 2017 is shaping up to be the most diverse and talented class to date. At Brown University, the admitted class comprised of 45% African American, Latino, Native American or Asian students and is expected to be the most diverse in Browns history. If these numbers are any indication, international students hoping to get into top universities can take heart from the fact that they are always looking to add to the diversity of their student pool. However, on the flipside, college admissions will only become more and more competitive in the coming years. Getting into one is no longer a matter of luck or chance. If you have aspirations of studying abroad, its time to put your shoulder to the wheel and start preparing right away! In the end, for those who have already been accepted to a school of their choice our heartiest congratulations. For others, do not worry; the future may bring good news yet! If you want a quick look at the applications data for the top universities this year, here it is:

 Tips & Tricks to prepare for the GMAT

The GMAT is not the usual test you take in schools and you know this by now. You cannot stay up all night and get full marks. GMAT is a game. Like say chess, baseball, tennis, or any other sport and if you know the tips and tricks to play the sport, you have an edge over those who are comparatively ignorant. Here is a bunch of GMAT Hacks for youRead the Questions Carefully I know it sounds silly but as you feel the stress of the clock you might misinterpret questions. And thats exactly what GMAT test writers often capitalize on. Dont fall into this trap. You will encounter questions on the GMAT that include incorrect answer choices that were deliberately designed to exploit likely misinterpretations of what the question is really asking. Avoid Random Guessing Unfortunately the GMAT does not allow you to skip questions and come back to them later. Even if you dont know the answer to a particular question, you have to answer it. So the smartest thing to do is to take an educated guess rather than resorting to random guessing even if you are running out of time on the section. Usually you will be able to identify at least one answer choice that is clearly wrong. Eliminate it and your odds improve. Right? Practice, Practice, Practice The best way to develop your time management skills is to practice taking the test. You will repeatedly see us return to the theme of practice throughout this website. I would strongly recommend you to take at least a few mock GMAT exams, in the computer-adaptive format and to try to simulate the actual testing environment. So no taking food breaks, engaging in telephone conversations and all that. Spend adequate time on the first 5 questions Remember I told you, how the first couple questions in any GMAT section are used to determine the range of questions that the program thinks can handle. Thus, your answers to the first 5 questions will make a HUGE difference in your final section score. Solve these with extra care-double check if you have to. They must not be incorrect. If you are unsure of the answer to one of these first questions, at the very least, take a

very good educated guess by eliminating. Dont Wait Too Long to Take the GMAT Dont count on taking the GMAT at the last minute. Scheduling the GMAT well into th e admissions season is also bound to cause most of us undue stress. With proper planning and insight, you can spare yourself these negative energies and instead focus on maximizing your GMAT score. Be a GMAT Instructor Okay, Im not saying find a job somewhere, but I honestly feel that the best way to learn something is to teach it! Swallow your pride and teach your cute crush, girlfriend, annoying brother, far-off cousin, mother, whoever and revise! Lastly, I know studying for a test is never fun, but try and turn it into a challenge, even a game. Try and rewards yourself for staying on track. Inspire yourself. In the end the hard work will pay off! Happy Nerding!!!

About the author Team Futureworks works for Kavita Singh. Kavita is an MBA graduate of Columbia Business School and holds a BA (Hons) from Oxford University. She has over 13 years of experience working in the U.S. and India and is the CEO of FutureWorks Consulting, an admissions consulting firm. To learn more about our Admissions Consulting Services click here. You can also call us at 9910097553 (9:30-6:30 Mon to Fri). If you have any other queries, you may also contact us on Facebook.