Accepted Admissions Almanac

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Hot Undergrad Major: Econ

The Wall St. Journal reports that undergrads are increasingly choosing econ as their major.  The trend is actually worldwide and at colleges of all different levels:

• At NYU it is the most popular major and the number of students choosing it has almost doubled in the last ten  years.
• It is also the most popular major at Harvard.
• Econ appears to be popular worldwide.

What's driving the trend? $$$. Econ majors earn an average of nearly $43,000 a year upon graduation.

Tech Hiring Up

"Tech Firms Recruit More Grads" on CollegeJournal reports that number of tech firms have increased MBA, math, and computer science hiring. A few highlights:

• "The jobless rate for master's degree holders in computer and mathematical fields was 3.3% last year, down from 5.5% in 2003."
• "Harvard Business School has seen job tech-industry job postings double this year from a year ago" with job postings from new and returning tech companies.
• Andy Chan, Director of Stanford's Career Placement Center reported, "The number of firms expected to recruit on campus from January through March for second-year career positions and first-year summer jobs is up 24% for both classes"
• Rich Wong, associate director of MBA recruiting at Haas, also reported in increase in high-tech recruiting.
• MIT Sloan students also report an increase in IT recruiting.

Implications for Applicants

I said it before and I'll say it again: Better job prospects lead to increased competition for spots in programs that produce graduates  for those jobs.

5 Keys to a Great Resume

I gave a presentation last night at UC Irvine's  Association for Computing Machinery ("ACM" -- Doesn't that name sound archaic?).  My presentation was titled "5 Keys to a Great Resume" and was geared to college applicants and those looking for their first or second job.

I thought I would share the key points with my blog readers:

1. Demonstrate qualities employers value (leadership, responsibility, integrity, diligence, initiative, teamwork) with a variety of experiences if you can't point to a lot of professional experience.
2. Location, location, location: Put your most impressive elements towards the top of your resume, if at all possible. For most seniors, it will be your education and hopefully your GPA.
3. Don't state the obvious by describing typical responsibilities for a given position; reveal achievement and impact so that each bullet adds value.
4. Make judicious use of detail: Use numbers to reflect on the quality of your work.
5. Tune up your writing: Use active verbs, watch your tense, be consistent, and double-check spelling.

Experience in admissions

Even Recent Graduates Can Show 'Experience'

Although this brief CollegeJournal article refers to  job hunting, the point is equally valid in admissions. You need to show relevant experience whether you are applying to business schoool, medical school, law school, or an academic graduate program.  If you don't have directly relevant experience, you need to draw upon those aspects of your past experience that are transferable to your desired goal.