Dear customer,

Welcome to the August edition of ICON+’s MBA Access Newsletter. You are receiving this e-newsletter because you inquired about our test prep and/or admissions consulting services.

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Good luck with your upcoming standardized tests and Round I applications!

1. Our Stamford Court, City Hall branch is scheduled to open September 1!

Visit us at:
61 Stamford Road
Stamford Court #01-01

2. Registration available for the October, November, and December MBA Admissions Workshops (6 lessons of 3 hours each)

3. Win a $25 book voucher by submitting an answer for our Question of the Month

It’s that time of year, and applications to US and UK universities are coming out. As you sift through your mountain of forms and struggle to build a decent application strategy, are you tempted at all to cheat?

No? Are you sure?

You could purchase a customized admissions essay for as little as US$12.55 on custom-essay.net. Why not write your own recommendation letter and forge your supervisor’s signature? I mean, you’ve been such a slacker that nobody really wants to vouch for you. How about sprucing up your resume with a couple key leadership positions?

Come on, it’s no big deal! How else are you going to get into INSEAD? Everybody’s doing it…

Without a doubt, cheating has become the norm today. Upon the commencement of the new millennium, Don McCabe, founding director of the Center for Academic Integrity at Clemson University conducted a survey of over 70,000 students at 120 high schools and colleges in the US: a whopping 95% of his respondents admitted to academic cheating.

Read the full article and get application tips.

The GMAT is an essential part of most MBA applications, and this is understandably one of the most frequently asked questions we get from MBA applicants. The answer depends on individual circumstances. Click here to read questions you should ask yourself before rushing to register for another try.

Q: Why did you choose to study Electrical and Computer Engineering for your undergraduate degree at Carnegie Mellon University?

A: The honest answer is because I didn’t get into MIT. I chose CMU since as a small private school, it gives students a lot of personal attention. Furthermore, it has strong engineering programs in which students can do research in the school’s modern facilities.

As for “Why engineering?”… My background in high school was natural science. I always liked it and did well, but I did not want to stay in pure science. I was not too interested in the science itself, but in the application of it. Being able to apply the knowledge is more useful for finding a job. Also, I like the challenge and dynamic nature of engineering. One has to keep learning even on the job, so it’s not stagnant. 

Q: Now you are looking to get an MBA, again in the US. What inspired the career change?

A: Even before I started my undergraduate studies, I knew that I eventually wanted to do an MBA. I was not so passionate about engineering that I wanted to do it for my life, but an engineering degree is useful in developing your analytical skills and seen as prestigious, especially Electrical and Computer Engineering. Furthermore, I thought a combination of an engineering degree and an MBA would be good.

By nature, engineering is challenging. However, it is not as dynamic or stimulating a field as business. In the business world, you take more risks. It’s not easy, but it’s very exciting. In addition, one does not get much exposure to people as an engineer. In contrast, in business one needs to work with people, which is both fun and less predictable.

Read the full interview.

The IELTS Academic Reading test is divided into three sections. Each section is more difficult than the one before. Each reading passage is between 700 and 1000 words long. There are between 38 and 42 questions. You are given 60 minutes to complete this task.

As you can see there is no much time to think about the answer for each question reading the passage again and again. Then how to get the maximum possible score in reading part?

Read tips.

University Admission Directors want to shake your hand, in person.

“We’ve seen a dramatic shift in the way people communicate with one another. Interaction is increasingly channeled through social media – Linked In, Facebook, Twitter, and others”, says Mae Jennifer Shores (UCLA, Anderson). “Yet when it comes to the critical decision as to who to admit to our MBA programs, we still largely rely on face-to-face interaction wherever possible. There is no substitute for the live, real-time exchange of ideas and energy that occur when people meet in person”.

The MBA Tour provides a venue for interested students to meet with top business school representatives one on one - outside of the web. The final decision makers, the Admissions Directors, travel with the tour and take part in events around the world where they meet with interested students considering an MBA.

Read the full article.