You will be competing against incredibly talented applicants. Every year, I see candidates who try to pull off a rush job, and in doing so, they underestimate with whom they are competing.

Some candidates talk about their accomplishments as if they have single-handedly saved an entire industry. In the essays and interviews, you will fail if you come across as a pure self-promoter.

Admissions readers make judgments very quickly. After all, they do have a stack to get through. Regardless of your scores, if you fail to engage the reader and sustain his or her interest, you are toast.

It’s odd that the question that I thought was going to be the most fun this year for many of my CBS clients, has turned out to create the most anxiety and shots missing the target.